NYC - December Trip - Off Beaten Path things to do
 

We are planning a trip to NYC over the first weekend of December 2011. We will be staying by Wall Street.

We would like to visit some off the beaten path holiday events. We would also like to go to "local" shops, restaurants and bars. We would love to stay away from the tourist traps.

Any recommendations would be great!

Thanks in advance for the information!!

Check what the Cloisters might have for the holidays.

Michael...

Thanks for the advice! I just looked at their Website. Definitely something to add to our to do list.

We appreciate the tip!

What beaten things have you done?

Well - if it's in NY and not a national chain - it's local - so that will be most places. It's certainly easy enough to avoid chains.

For special events have a look at the web site of New York Magazine, which lets you search hundreds by date and type.

Stay away from 5th Avenue below Central Park. Do visit the current exhibits at the Museum of the City of New York and the Jewish Museum and the Schomburg Library and the reopened National academy and the International Center for Photography and the Morgan Library.

Walk the upper end of Central Park and see how the regrowth from the storm 2 years ago is doing. Spend money and buy gifts at the Central Park gift shops to help the fund for clearing the current devastation from the snow storm www.centralparknyc.org

Spend even more money at the NY Botanical Gardens (It's in the Bronx and near Arthur Ave which should be off the beaten path for you) because they don't have the donor pool to help them after the snow storm...

http://www.nybg.org/

Have a great time.

thestarryeye.typepad.com/explorenyc

Take a train ride over to the Little Odessa section of Brooklyn in Brighton Beach. Walk on the boardwalk. Eat in an authentic Russian restaurant. Try to find someone on the street that speaks English (not too easy). Visit the International Food Store - worth a trip in itself.

How about a scavenger hunt in a museum or in a neighborhood yet unexplored?

http://watsonadventures.com/new_york.html

I loved the suggestion by Basingstoke2 - the restaurants in Little Odessa are a lot of fun...family style Russian food served with lots of vodka! You might also try the Middle Eastern restaurants on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn, although I haven't been there in a while so I can't give a specific recommendation.

If you want some "down time," take the ferry to Staten Island and back in the late afternoon. You get a great view of the Statue of Liberty without the crowds and sometimes the sunsets are spectacular.

New Yorkers often make a pilgrimage to Dyker Heights in Brooklyn to see the Christmas light displays. Some of the homeowners in this Italian neighborhood go all out. You can take the subway. If you decide to go, we can give you tips on Italian restaurants in the area:

http://gonyc.about.com/od/christmass...ker_lights.htm

This company might do bike tours of the area, as in years past:

http://bikethebigapple.com/index.html





Brighton Beach is interesting but I am not wowed by most of the restaurants I've tried. (granted, I've been only to a couple of spots including Tatiana) . There is a Georgian bakery that is on my list, though. Name is Georgian Bread.

http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2011/...ian-bread.html

Some good Turkish restaurants on nearby Coney Island Avenue; the block between Avenue P and Quentin Road has 2 notable spots for this.


For lunch or dinner: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/di...ws/26unde.html


And for dessert: http://gulluoglubaklava.com/

First, I have not had a meal in Brighton Beach in ten years. Second, my high school is within walking distance of Brighton Beach Avenue and both grandmothers lived in Brighton Beach.

The idea of eating in Russian restaurants is always better than the actual food. But it is exotic section of NY and will be an unusual experience.

BTW, you should go the public handball courts where Ocean Parlway meets Surf Avenue. Unless it is snowing you will see the hustlers and the real deals. Those courts have had more national champions than any other and do not surprisesd by the amount of money changing hands. And there might even be an idiot playing without a shirt in the cold.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/28/ny...8handball.html