My dh and I are coming to NYC for the first time the first week of July (including the 4th) to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Any and all suggestions of what to do would be gratefully appreciated.

Likes, dislikes, budget, interests, where are you staying, cuisine desires, etc.

It depends on how long your stay would be, loads of things to do,
but which area would u be staying etc

Buy a guidebook or two.

That and Christmas are the busiest tourist times. So book hotels soon and do not be shcoked at prices.

Actually first week of July should find some good hotel prices if you haven't already booked. Some nice specials on travelzoo.com

Go to the theater. Look at discounts in left column on broadwaybox.com

Consider a dinner cruise on bateauxnewyork.com or a dinner with view at rivercafe.com

If you don't do the dinner cruise (maybe on the 4th?) do a cruise of some other sort.

shearwatersailing.com
sail-ny.com
nywaterway.com
nywatertaxi.com

Maybe a foodsofny.com eating/walking tour.

Maybe hire http://www.phototrektours.com/ so you'll have a record in photos of your trip.

Hi

My wife and I went to NYC in July a few years back and we had a great time during our stay. It was our first time as well but it is a city that has a lot to offer so we went back again in November last year. Maybe you can find some useful info in my trip reports with pictures. Here is thr 2007 trip report http://gardkarlsen.com/NYC_travelogue_2007.htm and this is the 2004 trip report http://gardkarlsen.com/new_york_city_trip_report.htm . Get in touch if you have any questions

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

We went to NYC last year on the 4th. Great hotel/air package deals that week. Definitely go to the fireworks on the East River. Don't be alarmed by the display of police/security on that day.

Macy's always has the best fireworks display on the 4th. If you want to see it closeup, get to the FDR highway by 6 PM, be ready to stand and wait around for the show to begin about 9PM. Another option is to find a restaurant where you will have a view of the fireworks. In the past, I went to Queens and had dinner at the Waterfront Crab House. I think they are still around, you will be close enough to hear/see the fireworks, maybe even have some ash fall on you!
Museums are always fun, especially to escape the heat. There are so many, just be sure to wear coomfortable shoes and enjoy.
Plan on getting seats to a Broadway show for half price at the TKTS booth. They are on Broadway and 48 St (check with your hotel, I think they moved a block)and see what is available for that days' performance. Have a list of a few shows you would like to see, you never know which one will be on the board that day.
You might enjoy the Circle Line cruise around Manhattan. Walk as much as you can in all the great neighborhoods, Greenwich Village, Battery Park (good seafood restaurant on the promenade,looking at the Statue of Liberty) Madison Ave for window shopping, South Street Seaport, Central Park, the list is endless.
I've lived here all my life, and I never seem to get tired of finding things to do in Manhattan. Have a great visit!

First of all you should check the suggested itineraries under Fodors Destinations and get som eidea of what you are interested in.

FOr infor on free concerts check out: http://www.rivertorivernyc.com/

There are also streetfairs on the weekends and on July 4th (I think on Water St in lower manhattan).

For advance sale broadway tickets, check out broadwaybox.com. You can also print out their coupons and bring them to the box office. It will save you the time of waiting on the TKTS line.

There's always the Met museum, MoMA, Museum of Natural History/Planetarium, and dozens more depending on your interests.

If you like baseball, look into tickets for Mets or Yankees. Both stadiums are easy to get to by subway.

Check out a Time Out magazine when you arrive to check out events of all kinds.

Where will you be staying? WHat kind of food do you like? What's your food budget?

Do considering picking up a 7 days metrocard to get around town.

See a few shows! Broadwaybox is good, but I have gottern the best prices & overall availability through Ticketmaster.com, even with processing fees. Do you like museums? Use ny.com/museums. When you select a particular museum, click the link on the left to go directly to the museum website. THer you can check on their free or bargain hours, instead of tying yourself up with buying citypass or museum passes. New York Magazine is a good source, as well as the first few pages of The New Yorker, for music, plays and shows. I recommend Joe's Pub, SOB's (Sounds of Brazil) and The Town Hall (right off 42nd street). A great walk- along 5th Ave straight up from 42nd street to 82nd which is Central Park & Met Museum. You may do well on hotels, July is as the songs says, HOT in the city. Enjoy!

So many great ideas--Thank you! I don't want to spend a lot of $ on food--that's not important to us, but dh wants to get a good hotdog. Nathan's?? We do want to do an evening cruise around Manhattan--maybe the night we get there, which is our actual anniversary or on the 4th--I've seen some offers for ones that let you watch the fireworks. The places we are considering visiting now are Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Ground Zero (my dh is a volunteer firefighter here in our very small town), and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Is the Empire State Building worth it? We've been to Sear Tower in Chicago and I think--you've been on top of one tall building why do another? Dh thinks if you go to NYC one of the things you must do is Empire State. Also thinking about Grand Central Station, and a Broadway show, but don't want to pay a lot to do it--I guess the theme of our vacation is gonna be "NYC on the cheap". One hotel we are considering now is the Helmsley Park Lane. I think its at 59th & 5th. Anyone know anything about that place? Another hotel we're thinking about is the Hampton Inn @ 52nd & 8th, I think. It's close to Times Sq. And another big ?--would we be stupid to consider taking the train or whatever public transportation is available from the airport (not sure which one yet) to our hotel?

My favorite hot dogs are at Gray's Papaya (several locations).

Many people prefer the experience of Top of the Rock to the Empire State. If you go to Empire STate, buy tickets online in advance. Lines are long.

Grand Central is wonderful. There are free tours on Wed. and Fri. around noon. Wed. one listed here along with a lot of other free tours
http://nymag.com/guides/cheap/walkingtours/

Fri. here
http://gonyc.about.com/od/toursbr/a/ferate_tour.htm

The website I gave you above, broadwaybox.com should yield discount theater tickets to a lot of shows (but not all).

The Helmsley Park Lane is in a fabulous location right across from Central Park. Some rooms have superb views. The downside is the decor is really tired. Look at reviews and travelers photos on tripadvisor.com if you haven't already. Most of the reviews are very good. (Are you sure it's not the NY Helmsley you're considering? That's very different-still ok, but diff. location and hotel) The Hampton Inn Times Square is very popular with good sized rooms, relatively fresh (in an older building).

Whether to use public transport from the airport depends on which airport, how much luggage you have and the hotel location. Decide on the hotel and then we can help with transport options.

Nathan's are very good and Gray's has a certain atmosphere and price that makes it a favorite. They are tasty.

<<would we be stupid to consider taking the train or whatever public transportation is available from the airport (not sure which one yet) to our hotel? >>

Depends on which airport you're traveling from.

JFK and EWR have reasonably easy public transport options.

From LGA, for two people just take a taxi.

The main sights are 34th st to 60th St on 5th Ave. Empire State Bldg is @ 34 & 5th Ave, NYC libr & Bryant Park is 42 St & 5th, Times Sq @ 42 and Broadway. My trip is PennStation to Empire St Bldg up 5th Ave for Lord & Taylor, NYC libr, turn left at 42 go a few blocks to Times Sq and then over to 5th for Rockfellar center, Trumps and Central Park starts at 59th St. I go back to Rockerfellar to take the subway back to Penn Station. If you get to Times Sq early - half price tkts to Broadway shows matinee or 4 night. McD in Times Sq is amazing. Or Chinatown and Little Italy are a separate day trip too.

trish -

Sorry - you're completely confused about New York. The major sights are spread out over an area 8 miles long - South Ferry to the 90's - and a couple of miles wide - plus island in the harbor - unless you plan on seeing only a few sights.

Most of the major museums are either uptown or downtown or in the harbor. The most interesting neighborhoods and shopping are either downtown or uptown - not midtown - which is primarily a business district (block upon block of high rise office buildings) interspersed with some sights and traditional department store shopping.

I think you really need to get a map before giving incorrect advice.