I'm travelling with my 19 yr. old daughter to NYC in May. We are staying at the Marriott Marquis for 4 days. This is my second time to NYC and my daughter's first. We enjoy sightseeing, museums, history, theater and shopping. My head is spinning trying to decide where to start...a bus tour?...Statue of Liberty?...Soho?...Met?...Central Park?...
Which Broadway Shows?
Where is the best shopping?
Restaurants?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Statue of Liberty is closed, might open this summer but too late for you.

IMHO, your best bet would be the Gray Line all-loops tour, it's mostly hop-on-hop-off and tickets ar good for 2 days.

As you've noticed, 4 days is barely enough to get a taste of NYC. If you stop trying to even dream about a comprehensive visit, you'll have more fun both planning and visiting!

bbyo - Try to get a quick taste of the major NYC things, since you don't have that much time.

Broadway shows...Wicked is hot right now, If you're an ABBA fan at all, I'd do Mama Mia...It's great! For a different kind of theatre experience try Blue Man Group, Tony & Tina's Wedding or De la Guarda.

Museums - Check out the Met first. The Modern is being renovated and you have to schlep to Long Island City...You don't have time for that! Guggenheim is always kinda cool, just because of the corkscrew architecture. Met is a staple, just go there. Natural History Museum is also cool, just depends how much time you want to spend museuming, and how much you want to get a taste of the Big Apple.

Shopping...stroll down Madison Avenue and window shop. Check out Soho for cool shops to actually shop in.

Dine everywhere. My favorite areas are Grammercy Park, Union Square & West Village.

Pick up New York magazine for that week when you arrive and peruse the restaurant & entertainment listings when you arrive. You may find some unusual things that pique your interest.

Central Park is huge, try to pick one area you want to see. Central Park has a good website that describes what's offered at the different areas. Do some investigating before you arrive.

Also for nights, since I imagine you won't be hanging in bars with your 19 year old, check out the IMAX theatre near Lincoln Center, or take in a movie at the famous Zigfeld Theatre.

Above all, relax and enjoy! Trish

For one thing, there is a wealth of information right here on Fodor's - just click on "Destinations". Lots of info for seeing/doing, shopping, dining, and everything. You could do likewise at Frommer's, or any number of NYC tourism websites.

For theaters, you really should peruse Playbill.com just to see what's playing and what you might find most appealing.

There is an overwhelming plethors of "sightseeing, museums, history, theater and shopping" in NYC, only a small bit of which you could possibly hope to cover in four days.

I'd recommend heading to your local bookstore and picking up, at the very least, the Eyewitness and Access Guides.

Check out the Met on line and visit a couple of exhibits that appeal to you. It would be impossible to see it all and leave time for anything else. You may want to visit the Frick (near the Met) for a much smaller, but very enjoyable museum. Walk through the section of Central Park near the Dairy Bldg. and pick up some neat tee-shirts. There are some very good restaurants near the theater district. I recently ate at Gonzos in Greenwich Village and enjoyed it. Babbos is great (and expensive) for a special occasion. My favorite meal is a couple of Grays Papaya hot dogs on the upper west side. Shopping depends on whether you like the exclusive boutiques on 5th, etc. or the funky shops in Soho, Tribeca, etc. Shopping is fun everywhere! As posted above, find a book and select what appeals to you and save the rest for another trip. Don't forget comfy shoes and have a great trip.

B'way shows: just saw Avenue Q (it was great with 15 yr old--very funny) and kids love Hairspray (haven't seen it tho).
Shopping: Discount--Century 21, right near WTC site (odd, but site is empty now), Soho. Also Chinatown stalls (Canal St?) for every kind of knock-off imaginable. This was very popular with my teen
Great spot to visit: Ellis Island, get to see Lady Liberty via boat (if still can't get in). Have a great time!

To the top for bbyo.

Thank you to everyone for the great ideas. I tried to find this post earlier and couldn't, so I reposted. Sorry about that.

Don't worry, bbyo, this forum can move very quickly sometimes, making it hard to find your posts (especially when you're new to the forum.) Here's a tip to make it easier -- if you click on your name (upper left-hand corner or in your message itself), it will bring up all your previous posts. This forum is a great resource - have fun planning your NYC trip!

Let your daughter read through the play information on playbill.com and/or nytimes.com, and let her make some suggestions. One of these hop on/off bus tours would probably be fun. Since she's college age, definitely come down to the village area/Washington Sq Park. It's also NYU neighborhood and great for just walking around and poeple watching. From the village you can stoll down to Soho and check out some of the stores and galleries. Let your daughter do some homework of her own, and have some input on things to do and see.

Little Italy is an interesting area with great restaurants (we ate at Da Nico's and it was wonderful. Ask for the patio if it is nice outside). Wonderful for lunch. Then you can walk up through Greenwich Village to Columbia U and walk around that area. Up a bit from there is Balducci's Food Emporium (6th and 10th St I think), quite an interesting place to browse.

Also a place that we found interesting to see was Grand Central Station. Beautiful old building with lots of hustle and bustle.

For eating, if you don't want to stop and dine, there are great delis and pizza by the slice all over NYC. Also hot dog stands and knishes. The delis are great for sandwiches, chicken and macaroni salad, and muffins and fruit for breakfasts.

For theater, might want to try half price tickets by Times Square. You can get great shows for half price. Maybe not the BEST seats, kind of get what you get. But personally, never had a bad seat in a NY theater.

Have fun.