ChicagoDallasGirl

So, I'm putting together an itinerary for my best friend's 41st birthday weekend. It's her first visit. Already booked air, hotel and theater tickets! We'll be in town on Friday by noon (flight arrives LGA at 10:15) and we'll leave around 3 p.m. on Sunday. (staying in LIC so our nearest subway line is N)

This is what I've got so far:

Friday

+ Head to hotel and attempt early check-in/leave bags
(What's the best way to get to Holiday Inn Manhattan View from LGA?)

+ Yellow Line N transfer to Orange F for Top of the Rock and lunch
(Any suggestions on good eateries in this area? We like most anything.)

+ Red Line #1 to WTC, Ferry to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty

+ Red Line #1 Walk to Times Square, explore (Any dinner suggestions?)

Saturday

+ Yellow Line N to Gree Line(?) for Harlem walking tour and lunch
(of course would like restaurant recommendation here, too. maybe a good soul food diner?)

+ Back south for brief visit to Central Park before heading back to hotel

+ Yellow Line N to 49th Street for theater performance and dinner(?)

Sunday

Have no idea here... What could we do and make it back to hotel by 3 p.m. pick up bags and taxi to LGA?

ChicagoDallasGirl

Oops. Neglected to say this trip is in October.

ellenem

Friday--I think your plan for this day is ambitious.

+ What's the best way to get to Holiday Inn Manhattan View from LGA?
>Taxi. If you feel you need to economize, take the M60 bus to Astoria Blvd and transfer to the N train.

+ Yellow Line N transfer to Orange F for Top of the Rock
> I think it is a waste of time to transfer to the F. Just take the N train to 49th St and walk the extra block. (And don't bother to refer to train lines by colors. Few NYers will understand what you are talking about. Just use the letter or number.)

+ Red Line #1 to WTC, Ferry to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty
> Or you could return to the 49th St stop and take the R train to Whitehall St to reach the ferries. Make a reservation for the ferry but be prepared for long lines. Personally, I would want to take a morning ferry. Based on your itinerary so far I wouldn't expect you to get to the ferries until 2 or 3 PM which would give you limited time.

+ Red Line #1 Walk to Times Square, explore (Any dinner suggestions?)
> The 1 train stops at Times Square. When you come up the stairs, you will be there. Head to Ninth Avenue for better dinner choices. Since you will be in Times Square on Saturday night, I suggest you explore a different neighborhood for dinner this night, perhaps Greenwich Village (East or West) for a different feel of the city. N train to 8th St or 1 train to Christopher would take you to either area.

Saturday

+ Yellow Line N to Gree Line(?) for Harlem walking tour and lunch
(of course would like restaurant recommendation here, too. maybe a good soul food diner?)

+ Back south for brief visit to Central Park before heading back to hotel
> If your tour finishes on the east side, take the 4, 5, or 6 trains to 59th St. You will arrive under Bloomingdales which may be of interest. Then walk west on 59th to Fifth Ave and you'll be at the SE corner of the park, near many of its famous sights, including the zoo, carousel and mall.

+ Yellow Line N to 49th Street for theater performance and dinner(?)
> I would walk there from the south end of the park so you can experience more of the city.

Sunday

Have no idea here... What could we do and make it back to hotel by 3 p.m. pick up bags and taxi to LGA?
> What are your interests? You haven't mentioned shopping or museums or art . . . any particular interests for your friend?

ChicagoDallasGirl

Wow, Ellen! Thanks for the wealth of feedback.

Ok. I will stop referring to subway line colors. So used to that with the L in Chicago...

I LOVE the idea of exploring Greenwich on Friday rather than TS. Should we consider switching ferry to Saturday morning (which I think would give us more time to stop by WTC area) and visit Harlem Friday afternoon before Greenwich? Or, would that still be too ambitious?

Honestly, I think my friend will enjoy just being in NYC walking and exploring. On such short schedule, I don't think we'd have time for any museums (which I like). We might enjoy some street vendor/storefront type shopping. I remember on my first visit my colleagues and I went to an area near Houston Street where we found lots of inexpensive shops before making our way to Zara. I was so in love with that store as it was such a neat, new shopping experience for me.

I digress. Sorry. We're both kinda foodies. Not the snooty kind, but the get into the neighborhood and eat where the locals eat kind, if that makes any sense.

So other than some light shopping and eating, I'm not sure. We both love history and learning about history-makers. Are there any so-and-so used to live here kind of tours?

vjpblovesitaly

It's Greenwich Village or the Village, not Greenwich

ChicagoDallasGirl

I think Paula knows what I mean. ;-)

ChicagoDallasGirl

Um, that would be Ellen. he he he Paula gave us the great lead to even consider hotels in LIC. Sorry, Ellen. Something told me to just move on...

Elkaz

If going to the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island is important to you it would be very beneficial if you RESERVE ferry tickets in advance. This means you only have to go to the Security line, versus security and purchase ( if available) ticket line! Also, the earlier you go, the shorter the security line. People who leave Manhattan after 2PM are advised that they will not have time to visit both places.

http://www.statuecruises.com/ferry-service/welcome.aspx

travelbuff

Since you are only going to be here for a few days, I think spending all that time going to the Statue of Liberty is a big chunk of your time, unless you are on the very first ferry of the day, and weekends tend to have LONG LINES.

I'd suggest taking the Staten Island Ferry instead but at dusk so you get to see the amazing site of the lights coming up in the city on your way back to Manhattan, and the lights around the Statue of Liberty. That will only take about an hour, instead of 4 or 5 going to SOL/EI.

Also you can certainly add one of the museums to your trip, like The Met or the MOMA, or even the Museum of Natural History. If you do The Met (and that would be my first suggestion), a beautiful view of the city is on the top in the garden, and you can get something to drink and enjoy the view. If you are here just after Columbus Day you should get some great fall colours as well.

We have 10,000 restaurants in Manhattan, so you won't have a problem finding something good to eat, wherever you go. Columbus Ave north of Lincoln Center is one of my fav haunts, more than one restaurant per block so find one full, with food you like and you've picked a winner. Also you might want to pick up a Zagat Guide while here, so you know all the good restaurants wherever you end up in the city, and a nice keepsake to remember by.

Downtown, stop by Fraunces Tavern one of the oldest restaurants in the city, good food, and a fun bar.

In Chinatown, a fav restaurant there is Peking Duck House on Mott St (the peking duck is amazing there) or Dim Sum at Mandarin Ct, also on Mott St.

From there wander up through Little Italy for a decadent desert and coffee.

If you are on a "tour" in Harlem, that's great, if it is on your own, there are parts of Harlem that are not great so be aware. Also Sylvia's Restaurant is probably best known, which is just off 125th St the center of Harlem. (I live about 20 blocks north of there).

Hope this helps and have a GREAT TIME.

sf7307

A 2-day trip is simply too short to spend your time visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island -- you could easily spend 4 or 5 hours visiting Ellis Island alone. If you just want to see the Statue of Liberty, you could take the [free] Staten Island Ferry -- get on, take it across and when it gets to Staten Island, just turn around and come back.

nytraveler

Please do not refer to the subway lines by color. They can be called either by their number or letter (the A train or the #1) or by their designation (Lex Ave Express or Broadway local). The trouble with the colors is

1) New Yorkers never use them and would have no idea of what you meant if you asked a question

2) The same color line goes to different places outside of Manhattan (and often on weekends when track repair work is done)

To avoid getting lost you need the specific number or letter of the train and if you are heading uptown or downtown (at local stops the up and down lines usually have different exists and entrances - although at express stop they are often share entrances).

ChicagoDallasGirl

Elkaz, travelbuff, and sf7307 I really appreciate you providing such pertinent and informative responses! Fodorites like you are what keep this engine moving!

Travelbuff, thanks for the well wishes. You've got me excited about our dining options. Wondering if there's a not to be missed pizzeria near the stops on our itinerary. SF, I think your suggestion to ferry over to the SOI and back is a good one. Will chat with my friend to be sure, but I think she'll prefer this as well.

FWIW, with two warnings to not refer to subway line colors, I think we're good. What could be an even more helpful tip for anyone who may come across this thread in their planning is to visit MTA's website. www.mta.info I've already downloaded a pdf of the subway map and the N train schedule. Very handy!

Austin

I'd remove Statue of Liberty. WAAAAY too much time for such a short trip. IF you must see it this time, just stay on the ferry.

I would also do something other than Harlem walking tour. I think an afternoon in the Village is much more fun and "NY". I would have dinner at Alta on W. 10th (Not Alto) and then head to the Comedy Cellar on MacDougal. OR, go to the early show at Comedy Cellar and then to Alta, depending on your preferences. Both need reservations. This will definitely be a much more fun day and evening, guaranteed.

bachslunch

For Harlem, I would not at all recommend eating at Sylvia's. I found the food there to be painfully mediocre at best, and the place has a reputation as a tourist trap. There are two places in this area of town where I've had notably better food experiences:

-Amy Ruth's. The thing to get here is "anything with waffles." Located on West 116th Street.

-Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too. Very much liked their smothered chicken with sides the time I went. They're on West 110th Street, not far from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

ChicagoDallasGirl

Austin, agree. A turn around to SOI would be best. Harlem is the only must for my friend.

Bachslunch! Thanks for the restaurant suggestions! We definitely want to avoid tourist traps. Amy Ruth's sounds like a perfectly delicious option.

mclaurie

There are lots of different cruises that would take you past the Statue of Liberty and get a lot closer to it than the Staten Island ferry. Some leave from midtown so you'd have less traveling from LIC to get there. NYwaterway.com does a 90 min. cruise during the day at at sunset that leaves from 38th st. & the Hudson River. They also have combo ticket promotions with Empire state and Top of the Rock.

John's pizzeria is one of the more famous pizza places. They have several locations, one near Times Square on west 44th st. in a converted church and the other, the original location (where some say the pizza is better) on Bleecker st. in Greenwich village. Since I don't think they take reservations for 2 people, I wouldn't try doing dinner there in Times Square before a show. I'd do the one in the village. http://www.johnspizzerianyc.com/index2.htm Lombardi's is another iconic pizza place with only one location in the village on the edge of Little Italy.

What show are you seeing?

On Sunday, if you're into flea markets, there are several that start early.

ChicagoDallasGirl

The cruise sounds nice, mclaurie. Will click link in a moment. The pizza options are just what I was looking around and saw Lombardi's but wasn't sure it was truly a good spot or one of many claiming greatness.

BTW, where was your profile pix taken? Looks like my kind of place.

ChicagoDallasGirl

We are seeing Fela!

bachslunch

For pizza, will second John's and also suggest Grimaldi's (in Brooklyn, not far from the Brooklyn Bridge). These would be my two choices for pizza in NYC as a tourist, but note well that there's plenty of dissenting opinion on the subject here and elsewhere. Nick's (Upper East Side) also does a very worthy pie.

Much as I loved, loved, loved the pizza slices I had the one time I went to Di Fara Pizzeria (also in Brooklyn, and the best pizza I can recall eating), everything else about the place is so pain-in-the-butt high maintenance that I can't in good conscience suggest them.

Lombardi's was in my experience good, but I preferred the pizza put out at the other four spots mentioned, and that's true to an extent for Totonno's for me. Note well that except for Di Fara and Patsy's (which I did not care for), none of the top reputation pizzerias sell by the slice -- whole pies only.

travelbuff

What in Hsrlem are you looking to see? 125st is the "center of Harlem, and lots of shopping there, and of course the Appolo Theatre. There are a few beautiful streets that are National Landmark Sts, and a little further north (closer to me) is City College on Amsterdam and 135th. Convent Ave is one of those beautiful streets, mostly landmark buildings(Hamilton Heights area) and we have a few other landmark buildings dating back to pre revolution days.

The best suggestion you have already gotten is to get a map of the city so you can plan out your time, so you spend it seeing things instead of traveling.