Hello,

My wife and I are traveling to Africa via New York. We arrive in NY La Guardia at 11am and are staying in the Times Square vicinity. I'm looking to get feedback on our itinerary for the day (is it feasible, too much all at once, etc...). Both of us have been to NY before, we are young and willing to walk quick, and know we will go back again some day with more time, so we aren't worried about "missing" anything. The main thing we'd enjoy seeing is the Brooklyn Bridge since neither of us have seen it before.

Arrive Leave Place
11:02 11:45 Flight lands
12:45 1:00 Arrive hotel
1:30 3:00 Cab to Central Park (eat lunch in park)
3:30 4:00 Walk to and around Rockefeller Center
4:00 4:20 Walk to and around Empire State Building (not going up it)
4:40 5:30 Walk to and around Flatiron building / Shake Shack pit stop
6:00 7:00 Walk to and around Greenwhich Village (probably won't have time)
6:00 7:00 Brooklyn Bridge (want to see this in the daylight)
8:00 Whenver Walk around Times Square and grab dinner

I assume it will be good to do that much walking between 2 flights

What time of the year is this? And what day of the week? What airport and how are you planning on getting into Manhattan? you might not be in your hotel as quickly as you think

Comments: are you planning on picnicking in the park? And you can probably get to the park faster by subway (or more walking )

Shack Shack can take a surprisingly long time, even at odd hours. Wait of up to an hour happens sometimes.

I would take a train from Empire State Building down to Brooklyn Bridge. Save some energy. Most people start at the Brooklyn side and walk acrosss into Manhattan.

Food in Times Square isn't necessarily the best, so try to have some specific places in mind so you don't get stuck eating at the overpriced Olive Garden . Actually, there's a new Shake Shack in the neighborhood .

Thanks for the rapid fire response . We are going in a week so we will be there on September 9th (Thursday). We are coming in through La Guardia. We land at 11:02 so I figured 45 minutes to get bags and 1 hour to the Wyndham Garden Hotel - Times Square South hotel via taxi. I was thinking the Queensborough bridge would get us there fastest at that time of day? Maybe not realistic?

We were going to just get something to go for lunch and eat it in the park (just an idea) but are open to any other better suggestions!

Good tip on Shake Shack...that was just an idea to grab a shake (not something we usually do!) Sounded fun. Good to know there is one in Times Square too.

I will look into the train from the Empire State Building down to the bridge. We started at Central park because it seemed like a better starting point given our hotel is in the Times Square area and therefore closer to Central Park. We could reverse everything as well if you think that would be better.

Good tip on the Times Square thing. We want to have a nice meal before our long flight but we won't have any dressier clothes since we are going to Africa! Any recommendations? I've been searching on Yelp.

Oh and I'm starting to browse http://newyork.seriouseats.com/ for other food ideas as well.

The Queensborough Bridge is faster if the cabbie knows the route.

To save time I would have half a sandwich and soup. (just kidding)

I am also not sure what you expect to eat in the park. You could find something on Columbus or Amsterdam and then head into the Park.

If you want to see the Brooklyn Bridge during the day, then I would head there first.

Take the R train from City Hall to Prince Street and that will be SOHO and then you can walk directly into the West Village or just get off at 8th Street and head west.

Rock Center and Times Square are within easy walking distance.

You're bouncing around the city too much. First uptown, then midtown, then downtown then back to midtown. and you're not leaving enough time for some things and other are a waste. (From the ground the ESB looks like nothing - just the side of a building. If you want to really see anything you should ascend Top of the Rock - you should really do it anyway to get an overview.

Also I don't see where your hotel is - which could change the order of things.

And while I applaud the walking - we often walk several miles after lunch on Sunday to work it off - you are doing too much walking and should hop a subway for some of the longer distances.

Cool good advice nytraveler. Here's the address of the Wyndham:
341 West 36th Street | between 8th and 9th Ave. | New York City, New York

Can youse do us a favor when in Africa, pick up the the money that has been offered us , in CASH and bring it back to a Fodors GTG location wil be determined later thanx.

Your hotel is very close to the Shake Shack in Times Square (it's on 8th ave, between 43rd and 44th.) If you're only getting a shake, and not a concrete or food, I believe you can get in an alternate line that's much shorter.

Did you have a specific place in Central Park you wanted to go? If not, you could grab lunch at the Whole Foods in Columbus Circle (not local, but relatively reasonable and a good variety) and enter the park at Central Park South and 8th. Otherwise, there's a Shake Shack on the Upper West Side - Columbus Ave and 7th. You could take the subway up there, get lunch, and then head to the park. The UWS location usually has a shorter line.

You could do Rock Center when you're back in Midtown at the end of the day, after dinner -- unless you were planning on shopping. For dinner, you could head to 9th Ave in Midtown. Lots of reasonably priced restaurants with casual dress codes.

Enjoy your trip!

That seems like way too much to do, although I admire your ambition!

Skip the Empire State Building. If you're not going up to the top, there's no reason to walk by it. The neighborhood around it is unremarkable.

Skip the Shake Shack. All of them. To be honest, I've never been to the original in Madison Square Park. But I've been to the new one in the Upper East Side, and for complicated reasons, I tried a burger and three different shakes. The food ranged from sub-par to terrible. If the shakes are this bad at the original place, you shouldn't buy one, even if a genie appears, magically transports you to the front of the line, and offers to buy you whatever you want. If you do have your heart set on a shake, I've heard good things about Island Burgers and Shakes, which is near Times Square on Ninth Avenue. http://island.ypguides.net/ Disclaimer: I've never been there myself.

If I were doing an aggressive multi-neighborhood maximum-touristic-intensity walking tour, I'd do it like this: from the hotel, take the 1 train from 34th and Seventh Avenue up to 79th street, and get a bagel with lox at Zabar's (if a Zabar's bagel isn't worth going out of the way for you, then take the C train from Penn Station to 72nd Street, walk one block west to Columbus, and grab a picnic lunch somewhere). Walk into Central Park at the 72nd Street Transverse, and eat lunch in the park, perhaps at Hernshead, or ideally on one of the benches in the Ramble that face Hernshead and Central Park West. Walk down through the Park, passing Bethesda Fountain and the Mall, and try to go over the Bow Bridge if you can figure out how to find it. Walk out of the park at the southeast corner, and keep walking by the flagship Apple Store, Rockefeller Plaza, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Stop at the Museum of Modern Art if you're so inclined. You could then keep walking to Times Square. Alternatively, you could then set out for the Brooklyn Bridge. Times Square is best seen by night, so you could make that your final destination before you return to your hotel.

I'd skip the Flatiron area. You'll be doing well if you can fit in even one non-midtown neighborhood, and you want to go to the Brooklyn Bridge. If you do want to work in another downtownish neighborhood, I'd say Greenwich Village is considerably more interesting than the Flatiron area. Although you've been to NY before, so maybe you have other preferences.

If you want to eat right around Times Square, I think your best bet is probably Virgil's BBQ: http://www.virgilsbbq.com/ But only do that if you feel like being caught up in a massive tourist swarm.

If I were around Times Square, dressed casually, and wanted a real foodie-type dinner, I'd go to Esca: http://www.esca-nyc.com/ Mario Batali's Southern Italian seafood restaurant. Make a reservation ASAP, and keep in mind that it can get crowded pre- and post-theater. Although I suppose you may not be in the mood to enjoy a plate full of tentacles in a complex vinaigrette the day before a major transcontinental trip.

Your hotel isn't exactly in Times Square. It's in a somewhat seedy area approaching the Port Authority Bus Terminal. It's a fantastic neighborhood for procuring two things: pornography, and absolutely anything related to photography. The greatest photography store I've ever seen is just a few blocks from your hotel: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ If you need any camera stuff for your trip, definitely stop there. Even if you don't need anything, it's an amazing experience just to walk through there, if you're into cameras at all.

You aren't actually staying that close to Times Square. Your hotel is actually near the Empire State Building (perhaps a 10-minute walk). I'd skip that walk-by during the day because it's just a distraction and perhaps consider going up around 10 or 11pm for a nighttime view of the city (also, there's no way to do that block in only 10 minutes ... too many crowds during the day). Going up at night might actually be worth the exorbitant entry fee, and it can be easily skipped in lieu of a beer at Heartland Brewery (also in the ESB) if the line looks too long.

RE: Shake Shack. I love it, but if the line is an hour long, it's just not worth it. NOTE: You have to stand in the long line to get a shake, but you can go in the extraordinarily shorter "B" line to get a concrete (Why I don't know). That's expensive (around $6), but tasty. Like a DQ Blizzard. You could certainly go to the Shake Shack near Times Square.

I'd change up the order of your itinerary but still go to most of the same places.

What I'd do is to take the SUBWAY (absolutely not a cab) to 23rd Street (R Train); you will walk by Macy's this way but not the ESB. Then get a more unique kind of sandwich like a Vietnamese banh mi at Baoguette on Lexington Ave. between 25th/26th. Then eat that in Madison Square Park. If the line at Shake Shack doesn't look too long, have a concrete or shake. Then head down to City Hall on the 6 Train and walk the Brooklyn Bridge. Come BACK to Rock Center after the bridge and see if the line is horrendously long at MOMA (it's open late on Thursday). Then have dinner on 9th Ave. and head to the ESB to check out the line, and then back to collapse in your bed.

If you go to the Shake Shack near Times Square, they have a C line for custards and shakes. Every time we've done this, there's been no one on the C line so it's really quick.

These suggestions are all fantastic! I'll probably look to do some hybrid of the various suggestions that suit our tastes. We both really appreciate the thought and insight into making the most of this short time!!!

Eventually when I get back from Africa (nearly a month later) I'll come back and try and post what we did in case it helps others that might be trying to do something similar to this.

I made reservations at the seafood place (Esca) but I'm wondering if anyone has any Italian food recommendations that would be within walking distance of our hotel (address is: 341 West 36th Street | between 8th and 9th Ave). I was looking at one called Basilica ( http://www.yelp.com/biz/basilica-restaurant-new-york )

We are trying to find a restaurant that would be similar in style (casual but nice) and price ($30-40 pp) to Bacco in Boston (which was recommended to us previously by someone on Fodors). http://www.bacconorthend.com/

A friend of mine recommended Cafe Tasia in Greenwhich Village
http://www.cafetasia.com/

Not in the area I was planning to be but that is fine since it's just a 15-20 minute subway ride.

We will probably try that one out or Basilica.