Jan 09 NYC Itinerary...PLEASE HELP :)
Jan 7th, 2009, 12:16 AM
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Jan 09 NYC Itinerary...PLEASE HELP :)
My husband and I are going to be in NYC for 4.5 days. We have a bunch things on the list of to-do's but are having trouble mapping it all out b/c we don't know the area at all (1st timers).
This is the very rough skeleton we have so far:
Sat night: arrive at JFK and take taxi to Westin Times Square. Explore Time's Square.
Sunday: Brunch (if we wake up in time) at Sarabeth's. Move to Trump Towers (meeting friends there) Dinner?? Possible tickets to see Shrek.
Monday: breakfast? lunch at Ad Voce. Sunset Staten Island ferry to see Statue of Liberty
Tuesday: breakfast? lunch at Tocqueville. dinner at Del Frisco's. Possible show that evening "South Pacific".
Wednesday: breakfast? lunch? Dinner at Per Se. Possible Show: South Pacific.
Thursday: Flight leaves at 5:45pm
_____________________________________
So things we would like to add to the schedule are:
Top of the Rock
9/11 Memorial
Wall Street and NYSE
The Met
Canal Street and Century 21 for shopping
Central Park
Tenement Museum
Ellis Island
Greenwich Village
Am I missing anything??
How do I fit some of my list into my schedule. The restaurant reservations are kinda set in stone b/c they are hard to get right now for Restaurant Week.
Help Needed Badly!
This is the very rough skeleton we have so far:
Sat night: arrive at JFK and take taxi to Westin Times Square. Explore Time's Square.
Sunday: Brunch (if we wake up in time) at Sarabeth's. Move to Trump Towers (meeting friends there) Dinner?? Possible tickets to see Shrek.
Monday: breakfast? lunch at Ad Voce. Sunset Staten Island ferry to see Statue of Liberty
Tuesday: breakfast? lunch at Tocqueville. dinner at Del Frisco's. Possible show that evening "South Pacific".
Wednesday: breakfast? lunch? Dinner at Per Se. Possible Show: South Pacific.
Thursday: Flight leaves at 5:45pm
_____________________________________
So things we would like to add to the schedule are:
Top of the Rock
9/11 Memorial
Wall Street and NYSE
The Met
Canal Street and Century 21 for shopping
Central Park
Tenement Museum
Ellis Island
Greenwich Village
Am I missing anything??
How do I fit some of my list into my schedule. The restaurant reservations are kinda set in stone b/c they are hard to get right now for Restaurant Week.
Help Needed Badly!
Jan 7th, 2009, 02:39 AM
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I assume your dinner reservations are at 6 pm or even a tad earlier if you want to enjoy a leisurely dinner, otherwise you are not going to make any Broadway curtains. (Or I assume the reservations are quite late.) Going to South Pacific from Per Se makes more sense to me time wise than trying to get from Per Se down to Broadway theatres. If you do try that, reserve a car service, as you may not get a cab esp if it is very cold, raining or worse snowing.
Please also do not forget that NYC is more than just Broadway musicals. 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 other events than South Pacific at 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 Metropolitan Museum 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/ ). Churches also offer concerts, like St John the Divine (see http://www.stjohndivine.org) or Trinity Church in lower Manhattan, see http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/welcome/.
There is also off-Broadway, which offers interesting options as well, see Playbill.com for full listings of all on and off Broadway productions.
I personally would suggest you consider skipping the Met and go to a smaller museum. If there is a particular collection or special exhibition at the Met which you want to see, then that is fine, but otherwise I think you will be wandering around trying to figure out what to see in that very huge place. At the very least, go on the website, view the various collections and special exhibits, and map out an idea of what you might want to see. Or give up the Met and go to the lovely Frick (see http://www.frick.org/index.htm), or if you want modern go to the Whitney (http://www.whitney.org/), the Guggenheim (http://www.guggenheim.org/)
or even MOMA. Or try the Asia Society which has a small but very good museum (and a café and museum as most of these places do, nice for lunch or tea), see http://www.asiasociety.org/visit/newyork.html. Or the Morgan Library usually has something very interesting on offer, and can be “done” in an hour or so, see www.morganlibrary.org. In each of these you won’t be wandering the huge, endless marble halls of the Met, dragging a heavy winter coat (unless you really feel OK checking your winter coat, I am told it is safe…). There are so many good museums in NY other than the Met. I have even not mentioned things like the Natural History Museum or the Intrepid.
I would try to time Top of the Rock for sunset/dusk, so you get both day and night views. I am more of a Empire State Building gal personally, but one or the other would do I am sure, and the Rock would work very well with going on to dinner at Del Frisco’s. You probably won’t find huge crowds on a weekday in Jan. (See sunrisesunset.com to time that correctly, in Jan it will be around 5 pm)
Century 21 is open until 9 pm and you could go in the early evening or after dinner as well. Could do that before or after seeing sunset on the ferry. You might want to keep the proposed day for the sunset ferry ride a bit flexible in case you get rain or snow, which is not unusual I would say in January (and I believe they are having a bad storm right now).
There really is no 9/11 “memorial”, it is just a huge construction site. It is certainly possible to walk by it, and there are (or have been at times) some memorial plaques around the fences, but I don’t know how much you will get out of it, esp as you don’t know the buildings or area as they once were.
You cannot go inside the NYSE, you can only see it from the outside, so you could just do that as part of a walk down Wall St and environs which would include perhaps the World Trade Center site, Trinity Church, down to the Battery and if you want South Street Seaport (not really necessary). Could all be done as part of a lower Manhattan afternoon with Ellis Island and the ferry to Staten Island.
Central Park is gigantic, and in winter may not offer much to see, so again, I would pick a theme or a place (the zoo, the ice rink, the Boathouse Restaurant, the reservoir, strawberry fields) and use that as a focus. See http://www.centralparknyc.org for info and to see if special events are planned during your visit. You may not have time, but in winter IMO you may be better off going up to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens which has greenhouses which would perhaps offer more to see in January (and a warmer place in which to see them), go to http://www.bbg.org/
As you may know, Chinese New Year starts on Jan 26, so you may want to be in China town on say Tuesday when you would probably have fireworks or lion dances and also special foods on offer. My guess is that things will be shut tight on Monday there, but would be reopening on Tuesday.
You have left out all of the other boroughs (like Brooklyn esp Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights), as I assume you don’t plan to actually spend any time in Staten Island (where I believe some very decent Italian food can be found). And places like Soho, Tribeca, rather than just Greenwich Village, but perhaps your reference to the Tenement Museum and Canal Street would cover that as well as Chinatown, Little Italy etc. You also have left out the upper west side (other than Per Se and Lincoln Center ), and shopping on Madison and cross streets thereabouts from say 50th through the 70s which offer really fine shopping for genuine goods (and some good people-watching) as opposed to fake crap on Canal Street (I assume you can get fake crap at home).
Please also do not forget that NYC is more than just Broadway musicals. 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 other events than South Pacific at 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 Metropolitan Museum 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/ ). Churches also offer concerts, like St John the Divine (see http://www.stjohndivine.org) or Trinity Church in lower Manhattan, see http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/welcome/.
There is also off-Broadway, which offers interesting options as well, see Playbill.com for full listings of all on and off Broadway productions.
I personally would suggest you consider skipping the Met and go to a smaller museum. If there is a particular collection or special exhibition at the Met which you want to see, then that is fine, but otherwise I think you will be wandering around trying to figure out what to see in that very huge place. At the very least, go on the website, view the various collections and special exhibits, and map out an idea of what you might want to see. Or give up the Met and go to the lovely Frick (see http://www.frick.org/index.htm), or if you want modern go to the Whitney (http://www.whitney.org/), the Guggenheim (http://www.guggenheim.org/)
or even MOMA. Or try the Asia Society which has a small but very good museum (and a café and museum as most of these places do, nice for lunch or tea), see http://www.asiasociety.org/visit/newyork.html. Or the Morgan Library usually has something very interesting on offer, and can be “done” in an hour or so, see www.morganlibrary.org. In each of these you won’t be wandering the huge, endless marble halls of the Met, dragging a heavy winter coat (unless you really feel OK checking your winter coat, I am told it is safe…). There are so many good museums in NY other than the Met. I have even not mentioned things like the Natural History Museum or the Intrepid.
I would try to time Top of the Rock for sunset/dusk, so you get both day and night views. I am more of a Empire State Building gal personally, but one or the other would do I am sure, and the Rock would work very well with going on to dinner at Del Frisco’s. You probably won’t find huge crowds on a weekday in Jan. (See sunrisesunset.com to time that correctly, in Jan it will be around 5 pm)
Century 21 is open until 9 pm and you could go in the early evening or after dinner as well. Could do that before or after seeing sunset on the ferry. You might want to keep the proposed day for the sunset ferry ride a bit flexible in case you get rain or snow, which is not unusual I would say in January (and I believe they are having a bad storm right now).
There really is no 9/11 “memorial”, it is just a huge construction site. It is certainly possible to walk by it, and there are (or have been at times) some memorial plaques around the fences, but I don’t know how much you will get out of it, esp as you don’t know the buildings or area as they once were.
You cannot go inside the NYSE, you can only see it from the outside, so you could just do that as part of a walk down Wall St and environs which would include perhaps the World Trade Center site, Trinity Church, down to the Battery and if you want South Street Seaport (not really necessary). Could all be done as part of a lower Manhattan afternoon with Ellis Island and the ferry to Staten Island.
Central Park is gigantic, and in winter may not offer much to see, so again, I would pick a theme or a place (the zoo, the ice rink, the Boathouse Restaurant, the reservoir, strawberry fields) and use that as a focus. See http://www.centralparknyc.org for info and to see if special events are planned during your visit. You may not have time, but in winter IMO you may be better off going up to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens which has greenhouses which would perhaps offer more to see in January (and a warmer place in which to see them), go to http://www.bbg.org/
As you may know, Chinese New Year starts on Jan 26, so you may want to be in China town on say Tuesday when you would probably have fireworks or lion dances and also special foods on offer. My guess is that things will be shut tight on Monday there, but would be reopening on Tuesday.
You have left out all of the other boroughs (like Brooklyn esp Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights), as I assume you don’t plan to actually spend any time in Staten Island (where I believe some very decent Italian food can be found). And places like Soho, Tribeca, rather than just Greenwich Village, but perhaps your reference to the Tenement Museum and Canal Street would cover that as well as Chinatown, Little Italy etc. You also have left out the upper west side (other than Per Se and Lincoln Center ), and shopping on Madison and cross streets thereabouts from say 50th through the 70s which offer really fine shopping for genuine goods (and some good people-watching) as opposed to fake crap on Canal Street (I assume you can get fake crap at home).
Jan 7th, 2009, 03:22 AM
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Central Park and the Met are both uptown (The Met is actually on the edge of the Park). If you want to see any of the Park depends on weather. Both the park and the Museum are huge so I would suggest you go to the web sites in advance and pick a couple of places to see in each - or you could be wandering the whole day. Note the Met is closed on Mondays.
Top of the Rock is midtown - so I would organize to see before a Broadway show (It gets dark early - so get advance times tickets for 4 pm or so).
Everything else you have is downtown. You can;t get into the Stock Exchange, just se from the outside and you can see the church that sheltered 9/11 workers, but most of the site is a construction zone.
For Ellis Island you MUST get ferry tickets in advance to avoid at least one of the long lines (and leave at least 4/5 hours to do this, including waiting time. Also get advance tickets for Tenement Museum - so you get to see the tour that you want.
Greenwich Village will take time to explore. I wold bag Canal St and if you want to go to Century 21 go very early - for smaller crowds.
Also - suggest you get a good street map and subway map in advance - so you can locate everything and plan routes in advance. (The web site of everyplace will give you the nearest subway stops.)
As for restaurants - do get advance reservations - esp for Per Se. We haven;t been recently, but the last time we went they were very hard to get. And I wouldn;t do a major restaurant before a show - since it means either rushing the meal or sitting down to dinner at 5 in the afternoon. (We often have a late lunch and then dine afterwards - otherwise you may be giving the restaurant VERY short shrift.)
Top of the Rock is midtown - so I would organize to see before a Broadway show (It gets dark early - so get advance times tickets for 4 pm or so).
Everything else you have is downtown. You can;t get into the Stock Exchange, just se from the outside and you can see the church that sheltered 9/11 workers, but most of the site is a construction zone.
For Ellis Island you MUST get ferry tickets in advance to avoid at least one of the long lines (and leave at least 4/5 hours to do this, including waiting time. Also get advance tickets for Tenement Museum - so you get to see the tour that you want.
Greenwich Village will take time to explore. I wold bag Canal St and if you want to go to Century 21 go very early - for smaller crowds.
Also - suggest you get a good street map and subway map in advance - so you can locate everything and plan routes in advance. (The web site of everyplace will give you the nearest subway stops.)
As for restaurants - do get advance reservations - esp for Per Se. We haven;t been recently, but the last time we went they were very hard to get. And I wouldn;t do a major restaurant before a show - since it means either rushing the meal or sitting down to dinner at 5 in the afternoon. (We often have a late lunch and then dine afterwards - otherwise you may be giving the restaurant VERY short shrift.)
Jan 7th, 2009, 04:05 AM
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PS: If you are lucky enough to find that there are tickets available, please aware that the sightlines are good from any seat in the Vivian Beaumont Theater, no matter how far back or off to side they are. So, grab them no matter where the seats are.
Jan 7th, 2009, 04:18 AM
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travelmom13- Hope you are having a great time planning! We were there the week between Christmas and New Years Eve! The City is spectacular!
I would get TOTR tickets for no later than 3:30! We had 3:00 timed tickets and didn'r reach the top til right at 3:45 and the sun had already started setting! We stayed until dusk and it was simply stunning!
If you are gonna do Ellis Island, please get timed tickets and go EARLY! We waited almost 5 hours in line! Not fun!
Skip the ESB altogether! The view from TOTR is better! We waited 3 hours at ESB!
The less time you stand in lines the more fun you will have!
The 7 day metrocard is a great deal! And the subway is very easy to manuever!
Definitely go to Brooklyn and walk back across the bridge! The views are incredible! You can eat at Grimaldi's-the best pizza ever!!!
There is a 9-11 museum and just to be near the site is spiritual in itself!
Have a blast! Can't believe I have already been and it's over! Looking forward to my next trip to NYC.
I would get TOTR tickets for no later than 3:30! We had 3:00 timed tickets and didn'r reach the top til right at 3:45 and the sun had already started setting! We stayed until dusk and it was simply stunning!
If you are gonna do Ellis Island, please get timed tickets and go EARLY! We waited almost 5 hours in line! Not fun!
Skip the ESB altogether! The view from TOTR is better! We waited 3 hours at ESB!
The less time you stand in lines the more fun you will have!
The 7 day metrocard is a great deal! And the subway is very easy to manuever!
Definitely go to Brooklyn and walk back across the bridge! The views are incredible! You can eat at Grimaldi's-the best pizza ever!!!
There is a 9-11 museum and just to be near the site is spiritual in itself!
Have a blast! Can't believe I have already been and it's over! Looking forward to my next trip to NYC.
Jan 7th, 2009, 05:46 AM
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I agree that you can't do justice to a major restaurnat and a Broadway show in the same evening. If your dinner reservations are definite, why don't you try for Wednesday matinee tickets for South Pacific. I'm guessing you'd have to get them from Stubhub or similar at this late date. South Pacific is wonderful, and I definitely recommend it.
You ask about breakfast and lunch for several of the days you're there. With such a short time, and never having been before, I personally would just plan to grab those meals on the run. There are lots of Starbucks, Le Pain Quotidiens, etc. where you can get something to eat quickly and not waste a lot of time.
I also agree that Canal Street is a waste, and you shouldn't plan a special trip there. You will happen upon cute shops and boutiques with more interesting items just generally walking around NYC.
You ask about breakfast and lunch for several of the days you're there. With such a short time, and never having been before, I personally would just plan to grab those meals on the run. There are lots of Starbucks, Le Pain Quotidiens, etc. where you can get something to eat quickly and not waste a lot of time.
I also agree that Canal Street is a waste, and you shouldn't plan a special trip there. You will happen upon cute shops and boutiques with more interesting items just generally walking around NYC.
Jan 7th, 2009, 07:35 AM
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This is all amazing advice! Let me digest it all...rework the plans a bit and I am sure to have lots of questions.
One off the bat about South Pacific:
The seats I am finding are loge side section, but in the front (A). Will my view be good? Would side Orch. Row N be better?
Thanks a ton!!
Tracy
One off the bat about South Pacific:
The seats I am finding are loge side section, but in the front (A). Will my view be good? Would side Orch. Row N be better?
Thanks a ton!!
Tracy
Jan 7th, 2009, 07:53 AM
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I think either ticket choice is probably okay. I'd get whichever is closest to the center. It's a fairly small theater, and all the seats are fine. We sat in the orchestra over to the far right and could see almost everything that went on. It's such a good production. You'll love it.
Jan 7th, 2009, 09:30 AM
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I'd go with the loge tickets. We had the same ones (actually, the very last seats on the side in row A) a few years ago, and they were fine.
Another possible reason to take those tickets is: They may be cheaper!!!!
Another possible reason to take those tickets is: They may be cheaper!!!!
Jan 7th, 2009, 10:49 AM
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Skip Ellis Island on a 4 1/2 day trip.
The Bethesda Fountain, Lake, Bow Bridge and Boathouse in Central Park are all together and together are the parts of the park you will most often have seen in the movies. From there you could easily stroll to the Conservatory Water and then up through the park to the Met.
On the day you plan to ride the Staten Island Ferry, take the train to City Hall, walk out onto the Brooklyn Bridge at least to the first pier, then back, past the Woolworth Bldg, past Ground Zero, then Trinity Church and down Wall Street past Federal Hall and the NYSE, then down Pearl Street (past Fraunces Tavern) to the Battery. Could add the Museum of the American Indian annex in the Custom House.
It's easy to combine Katz's Delicatessen, the Tenement Museum, Little Italy and Chinatown. Perhaps start your day with a coffee and pastries at Ferrara, wander Mulberry Street, then a tour at the Tenement Museum, then lunch at Katz's.
The Bethesda Fountain, Lake, Bow Bridge and Boathouse in Central Park are all together and together are the parts of the park you will most often have seen in the movies. From there you could easily stroll to the Conservatory Water and then up through the park to the Met.
On the day you plan to ride the Staten Island Ferry, take the train to City Hall, walk out onto the Brooklyn Bridge at least to the first pier, then back, past the Woolworth Bldg, past Ground Zero, then Trinity Church and down Wall Street past Federal Hall and the NYSE, then down Pearl Street (past Fraunces Tavern) to the Battery. Could add the Museum of the American Indian annex in the Custom House.
It's easy to combine Katz's Delicatessen, the Tenement Museum, Little Italy and Chinatown. Perhaps start your day with a coffee and pastries at Ferrara, wander Mulberry Street, then a tour at the Tenement Museum, then lunch at Katz's.
Jan 7th, 2009, 05:04 PM
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So glad you got the South Pacific tickets but the more important question is whether you will be going to Per Se or not! I received Keller's new sous vide book for Christmas and have been absolutely craving his cooking with every turn of the page . . .
Jan 7th, 2009, 05:15 PM
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The Met museum is my favorite place in NYC. Yes, it is huge but what a collection. Do check your coat, very, very safe. Admire the flowers in the main lobby. Take a one hour tour given almost every hour. Whatever they show will be excellent. If you want to be independent...go to Egypt, the Temple of Dendur on the first floor. Go to Mesopotania (second floor) and see the huge lions. Go to China (second floor) and walk in the tea house and the special rocks (I know the rocks do not look that special but they are to the Chinese). See the great Impressionist paintings. Have something to eat in the restaurants or the cafeteria. Be impressed by the tons of wonderful Greek and Roman statues. Just take a walk in one of the great musuems of the world. It is worth the time.
Jan 7th, 2009, 10:13 PM
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Per Se is usually a Three hour dinner or Lunch.Lunch Time at Per Se is very nice and the restaurant overlooks the park.You may be able to book a late lunch 3:00 or 4:00 PM.
Hopefully you have your reservation as it is impossible to get a reservation there.lunch time is much easier.
Hopefully you have your reservation as it is impossible to get a reservation there.lunch time is much easier.
