day trip to nyc
 

we are traveling from wash dc to providence. we want to stop and park near nyc and go see the empire state bldg. and the statue of liberty, then get back on the road to providence. Need place to park and the best route and mode of trans. to sites and back.Also the best route from dc to nyc and then on to prov. Thank you

Wow Butch: <BR>You are trying to get alot of stuff accomplished in one day! Especially on a Friday!! I assume I-95 up? You could park your car in the city but that is very expensive. You could park it the Bronx (there are parking lots all over) and take the subway to the sights you want to see. Post more info on time constraints and routes. By the way, 3-5 hours depending on traffic to Providence.

Butch, I'm assuming you're serious, and have a high threshold of pain. Here goes... <BR> <BR>I-95 and the New Jersey Turnpike offer the only game in town between Washington DC and Providence. If you drove on a Saturday morning, you could make it from Point "A" to Point "B" in about seven hours. If it's a weekday, add up to an hour each for traffic on the northern end of the NJ Turnpike and the Westchester/Fairfield stretch of I-95 through New York's suburbs and exurbs (the Merritt Parkway; CT32 looks like a nice alternative to I-95. It isn't). <BR> <BR>If you want to make a side trip into New York, stay with the NJ Turnpike's Eastern Spur toward the Lincoln Tunnel. Take the tunnel into Manhattan (don't even think about doing this on a weekday morning). It will spit you out in Manhattan in the mid-30s at about 11th Avenue. Look for any of the "cheap" parking lots ($14/day) around the Tunnel exit, then start walking east. The Empire State Building is at 34th and 5th, about a mile away. <BR> <BR>Then, walk west toward 34th Street and Sixth Avenue (you'll see Macys dead ahead). Go down into the subway and take the "N" or the "R"train to Whitehall/South Ferry. This will put you at the entrance to Battery Park. <BR> <BR>From there, either take the Staten Island ferry to get a look at Lady Liberty, or follow the crowds to the boats that stop on Liberty Island (I would opt for the former). When you've had your fill, reverse your direction on the "N" or "R" train and go back to 34th Street/Herald Square. Find your car. <BR> <BR>The West Side Highway has a traffic light every block until about 59th Street, then turns into a parkway along the Hudson River. You reconnect with I-95 at the George Washington Bridge; take I-95 North toward "New England". You'll spend some some in the Bronx and Westchester, but eventually the traffic will thin out (after Bridgeport). <BR> <BR>The above directions will get you there; the question is, why do all that in a day? Your choice.

The advice and directions already give are both good. A couple comments and clarifications: <BR>1. All conditions will have to be perfect for you to drive from DC to Providence in 7 hours not counting stops....and driving steadily at 65-70 all the way. I'd forget about parking outside New York City if you stop. That would take you too much time in an already business one-day plan! <BR>2. To save you possible confusion, one clarification in Neal's otherwise excellent directions for leaving New York: You don't actually go over the George Washington Bridge, but take the exit for it off the West Side Highway, which is where you will follow the signs for I-95 North.

thanks for the info. it sounds like it is a hard 1 day trip. we were planing on leaving dc about 6am on a fri. someone told my wife we should park in hoben(i think) and go from there. would that be good or not or is the way you suggested better? we might have to stay overnight in ny what palces do you suggest to stay and other close sites to see in 1 day but we want to see empire and statue for sure don't want cheap but reasonable, good ,and safe thank you very much for the help