Going to NYC in November,besides the 'biggies' what to do?

Have you ever heard of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum? It is very interesting, especially if you are interested in immigrant history.

www.tenement.org

If you like art, the Upper East Side has the Met, Gugenheim, Whitney, Frick Collection ...

The Upper West Side has the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium (both stellar) and Lincoln Center. LC's outdoor areas are under renovation but the opera, concerta halls and theater are going strong.

When do you plan the trip? November again? If here for Thanksgiving, come up to the west side to watch the balloons get inflated the Wed night before the parade.

Exploring neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Soho. Foodsofny.com does a very popular walking tour of those areas that gives you info and lets you taste some good stuff.

If you're at all interested in theaters/performance, there are several "backstage" tours that are good-Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Radio City, a Broadway theater. Here's some links http://www.newyorkology.com/archives/2006/12/touring_backsta.php

Go to the UN and maybe have lunch there in the delegates dining room.
http://www.newyorkology.com/archives/2005/05/united_nations.html

The Frick museum is one of the wonderful smaller museums in the city. frickmuseum.org There are loads of others including the Neue Museum, the Cooper Hewitt design museum, the Museum of the City of NYC. Here's a whole list
http://www.ny.com/museums/all.museums.html

If you like pizza, there's a fun pizza tour in Brooklyn that not only gets you a taste of some great pizza, but also shows you highlights of that borough of NYC. If you're coming at Thanksgiving, the same co. also does a bus tour of an area known for a crazy number of Xmas lights and they're starting a neighborhood tour too.
http://asliceofbrooklyn.com/

Go to an off Broadway show and if you haven't seen the Radio City Xmas Spectacular, go. There should be discounts now for Nov. on broadwaybox.com

I'd suggest getting a book on the city so you have a better reference point and can choose what looks interesting.

Also the Cloisters is an amazing museum, not well known by tourists and part of the Met Museum. It's all the way uptown and has a priceless collection of art, furniture, jewelry, religious artifacts, all housed in a building built for the collection. Well worth the trip uptown. After your visit, walk down Ft. Washington Ave to 187th St for dinner at Kismat one of the BEST Indian restaurants in the city.

There are lots of hidden gems in the city to explore, including some homes dating back to the early days of New York.

Have a great time while you are here.

I second the Tenement Museum. Look at their website, and make reservations in advance (tours do sell out). We took the tour called "Piecing It Together" (because two of our grandfathers were tailors) and found it very very illuminating. Have lunch at Katz' Deli afterwards. (Look for my posts explaining how to navigate lunch at Katz').

You might also check out the main brnch of the Public Library - has greeat exhibits usually - and yuo can then grab a bite in Bryant Park.

NY Hisotical society - neast the Museum of Nat'l Hist (GREAT!) also often has good exhibits.

Suggest you have a look at the web site of New York Magazine for events about a month before you go. There are hundreds listed by date and type - as well as a complete listing of al the dozens of museums.

Also check out Lincoln Center - there are tours and you can get inexpensive tickets to rehearsals for many things - as well as all the usual performances.

And if you do get any warmer weathr (you can never tell) do some outdoor cafe sitting on the upper west side or Village or East Village.

I also highly recommend the Tenement Museum. It's great.

We always like to check out the flea markets. Doing so doesn't really eat into your other activities, because they open early on weekend mornings. http://www.hellskitchenfleamarket.com/fleamarket/index.php (There are 3 tabs which give info about 3 different locations.)

If you're walkers and don't want to join (or pay for) a walking tour, there's a deck of cards you can buy with walks of different neighborhoods. http://www.amazon.com/City-Walks-York-Adventures-Foot/dp/0811838447

You all have some amazing things for me to check out, thanks so much. The backstage tours is a great idea, as is the neighbourhood tour of Greenwich Village and Soho (I saw a bit of them last time but I think I missed the 'dood' stuff because I was not impressed with what I saw), as was the online New York magazine site to check before we go. I wish we were there in time to see the waterfalls but I understand that it will be finished by then. I will also check out the tenement museum as I had thought about it last year.

I do have a few books and I will reread them again looking for gems, but I think you guys are much better references than just using the books. Experience counts for sure.

Regarding backstage tours, I've done a bunch of them. I found Radio City's to be disappointing (especially for the price) as most of the time apparently you don't really get backstage at all (whenever there is a show in production, it seems). Mainly it was just a tour of the public areas you can do on your own any time you go there -- admittedly with a bit of interesting story telling when you get the guided tour.

At Lincoln Center the BEST one was the Metropolitan Opera Tour. It was really backstage, in the dressing rooms, the scene shop, the costume shop, the light booth, right out on stage -- and surprisingly we did this WHILE they were working on loading in a show. Very interesting.

I also enjoyed the Carnegie Hall tour, which ends in their smallish "museum".

For something really unique - as loong as you're open-minded - check out the sex museum. A friend of mine took some visitors there a couple of weeks ago - and, unfortunately, they weren't quite as broaded-mineded as she.

I love MOMA and highly recommend it

Also vote for the Tenement Museum
(favorite is the Confino Living History Tour)

Foodsofnyc - Greenwich village tour

The Bronx Botanical Garden - much more than just "flowers" - check out their web site and what might be on for special exhibitions on the grounds and inside -

www.nybg.org

The Frick / or the Guggenheim - add another museum

Did you do all of Central Park?
The literary walk, etc?

I should add that you can look into pursuing special interests of your own. Do you kayak? That's available in the Hudson, either at the Chelsea Piers or near 72nd Street in Riverside Park.

Like to bowl? Also at chelsea Piers sports complex, a 100 lane bowling alley - with the "black light" bowling late night.

If you like fashion or design, plenty of exploring to do in just the shops, but also visit FIT or Parsons, see if there's a show in the Met's costume institute, or at Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts.

Architecture, - visit some of the great new buildings, esp the Hearst tower. Ten minutes in the lobby will yield a nice little speech about this very green skyscraper.

Have a cocktail (aabout $12-15 ea) in the lounge of the Peninsula, RTime Warner Center, and enjoy the view over Central Park.

Viisit the Cloisters (real group of European abbeys etc in upper Manhattan, part of the Met) or, at Xmastime, the Neapolitan Creche at the Met.

The New York Botanical Garden, hard by the Bronx Zoo (well, the zoo got a new politically correct name so it's not a zoo anymore, but it still is, of course) is well worth it, second only to the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew (London), in my experience. Of course, the Zoo is pretty famous, too.

The Brooklyn Museum should never be overlooked. It has some fantastic collections.

Do you cook? Get thee to the Broadway Panhandler, the closest thing to kitchenware pornography you'll ever find.

Astroland at Coney island just closed forever, so you missed it.

Sorry.

More great suggestions! The tour of the Metropolitan Opera is a good idea and now that I am thinking of it someone a long time ago told me they went and just loved it, so that is on the list now too. As for Central Park we only saw a tiny bit, and had lunch at the Boathouse, so maybe this time we will go to Tavern on the Green. I know, some like it, some not so much, but I guess I will just go for the experience. The part of the park we saw was around the Alice in Wonderland statue, and the lake and that was pretty (although it was raining) so we should explore other parts of the park as well. Bryant Park also sounds like a nice spot so will try for that too.

Last year I was disappointed I did not do the skating thing at Rock Center, so that is on the list too. I was totally taken in by the light display with all the Christmas lights so am really looking forward to see if it changes any from year to year.

Shopping was a hit and miss thing for us last time, and I would like a bit more time for that. Are there certain areas of Manhattan that might yield a bunch of shops at reasonable prices (that lets out 5th ave) that we could wander up and down streets going in and out of shops? I loved Macy's, but that could eat up a whole day! (who says that is a bad idea?)

Anyway, thanks again for all the great suggestions. It has got me thinking and wishing the time would come sooner, but I love the planning just as much.

On another note, I tried to get tickets to South Pacific for anytime that week, but all sold out. Is there any likelyhood that I would get any once I am in NY at the theater box office?

Spend an afternoon riding the subway to the different stations with subway art:

http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/artwork

beba, there are a couple of other skating venues :

Wolman rink in Central park has great skyline views in a park setting.

In Bryant Park they set up a rink on the lawn, surrounded by gift vendors on the park walks. Not my favorite use of the park, but it could be fun if you're near the Library to stop by.

Bryant Park with the skating rink and Christmas market just sparkles. We loved it (loved the market, too -- some unique stuff). I shopped while my daughter skated. Skating is free - you just pay for renting skates ($10.00, I think). The rink is small, but it's still fun. Even if the line goes all the way to Ave. of the Americas, it takes less than half an hour to get to the front.

South Pacific is seriously sold out. Your best bet for tickets is stubhub.com. They are perfectly reliable and their prices not so bad as the other scalpers - but way above box office.

(Some people have reported trying to get into SP by going to the box office day of lookng for returns -I think there was one success anda bunchof failures.)

Bookmarking! Great suggestions.

www.centralparknyc.org

and

www.centralpark.com

are two good sights, so you can pick a part to do before you get there and have a destination - it can take many trips to see everythign in CP unless you dedicate a lot of time for it - but that's the joy of it too -

The above two sites offer maps you can download - drop down menus to look at all the sights and read about which might appeal to you - there is even a Central Park in the movies tab, if you want to have those as destinations - fun to just play around on the sites and marvel at what is there -

for example, look at this link; it shows you where the attraction is in the park , which can help you figure out what street to enter from, how to fit it in your schedule better - depending on where else you might be -

I would have to agree with those who aren't enamored of Tavern on the Green - personally I'd walk thru it and eat somewhere else, but whatever makes you happy !

oops, the link:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/64ryrx

I second that East Side Tenement Museum comment!!! I have to say this is one of the most interesting museums I have ever seen, especially in NYC. You can NOT begin to imagine how people coming to the US lived back then. You must see this place. It was sad, humbling, but very, very interesting. I would heartily recommend!

The Village and Soho are great; I could spend easily 2 days just wandering around there. You must have skirted a periphery last time if you were not that impressed. It is very hip and happening and lots of cool boutiques for shopping. Some are affordable and many are not. I would also keep an eye out for the street vendors in that area. I bought a gorgeous purse on a street corner (not a prada type knockoff, just a nice purse) for $20 that I get endless compliments on and queries as to where I got it.

If you end up near Chinatown or Little Italy, my girlfriends and I saw a little dive place that did massages for $7 per 10 minutes. It was such an affordable treat. It is done communal style; you stay dressed and lie down on a table and they work on your back. We went back a second time. I think it was near Broome and Hester?

Bookmarking, going next Sept. Thanks!

we just came back and did a luncheon cruise on Sprirt Cruise lines,out of Chelsea pier 62--great sit down lunch,short floor show,very friendly crowd.
I was born in Bronx and second the Botanical garden tour,as wellas Bronx zoo.If you get that far, a visit to City Island in the Bronx might be interesting as well.You can take the bus from the zoo,maybe 2 busses,to get there.

This is a great thread -- like the OP, we have already done the "highlights trip" to NYC, and it's good to have a comprehensive list of "next time" possibilities.

What great recommendations! I'm going to put some to use when I'm in NYC in a couple weeks.

Thanks!

If that Christmas Lights tour someone mentioned is in Dyker Heights I would skip it. It is a mess trying to get around those blocks and if now some moron is going to bring buses through it will be even worse. It will take a lot of time to do that and I think you could use your time more wisely. Have you been to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine? Maybe they have concerts going on during your visit.

Plenty to do. Bestweekends.com offers some insight as to what you are seeking. Enjoy!

thought of another possibilty as well.You could do half day in Wall St area.The NY stock exchange used to have a very good tour and viewng area--as did the commodities exchange,off Fulton St.Really wild to see all the trading chaos.Then Id go by St Pauls chapel on Bdwy--it has alot of mementos that were left by children after 911 aroud the churchs gates--Its the oldest pre-revolution bldg in city

A couple of things to add to an already great list. I picked up a few ideas myself thanks all.

In Central Park my favourite parts are the Bethesda fountain and walking down the Mall especially if the leaves are changing colour and falling. I too was there last year in November and the weather was mild and the park looked just beautiful with the leaves falling.

I would second a visit to St Pauls on Broadway down near the World Trade centre site. The exhibition is amazing and so moving. A real tribute to those who were involved at the coal face.

The Vietnam war veterans memorial is worth a visit too. It's quite unique with extracts from letters home from soldiers over there. Again quite moving.

Radio City Music hall Christmas spectacular is a must at least once. Such fun and is quite short.

I did a walking/food tour of Bleeker Street last year and it was great. I'm a bit of a foodie and not only seeing but tasting for me was terrific. I didn't book it but I am pretty sure it was this one. http://www.foodsofny.com/greenwichvillage.php
Perhaps google food tours+nyc and see what comes up.

Lastly we got the ferry out Ellis Island and took the audio guide tour. It was excellent and I was really glad we did it. You also get up close and personal with the Statue of Liberty. I have heard the queues to get on the ferry are really long but it only took us about 10 - 15 minutes to get through security and on the ferry. We went 9.30 or so.

If you like the Tenament Museum, you might find Ellis Island interesting and moving.

We had to start very early in the morning to get tickets-can one get them on-line????

NY Historical Society on Central Park West and 77th. Great, relatively small focused museum. Check out their musical programs too. They tend to be oriented towards theater music.
Tenement Museum? Always hear great things about it, and you can get lunch nearby at Katz's on Houston and Orchard. Around the corner from Katz's, Doyle and Doyle at 189 Orchard Street, just the best antique, vintage, estate jewelry store I've ever seen. The Lower East Side is great, lots of cutting edge shops, stores and restaurants.

I agree with the Tenement Museum and the Frick and like many of the suggestions above. However, all of them except the Brooklyn pizza tour or museum, Bronx Botanical Gardens and Coney Island are on the island of Manhattan. Consider getting off the island and going to a borough, or horrors!! going to Jersey City (they have the Statute of Liberty after all and a lovely park as well from which to view Manhattan. Some good restaurants as well.) I know you walked the Brooklyn Bridge last visit, but did you spend any time in Brooklyn? Try the Park Slope area, or Brooklyn Heights area, both with charming houses, shops and restaurants. Easy to get to by subway. Park slope could be combined with a visit to the Brooklyn Museum. Or little Odessa in Brighton Beach (Queens) for Russian food, can be combined with a trip to Coney Island.

The Bronx Botanical Garden generally has a winter flower show and/or holiday show that is worth seeing. I would try to get tickets. I would not go on a weekend.

For shopping in Manhattan for bargains try Century 21, down in the World Trade Center area. 22 Cortlandt St. (bet. Church St. & Broadway). It is open until 8 pm and is open on Sunday. If you have purchases shipped to home, you will not have to pay NYC sales tax (currently about 8.25%). Take a look at http://www.c21stores.com/home_page.asp. Otherwise, stroll Madison Avenue for really lovely shops (at lovely prices but much more interesting than the chain stores on 5th, IMO).

Other than Broadway, or a tour of Lincoln Center, try to get tickets for a performance there, or at the myriad of other performing arts venues in the city. NYC is more than just Broadway. In winter, ballet, opera and symphony are in full swing, not to mention jazz and rock concerts all over town. Check ticketmaster.com, whatsonwhen.com or similar sources for a comprehensive list, also Lincoln Centre (http://www.lincolncenter.org) and City Center (http://www.citycenter.org) , Carnegie Hall (http://www.carnegiehall.org), Radio City Music Hall (http://www.radiocity.com/) and NY City Opera (http://www.nycopera.com/index.aspx) for starters. The Chamber concerts at Lincoln Center are a nice way to have a quieter evening. Also try the Met for concerts.

For Dance, there are all sorts of dance performances on offer in NYC beyond Broadway. Check out what is on offer at City Centre (http://www.citycenter.org), Lincoln Centre,, the New York City Ballet (http://www.nycballet.com/nycb/home/), American Ballet Theatre (http://www.abt.org/), The Brooklyn Academy of Music (http://www.bam.org/), the Dance Theatre of Harlem (http://www.dancetheatreofharlem.com/) and the Alvin Alley Dance Theatre (http://www.alvinailey.org/ ) in terms of dance performances.

And starting from mid-November through Christmas you will find Christmas music on offer in many places, esp try the Cathedral of St John the Divine (worth a visit in itself, see http://www.stjohndivine.org/, and if you can get tickets for the Paul Winter concert, wonderful). St Johns and other venues offer lectures as well, again, there is so much more than just Broadway. Try the 92nd St YMCA which has many concerts and lectures, see http://www.92y.org/



For sports, the NY Knicks have a home game against San Antonio on Feb 8. See http://www.thegarden.com/. This may be something you would enjoy. Most other sporting events will take place in NJ at venues there, if you are interested look at ticketmaster.com. By public transport it's not hard to get to Newark or the Meadowlands for hockey, etc.

Finally, since you have 5 days and have expressed an interest in really "experiencing" the place, you might consider renting an apartment (or staying in a hotel in a non-tourist neighborood, i.e. avoid mid-town). Renting an apartment esp would give you a feel for a neighborhood, try vrbo.com and there are other sites for Manhattan. I would try the upper west side just for fun and location.

bookmarking--great post!

There are thousands of ethnic restaurants that may have food that is not available in your hometown.

There are a number of theatres that specialize in indy and foreign movies.

There are hundreds of galleries concentrated in the West 20's.

There s grerat window shopping in the East 80's, expensive stores with unqiue items.

The commercial architecture in NYC is lacking but the residential buildings are wonderful. Some of the best neighborhoods are the West Village and the East 80's.

For basketball fans. The Cage on 6th Avenue and 4th Street is a great place to watch intense steet b-ball.

Out together your own food tour.

Here's my cool thing to do in NYC these days. Birdland, 44 west of 8th Ave., right in the theatre district. 10 pm Monday, "Cast Party." Comfortable and well laid out Jazz venue hosts an assortment of cabaret singers, Broadway and Off-Broadway performers and other musical odds and ends continuously until 2 a.m.
Again, comfortable room, reliable reasonable kitchen serving till 1. Walking into a club that's packed at 10 pm on a Monday and hearing these singers and musicians? You won't have this experience any place else but NYC.
Yeah there's a cover , I think it $10, but check.

Birdland, part two. Fridays, 5:15-7pm. The Birdland Big Band.
Hear some of New York's best musicians playing exciting original arrangements (maybe they'll play "Birdland"),. $20 cover.Grab some dinner while you there, then head to whatever Broadway show you have tickets for. If it's a musical, there's a good chance some of the musicians you just heard at Birdland will be playing in the orchestra pit at your theater. Reservations are a good idea.

Wow, Many thanks to you all for such a wonderful selection of things that I might never have thought about ! I appreciate the time and effort you took to really dig deep and mention some unusual things that make New York well New York. I have added several of them to my must see list and hope to get to more of them.

I leave for the big apple in 11 days!

Cicerone says: I know you walked the Brooklyn Bridge last visit, but did you spend any time in Brooklyn? Try the Park Slope area, or Brooklyn Heights area, both with charming houses, shops and restaurants. Easy to get to by subway.

We went to Brooklyn to see DUMBO, but must have gotten confused because we did not see anything terribly interesing or even very much of anything, but I assume we missed something? We did eat pizza at Gimaldis and loved that, but where were any shops? We saw a few but they seemed very sparse and it did not seem like this was what the books meant when they said to do DUMBO. So please tell me what we missed and how to go about seeing it this time?

If you are on the Upper West Side visit St. John the Divine Cathedral. It is stunning. For Upper East Side, I love the Frick. Beautiful collection and you can easily see it in under 90 minutes. I would skip Tavern on the Green. If you want a neat NY experience, perhaps Cafe des Artistes?

beba, sorry, I did not mean to imply that one would walk from the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bride to Park Slope, my comment was more about whether the OP had spent any time in the borough. To get to Park Slope, even from the bridge, you want to take a taxi, bus or the F train…you could, however, easily walk from the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Heights, not sure if you tried that on your last trip. The best walk is along the Heights Promenade for the nice older houses (and the great view of the river, city and bridge). Lots of restaurants in the interior streets, including the hilarious Chip Shop that offers traditional fish ‘n chips but also battered and fried versions of virtually everything (including stuff like Mars Bars, Twinkies and macaroni and cheese, see http://www.chipshopnyc.com/. Really, only in America!)

For Park Slope, my Aunt lives on President Street in Park Slope, so I have spent a good deal of time in that neighborhood. It’s quite pretty with brownstones and the nearby Sunday farmers market, and worth a stroll, and Prospect Park is really lovely. A quite good French restaurant there is Moutarde (239 Fifth Ave, 718-623-3600), but Fifth Avenue has a lot of other restaurants as well. You may want to take a look at http://nymag.com/visitorsguide/neighborhoods/park-slope-prospect/ for a lot of info on the area, much more concisely written than I could put together.

I have not been to the DUMBO area, but I would agree that I don’t think that there is a whole lot there architecturally. It was actually a factory and warehouse district, it was never a brownstone neighborhood with homes, churches and schools like Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights (much of that area is now expensive loft apartments).

You should check out City Food Tours (www.cityfoodtours.com).

They have three guided tasting tours: Lower East Side, NoLita, and Upper West Side Dessert and Wine. They are a fun, affordable, and delicious way to explore New York.

I love the Upper West Side Tour. The combination of wine, chocolates and six ounce cookies makes this tour the perfect afternoon treat.

In response to Dohlice's comment:

"If that Christmas Lights tour someone mentioned is in Dyker Heights I would skip it. It is a mess trying to get around those blocks and if now some moron is going to bring buses through it will be even worse. It will take a lot of time to do that and I think you could use your time more wisely."

Yes, it is in Dyker Heights and I would be that moron. My company, A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours, has managed to show folks around this wonderful borough for the past three years through guided bus tours that go where no other bus tours go in Brooklyn.

For the Christmas lights tour, we park the bus a few blocks away and personally escort folks around the blocks with all the elaborately decorated homes while explaining their origins and the stories behind the home owners who decorate their homes so lavishly.

Last year we received numerous 5-star reviews from folks who took the Christmas lights tour. My other tour, A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour, has also received rave reviews on Fodor's as well.

In the future, I suggest you think before you type.

Tony Muia, Owner/Operator
A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours
www.asliceofbrooklyn.com

I'm bookmarking this - we're going November 2009.

bookmarking, thanks, great tips,

I am glad you brought this up. I can read up on some things I'd like to do.

Check out the Botanical Gardens if you can.

so, beba, have you taken your 2nd trip yet? Reports please!

ps-relooked at title and you said November-did you do it?

Beba's trip is presumably over and I hope it was a big success.

I'm guessing the topic will interest others so a few ideas:

DUMBO - see what is playing at St Ann's Warehouse, and if something appeals to you, that's the focus of your tirp to DUMBO. Then look on Yelp for a place to eat if you want to.

Shopping: 9th St between 1st and 2nd Avenues has a lot to offer in the way of little shops to walk in and out of, including some excellent retro and consignment stores as well as ooak boutiques.

Great activity: to to Wall St on the 4 or 5, go east to the river, toe Pier 11. (Or - take a taxi to Pier 11). Take the FREE WATER TAXI ride to Ikea. Every 20 minutes.

Go have lunch, or coffee, or buy some paper napkins, or a whole set of furniture. The boat ride is surrealistically lovely.