DoxyLover77

Hi travel buddies! I am soon on my way to NYC for the first time, traveling with my husband. We live in Oregon and are going to Boston for a few days and then on to NYC. So excited! I would love any suggestions and advice you may have on my itinerary as follows:
May 3rd, Fri: Arrive in NYC by Acela train (2:45), check in Hotel Iroquois, Manhatten, Book of Mormon show @ 8:00. View Times Square.
May 4th, Sat: Sept. 11 Memorial, Tribute Center, 120 Liberty St., then Central Park, Tavern on the Green for lunch?
May 5th, Sun: Frick Collection Museum , Tour Rockefeller Center , Top of the Rock.
May 6th , Mon: Walk across Brooklyn Bridge, ride Staten Island Ferry
May 7th, Tues: Real NY Tours, Big Apple Tour (6 hr. walking tour).
May 8th, Wed: Open Day, Jersey Boys show at 7:00 pm
May 9th, Thur: The Cloisters Museum (9:30 am – 5:15pm), Tryon Park
May 10th , Fri: The MET art museum (closed Mon.,9:30am to 9:00pm), NYC Ballet
May 11th, Sat: Catch flight home from JFK Airport, leave in evening.
Does this seem reasonable? Any other suggestions of things to see/do? We are so disappointed not to go to Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty but it is going to be closed for a while yet according the website! Thank you all so much in advance for any input!
Happy Travels!!!

SueNYC

On May 4th Saturday - Tavern on the Green is closed . Rather than rushing uptown to visit Central Park I would consider the Tribeca Open Artists Studio tour AKA TOAST
toastartwalk.com

Having just returned from a tour guide's tour of the Brooklyn Museum (note there is an interesting replica of the SOL in the parking lot of the Brooklyn Museum ) and a stroll with friends in the Botanic Gardens next door, I would suggest that for Wednesday.

On Thursday I would consider doing both the Cloisters and the Met since your admission to 1 will get you in to the other on the same day (A train to Cloisters in morning and use the M4 to get back to the met or better yet do them both on Friday because the Met is open late. Instead of SOL and Ellis consider the African Burial Ground, the Tenement Museum and the Museum of the American Indian.

Have a great time whatever you do.

thestarryeye.typepad.com/explorenyc

nyer

I disagree with some of SueNYC's comments.

"Rather than rushing uptown to visit Central Park I would consider the Tribeca Open Artists Studio tour AKA TOAST
toastartwalk.com"

TOAST may be interesting to some, but how does it substitute for Central Park? And with a whole day, what's the big deal about "rushing uptown" to get from Lower Manhtattan to Central Park? It's a 15-20 minutes subway ride.


"Consider doing both the Cloisters and the Met since your admission to 1 will get you in to the other on the same day "

It's unnecessary to do these on the same day just to save money. You can pay what you wish to both, so if you're trying to save, just decide what you want to spend and divide it in half.

BTW, Tavern on the Green is permanently closed. It may read as if it's only closed on Sat Mat 4th.

There are many restaurants near CP and the Boathouse in the park, if you're interested. Tell us more about your likes and interests and budget. The actual dollar amount helps most, not just staying "moderately priced"

Gwendolynn

If you want to dine in Central Park check out The Boathouse. And, that's a great program
at NYCB.... do you have tickets already?

DoxyLover77

Wow, quick reply, thank you SueNYC! :0) I will definitely check out the tour and other suggestions. It is so hard to choose what to do in NYC, so many options! I was separating The Cloisters and MET as I Love art and was worried I would be too rushed to do them both in one day. Will re-think this, that would also give me more time for including one of the other options; the African Burial Ground sounds pretty interesting. I just discovered this site and it is such an awesome resource, thanks again for your help!

HappyTrvlr

Group Staten Is ferry with 9/11 Memorial as they are near each other.

DoxyLover77

Well, I guess I need to wait a while before responding, so happy to get all your input! My son is in NYC on business and has one day to spend with us (Sat.) before flying home. He wanted to see the Memorial and Central Park that day. Glad to know it is do-able. I will most definitely check out the Boathouse, sounds great. Do you need reservations at most restaurants in NYC? Yes, we have tickets to the two plays and the ballet - boy were they spendy, but I'm sure it'll be worth it! Been saving a while for that. :0) Thanks again for the advice, really appreciated!

SueNYC

Nothing wrong with Central Park on Saturday and on Sunday and Monday -- toast is there all 3 days but you will be in the neighborhood on Saturday

The Cloisters and Met could take 2 days -- but I would add the Hispanic Society, the Alexander Hamilton House and the Museum of the City of NY to your Cloisters day.

DoxyLover77

I hope it's OK to ask one other question on here, not sure if that should be a different thread or not. Any recommendations for vegetarian restaurants? I am guessing that in a big city like NYC there will be many vegetarian options on the menus. Also, if anyone recommends early dinner places in the theater district that would be great. I am busily reading all the trip reports and perusing other's questions for information as well. Can't get anything done once I get on here and start reading, so much good info! Thank you, thank you fellow travelers!!! :0)

Elainee

I love museums and have the benefit of living in NYC so my time is not that valuable, but Cloister, Met, Hispanic, A. Hamilton house, and Museum of CNY in one day. Wow! I cannot believe anyone could do all that and not collapse...I am exhausted just reading it.

palmettoprincess

I love the Cloisters but it is a tiny fraction of the Met. You probably could see what interests you in a morning. When you go to the Met check out the free guided tours. We enjoyed ours and it helped us navigate through the museum and make sense of the experience.

SueNYC

Elainee -- that's if she's going to split it into 2 days -- I confess I know one of the owners but E&E Grillhouse is right across from Book of Mormon and the food is great, the place is a nice find in the theatre district and they can and do do vegetarian (I know the vegetarian owner) -- also like Tolouche on 50th st

HappyTrvlr

Vegetarian: Blossom, 187 9th Ave, between 21st and 22nd Streets, West Chelsea.
I have found most restaurants are able to accommodate a vegetarian or have large salads on their menus.

doug_stallings

You should make reservations for dinner at all but the most casual places if you want to eat at a particular time. Of course, there are some restaurants you simply can't get into without one a month in advance. For lunch, you only need reservations at top spots.

musicfan

SueNYC already mentioned the Tenement Museum, but I really want to emphasize it--it's fascinating and I recommend it at every opportunity. It would be great on Wednesday which is your "open" day. You could also see Chinatown and Little Italy that day--DD and I did that on our trip last May and it made for a very full but interesting day.

www.tenement.org

Another suggestion is a food tour; we did their original tour, Greenwich Village, and really enjoyed it; I look forward to trying some of their other tours on future trips.

http://www.foodsofny.com/

Have fun!

sf7307

>>

I could not agree more!

DoxyLover77

Hi everyone, Great help and advice! I have noted the restaurants and will try them out. Loved the info on reservations also, thank you! Sounds like the Tenement Museum needs to go on the list as well. I do want to find some time to go shopping as I have been told NYC is the shopping capital of the US! :0) I think we will see Chinatown and Little Italy on our walking tour on Tuesday. I can already tell I will need to return to see even a fraction of things to do in this great city! I always try to leave some open time in case we don't make it to certain places due to timing, weather, etc. or just really want to return to a place we've seen. Thanks again!

wliwl

You didn't mention walking the High Line Trail -- it is fabulous. http://www.thehighline.org/ It starts at W 30th and 10th St, and goes down to Gansevoor St in the delightful West Village. Get off there, have a piece of fabulous NYC pizza at Joe's Pizza and a cupcake at Molly's and stroll around the west village.

A nice place for lunch near Central Park is Rue 57. Don't know what they have that's vegetarian, but I'm sure their menu is online.

POMAH

May 4th, Sat: Sept. 11 Memorial, Tribute Center, 120 Liberty St., then Central Park, Tavern on the Green for lunch?
===

TotG is temporarily closed. It will re-open after renovations. BTW, say it wasnt, would you really expect to get in with all the celebs, and Regis, and you being from Oregon?! I mean no one from Oregon ever gets into anywhere.

Try Sardi's or Patsy's, if you get bounced there is a 99c pizza place, and White Castle nearby.

EmilyPost

Some of the most popular restaurants will let you in if you get there Early. We ate at Babbo last month without a reservation at 6:30 on a Saturday night. I wouldn't recommend this approach if you have your heart set on a specific restaurant, but it's a possibility at times. Just don't expect the best table in the house!

Do you know about www.menupages.com? This website organizes restaurants by city, cuisine, meal, location, price. It's a great resource for finding restaurants and you can cross reference reviews with yelp.com for a pretty good overview.