My piece of advice: do not go to any restaurant (i.e. chains) that you could go to at home!! (Outback, Friday's, etc. etc.) NYC is a fabulous place to eat!!! See citysearch.com, zagat.com, etc.

Regarding the rest of your weekend, you don't have a ton of time. Think about this:

Friday it will be almost lunch before you are settled into your hotel:
-take the Green Line subway up to 77th on Lexington - walk over to Madison and up a few blocks to window shop - grab lunch at E.A.T. (http://www.elisbread.com/eat.html) on Madison between 80th and 81st before popping over to The Met for a little culture. Pick up a floor plan right inside the front door and map out 3-4 areas of interest to see. Leave time for the gift shop. Taxi back to your hotel. Rest, change, drinks and a snack somewhere (I love the bar at the Rennaissance Hotel as it overlooks the hustle bustle of Broadway) before your Broadway show at 8PM. Make a dinner reservation for after the show at Joe Allen's (yes, I did see Ed Norton and Cyndi Lauper there on my last trip) or Angus McIndoe for post-show star sightings. (Its their first trip to NY, o.k.) http://www.angusmcindoe.com/

Saturday:
-Sign up for one of those half day city tours to do the sights. Its quicker and easier than trying to make your way around the town on your own.
-That leaves the afternoon open for more shopping (5th Avenue for high end, Chinatown for knock-offs, Upper West Side for local, Union Square) or take in another museum (The Guggenheim, The American Craft Museum, MOMA)having lunch along the way.
-Late afternoon head for SoHo the shopping is a lot of fun and quite different along Prince Street, Spring Street, Broome Street - between Broadway and Sullivan - stay to have dinner in that area. There are tons of great little local places to eat that aren't mentioned in any guidebook, but are wonderful. Pick anything that looks intersting. After dinner you can head back to Times Square for a nightcap anywhere near the Theater District for the after show buzz or try the bar at the top of the Dream Hotel for a spectacular view of Central Park.
(Personally, I'd toss in another Broadway show this night instead of a dinner out, but that's just my preference.)

Sunday: You won't have a ton of time before heading to the airport. I would pick a great brunch location and/or (if you are so inclinded) attend a church service at St. Patricks or somewhere spectacular.

An excellent guide book for this type of trip is ACCESS guide to NY. It lists hotels, restauants, shops and attractions street by street for each neighborhood.

If you have other interests -- cooking, gardens, zoo, antiques, let us know.

Given this is your first visit, you might like a bus tour. NY Party shuttle does one that hits all the highlights in a climate controlled bus.
http://www.newyorkpartyshuttle.com/n...k-attractions/
I think that tour takes you on the Staten Island Ferry where you'd pass the Statue of Liberty. If you arrive on time, you could perhaps make the 10 am tour on the Fri. you arrive.

The Met Museum is open late on Fri. nights and there's live music. While you may not be able to get a hi lights tour after the party shuttle, there are some other tours.
http://www.metmuseum.org/calendar/in...Date=1/20/2007

That would leave Sat. for shopping, a nice brunch or afternoon tea and a show in the evening. The Producers is a big splashy musical. If you like Tony Danza, he's currently starring and it could be fun. The discounts that can be purchased online in advance on sites like broadwaybox.com are not usually for a Sat. night performance but I think you should be able to get tix to a lot of shows at the TKTS booth. The Producers, Hairspray and Chicago, all big fun shows have all been available recently.
http://www.tdf.org/TDF_SupportPage.aspx?id=51&do=v

On Sunday, if you like flea markets, head to the one in Chelsea
http://www.hellskitchenfleamarket.com/
or there are other ones on the upper westside or in Soho.

If you want help on where to shop we need info on budget and style. Have fun.

Thank you, thank you everyone--we were amazed by all of the responses!!

Right now, our tentative itinerary consists of:

Fri.: Start at Gr. Central Station and head north (Rock. Ctr., Fifth Ave.) to Met. since it's open late (thanks mclaurie). Then Telepan for a bite and Top of Rock (thanks HowardR. & escargot) We're not really drinkers, but we want to hit one cool/trendy bar--any suggestions?

Sat.: Start with Staten Is. ferry to see Statue of Liberty (although I think it's supposed to be quite cold--in the low 30's!??). After that TKTS booth to get Hairspray or Wicked tix, Gr. Zero, then make our way through Chinatown, Little Italy, Nolita, Soho, Greenwich. And we're definitely going to Magnolia escargot! We'd also love to squeeze in Chikalicious too!??!?! Sardis for drink/appetizer before show. Joe Allen's after show (yes TC, we're pathetically hoping for a star sighting at one of the aformentioned restaurants). Again, possibly "drinks"/club? (Pravda? Kemia?)

Sun.: Open--breakfast/brunch, and catch whatever we missed and/or pick up last minute souveniers.

What do you think?

BTW--regarding the show tickets, we want good seats (if possible) vs. totally cheap tickets (of course, we still want a decent price). What's a better option, TKTS (Seaport?), discount code taken to box office (do I have to print a code for each ticket?), or online?

Thanks again!

Oh, forgot something--getting from LaGuardia to hotel (Marriott Marquis Time Square). My friend wants to use a car service--worth it or just take a cab? Recommend a car service?

Since you want to go to the theater on Sat. night, there are few if any options for discount tix to buy in advance for Sat. night performances. So you either have to go for full price tickets thru ticketmaster.com or telecharge.com (depending on the show) or go to the TKTS booth. I think how good the seats are depend somewhat on the show, somewhat on timeing and somewhat on luck.

If you were willing to go to a show on Fri. night instead, (you could flip your Fr./Sat. itineraries since the Met is also open late on Sat. nites) you could try using a discount code.

Just a heads up that the walk from midtown up to the Met is long (about 30 blocks or 30 mins.) While Fifth Ave. is beautiful lined with private homes and apt. buildings on one side and Central Park on the other, there's not that much else to see unless you walk through the park which is possible. The other option is to walk up Madison Ave. from 59 st. and you'll have great window shopping including Barney's and many of the designer stores.

As to car service vs. taxi, it's really a coin toss. If your flight arrives on time, you will be hitting the tail end of rush hour traffic on Fri. Since the taxi price is by the meter and can go up in heavy traffic, there could be a benefit to ordering a car for a flat rate. I like limores.net

Regarding a comment about wanting GOOD seats as opposed to CHEAP seats for Broadway, you need to understand that you can have both. If a show has discount codes for advance purchase like the ones found on Broadway Box, those discounts are good on the BEST seats still available. Don't think that if you don't use the discount, you'll somehow get better seats. (Unless you want to pay a couple hundred dollars each for the "premium" seats which might still be available).

The bottom line is that you won't get GREAT seats for much of any show on a Saturday night at this late date, unless you go to the box office and just happen to get some great returns.

If comedy is your thing, I'd recomnend a comedy club ... there are many in the Times Square area ... it's relatively inexpensive and easy to make get last minute reservations ...

I think its impossible to get "good" seats for Wicked -- especially at the TKS booth. Its sold out. You might get something for Hairspray, but I'd recommend doing it in advance using the discount codes mentioned here. If you want good seats, try going directly to the box office the day of the show. You'll pay full price, but sometimes "house seats" are released at the last minute if they aren't sold in advance.

Good luck. Have fun.

"Grey Gardens" sounds like a good choice to me. Stay away form the "Disneyesque" shows which are more like amusement parks than what Broadway really represents at its best. Expecially for adults. (I'm a native New Yorker).
Get away from Times Square - it's fun , but not necessarily real NY. Go to Bryant Park (on 6th Ave. and 42nd St.) They have ice-skating right now. Fun to watch. A great little park in the middle of midtown and right near where you're staying.

Go to Little Italy, China town. Walk through small streets and see great little independent stores, instead of the chains you can see anywhere.

If it's warm - I highly recommend walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. One side is Brooklyn Heights, itself a great historic bronwstone neighborhood with fabulous vistas. The other is downtown Manhattan.

Have fun.

I agree with kenav about the Brooklyn Bridge, but not about Broadway!

The walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is fantastic (particularly heading towards Manhattan) and the views from the Brooklyn promenade are incredible!

From my experience, the musicals on Broadway are always at least a notch above the touring company ones, with more elaborate sets and staging. Hairspray is great fun to see, and you will walk away energized and excited by the cast. Some shows are dependent on special staging effects for their popularity, which may be what kenav is referring to, but I don't think you would feel that way about most of the ones people are recommending.

Don't waste time with the TKTS booth. This is your vacation and there's so much to do, and so little time. Do you really want to stand in a line for an hour or two to save 50 bucks? Also, even those it's been warm so far, winter is supposed to finally hit in a few days. It will likely be 30-40 degrees and windy.

Use broadwaybox.com for a discount and print out your e-tickets in advance, or go directly to the ticket window of the theatre.

There's a set rate for taxi's from airports to Mahattan. You can't get overcharged.

Just go outside LAG and get on the taxi line. There's someone (a dispatcher) who will direct you to a taxi as they become available.

kenav, thanks for the news. I knew there was a set charge to Manhattan from JFK. When did this set charge from Laguardia start? And how much is it?

There is no set charge from LaGuardia. But it should be around $25-28 into Times Square, assuming no traffic and including tolls.

You're behind the times, nycgirl1! There's been a set taxi charge from Laguardia for a month or two.

Does anyone know what that set fare is? I tried googling and googling and couldn't find it.

Neopatrick, I believe it's $25, but I'm not 100% sure. It might be $35. I'm sure someone on the board knows.

I definitely prefer car services over taxis. I have used Carmel and have always gotten excellent service. You can book online.

Glad you chose Top of the Rock at night, it is dazzling and a million times better that ESB.

I just saw Spamalot and Drowsy Chaperone last month. Highly recommend both tho I
liked Spamalot better.

I love taking the subway to the first stop in Brooklyn, walking the promenade, and then hoofing it over the Brooklyn Bridge.

When I am in NYC I walk walk walk for miles and everything I want to see usually magically appears. When I get tired I hop on a city bus and ride for awhile. It is almost impossible to get lost in NY.

no way! I AM out of the loop! So sorry for the wrong info - I moved away a few months ago and go back every few weeks, but obviously haven't kept up on the taxi fares. My bad!