Day 2 in New York...need more help here
 

You have all been so helpful with my day 1, I am now working on day 2 and think I need more help here. This is what we are trying to fit in.
Statue of Liberty, but we are only seeing it by way of the Staten Island Ferry
WTC area
Fire Dept near the WTC
Vietman Memorial
Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
NY Stock Exchange
Trinity Church
Washington Square
South Street Seaport.

If we have to leave anything out it would be Washington Square, would like to see everything else.

What order do you recommend we do these things? Our hotel is near the Empire State Building and figured either a taxi down or back or even both ways.

Any input would be awesome. This is our last full day so want to get in as much as possible.

Oh just in case it helps, we are 2 adults and 1 teenager who walk alot so that isn't a problem

Thanks
Kim

Hi Kim. I believe I've read that Washington Square is under renovation at the moment, so not worth the visit. A local should be able to confirm if this is correct.

Going to NYC in August & read about Big Apple Greeters, a free tour service that gets rave reviews. You might be interested too - http://gonyc.about.com/cs/toursbr/a/bigapplegreeter.htm. Have fun - I surely can't wait!

Yes, Washington Square itself is under renovation with parts fenced off. It's not really near your other sights listed for Day 2 anyway. Are you doing parts of Greenwich Village or Union Square on other days?

Thank you. First day we are seeing alot of buildings etc north of the Flatiron building. Day 2 was all about 23rd street south.

Thanks
Kim

If you use a website like maps.google.com to map your path, it will make it easier. I'd suggest you take the subway down to the SI ferry (hopstop.com will give you directions) and do that first. Then head to WTC. You'll pass Wall st. on the way. Stop at St. Paul's Chapel. You can also see the Irish Hunger Memorial and spend some time in Battery Park. You might then consider getting the nywatertaxi.com and taking that the Fulton st. stop in Brooklyn from which you can walk the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan so you have skyline views in front of you. When you get off the bridge in Manhattan, you're not far from the South Street Seaport where there's not much to see but some shops, restaurants and the downtown TKTS booth.

All of those things are doable in one day. Here's the best order. Start at the WTC Site and then go over towards Battery Park where you will see the Vietnam Memorial. Come up Broadway and on your left is the Trinity Church and on your right you will see Wall Street where you can walk up a couple blocks and be at the NY Stock Exchange. Continue down Wall Street until you get to South Street. Make a left and it will bring you to the South Street Seaport which is a great place to have an outdoor lunch.

Then you can walk to the Brooklyn Bridge entrance and walk over. Have fun!

Thank you all so much.

The Fire Dept that was just up the street from the WTC, where would you fit that in? Also I forgot to mention the Statue of Liberty. We are only going to do the Staten Island Ferry to see it. Should we do that first??

Thanks
kim

I would suggest you walk "back" towards Manhattan over the brooklyn bridge, which would mean a quick trip across the river on either the 2/3 which you can take from the Fulton Street Station (a few blocks from south street seaport) unless you wanted to walk over and walk back.

The route that scottsara suggested is pretty good. only not sure how much closer you get to the statue on the staten island ferry than you do just seeing it from dry land. your decision, but if it's not a budget-buster, there are public sails aboard the pioneer from south street seaport (evening sales are $35 / day sails are $25) - the sailboat comes really close the statue, and you can bring food, etc. aboard and enjoy the city/harbor views. I did this when my sister came to visit last summer and we both really enjoyed it. A really great way to round out your day in lower manhattan.

I wouldn't take the Staten Island Ferry. It is more of a commuter thing than a tourist ride. When you walk over by the Vietnam Memorial in Battery Park, you can walk closer to the water and get a great view of the statue of liberty from there. You could see the fire house right before or right after the WTC. There are also some boat rides down by the seaport that are fun in the summer. One is a high-speed boat called the Shark that is fun (you will get wet) and it does stop for a few minutes near the Statue of Liberty. There is also a slower boat called the Zephyr that gives you some nice views of the statue. Enjoy!

I just return and my trip report is posted under trip report-NYC with teen-her first time.I agree that the views from battery park are good.Then we headed up Bowling green to Wall st. area.Have fun!

We used the Staten Isle ferry last year as did around 90% of everyone else on the boat for sightseeing. There was a massive queue to get on, we all got on & then got off & back on again. Round trip takes over an hour though.

I was really looking forward to the South Street Seaport but was very dissappointed inside it. The best parts were outside & towards the Titanic memorial where street performers entertain. The only problem on the day was the heat.

We then walked to the Brooklyn Bridge which took around half an hour to get to. Again the heat took its toll & we only got 1/4 way on the bridge - it was worth it though for the view.