Geographically smart in New York
 

So I am taking my first trip to New York in September and have decided on several areas of New York that I would like to see. However, I am trying to be geographically smart about what I see on what days. I am in New York for five days and am staying in Manhattan. Below you will find the list of places that I would like to visit during my stay. Could someone please help me organize my days? I don't want to waste any time by trekking around needlessly. I would like to plan things so that I see A, B, and C which are all in one area and then see D, E, and F another day. Any advice that you could provide me with would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Staten Island Fairy (Statue of Liberty)
China Town
Little Italy
Metropolitan Museum
Rockefeller Center
Empire State Building
Central Park
Fifth Avenue
Greenwich Village
Soho
John Lennon’s Memorial
Battery Park
Ellis Island
I would also like to walk on the Brooklyn Bridge

Staten Island Ferry
Ellis Island (you can skip this if you are doing the Staten Island Ferry or skip the SIF if you are doing the Ellis Island Statue of Liberty Tour)
Battery Park
Brooklyn Bridge

China Town
Little Italy
The Village
East Village
Soho

Empire State Building
Rockefeller Center
Fifth Avenue (actually runs almost the entire length of Manhattan but I'm guessing you want to see the Midtown/UES of Fifth Avenue)

John Lennon's Memorial (inside Central Park)
Central Park
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Fifth Avenue

Well, here's how they group together:

Staten Island Ferry (Statue of Liberty)
Battery Park
Ellis Island
Brooklyn Bridge
Chinatown
Little Italy

are all downtown in Lower Manhattan and would work together. However, if you are going to Ellis Island, you are taking the ferry from Battery Park that also goes to Statue of Liberty. Personally, I would skip getting out at the statue (you will have a great view from the boat) and just go straight to Ellis Island.

The Staten Island Ferry is then redundant (same view). And, arguably, so is walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (although that could be an experience in and of itself). Little Italy is only a few blocks and is surrounded by Chinatown, so the 2 could be done together.

All this being said, I'd spend one day visiting Ellis Island, seeing the Statue of Liberty and wandering around Chinatown/Little Italy.

Greenwich Village and SoHo are near each other and can be seen in one day. Depending on what you want to do there, this could be a whole day or part of a day.

The Metropolitan Museum and John Lennon's Memorial are IN Central Park, so I would plan to spend some time walking around there, then heading south down Fifth Avenue. You will pass Rockefeller Center on the way. Depending on how much time you spend in the museum, this could be a full day, too.

The Empire State Building is further south.

You should get a map and plot them out as well. Also, if you plan o doing a lot of walking, keep in mind that 20 north/south blocks = 1 mile and the east/west block are longer.

Sites grouped by number should be done on the same day

1 Staten Island Fairy (Statue of Liberty)
1 Battery Park
1 Ellis Island
1 Also like to walk on the Brooklyn Bridge
2 Rockefeller Center
2 Empire State Building
2 Fifth Avenue

3 Metropolitan Museum
3 Central Park
3 John Lennon’s Memorial

4 China Town
4 Little Italy
4 Greenwich Village
4 Soho

I can't believe no one has made a single crack about the "Staten Island fairy".

I heard that he lives in the East Village now.

Happy?

How can he if he's part of the Bridge and Tunnel crowd?

He just turns tricks in the East Village.

You guys are so funny! Thank you so much for the info, it is definitely appreciated! Now that I know where I am going, does anyone have any suggestions for restaurants? I have been reading a lot of threads about this and have heard mixed reviews on the following restaurants:

Balthazar
Gotham Bar and Grill
Gramercy Tavern
Nobu
River Café
“21” Club
Babbo
Grimaldi's Pizza

What do you all think? I am going to New York with my boyfriend he is 27 and I am 25. I would love to know about some hip and trendy place but also some little holes in the wall that are great. Please advise; your opinions are most appreciated. Thanks!

All of the restaurants you listed, except Grimaldi's, are high-end restaurants that require advance reservations. Is that the kind of experience you're looking for?

Yes, these are tough reservations unless you lpan on eating at 4 or 10. Check menupages.com to view menus and read user comments.

For hole in the wall places, the E. Village is loaded with them, some very good.

No, I don't need anything high end. All of those restaurants that I listed are the ones that seemed to be the most talked about. However, what I am really interested in is great atmosphere and food and someplace that will be memorable for my boyfriend and I. I guess I would really like to have a NY experience. By that I mean, I don't want to eat at place that I can find in California.

MYNYC - great place in East Village...any specifics?

On your list, Gramercy Tavern and Babbo are my two favorites.

While I love the 'power broker' atmosphere and the burgers at 21 Club, it is very expensive so I'd spend that money at GT or Babbo instead.

Add Daniel to your list.

Daniel? GoT -- she said she wasn't interested in high-end.

Okay, so here is another list of restaurants that I am interested in. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Samba-Le
Suba
Cafe Mogador
Esperanto

I love dark, romantic, atmospheric type place that have great/unique food. I do not want to end up at a place like Applebees! I am open to all suggestions high end to take out. I am sure that one of the days that i am in NY I will be looking for a cute little cafe/bistro to get some take out and go hang out in Central Park.

e. village palce (that come to mind)
Lavagna
Le Tableau
26 Seats
I Coppi
Casimir
Mustache

I go to NYC a lot, and try to pick up "New York" or "Time Out: New York" to read their latest restaurant reviews to see what's hot and what's not. A lot of the places on your first list are sort of NYC cliches full of tourists.

(apologies if this is already mentioned in someone's answer)
I just wanted to point out that while The Met (museum) and Strawberry Field (John Lennon memorial) are both in Central park, they are not right near each other!
The Met is on the east side,(and really outside the park as the entrance is not actually IN it)between 80 - 84th streets.
Strawberry Field is on the west, just of of Central park West, at 72nd street. If you are planning on walking through the park anyway, it's doable, but you might also consider taking a crosstown bus (and walking or transferring the rest of the way)
OR you could do Strawberry Field on another day--it may be out of the way from some of your other stops, but there are several subway stations nearby to get you almost anywhere in the city.
You could also spend one day at The Met in morning, then take a bus down 5th Avenue (past mansions, museums, seeing the edge of Central park) to Rockefeller Center area. If you've been on your feel a long time at the museum, this is a nice 20 minute ride

anyone else wonder if OP is looking at a map as she reads this advice - or has looked at one yet?

While you are in Lower Manhattan, you might try one of the restaurants on Stone Street in the Financial District. Click on my username and you will see a post about it.

Another "New York" kind of thing to do might be to have dim sum for brunch one day in Chinatown. Always fun and interesting -- but you need to be adventurous!

I am not familiar with any of the other restaurants you posted. Why not try Citysearch or Chowhound for specific neighborhoods/cuisine types/costs.

I had dinner at Samba-Le in March. It was pretty good. I'm right around your age (if it matters), so I can tell you where my friends I go for dinner. I would also look at the following places for less expensive, but still very good, places for dinner:

Mercadito - Mexican, E. Village
Momofuku - Noodles, E. village
Stanton Social - Tapas, Lower East Side
Sea - Thai, E. Village
'inoteca - Italian, Lower East Side
Cafecito - Cuban, E. Village

I meant to also add that Suba is great and has a very sexy atmosphere. Grape & Grain is another favorite. Many restaurants in the E. Village are cash only (incl Samba-Le), so keep that in mind. There are ATMs everywhere, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

First let me just thank everyone for all of the replies...this site is so helpful! So, I think that one night we may go to Suba. Another night be may go to 26 seats. For our one fancy dining experience we may go to the River Cafe. I definitely want to go to Grimaldi's Pizza...probably for lunch. We may also try out Grape and Grain.

So now that I kind of have an idea about restaurants, how about hip Bars and Clubs? I would love to go somewhere where the drinks and atmosphere are amazing...think Sex and the City (I'm a dork I know). FYI...I am not interested in going to some 18 and over get drunk until you puke on someone club. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

If you are a Sex and the City fan, then definitely go to O'Nieals on Grand and Center Market Square. O'Nieals is the real life "Scout" aka Aidan and Steve's bar. It's on the border of SOHO and Little Italy. It's a great place to grab drinks, and the food is also excellent (and reasonable) if you want to have dinner.

www.sheckys.com is as useful as menupages for finding bars.

Other fun bars that I like:
Lolita - Lower East Side
Sweet & Vicious - Very loungey and fun in Nolita
323 Spring - great lounge scene in SOHO
Cibar - great little garden, near Gramercy Park
Uncle Ming's - really fun late night place. It's on Avenue A b/t 13th and 14th. The tricky part is that it's hidden, sort of, with no sign. If you walk down Avenue A, it's on the East side of the street above a store with a yellow awning.

Well - since the drinking age is 21 - and most places are serious about this - unless you're a VIP who's going to get them a lot of PR finding a bar full of 18 year olds would be really hard.

If you want one of the trendy places - they are truly difficult to get into, expensive, and not trendy on Fri or Sat night. Big nights are Thrus or Sun. To try to get in go before 11 and hope they're not crowded and hope you can hang around long enough to see some VIPS on the way to their special rooms.

My stepdaughter informs me the latest is Butter (she has seen there people I'm sure are famous but I've never heard of), also Bungalow 8, I think Plumm and for old standbys someplace like Marquee.

If you just want a nice place for a drink go to the roof bar of the Ritz Carlton Battery Park City. $$$ but great views.

I'm going to disagree with Gotravel on this one... I know (from personal experience;-) ) that the vast majority of bars around NYU, Murray Hill, and Midtown East turn a rather blind eye to fake IDs. kckirk is absolutely right to ask about this. I would avoid most bars in midtown east & Murray Hill, and be careful about the ones in the village near NYU. They 100% embody the drunken/barfing/NYU freshmen/frat boy stereotype. Sutton Place, Martel's, Off the Wagon, I could go on forever...

I don't think trendy has to equal exclusive at all. You're not going to read about any of the places that I mentioned in page six, but they are full of sophisticated and fun people in their 20s.

KC - Read up on Shecky's to see if any bars catch your eye. You can search by type (lounge, neighborhood, dive, frat, shecky's pick, etc.) and by neighborhood. Good luck!

>>My stepdaughter informs me the latest is Butter...<

Congrats to you nytraveler! When did your beau become Mr.nytraveler? I must have missed the announcement. Best wishes to you both.

The entrance to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is not IN Central Park, it is just OUTSIDE the park at 1000 Fifth Avenue between 80th and 84th Streets.

Huh? Lizzie, I didn't even mention bars.

lisettemac, I mentioned Daniel because of the price point of the other restaurants listed. I see now that kckirk didn't want high end.

He's still not Mr. nytraveler - he's working on it - but I'm still hesitant. (My divorce was very difficult.) It's just easier to talk about them as step daughters - since it;s been so many years now.

GoTravel - you're absolutely right, I was responding to nytraveler! I am SO sorry! Just got home from a fun night at E. Village bars with my boyfriend and another couple. KC, you'll have a great trip!

Tea & Sympathy

Hello all! I am wondering if someone can give me some information about the subway system in New York. What is the best way to purchase tickets? Is there some kind of deal that I can get? I have heard of several day packets that you can buy to ride the subway which are much cheaper than having to buy seperate tickets each day. If someone can provide some insight on this matter I would appreciate it. Thanks!

Here. Navigate the link and you'll find everything about the subway system -

http://www.mta.info/nyct/index.html

kckirk~

When will you be in NY?

So, I am leaving tonight for NY and I just found out that it is supposed to rain for most of our trip...especially tomorrow and Sunday. This kinda throws a kink in my plans. Anyone have advice for cool things to do in Manhattan when it is raining? I was thinking the Met among other museums. What do you all think? Please help!!! Thank you.

>>>>>
she has seen there people I'm sure are famous but I've never heard of
>>>>>

huh?

I think I missed the OP before she left but to anyone else going to NYC, get yourself the laminated fold-up purse/pocket sized map from vandam.com. By far the best map I have ever used, and I've been through many of them. street names are big enough to read without my reading glasses! It includes subways and Manhattan. I got mine at Barnes and Nobles.