i was going to suggest the Highline also but see that wliwl has already mentioned it. DH, DD and I loved this walk, it will be fantastic if it is a nice day.

I always enjoy the Hudson River Park walk.

Agree that the Highline is quite cool and so unique!

Sardi's is a lot of fun and you should be able to get reservations early in the evening.

Thanks again everyone, the Highline looks really great! Hope we can fit that in also! @POMAH, very funny! :0) Will check out Sardi's as well as the menupages website. Great advice! I have heard that the east coast is much dressier and more formal than out here in the west; curious to see if that is true. We were also thinking of taking a tour of Rockefeller Center, anyone done that and how was it? Have a great weekend fellow travelers! :0)

Everyone wears black in NYC to hide the dirt. ; ) Hardly anyone dresses up anymore but we do when we're out on a 'big' Saturday night, which means black trousers and jacket or suit for him/simple LBD for me. Otherwise it's our 'good' jeans and collared shirt and sports jacket for my husband.

It's ok to miss Sardi's; its time has come and gone.

Just some randon ideas:

I was in the city the other day to see ONCE, (discounted at Times Square TKTS, wonderful, fantastic music and voices.) Had an enjoyable lunch sitting outside at tables on street there. A small casual vegetarian place on 8th and 43rd or 44th serving hummus, falafel etc looked good, i alreay had lunch but a departing patron told me the food was pretty good.

Free tours of Grand Central station.
Check out this site for free tours also:
http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/new-york-tours/
Another vote for Tenement Museum.
MUST walk Central Park, Shakespeare's Garden my favorite area.

Sardi's is a dinosaur - hasn't been popular since the early 60s. Not sure of your age group - sorry haven;t read the whole thread - but also you are too - find someplace a LOT trendier.

One major difference I noticed is that many people on the west coast wear shorts all the time. Naturally people in NYC do too - but for actually doing something in the park (biking, tennis) or just running around the neighborhood doing errands. To go to the theater or out to dinner - most men wear big boy clothes (long pants and a shirt with a collar) and women something nicer than jeans and giant white clown sneakers. Not dress up - but at least business casual. And yes, people wear a lot of black. Not to avoid dirt - but because is is generally flattering, stylish and a little more sophisticated. Bright pastels are NOT popular. But wear whatever colors you choose - I would never get new clothes for a trip unless some special event was involved.

Sardi's is not old fashioned. It's packed every time I pass by.
Check out Pier17/Fulton st. The fancy street restaurants might still be closed, but not inside.

Sardi's is packed with other tourists, it's true.

Black. Is. Black. And very practical...

Ooh, fun! You'll have no problem getting vegetarian food at pretty much any restaurant, but if you're in the East Village/Lower East Side (say, for the Tenement Museum), try to get a reservation at Dirt Candy. It's teeny tiny but spectacular.

Thanks again, I have copied all the suggestions to my notes for the trip. KRNS, I loved the free tours by foot site, going to try and take one or two of those! Also, EmilyPost, loved the menupages site, had not found that one before. As for the dress code, interesting to read your thoughts on here. The only place I am a bit concerned about is the ballet. Hopefully dressy black slacks and fancy top/jacket will work. My age group is active 50ish - the new middle age you know! :0)Will have to do a trip report when I get back, love reading those on here and want to pay it forward. :0)

As someone who's been attending NYCB for over 40 years do not worry about what to wear!
Anything goes there. I used to try to dissuade my husband from wearing a tie. So then, he
would look around the theatre and count ties. There were some but not many.

Dressy black slacks and your fancy top will work just fine at NYCB.

Um - why is 50s the new middle age. Wasn't it always middle age - from 50 to 70 or so?

IMHO seniors is form 70 to about 85 and older than that is elders.

Black pants and a nice top is fine for practically anything in NYC _ except possibly the best seats on the opening night of the opera - or a society event/benefit that requires formal wear.

My DH is a law firm partner and on a couple of committees - so we have to do 6 or 7 black tie events a year - but I still don't go the ball gown route - think it makes most women look like a faux Marie Antoinette. I stick to less foofy evening wear. And yes, it's almost always black. And I have a black velvet evening cape that is an antique - that I wear whenever it's cold weather. (I won't wear furs - and IMHO anything else with evening wear is too tacky - even if temps are in the 20's.)

What do you plan to do for all that time in Central Park? I would cut back on time there and add on for other sites.

The Morgan Library and Museum is lovely:
http://www.themorgan.org

Welcome, DoxyLover77! I like your itinerary and think the suggestions are sensible. Subway will get you north and south pretty quickly. Bus or cab will give you more view!

Sardi's may be old hat, but my husband and I made reservations for after a show and enjoyed it immensely. Don't know about their vegetarian fare, but Ellen's Starlight Diner (51st and Broadway) was great fun with singing wait staff. We were/are easily amused so do suit yourselves first!

We stayed a week but had to return twice to work down the list of things we really wanted to visit and still haven't seen them all.

Have a great time and please do a trip report.

Again, you'll have missed nothing if you miss a meal at Sardi's.

I love a LBD for almost everything at night in NYC.

Another fan here of the food tours mentioned by musicfan. We loved the Greenwich Village food tour and went on the Chelsea/Meatpacking District tour the next time we went back. This included a walk on the High Line.

Bought tickets for the Top of the Rock well in advance.

I thought that the two + hours spent at the MOMA was time truly well spent - loved it!!!

You may be interested in the Metropolitan Museum's current exhibit "Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity". I was at the Art Institute (in Chicago) recently and was disappointed to find out that Caillebotte's "Rainy Day" was not in it's usual spot - but you'll find it at the Met's Impressionism exhibit.

Two other places to check out if you have time: Grand Central Terminal and the New York Public Library.

And yes, wear black :-) and have fun!!!

there's really no need to buy TOTR tix in advance. We take everyone who comes to visit us up to the top and just buy tickets when we want to go. There's really no wait at all to get to the top, unlike the ESB lines that sometimes snake around forever.