New York

[McaRoonie]

Hi- heading to New York around April time and just wondering if there is any advice on what people would recommend with regards to sightseeing? We are going for 5 days (adults only- no kids)
Any particular tours or hidden gems? We aren’t massive shoppers but plan to visit a couple of the bigger department stores just for a look.
I’ve seen some sights offering sightseeing passes and wondering if they are worth it!

I am going for the 3rd time next year. My musts are:

• Empire State Building
• Boat trip to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• Wander round Central Park and take a ride in horse drawn carriage
• Go and see an American sport - football, basketball, ice hockey - whatever is on. The spectacle of it is amazing.
• Show on Broadway
• Little things like eat a hot dog or a pretzel from a stand in the street, ride a yellow cab, try out the subway
• I am not into shopping either but its still worth see Macys and Bloomingdales
• Have a list of famous sights from movies that you would like to see

Our highlights from a visit in August (our 2nd so we didn’t do the obviou ones like the Empire State and Statue of Liberty) were
walking the Highline as it gives a different perspective of the city. We visited the Edge viewing platform the same day (and had an expensive glass of champagne there to celebrate DD’s 21st). It was great as you get good views of the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty etc from there. Another day we visited Greenwich village to see the Friends building and then walked up through SoHo where there is good shopping then onto Katz diner (which my ds wanted to do but tbh I didn’t think much of it). Another day took the subway to Brooklyn, walked back over the Brooklyn Bridge then on to the World Trade Center plaza and the memorial pools and ended up at Battery Park. Basically we planned a walking route each day that allowed us to visit interesting places. I also recommend a UN building tour (you’ll need your passports for security).

I would book ahead what you can. I found it particularly expensive in our last visit. The exchange rate is very poor plus prices have risen.

We went earlier this year and got 'Go Passes' which were fab and saved us a fortune. Also - join some Facebook groups - eg New York tips for Brits - think I joined three of these and got fab ideas.

Get a good map and look at each of the zones and what you want to do so you aren't zipping up and down.
Yes it is expensive but making sure you have a water bottle and coffee cup and snacks with you can massively reduce costs
Enjoy !

If you look in AMA there's a thread by a NYer to answer all sorts of questions given how many threads there are about going!

We have booked a big apple greeter - personal free walking tours in an area you choose.

You have to apply and then wait to hear if you been lucky.

Thank you for all of the advice so far! This is brilliant, I’ll be looking into all of it.