Glenda,<BR><BR>The BEST time to take the STaten Island Ferry is just at dusk. That way you get a nice view of the sunset, and on the way back into the city all the lights are comming up and you will get to see Lady Liberty in all her glory.<BR><BR>Peking Duck House is more for dinner, so if you are going to be there for lunch, find one of the Dim Sum restaurants, (it's small plates of food, more like tastings, brought by carts. Our favorite is on the corner of Mott and Moscoe, no atmosphere, but great food and very cheap. If you go on a Sat or Sunday, we'll meet you there for Dim Sum.<BR><BR>Still snowing here, and another inch is expected...... over 20 inches in the city now!!!!.....hope it all melts before May, lol.

Glenda, don't get me wrong, I do like Katz's but I think Second Avenue is superior. You will find this is a heavily debated topic. The reason I suggest Second Avenue instead of Katz, is that Second Avenue is a true New York Jewish Kosher Deli. By all means, skip Carnegie Deli. Very overpriced at $20 a sandwich. They emphasize quantity not quality.<BR><BR>On Sunday, Day two, I would skip the Circle Line and do the all day on/off tour. Do the Uptown Loop, Midtown Loop, and Downtown Loop. You will see a lot of Central Park with the Uptown Loop and doing all three takes some time. It is also a wonderful way to acclimate yourself with the city. At night, they have a great tour that goes to Brooklyn and the view is beautiful.<BR><BR>As for the Staten Island Ferry, I agree to do it at dusk. The view is breathtaking.<BR><BR>Keep in mind, things will take you much longer to do in Manhattan than you have planned. If you try and do two museums in one day, you will go on sensory overload.<BR><BR>I again heartily reccommend the Frick. It is a great two hours and a wonderful museum.

Glenda,<BR>You may want to rethink your Monday plans...the Met is closed. The Guggenheim is closed on Thursday. Since these two museums are just a few short blocks from each other, it's best to do them one right after the other. They are right on Central Park, so you may want to do all three on the same day.<BR><BR>Also, don't let anyone try and talk you out of walking the Brooklyn Bridge - it's a really cool thing to do. I do it as often as possible. I just did it yesterday afternoon in the snow! If you cross to Brooklyn then walk down Old Fulton Street towards the water, you'll find Grimaldi's Pizza (Zagat rated it best pizza in NYC) and on the pier is the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Best homemade ice cream and best view in the city!!

HowardR-<BR>Are you sure the Metropolitan Museum is closed?? I hadn't heard that. Or are you thinking of the Museum of Modern Art, which is closed for renovations and temporarily based in Queens?

Oops, my mistake. You meant closed on *Monday*. Just ignore my previous post.

I may be mistaken, but I think you can only get TKTS on the day of the show, even the matinee. The TKTS booth is open at two times on the matinee days and you can get only matinee tickets at the early time.<BR><BR>It sounds like you have a great trip planned. I had a blast there last June and am looking forward to going back sometime.

Day 1:<BR><BR> I recommend re-thinking the plan to eat at the hotel when you arrive sometime after 7 pm.<BR><BR> To me a meal in a NY hotel in most cases is a massive waste of both money and an opportunity for a nice experience. If I understand you correctly, you're arriving from California, so it will be only 3 or 4 or 5 pm to you -- I strongly suggest doing some research and making a 9:30 or 10 pm reservation someplace interesting -- OR planning to grab some kind of fast food of your choice (e.g. pizza) and wander around in the evening.<BR><BR> If you just want to eat, look for something in Zagat's in the west 40s, and you will walks through Times Square to get there. 10 is a good time for a reservation, the prime time in NY is 8-9:30.<BR><BR> You could also consider the Empire State Building on Saturday night, I think it's open pretty late and it could be a great beginning for your trip. They have a hot dog stand there, I don't know if it's open in the later evening, to me it's the ideal meal. The hot dog stand has a 30s-40s vibe as I recall.<BR><BR> Delicatessens: depends what you're after: if you're after the best traditional Jewish delicatessen food, I will bow to the experts who almost always give 2nd Ave deli the top score. If you're interested however in a tast of old NY history, also stop in at Katz's. This combines well with a visit to the Tenement Museum and/or boutique shopping on Elizabeth Street.<BR><BR> And -- if planning to go to Katz's -- rent &quot;When Harry Met Sally.&quot; <BR><BR>

I completely agree with some of the above posters that 1) Le Bernadin is a much better choice than Chanterelle, and 2) 2nd Ave. Deli is the best in NYC deli. Make reservations for Le Bernadin/Chanterelle one month prior. Enjoy!

Glenda,<BR>My humble suggestion would be to skip the lunch at 21 and go to Gramercy Tavern instead.<BR>JoeG

Let me try again. I wish we could do half of what has been suggested but it seems like I keep adding to the list instead of slimming it down. These have all been wonderful ideas and I hope I can devise a decent plan based on the information provided.<BR><BR>Thanks for making the needed corrections that otherwise would have left us at a closed museum; no Broadway shows to see; not to mention wasting our first night on hotel food.<BR><BR>Here's a revised itinerary based on all the wonderful advice and what the group would like to do. I hope I got closer this time. I'm sure this will change many times between now and May but we have to start somewhere...<BR><BR>Day 1 – Saturday<BR>We're arriving at JFK at 7pm after flying very early from SFO so we won't want to do much.<BR><BR>Empire State Building<BR>Late Dinner (Le Bernardin, Michael's?)<BR>Times Square<BR><BR>Day 2 - Sunday<BR>Double Decker Tour (on/off all day) <BR>Stand Up NY Comedy Club<BR><BR>Day 3 – Monday<BR>Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Chinatown, and Tribeca<BR>Chanterelle (lunch)<BR><BR>Day 4 - Tuesday <BR>Ground Zero<BR>Grimaldi's Pizza<BR>Walk Brooklyn Bridge toward Manhattan<BR>NY Yankees Game (evening)<BR><BR>Day 5 - Wednesday<BR>French Pastry Bakery (Zagat)<BR>Met<BR>TKTS for evening show<BR>Central Park and Deli for lunch<BR>Broadway Show<BR><BR>Day 6 - Thursday<BR>Grand Central<BR>United Nations <BR>Katz Deli<BR>Cloisters<BR>Staten Island Ferry to view Statue of Liberty at dusk<BR><BR>Day 7 - Friday<BR>Guggenheim<BR>TKTS for evening show<BR>21-Club (lunch)<BR>Broadway Show<BR><BR>Day 8 - Depart JFK at 4:00pm<BR>Shopping and Pizza Slice<BR>Leave 12:30 for airport<BR>

Hi, I love your post. I too am planning a trip to New York. One thing I thought I might tell you from planning my trip is that the Met. and the Museum of Natural History are both opened late on Friday and Saturday. I think they stay open until 9:00 P.M. Just thought I would let you know in case you might be interested.

Glenda this is looking much better. Now a little fine tuning. Theater tkts for Wed evening performance don't go on sale at the TKTS booth until I think 2:30 because they sell Wed. matinee tkts in the am so you can't get them before lunch. You could walk through Central Park after the Met (the Met is right in front of the park). Also think about delegating someone in your party to go &amp; get the tickets so you don't all have to stand on line.<BR>As you're planning on doing your pastry bit before the Met I can recommend Sarabeth's on Madison &amp; 92nd or Payard Bistro on Lexington &amp; 73rd.<BR>The Cloisters is all the way uptown &amp; your other activities (Katz', SI ferry etc.) are downtown so that's not viable.

My Gosh - that's quite the itinerary. Get a map before you go, so that you can plot out what you have planned. You will probably want to rearrange stuff, because on some days you are going from one tip of Manhattan to the other. This will require considerable travel time, esp. day 6. My suggestion would be to block off sections of the city and then plot the location of the places you want to go and the things you want to see and do. Then look at the subway map (stay away from buses if you want to travel quickly - unless you are going crosstown) and figure out which subways will get you from place to place. Then you can plan on doing one section each half day and plan to eat lunch on the way from one section to the other. Also, plan on going to some sections (lower manahttan, below canal for example) for more than one half day. This should get you the most out of your trip.

Glenda, that looks so much more managable. The one thing I would change would be to move the Staten Island Ferry to day 4. It is a short walk from the World Trade Center site and it lets you see the Brooklyn Bridge before you walk it. Also, you will pass by the fabulous buildings (Maritime Museum)and Battery Park. You can then go to the TKTS booth at South Street Seaport which is right at the BB and also a much shorter wait in line.

I would change your visit to ground zero to Day 3. Start your day there. Then walk uptown through Tribeca, Soho and the Village. The Village always gets up late, as opposed to the Wall Street/Ground Zero area which gets an early start. If people watching is an objective, go to the Village in the afternnon/evening. Get a good walking tour guide for that day. There are loads of historical/architectural gems to see. I would check out Little Italy and Chinatown on your Day 2 Bus excursion. Get off and have lunch or dinner in one of those areas. In terms of architecture, they are not particularly interesting areas. Soho and/or the Village would be great for lunch or dinner on Day 3. Also by going to ground zero on Day 3 you can take a taxi or subway to Brooklyn to start your day 4. You might consider a walk through Brooklyn Heights and the Promenade. Beautiful old nighborhood, great architecture and views. You might want to drop by the outdoor section of River Cafe (beautiful view)for a drink before Grimaldis. After your walk across the Brooklyn Bridge you could check out City Hall (if it's not too late in the day) or you might want to walk over to Chinatown/Little Italy for dinner. <BR><BR>NYC is fantastic for expensive and for cheap dining. I would try to incorporate both. The expensive places you mention will cost over $100 per person. You can also have great food for around $10 per person, especially in the Village. Consider Veselka (Polish), Franks (Italian and around $25 a person), Mamouns (middle eastern hole in the wall), Tortilla Flats (Mexican). All have great food.

This is really getting exciting!<BR><BR>I'm so glad to get all the advice from everyone. It has been invaluable to me. As you can tell I really need help moving activities around that can actually be done in a day's time. I appreciate knowing that it is going to take much longer than I expect to get through each day. Of course that just gives us a reason to make another trip.<BR><BR>I'm going to try posting a schedule for the third time. I have a couple of questions about Day 4 (revision 3). Can we reasonably do Cloisters in the a.m. and Brooklyn Bridge after lunch if we take a taxi? Is this pushing things too much?<BR><BR>I read that the TKTS booth by South Seaport sells matinee tickets for the following day. I thought we could pick tickets up there for Wednesday after walking BB. This would allow us to attend a matinee on Wednesday instead of going in the evening. I hope that doesn't make Day 5 unreasonable.<BR><BR>Considering we will be in the South Seaport area late afternoon Tuesday, would it make sense to take the ferry to the Yankees Game that evening or some other transportation?<BR><BR>We plan to use a hired car from and to the airport. Our flight arrives at 7pm at JFK (hopefully). Do you think we'll be at our hotel by 9pm or is 10pm more likely? We will be waiting on luggage after our flight.<BR><BR>Thanks for answering my never-ending questions. I've got green-highlighter all over the messages I've printed.<BR><BR>Day 1 – Saturday<BR>We're arriving at JFK at 7pm after flying very early from SFO so we won't want to do much.<BR><BR>Empire State Building<BR>Late Dinner (Cheap Eats)<BR>Times Square<BR><BR>Day 2 - Sunday<BR>Double Decker Tour (on/off all day)<BR>Little Italy, Chinatown from bus <BR>Stand Up NY Comedy Club<BR><BR>Day 3 – Monday<BR>Ground Zero <BR>Tribeca (Chanterelle lunch)<BR>Greenwich Village, Soho<BR><BR>Day 4 - Tuesday <BR>Cloisters<BR>Taxi to Brooklyn<BR>Grimaldi's Pizza<BR>Walk Brooklyn Bridge toward Manhattan<BR>South Seaport TKTS for Matinee Wednesday<BR>NY Yankees Game (evening)<BR><BR>Day 5 - Wednesday<BR>French Pastry Bakery (Sarabeth, Payard Bistro)<BR>Met<BR>Central Park and Deli for lunch <BR>Broadway Show (matinee)<BR><BR>Day 6 - Thursday<BR>Grand Central<BR>United Nations <BR>Katz Deli<BR>Staten Island Ferry to view Statue of Liberty at dusk<BR><BR>Day 7 - Friday<BR>Guggenheim <BR>21-Club (lunch)<BR>TKTS for evening show <BR>Broadway Show<BR><BR>Day 8 - Depart JFK at 4:00pm<BR>Shopping and Pizza Slice<BR>Leave 12:30 for airport

Hi Glenda! I think it's great that you're being so diligent and organized before your trip. Since I am one of the people who suggested you go to the Cloisters, I think it will be difficult to do it the way you have suggested. The Cloisters is all the way uptown and Brooklyn is near downtown Manhattan. It is a fairly far distance. It will be a very expensive cab ride plus you may also get caught in traffic and it therefore may also be a very long cab ride. Unfortunately, the Cloisters is in a part of Manhattan where there isn't much else to do, so it is hard to group it with other activities. I looked at your schedule and it would be difficult to fit it in on any of the days because of its location and the amount of time you would probably want to spend there. You will probably have to make a difficult decision about what you prefer to see and how best to spend your time. While the Cloisters is one of my favorite places in NYC (I'm a native New Yorker), there isn't anything on your list that I would suggest not doing -- so I think it depends on your personal preferences.<BR><BR>The Wednesday matinee may also be pushing it. Matinees typically start at 2 p.m. Going to the Met, Central Park and having lunch before the matinee is probably too much to do. It depends on how much time you want to spend at the Museum and the Park. But I think you're probably pushing it.<BR><BR> It is obviously a difficult decision as to how best to spend your time and oh well you'll just have to visit again!!!!!

The Cloisters is in upper Manhattan, very far (15 miles) from the Brooklyn Bridge. The cab ride would cost $30 or more, and could take almost an hour if there is bad traffic. I'm not even sure if there are many hailable cabs up by the Cloisters. Though I can't really say much since I haven't been there myself, if I were you I'd save it for your next trip to the city...it's just too far out of the way (the main reason I haven't gone there yet).<BR><BR>As for taking the ferry to the Yankee game, it will take longer than the subway, but if it's a nice day go for it! I took a ferry from the Seaport to Shea Stadium last summer and though it took 1.5 hours and wasn't cheap, it gave me a perspective of the city I've never seen before (I took lots of photos). There was a tour guide on the microphone who pointed out all the interesting sights, like the island where Typhoid Mary lived, Rikers Island, etc. Play it by ear...if it's not too hot or cold and you have time, take the ferry, otherwise take the subway.

trover: Cloisters and Wednesday matinee are out for now. I sure tried to fit in in considering everyone's strong recommendation.<BR><BR>suzanne: I hope it is a nice day for the ferry. We will take the subway if the weather isn't so nice.<BR><BR>I just looked up Chanterelle and it looks like they aren't open for lunch on Monday. I was thinking of switching Day 3 and Day 6. Any comments or problems with that change?

I agree with Mclaurie. Coney Island is not a must see. I second the Zagat purchase.