Hi Guys I am Travelling over to New York City from England with my wife and daughter on the 15th November. It is our first visit and want to make the most of our time. The girls will want a couple of days for shopping, but the rest of the time we will want to see the sights. Can anyone split the city into areas that will help us make an itinery that will make the most of the time we have. We want to visit. The empire State Building, Ground Zero, Maddison square gardens,Manhatten Mall, MOMA, NBC Studios, Radio City Music Hall, Rockerfeller centre, Gugenheim Museum, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, The Immigation Museum and go on the Circle line Sightseeing cruise. Seems a lot to see but we are willing to be up early and see the city by day and night. If we have time we would like to fit in a Broadway show.

I would start with a guide book if I were you.

and a map.

At our recent SanFrancisco gathering, I "won" a Fodors 2009 New York City guide. It's really pretty terrific, with lots of maps, specifics, and even breaks things down into smaller areas. I'd suggest you look for one. Where are you? I'm sure they have them at Stanford's if you're in London!

Thanks for that info NeoPatrick I am in the Midlands but I am sure I can pick one up in Leicester.

or you can order it from amazon uk. They often have free or very low shipping charges.

I know it heresy to post this on Fodor's, but my favorite NY guide book is the ACCESS Guide to NY.

The Access Guides are guides to shops, hotels, tourist attractions, architectural sites and restaurants posted in a much different manner than standard guides. They are organized geographically.

Each guide is divided into chapters - each chapter corresponds to a particular neighborhood rather than the traditional layout where catagories are listed with no link to the other's geographic location. In ACCESS guides one can easily find attractions clustered together. Each chapter begins with a map of a particular neighborhood. Each map includes numbers which are indexed to one-paragraph descriptions of the various places. The descriptions are laid out in a standardized way. They are color-coded and include a minor review (which I alway find to be spot on) as well as days and hours of operation, phone numbers, pricing, public transportation details, etc.

I think these are the very best guide books for planning where to stay, a daily itinerary and for walking about. Have a look:

http://www.amazon.com/Access-New-Yor...5914440&sr=1-1

TC, you obviously haven't looked at NEW Fodors guides. Most of what you mention IS part of their newer format. And although there are fewer pictures than in the Access Guides, I think there is more written detail.

We just returned from NYC and highly recommend going to the Museum of Art and Design at Columbus Circle. The exhibit Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary is astonishing! Here's a link:

http://madmuseum.org/SEE/current%20e...0Ordinary.aspx

We could have spent the day there. A lovely French restaurant is La Boite en Bois on the UWS. Pomodoro has good Italian food. The Top of the Rock is better than the Empire State Building. Enjoy every minute!

Your choices group this way:

Guggenheim Museum

Rockefeller Center
NBC Studios
Radio City Music Hall
MOMA

Circle Line Cruise

Empire State Building
Manhattan Mall
Madison Square Garden

World Trade Center site (ground zero)
Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island--The Immigation Museum

Just wondering . . .

Why Madison Square Garden? (You realize it's a sports arena, yes?)

Why Manhattan Mall? (Yes, it's a mall, but not a particularly good one. Malls never have never really done well in Manhattan.)

Patrick, I HAVE looked at new (or at least 2007/08 editions of Fodor's guides -- not to NY, but other destinations -- and don't recall them being laid out in the same manner as ACCESS. I will have another look when I'm at the book seller this weekend. It is such a brilliant design, I've often wondered why other publishers hadn't tried to duplicate.

Thanks ellenem yes I realise that Maddison Square Gardens is a sports arena. Its just I am mad about all sports. I timed my visit wrongly for the Joe Kalzaghe/ Roy Jones fight and I have heard so much about the arena that I just want to go inside and get a feel for it. The Manhatten Mall was for the girls to shop, but on your recommendation we will go elsewhere. Thanks for the groupings. It now makes it much easier to plan our travel, either on foot or by subway/cab. When you have never been to New York it seems that there is so much to see, but we are unaware of the distances between places of interest. Thanks for your help it is much appreciated.

Just a couple of suggestions:

The Empire State Building has huge lines - hours long - so do Top of the Rock instead

Madison Square Garden has nothing to see unless you actually go to a Knicks or Rangers game there

Don;t know what Manhattan Mall is (unless those stores across the street from Macy's - which is no big deal)

You may want to see Macy's - the largest department store in the world

The Guggenheim is OK - but more important for the architecture than the exhibits; The Met, or if you like modern art, MoMA, are much more interesting

For Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island tour you need to allow about 5/6 hours - and MUST get ferry tickets in advance - to avoid one of the 3 very long lines (the others are security for the ferry - like airline security - and to get into the Statue on the Island)

Also get broadway show tickets in advance to save time and money. Go to broadwaybox.com to see which shows may be having discounts, get the code and buy the tickets online for pick up art the box office.

Agree you need a good map and a subway map - you can download the latter in an interactive version from the mta web site.

Thank you all for your input It has helped me a grat deal. Looking forward to next week I cant wait.

Brian

I really like the hop-on, hop-off buses for the first day or two. A great way to ride around and see the city.

There are some wonderful unique tours on the city too. I love the original Food tour of Greenwich Village offered by www.foodsofny.com.

How old are the girls? I really enjoyed the Sex and the City tour - but it is only appropriate for adults The Slice of Brooklyn pizza tour was fun too - but it's a full day and I'm not sure you want to spend that much time in Brooklyn.

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum is very interesting too.
http://www.tenement.org/

Thanks Starrs the Girls are 26 and 24. We have done the Red Light District tour in Amsterdam, so the Sex and the City tour will be tame by those standards. Thanks for your input. We leave on Saturday. I cant wait.

Brian

I guess going up the Empire State Bldg. is the same as the Leaning Tower of Pisa-one has to do it. You can go at night by the way. Will lines be as long that week?

Agree with Ellenem's arrangement-get to the Ellis Island ticket line early early early. If you have to wait for a later boarding, you can visit that lower Manhattan area. Also, and you'll need to check me, there is another ticket outlet in the area for plays.