New York Itinerary
Jan 11th, 2011, 09:27 AM
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New York Itinerary
We are planning our first trip to New York with our adult kids and boyfriends(20-25) on Wednesday, May 18. We are staying at the Muse Hotel and are looking for an Itinerary for our 6 day stay. First, what do we do the first night for the WOW factor? Top of the Rock? a casual dinner that night? Does anyone have an itinnerary for the next few days. We want the tourist sights but also some local hangouts at night.
Jan 11th, 2011, 09:38 AM
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Hi Joy, welcome to the board. The Muse is a great location. I think you'll get some Wow factor just by walking outside to Times Square. Give us a little more information for better help. What I might like, you might hate. I just returned from 4 days at the Muse, but my emphasis is alwaysnon theater. What would you like? Theater, museums, nightlife, fine dining?
Jan 11th, 2011, 09:58 AM
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We are looking for at least two shows; Wicked and The Lion King?; I would love to see MOMO, but what about The Frick? We will probably like to cocktail and tour at the same time. Would like a dance club maybe some live blues, a special fine dining evening and then the casual eats too. We are all really fit and able walk and get around. Oh yeah, Little Italy for dinner would be great and Soho or China town. Is that too much too ask? Thanks in advance.
Jan 11th, 2011, 10:45 AM
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In general, it would be a good idea to consult a map of Manhattan and pinpoint the locations of the places you hope to visit. Then plan your days geographically, exploring the neighborhoods near the sights you want to visit.
Wicked and The Lion King are virtually never offered at a discount, so you might as well check ticket availability now for the time of your visit.
By "MOMO" did you mean MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) or MMA (Metropolitan Museum of Art)?
Top of the Rock is a great idea, but you should wait until you are in NYC to decide what day to go--you don't want to go on a cloudy or rainy day. Top of the Rock offers a well-priced combined ticket with MoMA.
Wicked and The Lion King are virtually never offered at a discount, so you might as well check ticket availability now for the time of your visit.
By "MOMO" did you mean MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) or MMA (Metropolitan Museum of Art)?
Top of the Rock is a great idea, but you should wait until you are in NYC to decide what day to go--you don't want to go on a cloudy or rainy day. Top of the Rock offers a well-priced combined ticket with MoMA.
Jan 11th, 2011, 11:55 AM
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I agree that you need to pick up a book or two on NYC so you have some idea of all the things to do and see.
The city can be more easily seen by the divide and conquor concept.
I'd start downtown, see Wall St, see the phoenix that is going to be the New World Trade Center, stop at St. Paul's Chapel for the memorial there, Century 21 for some shopping, see City Hall and the Woolworth Building (1st Skyscraper). Stop at the TKTS booth in the South St. Seaport for 1/2 price tickets that evening.
From there walk up to Chinatown and get some Dim Sum lunch or a FAVORITE of mine in Chinatown if the Peking Duck House and for a WOW factor get the Peking Duck. (YUM)
From there walk up Mott St to Canal and look to your left for Little Italy walk up through and find a great place for desert.
From there walk up and see Old St. Pats, wander that area, since you are in SoHo. From there walk up to Houston St and head left and wander through The Village (find Bleeker St for some nice cafes).
That should take a day of alot of walking and visiting.
Enjoy your visit.
The city can be more easily seen by the divide and conquor concept.
I'd start downtown, see Wall St, see the phoenix that is going to be the New World Trade Center, stop at St. Paul's Chapel for the memorial there, Century 21 for some shopping, see City Hall and the Woolworth Building (1st Skyscraper). Stop at the TKTS booth in the South St. Seaport for 1/2 price tickets that evening.
From there walk up to Chinatown and get some Dim Sum lunch or a FAVORITE of mine in Chinatown if the Peking Duck House and for a WOW factor get the Peking Duck. (YUM)
From there walk up Mott St to Canal and look to your left for Little Italy walk up through and find a great place for desert.
From there walk up and see Old St. Pats, wander that area, since you are in SoHo. From there walk up to Houston St and head left and wander through The Village (find Bleeker St for some nice cafes).
That should take a day of alot of walking and visiting.
Enjoy your visit.
Jan 11th, 2011, 01:36 PM
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All good suggestions. You might try one of the half day city tours. It will give you a decent overview and then you can decide which areas look interesting enough for a return. Not sure if they will let you "cocktail and tour at the same time" though.
A good guide book is ACCESS NY because it is organized by areas, so its easy to decide what you can and cannot see in a day.
A good guide book is ACCESS NY because it is organized by areas, so its easy to decide what you can and cannot see in a day.
Jan 11th, 2011, 01:50 PM
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Unless you really love modern art I would do the Met versus MoMA - although in the time you have you can do both if you want to be heavy on museums.
I would start by organizing things that should be done in advance (if you want to do them).
Wicked and Liion King don;t discount so buy tickets now ifyou want to go - esp if you are a larger groupa nd want to sit together.
If you want to do the Statue of Liberty (climb to the top) get tickets now - it sells out far in advance. Ifyou don;t wnat to climb but do want to see - get ferry tickets now - the waiting line can be hours if you don't have advance tickets. If you want to do SoL and Ellis Island Immigration Museum (brilliant) you need to allow about 6 hours - including the ferries to and fro, If all you want is a view of the SoL get it via either the free Staten Island ferry (every 15 minutes or so 24/7 and gives you a fantastic view of the Manhattan skyline on the way back - esp at night) or via one of the Circle Line cruises. (You must do at least one boat trip in the harbor.)
For clubs - trendy is VERY difficult to get in - even if young, gorgeous and trendily dressed - impossible if you older unles famous. But there are a lot of other non-trendy clubs that are both esier to get into and don;t require several $300 bottles to hold a table. Check Time Out New York online to see who is having what type of music when.
For dining - what is you budget? For special do you mean Per Se at $500 per couple - or just one of the excellent places at $250 or so? And what types of food do you like or dislike?
For all sights I reco going to the web site in advance to confirm opening days and hours and pick out what you want to see/do (almost any one of the museums can take days - so you need to pick 2 or 3 departments to focus on).
As for WOW - for me Times Square is much more ICK! But I know some people love it. I much prefer some of the beautiful places in Central park or the view from the top of someting - or the skyline coming in from LGA at night. (Or the view from the plane - depending on which airport and what flight path - some take you completely over the harbor, SoL and lower Manhattan.)
I would start by organizing things that should be done in advance (if you want to do them).
Wicked and Liion King don;t discount so buy tickets now ifyou want to go - esp if you are a larger groupa nd want to sit together.
If you want to do the Statue of Liberty (climb to the top) get tickets now - it sells out far in advance. Ifyou don;t wnat to climb but do want to see - get ferry tickets now - the waiting line can be hours if you don't have advance tickets. If you want to do SoL and Ellis Island Immigration Museum (brilliant) you need to allow about 6 hours - including the ferries to and fro, If all you want is a view of the SoL get it via either the free Staten Island ferry (every 15 minutes or so 24/7 and gives you a fantastic view of the Manhattan skyline on the way back - esp at night) or via one of the Circle Line cruises. (You must do at least one boat trip in the harbor.)
For clubs - trendy is VERY difficult to get in - even if young, gorgeous and trendily dressed - impossible if you older unles famous. But there are a lot of other non-trendy clubs that are both esier to get into and don;t require several $300 bottles to hold a table. Check Time Out New York online to see who is having what type of music when.
For dining - what is you budget? For special do you mean Per Se at $500 per couple - or just one of the excellent places at $250 or so? And what types of food do you like or dislike?
For all sights I reco going to the web site in advance to confirm opening days and hours and pick out what you want to see/do (almost any one of the museums can take days - so you need to pick 2 or 3 departments to focus on).
As for WOW - for me Times Square is much more ICK! But I know some people love it. I much prefer some of the beautiful places in Central park or the view from the top of someting - or the skyline coming in from LGA at night. (Or the view from the plane - depending on which airport and what flight path - some take you completely over the harbor, SoL and lower Manhattan.)
Jan 12th, 2011, 08:37 AM
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Thanks for all the info..... Special dinner for us would be $250/couple.. Not really looking for TRENDY clubs but clubs where locals would go to.
Moma would be my first choice of museums. How about roof top bars with a view, and the tour companies Circle Line prehaps?
Moma would be my first choice of museums. How about roof top bars with a view, and the tour companies Circle Line prehaps?
Jan 12th, 2011, 08:58 AM
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The 2 hour Circle line cruise makes sense (the 3 hour one is too long) and will give a good view of the SoL.
There are a bunch of rooftop bars - get there early if you don't want to wait in line at the nice ones. I liek the Ritz Carlton downtown which has great views of the harbor.
There are a lot of good restaurants in your price range - but type of food you like and dislike - and atmosphere would help. Seafood? French? italian? Asian fusion? New merican? trendy? tradition? pretty/romantic?
there are a ton of non-trendy clubs - check out Time Out New York online a wekk or so before you arrive to see who is playing what where.
There are a bunch of rooftop bars - get there early if you don't want to wait in line at the nice ones. I liek the Ritz Carlton downtown which has great views of the harbor.
There are a lot of good restaurants in your price range - but type of food you like and dislike - and atmosphere would help. Seafood? French? italian? Asian fusion? New merican? trendy? tradition? pretty/romantic?
there are a ton of non-trendy clubs - check out Time Out New York online a wekk or so before you arrive to see who is playing what where.
Jan 13th, 2011, 05:04 AM
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Definitely plan to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. Take the subway over and walk back to Manhattan just as the sun goes down, it's beautiful!
You're on the same block as the Havana Central, a Cuban restaurant/bar with live music and good mojitos.
Don't plan on doing all things together. The city is much easier to navigate in twos! You probably will all have different ideas of what you want to see anyway, so you may want to split up for most of the day and meet back up for theater and dinner/drinks.
I'm with you on MOMA, It is a wonderful museum without being overwhelming like the Met can be. The Met is fabulous but it is a real time consumer unless you research and just check out one or two exhibits.
Get a Gallery Guide and do a day of gallery hopping, it lets you check out the art scene while also site seeing as you walk from place to place. The guide also has openings listed and they are always fun for a predictable glass of wine and bite of cheese.
When you get tired, grab a a drink/bite at an outside table to rest while still taking in the great people watching.
Take advantage of all the UPS and FedEx stores to ship home your purchases. It sounds funny, but you'll want to free your arms up and dragging around extra weight in the form of bags and packages gets tiring, no matter how fit you are!
Above all, know that whatever you do you're going to have a good time, and you will be planning your 2nd trip before you even leave!
You're on the same block as the Havana Central, a Cuban restaurant/bar with live music and good mojitos.
Don't plan on doing all things together. The city is much easier to navigate in twos! You probably will all have different ideas of what you want to see anyway, so you may want to split up for most of the day and meet back up for theater and dinner/drinks.
I'm with you on MOMA, It is a wonderful museum without being overwhelming like the Met can be. The Met is fabulous but it is a real time consumer unless you research and just check out one or two exhibits.
Get a Gallery Guide and do a day of gallery hopping, it lets you check out the art scene while also site seeing as you walk from place to place. The guide also has openings listed and they are always fun for a predictable glass of wine and bite of cheese.
When you get tired, grab a a drink/bite at an outside table to rest while still taking in the great people watching.
Take advantage of all the UPS and FedEx stores to ship home your purchases. It sounds funny, but you'll want to free your arms up and dragging around extra weight in the form of bags and packages gets tiring, no matter how fit you are!
Above all, know that whatever you do you're going to have a good time, and you will be planning your 2nd trip before you even leave!
Jan 13th, 2011, 09:36 AM
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For the MoMA, we went on a Friday night at 5pm and got in for free, I believe they have this every week from 5-8pm. We also went to the MET and really enjoyed it, but it does have a lot to see so could take some time, the Egyption collection was great.
I would make sure to eat pizza someday for lunch or dinner. We really liked John's and tried to go to Grimaldi's in Brooklyn but it wasn't open at the time. Lombardi's in Little Italy had more what I consider Italian pizza.
We really enjoyed going to the WTC area. We went to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center and took a 90 minute tour from 2 guides who were both impacted by the events, all guides there were impacted in one way or another, it was very moving. My 24 year old husband even thought it was good.
Also take the time during the day to walk through Central Park and down 5th Avenue.
I would make sure to eat pizza someday for lunch or dinner. We really liked John's and tried to go to Grimaldi's in Brooklyn but it wasn't open at the time. Lombardi's in Little Italy had more what I consider Italian pizza.
We really enjoyed going to the WTC area. We went to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center and took a 90 minute tour from 2 guides who were both impacted by the events, all guides there were impacted in one way or another, it was very moving. My 24 year old husband even thought it was good.
Also take the time during the day to walk through Central Park and down 5th Avenue.
Jan 17th, 2011, 03:25 PM
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Thank you for all the advice. I was off line for a few days and could not respond. We have changed our minds about the Lion King and are going to The Beatles show instead. We are also changing hotels to stay at the Marriott Marquis I think it is more central to our needs.
