Coming to NYC Next Week - have four questions?
 

My girlfriends and I are coming to NYC next week and we are very excited. We have four questions that came up that hopefully I can get some help with.1) How long would the lines be on Friday night for the Empire State Building? 2) We want to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island but don't want to spend half a day doing so. How often does the boat stop at these two attractions and can you get on and off whenever you please? 3)Is it tough to get a cab after a Broadway show on a Thursday night? 4)What time do you need to be at the NY Stock Exchange for the opening bell? Thanks!

1) the worst lines I have seen for the ESB are usually in the morning. don't know how long the wait is.<BR><BR>2) Statue of Liberty and Ellis Isl. I haven't done this recently,but...it is usually a commitment. Long lines, boat to get there. I am not sure what you mean by get on an doff as you please. the boat makes just those two stops.<BR><BR>3) getting a cab can be tough, it also depends how pushy you are.<BR><BR>

I can't answer all of your questions, but I'll try to help! 1) Fri night line for Emp. State Bldg should be manageable...better at night than on a weekend afternoon, definitely. 2) YOu will need to allow some time if you want to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island...the lines tend to be really long, especially on weekends. However, many boats run each day and I'm pretty sure you can get on and off at will, though you will have to wait in line to get on the boat each time! One alternative is to take a Circle Line cruise, which goes all the way around Manhattan in two hours or so. It gives you a great view of the Statue (though you don't stop and go inside), as well as lots of other sights, along with a nice narrative about the history of New York and interesting facts. I've lived in NYC for 10+years and taken a lot of my visitors on the Circle Line and they've loved it (particularly on a nice day) 3) If it's raining, you'll have trouble! Otherwise, don't worry. Lots of cabs in that area and eventually, you'll get a cab 4) NY Stock Exchange bell is at 9:30, I believe. Hope you have a great time in my lovely city!

Opening bell at the NYSE is at 9:30 but I'm not sure if visitors tours have resumed; See<BR>http://www.nyse.com/about/education/interactiveed.html <BR>and call the number listed there.<BR><BR>Going to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island is a half day affair no matter how you look at it. The ferries go about every half hour, but there are usually lines to get on them. Unless you are there early in the morning, you may have to wait for another ferry. Keep in mind that once on Liberty Island you still cannot go into the statue, just the museum there. To go to Ellis Island, you either have to stay on the same ferry or, if you stop at Liberty Island, take the next one. (it goes NYC - Statue -Ellis -NYC). If you actually stop at Ellis Island, you need to allow yourself 2 hours there or it's really not worth the time. If you just want a good waterside view of Statue and NYC skyline, take the free Staten Island Ferry (runs 24 hours/day) which takes about 1 hour round trip .<BR>Cabs are pretty plentiful after the theater (the cabbies know to come to midtown then) but you need to be both fairly aggressive (don't let anyone grab your cab!) and patient. Not all shows let out at exactly the same time (shows run from less than 2 hours to over 3 hours) so it's a little easier to get a cab if you're at one end or another of the theater rush. Depending on where you're going, a bus or subway might be easier and faster<BR>

2) Lines can be long. If you want to save time, although you'll just get a glimpse of Ellis Island, take the Staten Island Ferry. It's about an hour roundtrip with a great view of the Statue and skyline.<BR>3) It depends on where the theater is and the weather. If its raining, cabs can be tought to come by anywhere in the city. Rather than trying to grab a cab on Broadway, walk over a couple of blocks to the east or west.<BR>4) Opening bell rings at 9:30. Figure at least 30 minutes.

Hi Deb,<BR>The NYSE visitor center has not reopened. But if you want to see a trading floor go over to the New York Mercantile Exchange in the World Financial Center, it's well worth a visit to see the two huge trading floors there.

i just did the ellis island/statue of liberty trip this past tuesday [may 7th]<BR><BR>we caught the 10:30 ferry...didn't even bother to get off at the statue of liberty. we were more interested in ellis. so we were at ellis by 11pm and we caught the 12:30pm ferry back to battery park. and we pretty much walked all we could at ellis. <BR><BR>so, depending on how long you want to take it doesn't have to be that long.<BR><BR>i would have to agree with the other posts on linups and weekends being crazy though. that's why we went on a tuesday and why we went pretty early.<BR><BR>hth<BR>JP

We did the Statue/Ellis Island trip on a weekday in mid-April, and had no line and no trouble getting on the next ferry to leave (this was about 2-2:30p.m.) The ferries depart every half hour, I think. We skipped the Statue stop and stayed on for Ellis Island, which is a very worthwhile visit. Depending on your interest, you could spend anywhere from an hour there, on up...There's a very pleasant garden area - you might want to pack a lunch and picnic.

Hi we were just in NYC last week...lines at night at Empire State were not long at all..virtually nil. Also statue of Liberty is still closed...so just the ferry ride over and not stopping is fine...spend more time at Ellis Island...ferries are about every half hour or so...not a bad wait. Have fun