ggrtist

After the kind advice received here on the forum and some research, we have come up with an itinerary.  We have our main sights and tours decided, but also have a lot of free time left and would love to hear some ideas for outings that are more of a local NY experience and neighborhoods. (Note: We are not interested in seeing ground zero or going to Ellis Island this time around.)

Day 1: EWR to Manhattan about 7am, drop off luggage at hotel in Chelsea (too early to check in) then head to Central Park Boathouse for Brunch.   After brunch visit MOMA for a bit, explore some of park.  Next go to Times Square & TOTR before going back to hotel to check in.

Day 2: Greenwich Food tour, Staten Island Ferry and Brooklyn Bridge.

Day 3: SATC tour which ends somewhere near 42nd Street and 6th Ave.  Rest of day for exploring...any ideas for the area this tour leaves us at?

Day 4: Spend most of the day at the Met & Central Park.  May check out the Mandarin Oriental lounge for view and lite dinner.

Day 5: Explore and shopping.  Definitely Strand bookstore, other stores DD would like are probably a record store, cool thrift or vintage clothing shops..would love some recs???  In the afternoon we will go to Times Square and Broadway to see Spiderman.  Originally we were not going to see a show but DD was interested in this one and in-laws, who are avid movie and theatre goers surprisingly recommended it after seeing it last August so we figured, why not.

Thursday: Exploring most of day before going to JFK for an 8p departure.  We will have to leave luggage at hotel and I'm not quite sure what we should do while still remaining within an easy subway ride back to hotel to pick up luggage...thoughts?

Other stops we want but not sure of when best to go are:
-Chelsea Market
-Uncle Nicks Greek Restaurant
-Chinatown
-live music or jazz restaurant suitable for a 19 yr old and her mom or a retro movie house
-a grocery store near our hotel (26th& 6th ave.) where we can stock up on muffins, water and snacks for our stay.

Thanks for reading and your advice

nytraveler

On Day 1 it doesn;'t make sense to go to the park for lunch, then down to MoMA and then back uptown to the park. You might want to see something near the park and save MoMA for the day you leave. On the west side of the park there is the Nat Hist Museum as well as the NY Historical Society, which is always fascinating. or on the east side you cold see the Frick or perhaps the Whitney.

nyer

-a grocery store near our hotel (26th& 6th ave.) where we can stock up on muffins, water and snacks for our stay.

Your hotel is very close to Whole Foods (24th and 7th avenue) and Trader Joe's (22nd and 6th avenue) You can also buy water and other nonperishables at most drug store chains--Duane Reade , CVS etc

Chelsea Market is very crowded weekdays at lunchtime when all the people who work in the building (it's also an office building with some big name companies) and nearby go for lunch. I prefer to go closer to closing time (8?) or weekend mornings.

Uncle Nick's is not a destination restaurant. If you happen to be nearby, OK, but I wouldn't look to fit it in somewhere.

You might skip a separate trip to Times Square the day you arrive since you'll be there for Spiderman a couple days later.

I would fill my time with going to other museums, historic houses (or The Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side) and walking around different neighborhoods--Soho, Upper East Side near the museums, maybe a special lunch somewhere (which can be half price or less than dinner )

Actually, when is the trip? (month, days of the week) Some activities work better in certain weather and some sites are closed some days

emd3

Are you in NYC over a wekend? If so, since your daughter likes vintage/retro, take her to Chelsea Flea in the garage on 25th btwn 6th and 7th Aves right by your hotel. Great vintage and retro clothes, jewelry, accessories, home items, totally cool and fun. Takes place on two floors of a parking garage that is kept vacant for the weekends.

ggrtist

Thanks for the input. Nytraveler, thanks for pointing that out, I forgot to double check the location of MOMA and just assumed it was near the other museums..lol. Since we are traveling on a red eye, arriving early Sat. Morning...we want that day to be a bit leisurely and figured it would be an intro to the city. I also know I wanted to do brunch at the boathouse because I like the menu and location. I will have to figure that out, maybe just do the Met that day instead?

Nyer: Our trip is later this month. I'm hoping the weather won't be too bad and prefer cooler weather (hopefully it won't rain during our stay). I'm glad to know there is a grocery nearby. Uncle nicks is noted We are on a tight budget and do not plan on a lot of expensive meals. Any advice on a nice place for dinner before seeing Spiderman?

We are from Los Angeles and are used to access to great museums so will probably skip Natural History museum and Frick. I am interested in the American Museum of Illustration so maybe we will schedule that in.

I'm glad that I posted here as it seems my itinerary needs some reworking! lol

ggrtist

emd3: thanks for the tip, that sounds great, she would realky love that. Depending on the hours it is open we would probably have to fit that in our first day.

Aduchamp1

Here is a list of indie record stores.
http://www.yelp.com/list/best-new-yo...tores-new-york

I am surprised Bleecker Bob's is so low in the list.

Inexpensive restaurant list:

Here is a list I have posted a few times before and are mainly East Village

Indian-Brick Lane-Banjara, Mitali, Brick Lane

Inexpensive Italian- La Marca (3rd Ave. and 22 Street, only opened noon-10 PM, Mon-Fri) Great Value

Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches (limited seating)

Twainese Bao-The Baohaus

Defonte's-great great Italian heros especially the meatball and the pepper and eggs. Tastes like old Brooklyn.

Burgers-Black Iron ( also have wonderful onion rings and veggie fries), Paul’s (local divey spot), Corner Bistro (on everyone’s list, zoo on weekends)

Pork sandwiches-Porchetta (that is all they offer and limited seating)

Medium priced Italian- Cacio e Pepe, Gnocco, Supper (cash only), Luzzos (Wood burning pizza oven), Inoteca, Perbeco, La Lavanga, Le Zie

Expensive Italian- I Coppi (For dinner and great brunch)

Inexpensive Eastern European- Veselka,

French Bistro- Casimir, Lucien (more expensive)

Greek-Pylos (little more expensive)

Tapas- Tia Pol, Nai, Café Mono (more expensive)

Dessert-Veniero's, DeRobertis for the frozen lemon thing and tortonis.

Brunches-Five Points, Blue Ribbon Bakery, City Bakery (18th off 5th), Cafecito (Ave C), Clinton Street Bakery (our favorite but must go during the week, weekend is a zoo)

Pizza whole pies-Motorino Lombardi's,

Pizza by the slice-Artichoke (14th Between First and Second) Bizarre service with a line because the pizza is good and the management is goofy

Hole in the wall-Stage (next to Stomp) great cheap home made soups

French fires-Pomme Frites

Seafood-Mary’s Fish Camp (cramped, no reservations) Mermaid Inn. Luke’s Lobster (just lobster rolls, limited seating)

Ice Cream-Cones on Bleecker, Il Laboratorio de Gelato, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, Cones and Sundaes (East 10th), Grom (Italian chain)

Chinatown-Big Wong. Joe’s Ginger, NY Noodletown

Dim Sum-Jing Fung, Golden Unicorn, Nom Wah

Jewish Delis-2nd Ave Deli, Katz’s (These are expensive for sandwiches but worth every bite)

Turkish-Turkish Kitchen (Very good values are the daily prix fixe lunch and Sunday buffet)

Expensive but great prix fixe lunches-Gotham, Toqqueville, Nougatine

ggrtist

Auduchamp1, thank you! DD and I will check those out and see which falls on one of our paths, she especially likes indie rock so she'll enjoy a shopping opportunity. I will have to print out your dining list too, glad to see some lower budget options on there. There is no way we can afford the $100 dinner restaurants I hear so much about.

ekscrunchy

Vintage ( but not inexpensive) store near your hotel:


http://familyjewelsnyc.com/

HappyTrvlr

My granddaughter loved Family Jewels. Walk on Highline and spend more time in West Chelsea, visit galleries.. Walk south along the Hudson River Park.Another museum near your hotel. The Rubin Museum of Art is wonderful. Asian, Indian, small and special.
Re: Museums. The Frick is small and unique. I would not skip it.
You will see Times Square when you go to Spiderman. that should be enough. Our grandson wanted tosee that show so we went. We were surprised that we enjoyed it too.

nyer

I live here and $100 per person (or even per couple) dinners are rare for me. Those are destination restaurants that you might want to go to at least once when you're on vacation, but they're not the everyday places that many New Yorkers frequent. You do need to go slighly off track sometimes to find the best values. Aduchamp1's list is great for that part of town, but there would be similar choices in most residential neighborhoods.

Aduchamp1

There are many ways to eat cheap in NYC.

There are what are euphemistically called delis all over the city that offer breakfast specials. Lunch is almost always cheaper than dinner. You can get pizza by the slice and save a lot of money at frankfurter stands and stores. The stands do sell "dirt water dogs" but I figure they have either been boiling or grilled so long all the germs are dead.

There are also bagel stores where the bagels are store made and they will offer sandwiches of different types.

Also ethnic food is usually a good value especially Indian and Chinese food.

The major hamburger chains are in NYC and you will see other chains here and there but the NYC culture is not eat there and try different things.

travelbuff

Your first museum day I'd do the Met since you are going to be close at the boathouse, and the Met is amazing.

Also if you have time, the Cloisters is part of the Met and way uptown, with a BEAUTIFUL view overlooking the Hudson. Take the A train up to 190t St and follow the signs to Ft. Washington and Ft. Tryon Park. A walk through the park to the museum is stunning on a spring day. You won't know you are still in Manhattan. From the museum, if you like Indian food, walk back down Ft. Washington to Kismat one of the best Indian restaurants in the city (187th and Ft. Wash), would make for a wonderful day.

Get a book of the city and maybe a Zagat guide to have handy, it's easy to get lost, and having the Zagat you can find a good restaurant in any area you feel like having a bite.

26th and 6th is a good area and you are close to lots of shopping just a few blocks away at 34th and 6th.

Your daughter will LOVE conway for jeans and spring/summer tops, 34th between 7th and 8th. There's also a new DSW a few doors away as well. Come to think of it I'm heading there right now for some jeans, lol.

Hope this helps.

mclaurie

Sorry I've not read every response you've gotten but here are a few comments:

The nice part of the Boat House doesn't open til 9:30am on weekends.  I'm assuming this is a Sat or Sun.   For breakfast,  I think you may want something earlier,  closer to the hotel and perhaps more casual.  Why not head to the High Line when you arrive for some fresh air and a bite to eat?  Chelsea Market is in the middle of it and has lots of options.  The meatpacking district where the High Line ends has some fun upscale boutiques to oggle.

The other idea is to head to Chinatown and have some dim sum for breakfast and explore Chinatown.  

If it's a nice day, you could then do the Staten Island ferry or better still imo, one of the cruises that gets closer to the Statue. Goldstar.com often has discounts  for NYwatertaxi or nywaterway.

After your village food tour on day 2, instead of leaving the area, stay in the village and poke around.  Would make sense to go to the Strand which is in the village.

You don't give days of the week.  MOMA is closed on Tuesdays.  Most of the other museums are closed on Mon.  The SATC tour I think starts near the Plaza hotel and may end there as well.  If it's not. Tues., it would be easy to go to MOMA from there or TOTR.
Virtually any jazz club would be fine for your daughter.  The Jazz Standard underneath Blue Smoke restaurant serves the Blue Smoke food- good burgers & bbq.  It's on east 27 th st so not that far from your hotel.   Smalls and the Village Vanguard look like the quintessential jazz clubs  portrayed in movies.  Bigapplejazz.com has a good list of jazz clubs andthe guy who runs the website also does jazz tours that I hear are very good and might make for a fun evening.

To find anything near your hotel (or any location) map it on maps.google.com then click the 'search nearby' and type whatever you want.  Often you'll even get linked reviews.  You can also get directions for getting from point a to b on google maps.  just type the route (ie Hotel xyz NYC to Chelsea Market NYC).  You'll get a driving map.   Then click the train icon for subway directions or the person ico for walking.

Walkingthebigapple.com is a good website for selfguided walking tours of different areas that I like.   I think it may give you ideas for areas to explore.

ggrtist

I really appreciate all the advice, every post has helped... thank you!
So it looks like we will now do:
Day 1(Saturday): EWR to Manhattan about 7am, drop off luggage at hotel in Chelsea (too early to check in) then head to Central Park, explore and have late am brunch at Boathouse. After brunch  tour The Met.

Day 2: Greenwich Food tour,  explore & shop the Village & Soho.  Evening open

Day 3: 11am SATC tour, MoMA, Top of the Rock

Day 4: Statue Liberty Express boat tour. Walk half Brooklyn Bridge, (maybe Chinatown for dinner?)

Day 5: Explore time and shopping.  In the afternoon we will go to Times Square and  Broadway to see Spiderman. 

Day 6: Explore & shop things we didn't fit in previous days.

I am a lil concerned we have too much 'free' time, but I guess it's good because we can take our time and explore the neighborhoods we are near (Highline, Chelsea Market, Galleries, etc). Also because I am recovering from a herniated disc and will probably be going at a snails pace..lol

volcanogirl

We did the Greenwich Village food tour, and that's one of our favorite things that we've ever done - beautiful neighborhood and lots of fun little eateries.

Your daughter might like going to Serendipity for their famous frozen hot chocolate; it's been featured in a lot of movies and television shows.

Aduchamp1

One more hint. On the first floor of the Chelsea Hotel (23rd Street between 7 and 8 Aves) are the best donuts in NYC called the Donut Plant.

volcanogirl

Adu, isn't there a Donut Plant on the Lower East Side too? We were thinking of going there when we go to the Tenement Museum. I hear the creme brulee donuts are great.

emd3

So you are not going to go to the Chelsea Flea in the Garage, even though your hotel is a block away from it? I would not miss it if your daughter likes vintage jewelry and clothing. Just walk in on Sat. or Sun and see if you want to spend any time there. I do not think you will regret it.

Birdie

Did I miss it or did The Museum at FIT not get mentioned?

SATC tour + interest in vintage fashion = must do FIT. It's right near your hotel.

http://fitnyc.edu/334.asp