Friday

I have been using this forum to come up with an itinerary for our 3 day trip to New York City. Please offer any suggestions or comments. I have been to the city before, but it is my husband's first visit, so want to hit as many sites as possible. Please feel free to give any restaurant/bar advice as well. Here goes...

Friday

Arrive Newark at 11:05 am

Check in/Drop bags at hotel ? The Benjamin

Wall Street
Staten Island Ferry
WTC (view from inside the Winter Garden at World Financial Center)
Century 21 / H&M
Greenwich Village or/and Soho (Dinner suggestion??)

Saturday

Greyline (probably most of day depending)
Shopping
Relax before theater
Hairspray
Dinner at ? after show
Times Square

Sunday

Central Park
Met
Chinatown/Little Italy/Canal St.
Dinner at ? in Little Italy
Empire State Building

Monday

Today Show?
Rockefeller Center

Leave for LGA at 1:00

That looks pretty fabulous!

If you're doing Grayline, for just a few dollars more you can get a two day pass. You may want to consider the Uptown Loop one day, getting off at 72nd, exploring Central Park a bit, and getting back on at the next stop at 80th/81st, then continuing on and getting off at the Met. Another nice spot to explore Central Park is the Grayline stop near the Conservatory Gardens, which is before the Met. The other day, you could do the Downtown Loop which includes the Empire State Building (unless you plan to go at night), then get off for exploring at Chinatown/Litle Italy/Canal Street, before continuing with the rest of the route.

An alternative to Grayline is the all day pass to use buses and subways....$6.....I think it is called Fun Pass. Purchase at visitor information....there are several. The one I use is near 47th and Broadway.

Have a great NY trip!!

You can purchase a Fun Pass from a vending machine in any subway station and currently costs $7. It is good for unlimited subway and bus rides from the time you first use it until 3AM the next day.

Hi Mindy: it sounds like a good trip. I personally like to divide the city into sections. For example, day one = downtown, day two = midtown, day three = uptown, central park and MET.

I like that you plan to do the Wall St. area, but make sure you do on Friday because it's not the same on weekends. Be sure to visit the Custom Building, see the statue of the Bull at Bowling Green Park (where supposedly the first trades of commerce took place), Trinity Church, then Wall St. Don't miss the NYSE tour. Then work your way up through china town on to Soho and the Village. For dinner in Soho, if youre looking for something sleek/hip, try to get reservations at the Mercer Kitchen. Otherwise, you can just walk around and find plenty of nice options.

Day two is great for your husband. If you can, while in the midtown area, I like to take a walking tour that begins at Grand Central Station (a must see), then to the lobby of the Chrysler Building, then walk along 42nd St. west to Times Square. For fun, stop in at ESPN Zone for a couple drinks and some games on the third Floor. From there, Rockefeller Center, St. Patricks Cathedral and 5th Avenue shopping (or window shopping if the prices are too steep) You may want to see the Empire State Building on day 2 since you will be in the Times Square area. I would hate for you to leave the lower manhattan area, which is great to sit back and "take it in" to go back to midtown.

Sunday sounds really nice too. In addition to Central Park and Met, there's more shopping on Madison Ave., and if you want to check out Lincoln Center, just hop in a cab and go through the park.

P.S. try to find some good pizza (Lombardi's in Little Italy on the corner of Mott and Spring) and hot dog at Grays Papaya (numerous locations)

I totally agree with the Grayline double decker bus tour. It's the best way to get a very good overview of the City.

I grew up in New York and have taken visitors on the Circle Line tour several times and remember really enjoying it. Of course, that was in the days before the double decker tour buses. Does anyone take the Circle Line anymore? If the weather is nice, you might want to consider that as an option, depending on reviews from others who may have taken it more recently than me.

Anyone remember their old TV jingles?

We love the Circle Line 2-hour, most especially the Harborlights cruise. Magnificent views of the skyline all around lower Manhattan, good commentary. The boat leaves in daylight, goes all the way around to the Chrysler Building (passing under all those terrific bridges), and passes VERY close to the Statue of Libery on the way back. By the time you're in the final stretch, it's gotten dark, the lights are turned on all over, and it couldn't be more magical.

And, while the $7 fun pass is a terrific deal, you just can't enjoy the scenery as well from the subway or even the buses. Nothing like leaning back in your seat on the open air upper deck and being able to see the tops of the tall buildings (which is difficult to do even while walking around).

Just a note re: tskobo's post - the NYSE is closed to visitors.

Sorry, didn't realize about NYSE. Thanks for the update!