NYC Suggestions?

[thetrailboss]

So I am going down with the Mrs. this weekend. We're staying in the city near the Brooklyn Bridge. Anyone have any good advice as to what to see, where to eat, what to do? Looking at one or two days worth of stuff.

:beer: in advance.

 

[kcyanks1]

Go to a Yankees game, of course. Just get on the 4 train which stops near the Brooklyn Bridge, and take it to Yankee Stadium (E 161st & River Ave)

Seriously, though, what do you like to do? Shows? If you want to see a show and don't have a particular preference, I would suggest going to the TKTS booth on Broadway and 47th-ish where you can get half-priced day-of tickets. There is another booth downtown but I can't recall exactly where it is.

What type of food? www.menupages.com is a fantastic site for customer restaurant reviews as well as full menus of many Manhattan restaruants.

I just enjoy walking around the city with no real purpose, but I figure that isn't the advice you wanted

 

[thetrailboss]

Confession: first time to NYC. Did drive by once. Pathetic I know. Shows, walking, outside stuff, etc.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Are you staying in Manhattan or Brooklyn? What are you into? If your by the Brooklyn Bridge your a stones throw from South Street Seaport.....It's a nice place but it's not anything that exclusive to NYC. What kind of food do you like? Are you into museums? Bar Scene?

 

[Greg]

Are you going to post a trip report? :lol:

 

[ctenidae]

My advice on NYC is to just walk around. Do someof the tourist things- the Statue of Liberty is actually pretty cool, as is the Empire State Building if the weather's nice. WTC is your call. Central Park is great, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, visit Wall Street because it's there. South Street Seaport is interesting for about 6.4 seconds, though if you want to tour the Kittyhawk (isn't that the aircraft carrier there?), that'd be cool, especially if they still have the SR-71 on deck.

It's a big place. Wander around.

 

[thetrailboss]

Yes, a trip report is a possibility. :wink: :lol:

We're going to be in Manhattan. Was thinking WTC, Central Park, Empire State Bldg. Maybe Phantom. Have seen it already.

 

[kcyanks1]

Confession: first time to NYC. Did drive by once. Pathetic I know. Shows, walking, outside stuff, etc.

1-Well then maybe you should hold back the Yankees game until the second trip, unless you just are a big baseball fan. They will be home this weekend. it is "outside stuff."

2-I would definitely recommend going to the TKTS booth and getting (relatively) cheap tickets for a show. (See http://www.tdf.org/tkts/). The midtown TKTS booth is right near Times Square, which is the big tourist trap that you obviously have to see.

3-Staying by the Brooklyn Bridge you will not be far from Chinatown. It probably would be fun to walk around there and pick up a cheap meal while you are at it. Here's a link (http://tinyurl.com/qcsvh). Never been to that website, but it might help you out.

4-As Beano said, you also won't be far from South Street Seaport, so consider walking around there, especially if it's a nice day. You might also want to talk around Central Park some if it's nice out. If you enter from Columbus Circle (59th & Broadway) there'll be some people doing artwork on the street (portraits, etc.) (they have some of that in Times Square too), and then you can walk some in the park.

5-You can even walk across the Brooklyn Bridge if you wanted to and were really into walking.

6-I'd recommend getting an all-day Metrocard each day ($7, if I remember correctly), and talking the subway wherever. At minimum, it'll force you to walk around more than taking cabs.

7-I'm not a big museum person, but if you like museums, you have the Met, Museum of Modern Art, and Museum of Natural History (amongst others) that you might be interested in seeing.

8-As I wrote above, for restaurants, use www.menupages.com. Depending on what you want I can try to give a specific recommendation, but no guarantees I'll come up with something.

Hope this list is somewhat helpful. If you have specific questions I'll do my best to answer.

 

[kcyanks1]

My advice on NYC is to just walk around. Do someof the tourist things- the Statue of Liberty is actually pretty cool, as is the Empire State Building if the weather's nice. WTC is your call. Central Park is great, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, visit Wall Street because it's there. South Street Seaport is interesting for about 6.4 seconds, though if you want to tour the Kittyhawk (isn't that the aircraft carrier there?), that'd be cool, especially if they still have the SR-71 on deck.

It's a big place. Wander around.

You are probably thinking of the Intrepid (aircraft carrier). That's another possibility, though a bit removed from many of the other recommendations. It's on the Upper West side, IIRC (maybe west side midtown actually, can't recall the exact cross street). But I have to reiterate what is said above--just walking around almost any part of Manhattan can be a fun and inexpensive way to kill a number of hours.

Not to get into stereotyping, but if your wife is interested in shopping at all, perhaps you'll want to walk along Fifth Avenue in midtown where all the big department stores are.

 

[JimG.]

South Street Seaport is interesting for about 6.4 seconds, though if you want to tour the Kittyhawk (isn't that the aircraft carrier there?), that'd be cool, especially if they still have the SR-71 on deck.

It's a big place. Wander around.

South street seaport is a good place for lunch after a busy morning.

The aircraft carrier on display is the Intrepid, vintage WWII. That's an interesting tour and shouldn't be missed.

Empire state building is kind of just there, unless you go up to the observation deck...nice views.

Statue of Liberty is an icon, I'd check that out.

While you're in the area, walk around Chinatown and Little Italy...lots of good places to eat dinner.

If your not falling asleep after all that, check out Greenwich Village. That'll be a trip! Lot's of shops and art galleries. Some good food too, including excellent soul food if you're into that.

 

[ctenidae]

Be wary of food in Chinatown. There's a thin line between Americanized, touristy Chinese food and fully Chinese, you-won't-recognize-what-you've-got-in-your-mouth-and-you're-better-off-for-it. In between is some damn tasty grub.

Intrepid. I knew that. The Yorktown is in Norfolk, right? I know, I could look it up, but I won't.

edit: Okay, I did look it up. It's in Charleston, SC.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Oh, The MOMA has the Edvard Munch exhibit until the end of May!

Is this a romantic weekend? If not and you want to meet up for a libation or two in the afternoon, let me know. I can give you a few good bars too. My favorite is Chumleys. It's an unmarked former speakeasy that has little tourists. If you want to go, I can give you exact directions via PM. Hey PM me if you have any questions.

Oh, good website for you. WWW.Sheckys.com

 

[thetrailboss]

No, this is a quasi-business thing. Going with colleagues. Ms.TB is attending a national AIDS conference for her MPH program.

 

[NYDrew]

First off, Ground Zero Site is definately a priority. Please show your respect and dont be one of those jerk tourists who take pictures, with ear to ear grins in front of the grave (aka crater, hole, footprint, etc). I worked with the rebuilding effort and I was highly offended by all of those people. Definately check out building 7, I proudly wear a scar I received while rebuilding that site. Another noteworthy building over there is deutchbank directly across from 7, it has been making headlines lately.

You can also check out the racoon bar (2 blocks north, 1 east of 7) Tell the bartenders (ilenny or christina) that drew aka captain video from 7WTC over the summer says Hi!. That might be enough to get you a free drink.

Central Park is beautiful this time of year, especially the northern sections over by the museum of natural history.

Buy 2 $20 metrocards. That should be enough to just travel around. Definately use subway instead of cabs...it is truly part of the new york experience. The N train also provides some great views once it hits queens, albeit a smelly and degenerate laden line. The E will take you directly into WTC at the end of the line (southbound)

Eat when your hungry and just hit up the closest place that looks good. There is so much in NY that the method I say works best.

The NYC library also usually has some cool stuff going on. I belive it is on 50th between 5th and madison. Dont hold me to the st though.

Brooklyn brewery on the otherside of the bridge.

Just have fun.

 

[BeanoNYC]

The NYC library also usually has some cool stuff going on. I belive it is on 50th between 5th and madison. Dont hold me to the st though.

42nd and 5th. Be sure to check out Bryant Park on the 6th Ave side of the library. If you have your laptop with you, It has a real strong (and free) hotspot.

 

[andyzee]

If you consider a play, Broadway will be a bit tough on a weekend, consider Off-Broadway, get a magazine, such as the New York Magazine, or the Village Voice and see what they list. Pesonally I always liked the Public Theatre on Lafeyette Street. Saw some big names there in some small theaters, i.e Al Pacino, Martin Sheen in Julius Ceaser.

The South Street Seaport is cool for a quick walk around and bite to eat. Pesonally I always liked getting a drink and sitting in back on the shopping center stairs. Here you look right over the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge, great view.

If you do decide to go over to the WTC site, you may also want to take a walk towards the Hudson River and walked the path down to the tip of Manhattan, great views of NJ, Liberty, Verrezano Narrows Bridge and plenty of ships coming into port.

For food, there are tons of restaurants all over the city. You may want to check out the East Village, great variety in restaurants. Also if you want the best Pastrami sandwich, bar none, try Katz diner on Houston.

You can also jump on a Path train, come over to NJ and say hi

 

[BeanoNYC]

If you consider a play, Broadway will be a bit tough on a weekend, consider Off-Broadway, get a magazine, such as the New York Magazine, or the Village Voice and see what they list.

Andy brings up a great idea on the magazine. My suggestion, without a doubt, would be Time out New York. It's delivered to my house weekly and is invaluable for NY Entertainment. From Bars, Restaurants, Art, Shows, Festivals ... they have it all.

 

[kcyanks1]

If you consider a play, Broadway will be a bit tough on a weekend, consider Off-Broadway

I'm not a big play person, but I disagree here. if they are flexible and just want the Broadway experience, they should not have trouble getting tickets at the TKTS booth if they show up early enough. At least from my limited experience that should be the case. They might not get great tickets, or for the most popular show, but something should be available. It depends on what you are looking for.

 

[andyzee]

I'm not a big play person, but I disagree here. if they are flexible and just want the Broadway experience, they should not have trouble getting tickets at the TKTS booth if they show up early enough. At least from my limited experience that should be the case. They might not get great tickets, or for the most popular show, but something should be available. It depends on what you are looking for.

That's true, they can always get something, but the choice is more limited. In that case my suggestion would be do it on a Sunday if possible. Also the "Broadway experience" is nice, but it's not necessarily the best when it comes to plays.

 

[andyzee]

Andy brings up a great idea on the magazine. My suggestion, without a doubt, would be Time out New York. It's delivered to my house weekly and is invaluable for NY Entertainment. From Bars, Restaurants, Art, Shows, Festivals ... they have it all.

I was trying to think of other mags, its been awhile since I went out on a night in the city, and yeah Time Out New York is a great mag. For sure if you head down and want to look for places to go get one of the mags we mentioned. Damn I used to go to NYC at least once a week for entertainment and I even lived there and I would always look in the mags for ideas.