4 days in NYC agenda ideas
 

We will be staying in the Shoreham (good deal by the way over the July 4th holiday!)on 55th
Actual dates will be Fri early am arrival and leave Monday late, so we have a total of four full days.
There will be a family of four all adults, none of us have been to NYC before.
We would like to take in a show,see the sights and shop a little.
Any tips would be welcome.

I suggest you look at the destinations section on this website. It gives a 5 day NYC itinerary just to get you started. Beyond that, are you interested in art museums, history museums, lots of walking, outdoorsy things, exploring neighborhoods, shopping in dept. stores, discount stores, boutiques, etc.

The major museums would be the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Natural History and MOMA. There are dozens of others worth seeing depending on your interests.

What kind of theater are you interested in (musical, comedy, drama)?

I think also as an intro you may consider one of the hop on/off bus tours just to get acquianted since you've never been. ALso on a warm summers day, the cirle line is a nice trip.

Your hotel is in a nice location. Very near Central Park, Rockefeller center, and broadway theaters. You can easily catch a subway to other parts of the city as well.

Thank you for the suggestions. I think musicals and comedy would be a good choice. Are we better off getting tickets on line?
Family likes museums, I am not to crazy about them. Girls will like shopping. Got to go to the Empire State bldg, Ellis island and statue of Liberty.
Whats the greenwich village food tour I have seen posted?
Thanks again

If you have your heart set on one of the more popular shows (like Wicked or Lion King), I suggest you buy your tickets in advance. If mot, a month or so before you date, check for on-line discounts (broadwaybox.com, playbill.com). You can purchase the ticket on line with the discount code but I think now is too early for July discounts. The summer is slow, so odds are there will be a decent amount of discount offers. Some good shows are Phantom, Wicked, Hairspray, Producers and Lion King. There are some newer ones as well that seem to be propular (I haven't seen) like Jersey Boys, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. There may be some other new ones come July.

Ellis Island is well worth a visit. I suggest you do that first thing in the morning. It gets quite crowded.

I don;t know anything about the Greenwich VIllage food tour but it sounds like it would be fun if you like sampling different food. I live down there and always enjoy checking out new restaurants in village area (east, greenwich, west).

As far as museums, if you all go toegther, you should focus on an exhibit or 2 that interests you. Large museums like the Met can be overwhelming, and it's impossible to try to see everything in 1 visit. There are also some smaller more manageable museums. You can check the museums' on line website to see if there will be any particular exhibits at any of the museums that may interest all in your group (cooper hewitt, Gugenheim, etc.).

For department store shopping, you are pretty close to Bloomingdales. There also are tons of street fairs all summer. There are several websites that will post them in advance. It's fun to check 1 or 2 out if you've never been. Usually around July 4th there's a big street fair on or near water street in lower manhattan. There usually are some free concerts as well. You can pick up a NY Magazine or time out when you arrive to see what's going on. Those magazines will also have walking tour info.

www.NYC.com, will help give you all kinds of ideas, and will also tellyou about various food and bus tours of the city.
If you put NYC in the search section of travel talk, you will bring up the threads about the city. I did not have to ask one question before our trip to the city this March, as all had asked before me, and it was ever so helpful in planning.

For theater - if you want a hit try to get tickets NOW - but you may be too late. If you're willing to settle for an older show go to broadwaybox.com to see which shoes are offering discounts - they're usually available 60 to 90 days out. (To get 4 seats together and not stand in line at the TKTS booth in the heat - this is a much better option.) Playbill.com has some info on the shows.

Biggest hits now: Wicked and Spamalot (fantastic for Python fans). Older you might like: Hairspray, Producers, Rent etc.

For the Museums go to the web sites in advance to plan which galleries/areas you want to see. Many of them are enormous and it would take a couple of days in each to see everything. You must not miss the Met and Ellis Island Immigration Museum - others depend on your interests.

For up to date info on activities and restaurants look at web sites of New York Magazine and Time Out New York a couple of weeks before you leave.

For shopping - what kind? Department store traditionl? Designer? Trendy?

wow you all gave some good suggestions.
We have seen Phantom, Lion King and plan on wicked when it comes to our town. The Producers I here is funny. What is the new show called Julia Roberts is in?
shopping..dept stores..places my daughters would like trendy.
Yes I have read to get an early start for Ellis Island and SOL..can you do in one day?
Good food/ restaurants reasonable price?

Julia Roberts is making her Broadway debut in 'Three Days of Rain.'

Search this forum for many, many threads on NYC restaurants.

The same ferry stops at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

How old is your daughter? For trendy dept. store, Bloomingdales. The main (very big) store is on 59th & Lexington. The newer, very trendy (smaller) store is in Soho. Trendy shopping in general is in Soho, and Nolita (North of little Italy).

I think the Julia Roberts show is already sold out.

ANy particualr kind of food? ANy particular neighborhoods for eating? The E. VIllage has a wealth of interesting, reasonable restaurants.

For more restaurant info and to view menus, check out menupages.com.

Three Days of Rain only scarcely available through ticket broker.

Thank you again, I will begin checking these websites. Daughters are 21, one trendy, one conservative. Actually visiting one while she interns in NYC. She may have found some places already.We are trying to come up with alist of places, things to do and restaurants to try so we can plan ahead. The double decker tours sound a great idea too. Have enjoyed reading some of the trip reports.