My husband and I are going to NYC with his mother and sister for a long weekend on Oct. 30. We are staying at the Barclay Intercontinental. I have never stayed there, so I hope it is as nice as it looks on the website. Anyone stayed there have any comments?

Here's what we have planned so far:

-Arrive Thursday around noon
-Circle Line Harbour Lights tour Thursday night (weather permitting - i was told the boat is heated))
-No Thurs. dinner plans yet.
Friday - - Arthur Ave and Fordham ( my mother in law went to Fordham long ago so this is a sentimental journey)
-Friday night dinner at Trattoria Trecolori and then theatre - Golda's Balcony
-Saturday - no plans yet. this is where i need help.
-Saturday night -Birthday dinner for my husband at Blue Hill in the Village
-Sunday morning - brunch somewhere?

My mother in law is in her 70s and active but probably not up for excessive walking. All of us have been to NYC, but it's been a long time. We don't have an unlimited budget but I think she would enjoy classy New York activities - nothing too touristy or cheesy.

We have quite a bit of time with no plans as of yet. Some other things we have talked about as options are a carriage ride in Central Park, Ellis Island, the Bronx Zoo, the Frick museum, a musical performance somewhere, drinks at Tavern on the Green or the the Boathouse??, a walk down 5th ave or madison for window shopping, a walk around Rock. Center & Grand Central.

Any suggestions for our itinerary? Good places for lunch or breakfast? Is Ellis Island worth half a day if we're only there 3 days?
thanks

We just spent a long weekend in NYC.
Ellis Island is definitely worth a visit. The film and ranger tour are excellent. We arrived in NYC early in the day on Friday. After dropping our luggage at the hotel we immediately took the subway to Battery Park. It's a short walk from the subway station to the park. The lines moved quickly. We were told the lines on the weekends are much longer. We did not get off the boat at the Statue of Liberty since the statue is now closed. The view from the boat provided great photo opportunities.

We purchased a ticket for the Grayline bus tour and were glad we did. We purchased the $49 ticket that was good for 2 days and included the night tour. This is worth the price if the weather is good and you can sit on the upper deck. The views aren't so good when you sit inside the bus. We took the uptown, downtown, and night tours. Didn't have time for the Brooklyn tour. The tour guides provide lots of interesting information.

We ended our trip with a visit on Sunday morning to the WTC site and St. Paul's Chapel. It was a very moving experience and a somber end to our trip. We were glad we went.

The only negative part of our trip was our visit to the Empire State Building. We wanted to go at night to see the lights of the city. It was beautiful, but I don't think the wait was worth the view. We probably spent 2 hours in line - first the ticket line and then the line for the elevator. We arrived around 8:00 on Friday night. Maybe another time or day would be better.

We saw the Saturday matinee of Gypsy and greatly enjoyed it. After leaving Battery Park on Friday afternoon we went to the TKTS booth at South Street Seaport and walked right up and bought 7 tickets. This is much better than the TKTS booth in Times Square - we saw a huge line there Saturday morning.

Some in our group took a Carriage Ride in Central Park, but weren't impressed with the driver. He wasn't a very good tour guide and was not very happy that he couldn't get them to take a longer ride. I guess business was slow that day.

We didn't have time to visit any of the museums. That is what I want to do on my next trip to NYC. Many posters on this board are very impressed with the Met and the Frick.

I second mlm's advice about the Grayline tour. If you only want to take one of them, I would suggest the Lower Manhattan Loop. Ellis Isalnd is a great place to visit and is well worth your time. You can purcahse both the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island and Empire State Building tickets when you buy the Grayline tour tickets. When you get on the boat for Ellis Island, I would suggest not getting off at Liberty Island and just continuing to Ellis Island, since thee is so much to see there. Also, the Statue is closed to visitors.

Another neat place to check out is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Be sure to reserve tickets ahead of time since they do sell out quickly. I recently took the "Pieceing it Together" tour and really enjoyed it.


http://graylinenewyork.com/

http://tenement.org/

Some ideas for lunch might be to stop in at one of the famous New York delis such as Katz's or Second Avenue Deli.

For dinner if you like Italian food I'd suggest heading to Little italy's Mulberry Street. There is no shortage of restaurants there. One of the best on that street is IL Cortile. Also, in Rockefeller Center the Rock Center Cafe is nice sonce it is adjacent to the ice skating rink.

http://littleitalynyc.com/

Just out of curiosity, Lake, have you ever actually been to NYC?

In regard to the Barclay, I have stayed there twice in the past year and can assure you that it is as nice as it looks on the website. Beautiful lobby and tastefully decorated rooms. I would not other with the hotel restaurant. It is ovrpriced for the quality. Excellent location as well. Near enough to everything. If you need a snack for in the room, head over to 3rd Ave. where you will find a corner bodega. Nothing special but if you need a bag of M&Ms or something that's the direction to head in.
You are across the street from the Waldorf - take a walk through their lobby. It's quite pretty. Have fun whatever you decide to do.

The Intercontinental is great. Most of their hotels are! Plus what a great weekend! It should be almost 70 degrees! I know the Tavern on the green can be beautiful at night, and I've never been, but for drinks I love the Campbell Apatment in Grand Central Station and Bemelman's. In regards to lunch's and other meals, there are endless choices. You can sit at the bat at Union Square Cafe (best polenta in the entire world) or one of the other "best" restaurants, but I honestly love finding the smaller places. Soho has a bunch of nice cafe type places and it is a neat place to window shop, depending on how much walking yuo've already done. Do you like ethnic food? If so you won't beat NY- check out Zagats for suggestions. If you like museums the Met has some wonderful exhibits, but it is a lot of walking. Unfortunately the last couple exhibits I was at were kid-oriented so I don't remember specifics of the others. Mostly, have fun and go with what looks interesting- check out a "time Out" magazine as soon as you get there- it will have listings of everything going on during the weekend from chamber music concerts at churches to techno-parties. It will be a few dollars well spent. Have fun!