ian80

Myself and four friends are heading to NYC (as posted before). We've booked our room at the Portland Square (May 11 to 15) and are waiting for new theatre dicsount codes to appear. I've been given the wonderful task of planning our 4-day stay in the city, but don't know where to begin. Also, we are all strapped for cash, so this is making my job even harder.

Only two of us have been to NYC before, so the other three will want to do all of the touristy things. Now, I don't want to spend the full four days doing things I've already done before. I'm not just being greedy, but in my opinion there are much better things to do - even for a first time visitor.

So, can you think of a few interesting touristy things to do that will satisfy them. What are the things that someone MUST see (on the list so far: Central Park, Ground Zero, Empire State Building).

Secondly, are there any little gems-of-a-place that you can suggest; something interesting, but less "touristy"? Things that would give us a New Yorker experience (having done the tourist things, this is what I'm most interested in).

Also, Broadway just doesn't seem to interest me that much right now. I've seen the more popular shows (Hairspray, Producers, Chicago) and nothing this year really sparks an interest. I defintely want to see Avenue Q (still waiting for a discount) and possibly Wonderful Town. Besides that, there really isn't anything - from what I've heard of it, Wicked's score is terrible. So, are there any really hot shows off-Broadway right now?

As per suggestions - none of us are artsy, nor are we party animals. So, museums as well as dance clubs are not something we're looking for; we're looking for stuff in between.

Thanks,
Ian

audra

Ian, there are wonderful NYC experts on this forum, and you will likely get many responses.

However, if you are a new poster, you may not know that you can (and should) do a search first. You will find many answers to the questions you've asked.

acwsf

I lived in NYC for 5 years having recently moved away...

Some shows that are off broadway that are unique and worth seeing are the Blue Man Group: Tubes and De La Guarda. I believe the Blue Man Group is harder to get tickets for and you won't see them for sale at the TKTS booth. I don't know about De La Guarda...

As far as your must see list - I used to work near ground zero and havent' been down there in 8 months, but there isn't really anything to "see" per se except construction. Perhaps they've put up something interesting to see now - I don't know.

As far as less touristy things...get yourself out of the TImes Square area. Go downtown or uptown and just experience a neigborhood. If you check out TIme out Magazine, there are various walking tours of Harlem (highly recommended area to explore) and other parts of NY which might teach you more about the area than just walking and looking. TIme OUt is just a great resource in itself for free things and ideas for things to do. Hang out in Central park on a nice day (May should be nice) and toss a frisbee around. Go to a sample sale (ha ha!). Have brunch at Bubby's in Tribeca. Have dim sum in chinatown go shopping in soho or the east village. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and have lunch at Grimaldis and walk around Brooklyn Heights.

I know you're not into museums, but PS 1 in Queens is really great and the Lower East Tenement Museum is really great.

Hope that helps.

Patrick

You sound like you have a good knowledge about theatre. I suggest about a month before you arrive, go to the discount sites (www.broadway box or playbill.com) and print off a voucher for Forbidden Broadway. You can get tickets to that a day or two before for something like $25 and it is a hoot. DeLaGarda is fun (not really what you'd think of as regular theatre -- more like Cirque de Soleil on crack -- but you can get discount tickets for that online. Again print off the voucher and go last minute. There are no seats, so there is no advantage of early booking -- you stand and move about the space.
Check with the Lincoln Center for dress rehearsal tickets for the NY Philharmonic if something is happening that week and if you are into classical music.
Walk the Brooklyn Bridge, take the Staten Island Ferry, take the subway up to The Cloisters and visit and maybe picnic. These are free (or nearly free).

ian80

Thanks for all of your suggestions. We're starting to get a clearer picture of what we want to do.

Here is a tentative plan I set up for two of the days. How do you feel about them? Do they make sense? Seeing where we'll be, can you offer any specific places to check out?

----------------------------------
Day 1 (South of Time Square)

1) Be out the door fairly early and head to South Manhattan to take the Staten Island Ferry. (appx. 2 hrs)
2) Walk up through the financial district to the Trade Centre.
3) Then walk up to Chinatown/Little Italy (very close together). We could grab lunch - some interesting asian food or pizza. Also, there is some cool shopping in this area. Really good deals.
4) Then, head north again to Soho neighborhood. Never been, but it is talked about a lot.
5) Then, depending on the time, head to Greenwich Village. Again, not too familiar with the area, but it is where all the celebs live and would probably interesting to walk through.

...then probably crash at the hotel for bit - we'll be pretty damne tired I think. Have supper and maybe see play

Day 2 (North of Time Square)

1) We could walk up Fifth Avenue towards Central Park. That could easily take the morning - lots of big, fancy stores, Trump tower, FAO, stuff ppl who haven't been to NY will want to see.
2) Hit Central Park and take our time wandering through. I've only seen small parts of it, I'd like to see more.
3) Then, I'd like to go to the Guggenheim (sp?). It is right in Central Park. I'm not a HUGE art fan, so wouldn't be there long. I just want to experience the building more than anything.
4) Then, maybe check out Harlem. I'll look into specific things to do there.
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About Harlem - can anyone offer specific tours to check out? Specific things to see. Also, what is the best way to get there?

Finally, about the cloisters - how long will this take? Also, I can't find admission prices, does anyone know roughly how much it is? Finally, How do we get there? Is it easy to find?

Thanks again.

pb_and_j

That's a busy first day! I could spend a day wandering around greenwich and chinatown I think.
On Saturdays there is a free tour of the Wall St. area (history of the area) that is at noon starting at the customs house. Hopefully someone can verify this. You just show up and tag along.
There's also a tour of the fish market at some early hour (5?) when there are actually fish and fisherman in it. The rest of the day it's just full of tourists.
Walking across the brooklyn bridge is great thing to do day or night and feels very NY.

MFNYC

You should spend an evening strolling around the E. Village (east of 3rd av between 14th sy and Houston st). Particularly St. Marks Place (7th St). There are also great little very inexpensive and good restaurants, great people watching and a variety of all kind of little stores. Than wander over to Washington Sq Park, wheree, in nice weather, there always seems to be street performers and poeple just hanging out, many of which are NYU students (the campus surrounds the park). For museums, you can do a little gallery hoping in Soho, or check out the FOrbes gellery in the village (both of which are free), also in the lower east side the tenement museum. While down in the Lower East Side you have to go to Katz Deli. It's the real deal and great pastrami.

ian80

Thanks guys,

pb&j- Unfortunately, we won't be in the city on a Saturday. And while I'd love to check out the fish market, I VERY much doubt I'll get my friends up.

MFNYC- great info. Will defnitely look into the area.

So, to just top the post. Can anyone answer my questions on Harlem or the Cloisters above?

Gekko

St. Mark's Place is actually 8th Street east of Astor Place. The blocks between Third Ave and Avenue A are great.

The Cloisters can be reached by bus (to the front door) or by subway (short walk required). Check out the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website for more info. It's in the northern tip of Manhattan -- a long bus or subway ride.

With so much to see in such a short visit, I'd skip Harlem.

MFNYC

As Gekko aalready said, go to www.metmuseum.org for info on the Cloisters (admission, directions). Enjoy your trip!

ian80

Hey! Me again!

Ok, I think we are good as far as filling our days. I've compiled many of your suggestions into a list and we will basically use that as inspiration when we get there. I've decided that over-planning works when you are heading out with your grandmother, but when with a bunch of friends, it is good to be flexible and spontaneous.

However, we are still a little lost as far as night entertainment goes. My first question would be regarding safety of the subway late at night. For example, if we want to spend a night in the East Village, we would have to take the subway back to the hotel. Is this advisable?

Regardless of that, what can you suggest as night entertainment besides theatre? We have five nights in NY, three of them will be spent in the theatre, so we need ideas for the other two nights. Is there a good calendar somewhere that will highlight some events going on?

Also, it would be fun to do a piano bar/cabaret. However, we are all only twenty (which is fine here in Canada), so will we be able to get into these places. I remember hearing that you can get into a bar at 18, but just can't drink. Is this true?

Anyway, any suggestions for night entertainment would be great (again, keeping in mind that we aren't wild clubbers).

ellenem

Ian80,
Subways are safe at all times, especially if you are traveling in a pack of five people. If you feel at all ill at ease, ride in the car with the conductor (near middle of train) who operates the doors.

MFNYC's suggestion of the East Village is good for after-dinner entertainment as well. Plenty of restaurants and bars to visit. Also, just south is the trendy Lower East Side for more nighttime haunts. Don't know about your age-20 restrictions--I'm way past that. Time Out magazine would also list other nighttime events.

FYI, Guggenheim Museum has an expensive admission. If you are really not into the art, you may just like to step into the lobby and look around without paying the entry fee.

For your visit to Central Park, you might consider going to the Museum of the City of New York at Fifth Avenue and 103rd St. It is a smaller museum, has a "suggested" admission (pay what you wish), and interesting visiting and permanent exhibits. Across the street is the only formal garden in Central Park, the Conservatory Garden. The spring bulbs should be in their glory in mid-May. Just north of the garden is the Harlem Meer, a lovely lake, and also the Discovery Center, good for information and bathrooms. Follow around the meer to the Lasker pool, and you will reach a pathway under a stone bridge. Follow the stream and you are transported to the Adirondacks--a "gorge" with babbling brook created by the parks designers. The north end of the park is less visited than the south, but it offers a wonderful sense of wilderness in the city.

Have a great visit.

jidug

In answer to your question about teh Cloisters, it is not a long subway ride. Take the "A" train to 190th Street, which leaves you at the doorstep of Fort Tryon Park, which is where the Cloisters are located. The train usually goes express and shoots straight from 59th to 125th without a stop - - takes about 20 mins or so from Columbus Circle stop. There are signs pointing to it and in the springthe park is spectacular. The museum has a cafe in an outdoor garedne. There is also an excellent restaurant on teh grounds of the park called The New Leaf Cafe - rservations highly recommended. Also, once you leave, there are some very nice bistros on 187th street just south of the park.

If you are hanging out in upper manhattan you can then proceed out of the park north, cross Dyckman Street, which will bring you to another, very different park called "Inwood Hill Park". It is the last original forest in Manhattan. The paths wind thru the woods and terminate at a huge salt marsh with spectacular views of the Henry Hudson Bridge. There is also an Urban Ranger Station there; aboute 2 years ago they released bald eagle chicks into the park, and they have a webcam and telescopes to see how they are doinng. You can then leave the park and pick up the A train at 207th and Broadway.

Other "off the beaten" track things I'd recommend:

1) Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill/Carroll Garden area. Great places to eat, you can stroll Atalantic Avenue, and see the NYC Transit Museum, which is located in a former subway station and just reopened. The Brooklyn Heights promenade is a must.

2) Union Square Area (14th Street) is always hopping on the weekends. If you head east from there in the low 20s you will hit Gramercy Park area which a spectacular. Head west in you are in Chelsea, which has lots of great restarauants et al.

3) Take the cable car at 59th and 2d Avenue to Roosevelt Island. Incredible views for price of a subway token. Not really much to do on Roosevbelt Island but the island has alot of history and if you walk north to the lighthouse you get great views. Check Time Out NY for any historcal walks.

4) If going to Ground Zero area, and the weather is nice, Battery Park is great. The old Customs House at BowlingGreen houses Museum of American Indian which is free, and the building itself, esp. its entry rotunda, is amazing. (You will recignize the building from a ton of films)

5) Disagree on ounting on Harlem.. It is one of the most vibrant communities in the city. Get a reservation at Sylvias or one of the other restaurants, look on the web or in Time Out for walking tours, see Hamilton Heights Historic District in the 140s, and see if there are any gigs at the Apollo. Also, if you shoot down to Morningside Heights on the "1" or "9" train, Columbia U.'s campues, esp. the central podium, is well worth checking out.

MFNYC

The subways would be OK at night with a group of 5. A cab will take no more than 4 customers so you'd need 2 cabs. 1 cab ride would probably cost similar to 3 or 4 subway rides, depending on the distance. Late at night a taxi ride should be fairly quick. Busses are another option, but do not run frequently at night.

janette

For touring Harlem have you checked out BigAppleGreeters.com? I'm heading to New York (also from Canada) in May and I've put in a request with them to tour Harlem with a New Yorker. It's a free service for groups of 2 to 6 people and it sounds great - a real taste of real New York life. If you do decide to try it please let me know how if went so I know what to expect when I head to the city later in May.

janette

Hi again ian80
I'm SO SORRY - I gave you the wrong URL for Big Apple Greeters. It's www.bigapplegreeter.org

Margie

The Guggenheim is fairly expensive, if you can get your hands on a NYC Entertainment book, there is a buy 1 admission get 1 free coupon in it for the museum. If you want to buy a book they are now only $10, but you still have to pay shipping. There is more info at http://www.entertainment.com/save/bo...=ExMEM04_ALL10 maybe it would be "worth it" to get it IF you were going to use some of the other deals too. Also there is a buy one ticket get another free for performances at the American Theatre of Actors at 314 W. 54th St. You can se what attractions, restaurants etc. are in the Entertainment book on line to see if you would get your money's worth.

Try to head over to the Visitor's Center at 810 7th Ave in midtown. They publish a booklet that has coupons in the back - there is one for $1 off Guggenheim admission and they have other discounts you might be interested in. You can order one on line at www.nycvisit.com, but it takes forever to get it.

Sorry if someone else has already addressed this, but since you will be in the city for 4 full days, be sure to get a Metro card. Unlimited use passes are 1 day $7, 7 Days $21. If you don't think you'll be using the subway and busses (card is good for both) that much you may want to get a pay as you go card, buy a card and put $10 or more on it and you'll receive a 20 percent bonus. For example, a $20 purchase gives you $24 on your card. 12 trips for the price of 10. There's more information at http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm#payper

Have a great time and be sure to post a trip report when you get back!