What would be the best fireworks show in NYC on the 4th? Where is the best place for viewing? What other events are taking place then?

Macy's fireworks are the biggest show in town. You'll find info here: http://www1.macys.com/campaign/fireworks/map_2.jsp

As for other events -- well, they're pretty much limitless. Check the events calendar on NYC & Company:

http://www.nycvisit.com/calendar/ind...ventTypeFkey=1

Enjoy your trip. 4th of July is a fun time to be in NYC. It can be hot and humid, but a lot of people go out of town so it doesn't feel quite as crowded.

Be aware that a LOT of locals go to the beach or the mountains for that week. But - then there are a lot of extra visitors.

And the locals that do stay tend to visit museums and other tourist attractions - so you'll still find things fairly crowded - but not as bad as the busiest weekends.

Still do make resies in advance for shows, restaurants (if you're doing any special ones) and Statue of Liberty or Empire State Building.

If the weather is decent about a million people gather to watch the fireworks and the roads nearby are closed. So - plan on walking or public transit - and be sure to bring lots of water - since it's typically very hot and humid..

We will be in NYC 4th of July as well. We don't mind seeing the fireworks from a restaurant or as we come out of the restaurant...is that possible? Where should we eat?

Alba

nytraveler is not exaggerating with the count of a million people watching the fireworks - the FDR drive is closed to vehicular traffic and gets *super* crowded (not unlike Times Square at New Years!).

One option is to view the fireworks from the Brooklyn side of the East River. Kent Ave in Williamsburg used to be a great place for viewing (not sure now with all the construction; maybe someone else has a more recent perspective?), and the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights gets very busy with viewers, too. DUMBO would be another good option. When you look a the fireworks map, W'burg is just north of the bridge of the same name; the promenade is identified; and DUMBO is between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.

All three neighborhoods are easily accessible by subway and have good restaurants and bars, though I'm not sure any other than Bubby's in DUMBO would have an actual view of the displays.

There is musical accompianment to the fireworks. In Brooklyn, there are usually a few people with portable radios tuned to the frequency so that everyone can hear what's being played in Manhattan!

Sorry - in Manhattan there are no restaruants with views - and eating dinner right beforehand you'll have to push through many thousans of people to try to get a decent viewing spot - it IS a million people unless it ours rain.

There are fewer people on the Brooklyn side - but you don;t get the music or narration.

Plan on it taking a VERY long time to get back to your hotel afterwards (with all those people packed onto the subways).

From the overpass above FDR Drive (about 40th?) I had a great view of the fireworks a few years ago--but didn't hear any narration. Also, my sister was booked on a tour boat that went into the harbor to see the fireworks--she had to be on it by 5 p.m. (it doesn't get dark until after 9 p.m.) and then it took them hours to get back as there were 3,000+ boats in NY harbor! Be forewarned.

The other part of my post evaporated! What about viewing from the South St. Seaport or The Statue of Liberty? Sounds like FDR will be wall to wall!

I think you will have to face that anyplace with a view of any of the fireworks locations will be crowded, and those crowds begin forming early. Because NYC has so many tall buildings, unless you are at the water's edge or someplace tall, you won't have much of a view. To get a good view is a real commitment of time.

livitup -Anything on the water downtown will be packed.

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this prior but it gets crowded quickly meaning people go down early for the best seats.

I'm not 100% sure you can watch from the Statue of Liberty. I believe it's closed during the fireworks but again double check me.

We usually watch them from Liberty State Park in NJ however the past couple years the wind hasn't been in our favor and we end up watching diluted fireworks under smoke