One night in New York

[DogDaysNeverEnd]

I have a meeting in Washington in December, but having never been to the east coast of the USA I'm looking at flying back to the UK from New York to see something of the Big Apple. I've been to the west but mostly national parks and I'm a bit intimidated by big cities!

I'm checking the train or bus from Washington to arrive Friday afternoon, and it looks like UK bound flights depart around 20:30 on Saturday. I'd like to stay longer but i have to be back at work on Monday so its one night or nothing. I would like to see lady liberty and the empire state building from the top of the rock. I could wander through a department store checking out the christmas pizzazz but only if it's like the movies!

What can I realistically do in one evening and a short day? Where should I stay? Thanks for any tips.

Statue of Liberty and Top of the Rock will be a long and rather hectic day - think a 7a start and a 6p end. You would scramble to get out to the airport for an 8.30p flight. Those two plus a department store wander will not be do-able in that time frame.
If you stuck to the Top of the Rock, there's a swish department store (Saks Fifth Avenue) right across the street, and the new Tiffany's a couple of blocks up. MOMA and the Christie's auction house are right nearby, and they have interesting exhibits. All the stores will have elaborate Christmas windows, but just be aware that the entire experience will be a MOB scene at that time of year.

Thanks @ShrubRose. How about Friday evening for the top of the rock and I could window shop along 5th Avenue, then saturday statue of liberty? I'm not sure how long to leave to get to the airport and security etc.

NYC airports are pretty far from the city - it usually takes around 1-1.5 hours to reach JFK or EWR from Manhattan, obviously depending on starting point. Traffic is never easy so I’ve personally always taken public transport, the trains at least move.

EWR has always been a smooth departure for me, so I’d probably be happy with an arrival of 90-120 mins before take-off. JFK I’d want at least 2.5 hours. But then I’d never flown from there around Christmas time, when it may well be much more chaotic than my predictions.

To sum up, I’d be leaving the city around 4 hours before take off time, to be safe. I’m someone who travels a lot and feels comfortable getting to airports 1h before international flights, but NOT in New York.

For a December visit I would highly recommend going to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. Expensive but I loved it. The first show of the day is at 10am I think so you’ll have plenty of time.

There is a lot to do in DC which is impressive too so don't discount staying put completely.

The train from DC ( make sure you buy a fast train) gets onto Penn Station Moynihan train hall which is in midtown so i would do midtown stuff day 1.

If that's all you want to do you can definitely get both in in a night and short day b- the hard part will be checking you've got bookings for both that fit.

Top of the rock is open really early from 8am to 11.15pm so you could book to do that late on the Friday night. It's mid town, Times Square is reasonably close, as are some of the good shops 😉

Statue of Liberty is at the bottom of Manhattan - Liberty cruises are fairly frequent (the only company where you can get off the boat for a walk around the island, watch out for cheaper ones who don't) and start at 9am but make sure you get there a good hour before your sail time. From there I would try and squeeze in the 9/11 memorial and maybe the museum, or One World Observatory.

For an 8.30pm flight you need to be at JFK for 5.30pm - you could leave central Manhattan at 4pm which still gives you loads of time to see plenty of sights - a stroll in Central Park, some shopping on 5th Avenue. I was in NYC recently and we crammed so so much in!

Have a fab time op!

I think that could work! Others have posted about clearance for getting out to the airport - you'll need a cushion at that time of the year for the crowds and the weather.

Have fun!

All good info, thanks! @Bathymamouth i have a full week in Washington so will spend some evenings checking out the sights there too (and favourites?).

Checking flight times again and there is a 23:20 departure from JFK which would be ideal. Now I almost feel like I have too much time 😀

Any thoughts on places to stay? The prices are eye-watering.

Do you work in London? You squeeze an extra day and fly in on the red eye.

I'd do 2 nights personally and fly home sunday morning. You can get daytime flights back. Will also mean jet lag is less. Both BA and virgin fly AM from jfk to lhr.

You can do quite a lot in NYC in one day. Empire state, 9/11 memorial museum and statue of libery you can easily do in a day. Stay centrally and you'll be fine you' see times square and central park wandering around. If you get there friday evening you can explore a bit too.

Flying 8pm saturday means you'd basically get saturday morning. Hardly worth it.

@Ilovemyshed no, have an onward connection so there's no option that works flying on Sunday but there is a later Saturday flight at 23:20 so I can have almost a full day.

@Antsinmypantsneedtodance even a short trip could be worth it I think, if I can squeeze in a couple of sights. I'm unlikely to go to NYC for the foreseeable so whilst it's quick it's better than not going.

for ideas

cityroverwalks.com/suggested-one-day-nyc-itinerary/#

@beetr00 that's perfect, thanks. I knew MN would be the place to ask 😊

Unless you want to get up close to Liberty you can take the free Staten Island Ferry from Battery Park. Get off at the terminus and get back on to travel back to Manhattan, total time for the round strip is about 40 minutes. It's about a 10 minute stroll from the 9/11 memorial (a must but don't bother with the museum).

Pick one of the tall buildings, another option is the Edge at Hudson Yards, where you can also see Thomas Heatherwick's The Vessel.

Watch (or join in) ice skating at one of the rinks at Rockefeller or Central Park or Bryant Park.

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) now goes out from Grand Central to Jamaica to connect with the JFK Airtrain making it much easier to get out to JFK.

@Scissorsisters thanks for the ferry tip. I'm guessing the statue is better looking from a distance rather than right up her skirt? I'm happy to go cruising by and then get another look on the way back.

@Businessflake the show does look Christmassy, but owwww again the prices! I've promised myself not to buy the cheap seats for any shows as I'm done with looking at the tops of performers heads, but at $450 I might have to rethink that policy 😅

We stayed here it was great, v. comfortable and not expensive.

https://www.westgateresorts.com/hotels/new-york/midtown-manhattan/westgate-new-york-grand-central/pad/?utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=google&utm_content=newyorkcity_wgnyc&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtZK1BhDuARIsAAy2VzsxeJxBfJ6BEFeQ27FTn3yaJpc4oVUuXCQPh_b2UX8Y145Ku1KS-wAaApt1EALw_wcB

And the world's your oyster! 🦪

I’d recommend staying at the Best Western Premier Empire State - it’s just off 5th Avenue, close to ESB and was quiet and comfortable. Not too expensive, and there’s a decent pub a couple of blocks away for dinner.

Bad link

https://www.westgateresorts.com/hotels/new-york/midtown-manhattan/westgate-new-york-grand-central/overview/

That better ?

Thanks for the hotel link and suggestion. It must be the week I'm visiting is popular as it's coming in at $400+ but half that the following week. I can't change the day unfortunately.

We stayed at the Night Hotel Broadway recently - it was basic but clean and comfortable. It may be a good option for you as it was only 15 mins from Penn Station by Subway (we came in to NYC by train from Boston - which is probably the same route you will be using).

If you get a red eye back from JFK you can fit in a fair amount. We did that on our last day - got the 11pm flight from JFK to London so we had a whole day to do stuff.

I second getting the LIRR to Jamaica and the the Air Rail - it is easy, cheaper than a cab and fairly quick - be warned there are some unsavoury characters that hang out at Jamaica offering to "help you" find the air train. Ignore them.

A big warning - NYC is big, like really big. You will need to walk a lot and use the subway, even if you just stay in Manhattan. I am a Londoner of some 20 years and I found it a bit extra!l, so if yoi are not a city person be prepared! Central Park alone is huge and can take over an hour to walk through.

There are no bad seats at radio city. In fact being high up is pretty cool as they project a lot onto the ceiling and you get a great view of that.