Hi all,
Two moms and two young adult daughters going to NY City on July 11th. We would like to see Wicked and the sights of the town. We will be there July 11-16. We are staying in Times Square (got a great deal). Suggestions on things to do, and cheap Broadway tickets would be great!!! We are newbies to NY.
thanks in advance!

First, try reading past threads which cover NYC, including "things to do" and good source for Broadway tickets. It's difficult to make recommendations without knowing your interests - shopping, museums, etc., what kind?

I bought a copy of Fodor's New York City 2009 for my upcoming trip to NYC and it is one of the best guidebooks I've ever seen (and I've seen loads). Do yourself a favor and get a copy--it will pay for itself many times over.

HTTY

Re the guidebook, an added bonus is that Aduchamp1 is quoted in it!

thanks all, I should clarify. Want to see the tourist attraction types of things, a little shopping (not a priority), maybe one museum and 1-2 shows.
Holly

Holly, there are dozens of museums in NYC; we can't choose one for you.

Thank you BSpielman, but becasue of my quote the book might be banned from the finer book emporia.

Hollyb-

As often stated on these boards, half the fun is in the planning. See what you might want to see then the advice would be tailored to your likes.

If you can do only one museum do the Met - it's the greatest cultural institution in the western hemisphere. go to the web site in advance and pick out 4 or 5 departments - seeing more than that at once will make it a blur.

For ticket discounts go now to broadwaybox.com to see which shows have discounts, take the codes and go to the online ticket seller to get tickets. You'll have a better choice now and if you wait until you get here to go to the TKTS discount booth you'll have to stand on lone lines and may have trouble getting 4 seats together. Don;t know if Wicked is discounting at all now.

As to what else to do:

Top of the Rock/Rock Center/St Pat's
Central Park
Staten Island ferry (free and great view of the SOL going out and NYC skyline coming back)

And visit some of the residential areas to have dinner (upper west side, village, lower east side) - much better choices at reasonable prices and lots of sidewalk cafes - unlike midtown which is usually more upscale and big $ to boot.

If you tell us special intersts people can make other recos.

Wicked is never discounted and a hard ticket to get. Buy them asap from the official website if you can.

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_...955A7EDFBC2%7D
"The Model as Muse" exhibition at the Met is really good. I definitely recommend it for your group.

Also, The Lower East Side Tenement Museum is very interesting. Get tickets in advance, or you'll have to wait. All the tours are good--just pick what fits in your schedule. www.tenement.org

"In the Heights" (Broadway) is good, and you might be able to get discount tickets for it.

I was just in NYC and ate here: http://www.kefirestaurant.com/
Really good food and not terribly expensive.

LOVED In the Heights. I enjoyed it more than Wicked. How old are the girls?

Thanks ya'll, any info is great for us. By the way, the girls are 19.

An option: look up "food tours nyc" and see the different tours. I found these tours were great ways to see a certain section of the city (ie tours of Meatpacking, Soho, Greenwich Village, etc) while having the opportunity to have food tastings from great restaurants/cafes/shops and learn history some history. It was a way to find out things that one wouldn't necessarily draw from a guide book.

Maybe a carriage ride around Central Park (usually about 30 min) for that quintessential first view of the park

Circleline run a variety of cruises around the harbour that not only provide great views but offer great history and background on the skyline and history of NYC.

ABC Carpet and Home is a pretty funky store at 888 Broadway (Flatiron district - Broadway and 19th street) - I was blown away by it when I first moved to NYC. So many levels, so many things to see, and so beautifully appointed.

Have fun!

I just returned from a NYC trip with my mom and my 14-year-old daughter. We saw "Mama Mia," which I thought was a fun "girl" show to see. Ordered my tickets through broadwaybox.com (from a recommendation on Fodor's), and was very pleased with the experience. We went to the Top of the Rock at night. The view was great, but I would recommend doing it in the day to truly appreciate what you are seeing.

My daughter enjoyed wandering around SoHo and shopping the most. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge (from Brooklyn to Manhattan -- again thanks for recommendations here), which I really enjoyed. We were going to take the NBC Studio Tour, but it was sold out. I recommend reserving it one or two days ahead of when you want to take it.

One thing we all enjoyed was an hour of quiet sitting and people watching in Central Park. We went to the MoMA, but my daughter was unimpressed with the art there. I would try the Met over MoMA for a first visit. We did enjoy the sculpture garden there, however. It was a nice break from the city hub-bub.

Enjoy your trip. We loved it there.

since you are right near Time Sq...a good visitor center is right near TKS (some theatre tickets 1/2 price) it is in old movie theatre with a great history...ask a a police person. Check the visitor center information and lots to see and visit right within walking area of where you are located...

Since it's your first trip you might want to stick to the classics -- Met Museum, Top of the Rock, shopping on a walk down 5th, Ferry, Central Park -- but if you want to do stuff that's a little more interesting, I'd second the Lower East Side Tenement Museum which gives a wonderful sense of the city's history. You might let us know what your girls are interested in? As someone else mentioned, there are 100s of museums so narrowing down would be helpful.