hobobeen

My husband and i are going to new york for 6 days staying at the Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca.
We want to see the highlights of NYC and walk the streets of the different areas to get a great feel of the place in our short space of time., as well as a bit of shopping, eating etyc etc
We are going to the book of mormons and a yankees game and will try to get a few restaurant bookings from open table.We are staying at the greenwich hotel in tribeca.
Can anyone help with an outline of how you would plan the days around keeping sights close together. I feel sure there must be someone who has a suggested itinerary but i can't seem to find it anywhere in the forum trip reports.

Heather

nytraveler

Without knowing you specific interests - or exactly when you will be going:

I hope you already have tickets to Book of Mormon and the Yankees - or they will be sold out (definitely and very probably respectively). If you don;t have them yet - plan on going to a scalper and paying big #.

To provide info on dining you need to tell us 1) what types of cuisine you like or dislike and 2) what your budget is - specific $ amount, not description - and if this is enree or a whole meal with drink of wine.

For sights:

Southern end of island - free Staten Island ferry and ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island Immigration Museum (you MUST get latter ferry tickets in advance to prevent a very long wait)

Also in south the 911 Memorial and Battery Park City

Slightly farther north - Chinatown (for eating or shopping for tschotkes), visit east village and west village to check out shopping and neighborhoods - lots of people watching in outdoor cafes - Tenement Museum (reserve tour in advance)

Farther north - Chelsea and SoHo - trendy shopping, dining and club and lots of galleries to tour

Midtown (34th to 59th St) - a major business district, Times Square (see it while you do Book of Mormon), Top of the Rock (much better then Emp State Bldg), Grnd Central Station, Main Branch Library, MoMA and Fifthe Ave shopping, St Pat's

Upper west side - explore neighborhood, great moderate dining, Mseum of Nat'l History & Planetarium, NY Historical Society, Central Park plus Zabars - and if you want great bkfts Barney Greengrass and Popover Cafe

Upper East Side - Museum Central - the Met, Guggenheim, Museum of City of NY, Museo del Barrio, Whitney , Frick and a bunch of others

Upper Manhattan - the Cloisters, Cathedral of St John the Divine, very colorful neighborhhoods in transition

That should keep you busy for several weeks.

hobobeen

Thank you so much. That will give me a great start! Will keep on researching and add to this.
Yes we have booked the tickets to the show and the yankees and have put in a request for a dinner for 2 to per se for a special celebration as well as laconde verde which is in the greenwich hotel. I am fearful of getting too booked up and not left with too much spontaneity.
We are coming in the middle of may...also hoping to go to a gospel brunch in harlem.
Is there anything else that i should consider an early booking for?
Many thanks once again

kathieAHPlanner

Hi,
The 9/11 Memorial is also free but you must book reservations and be there at a specific time.

You should also check out the hop on hop off bus
http://www.buynewyorktours.com/tours..._grayline.html

And the two New York passes
http://www.newyorkpass.com/
http://www.bestofnewyork.com/Sightse...sses/CityPASS/

I haven't found a free ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, but I did find a site where you could buy tickets at a specific date and time.
https://tickets.statuecruises.com

nytraveler - can you tell us
1) where to find a free ferry
2) why Top of the Rock is much better then Emp State Bldg?

Have fun hobobeen!
Kathie

ellenem

There is NO free ferry to the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island.

The free ferry is the Staten Island Ferry that goes past the Statue of Liberty, giving a reasonable view, but only goes back and forth to Staten Island.

The Top of the Rock is better than the Empire State Building because 1) the lines are much shorter, 2) only one elevator ride is required, therefore even less waiting, 3) you can see Central Park and points north better, and 4) perhaps most importantly, you can see the Empire State Building and take a great picture of yourself with the ESB in the background.

misha2

You are going to have such a great time! You don't need to book this in advance, but we really loved the tour below. I learned so much -- even though I'm from NYC.

http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/new-y...lking-tour.asp

propita

We were in NYC just 2 weeks ago. For the 9/11 Memorial, they were handing out tickets for that day outside the Visitor Center where you go to pick up reserved tickets--same time, too. We reserved the night before, last minute thing.

There's A LOT of waiting in line and security. Understandable, but you start feeling a bit herded.

I have a trip report, the second part covers NYC. We walked a lot of areas, across Central Park from one Museum to the other, then down 5th Avenue. Also from 9/11 area to Trinity Church and City Hall to Brooklyn Bridge. A little around Greenwich to get to/from Minetta Tavern, and lots around Midtown.

We used Knopff Mapguides, which were handy since the maps didn't have to be unduly unfolded, and could me marked with post-its to highlight

misha2

Oh yes, Locande Verde is terrific!

propita

We were in NYC just 2 weeks ago. For the 9/11 Memorial, they were handing out tickets for that day outside the Visitor Center where you go to pick up reserved tickets--same time, too. We reserved the night before, last minute thing.

There's A LOT of waiting in line and security. Understandable, but you start feeling a bit herded.

I have a trip report, the second part covers NYC. We walked a lot of areas, across Central Park from one Museum to the other, then down 5th Avenue. Also from 9/11 area to Trinity Church and City Hall to Brooklyn Bridge. A little around Greenwich to get to/from Minetta Tavern, and lots around Midtown.

We used Knopff Mapguides, which were handy since the maps didn't have to be unduly unfolded, and could me marked with post-its to highlight various locations.

janisj

Here is the link to propita's TR:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...dc-and-nyc.cfm

kathieAHPlanner

Thanks ellenem and janisj - we're going in 2 weeks and this is great information for me too! I'll be looking at ellenem's TR.

nytraveler

Sorry HoHo buses are IMHO a really bad idea. You see only the outside of a faw things, spend a lot of time sitting in traffic and they are very expensive.

The NY Passes are also a bad idea - it is practically impossible to go to enough places to make them pay - and despite promises they really don;t get you into places faster.

ggreen

Don't forget Brooklyn! Being based in Tribeca, it's not far for you to get to City Hall, where you can walk over the Brooklyn Bridge (crowded, but pretty nonetheless) to the artsy DUMBO neighborhood, or take the subway there and walk back. In DUMBO, there are some yummy food options, bars, and the famous Jacques Torres chocolates (mrchocolate.com). You also could do this after visiting the Financial District.

[As a local, I prefer the quieter Manhattan Bridge with its views of the Brooklyn Bridge; it also has the benefit of putting you in Chinatown on the Manhattan side if you're interested in in a meal there. However, it's certainly not picturesque like the BB.]

And of course there's plenty else to do in the borough! If you're interested in venturing there, I can provide lots more suggestions.

HappyTrvlr

On Franklin St, across from your hotel you'll see Thalassa, a wonderful upscale Greek seafood restaurant. And Locanda Verde, another favorite of ours, is located in your building.
Walk along the HudsonRiver Park either down to Battery Park or north to West Village,Meatpacking and Chelsea. When you get to 14th Street, climb the stairs or takemthe elevator up on the Highline Park for another terrific experience.

TC

You say you want to plan your trip to "keep the sights together". I suggest you get the book "ACCESS NY". Its a wonderful guide book that is put together by neighborhoods rather than the typical lay-out of restaurants in one section, hotels in another, things to do in a third. Each section starts out with a map of the area -- such as Tribeca, where you are staying. It will pinpoint the hotels, the resaurants, sights, shopping, theater, transportation, etc. street by street. Each number on the map corresponds with a description in that chapter of the book. It is so easy to see what is near your location, what is in any one section of town, where to eat once you're finished with a museum for example. This has always been my go-to travel book for NY.

Other good tools are the series of "Streetwise" maps or the "Red Maps".

If you have an iPad or iPhone, just look at the Maps App. It is a wonderful tool to see where you are and what is near ...and how to get there. Put in your hotel address for a start, then go in close to see what is nearby. You can do this by putting in the address of any tourist sight.

ACCESS guide:
http://www.amazon.com/Access-New-Yor...4607083&sr=1-1

Streetwise Maps NYC:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...twise+maps+nyc

Red Maps:
http://www.redmaps.com/about.html

kathieAHPlanner

nytraveler thanks for the replies on the HoHo buses and city passes. I was using the HoHo maps to determine where things were and how to put things together. We were planning on getting tickets for a HoHo because then I could advise my clients on whether they were worth it or not. But we're going to wait and see what the weather is supposed to be like.

I also found that the city passes would not be economical for us because we're only going to be there 2 days. Thanks for validating that for me - I thought I was missing something when I was adding up the prices of the individual tickets. But other people who were staying for more like a week did find them worth while.

TC thanks for the info on the Access Guides (I just ordered one) and maps. I'm sure those will be helpful.

hobobeen

Thank you all so much. Just going to order the access guide , just perfect I am thinking.
Will also plan to go to Brooklyn. Feeling way more organized now!! Can't wait! Thanks everyone. Hobobeen