DeniseL

My 22yo daughter and me are visiting NY for the 3rd time. I'm looking at several walking tours and am wondering if they're worthwhile.

There's a food walking tour of Greenwich village, a Central Park Walking Tour, and A Hip Hop Look At New York. Has anyone done these? I'm wondering if it's better to just buy a book of walking tours. It would definitely be cheaper.

I'm also looking at Happy Hour on the Harbor. It leaves from the South Street Seaport and is two hours long.

We're staying the first three nights at Four Points Manhattan Chelsea Sheraton and the next two nights at Club Quarters Downtown. I know these are kinda strange locations but I got them through Priceline.

We're also going to Phantom of the Opera.

Any suggestions are welcome as to can't miss stuff. We've done the most popular tourist things and are ready for different.

connette

We had a great experience with www.bigapplegreeter.org last December. A wonderful women came to our hotel, picked us up, gave us day passes on the subway, toured us around Brooklyn, then back to Manhattan, then we all had lunch together - toured a bit more and it was free. Wonderful memory. They have many ideas for walks - or they will do your ideas.

mclaurie

It sounds like you have a fun and interesting trip planned. The tripadvisor reviews of your hotels are good!! I hope you'll post back a trip report to let others know how they were.

I haven't done any walking tours myself but I do think others have posted here about the Village eating tour and liked it. (You might do a text search).

I think having a guide is always more informative than walking on your own and reading a book. It's also less stressful if you don't know where you're going. Why not pick and choose which ones sound the best to you?

People have reported both good & bad about the big Apple greeters. It really depends on who you get as a guide. These are volunteers who do this for fun. Some people have had the experience of the guide not showing up. Others have said the guide got lost (an area they didn't know) so if you use them, have the guide pick an area. They'll pick one they know.

For other thoughts of things to see downtown, people love the Tenement Museum. Look at their website and reserve a tour ahead. They offer several different ones and they evidently get booked up.

Teddy Roosevelt's birthplace is also a good small "museum" at 28 East 20th Street (between Broadway & Park Avenue) open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

St. Paul's Chapel at 211 Broadway (at Fulton Street) is one of New York's oldest churches. They also often have free lunchtime concerts on Mondays. This is the church where George Washington worshipped on his inauguration day.

The World Financial Center on West Street (between Liberty & Vesey Streets) also has some free lunchtime concerts on certain days. Check their website.

You might also check the website nycvisit.com for info on what's going on while you're here. Have a great time!

There's an antique/flea market every weekend on 6th ave. around 26th st. (near your first hotel) that might be fun to check out. Go early (7:30-8am) and bring a cup of coffee.

gtrekker2003

I enjoyed the Brooklynn Bridge/Heights walking tour with Big Onion.

Also, Central Park has lots of free walking tours on the weekends and randomly during the week which are also good. I especially liked the 'amble through the rambles' one but the others were also good.

And I remember there being free walking tours of Wall Street on Saturdays which were ran by Big Onion people. They started outside the Smithsonian for Native American .... I don't know where to find the information for it though.

Hope you have fun.

Gtrekker

jjkaine

When my husband, daughter (then 16) and I visited NYC from the UK last April we booked The Lower Manhattan Walking Tour online a 3 hr professionally led tour guide took us all round the area finishing at Ground Zero. It was an excellent introduction to the city and well worth it. http://www.nycvp.com/ground_zero1.html

djkbooks

We took the Greenwich village tasting tour. It was fabulous! One of the highlights was a leisurely visit inside Chumley's.

djkbooks

PS You'd want to book the Greenwich Village food walk online forthwith. They book up quickly.

tmh

We did Apple Greeters as well and enjoyed it. We had a couple of conversations with the guide before we left and secured details and knowledge level.

As long as you're downtown, the Smithsonian Native American musuem (free) is very good. It's housed in an old Treasure bldg I think.

I haven't visited yet but there is some sort of Irish Garden/Park on the lower West side. It sounded good but we had way to much to do and so little time.

If you haven't stayed at a Club Quarters it's pretty neat. At least it was as as a harried business traveler. They have kiosks that check you in using your credit card. It spits out the key and the room details. When you leave, you again use a kiosk and get your receipt. I used to stay at the CQ in mid-town all the time.

DeniseL

Thank you for your suggestions. We did take the Greenwich Village Food Walking Tour. I sent an email from for a Big Apple Greeter but never got a reply. Below is my trip report.

My 22yo daughter and I just returned from a 5 (Aug 3-8) night stay in NYC.

We got our hotels through Priceline. I couldn?t get it to accept bids for 5 nights so I broke it down into 3 and 2 nights. Tues, Wed and Thurs night we stayed at the Four Points Chelsea Sheraton for $85 a night. This is at 6th Ave and 25th St. When we checked in I asked if it was possible to have 2 beds, they said no problem. This was a really nice hotel. The decoration was in browns, blacks and grays. It looked industrial. Subway was a short walk away (2 blocks). The second hotel really made us appreciate what we had.

Fri and Sat night we stayed at Club Quarters in the Financial District (Wall and Williams). It was $90 a night. At check-in I asked for 2 beds, the clerk replied without checking that it would not be possible. The room was clean but drab. Also staying this close to the NYSE is creepy. Lots of armed police complete with flak jackets and big guns. The subway stop was very close.

Our first day (tues) we rode the aerial tramway to Roosevelt Island and took the Staten Island ferry. Both were well worth doing. The ferry ride was soothing after a long day of traveling.

The second day (wed) we went to the Cloisters. We?ve been to France and saw a bunch more of what we saw there. For people into medieval art this would be great. It?s in a pretty park with bluffs overlooking a river. Getting there and back involves riding a bus. The subway stop at 190th St. is closed for access to the bus stop. You have to get off the stop before 190th and catch the bus there. We rode the bus back and stopped at Grant?s Tomb and Riverside Church. Both of us know now who is buried in Grant?s Tomb. That afternoon we saw Phantom of the Opera. We both enjoyed it.

Third day (thurs) we went on the Greenwich Village Food Walking Tour. This was very worthwhile, time and money wise. We had a great tour guide named Cindy. We must have sampled at over 10 different places. These were not sampled sized portions but good sized. It included pizza at Joe?s Pizza which is featured in Spiderman 2. The tour lasted over 3 ? hours. We then went to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Maybe it was because we were so tired, but neither of us liked it too much. The tour guide was snotty, people were laughing on our tour because all of us were afraid of her. If you made the mistake of asking a question, she made a point of how stupid you were. Not only that, the tenement reminded me of my first house. We then ate at Puglia?s in Little Italy. I thought it was supposed to be so great, but wasn?t impressed. The food was so-so and no-one sang.

Fourth day (fri) my daughter didn?t want to get up, so I turned on Good Morning America. When I was getting out of the shower she told me to hurry up, we needed to get to Times Square to see Tom Cruise. We got down there and sure enough we watched him through the windows and then took pictures of him getting into his limo. We then switched hotels using the subway. This is difficult with big suitcases on the subway stairs. I would only recommend this for people that are cheap like me. We went shopping at Century 21 and then on Canal Street.

Fifth day (sat) we went to the Frick Museum. This is now my favorite NYC museum. The combination of the beautiful mansion and the wonderful art is fantastic. It?s also the perfect size, not so huge that you feel overwhelmed. Then we went shopping in Harlem. On 125th St close to the Apollo Theater there are many clothing stores. They have trendy clothes at very low prices.

We took cabs to and from LaGaurdia. Both times it cost about $30. It was a great trip and we can?t wait to get back. There is so much to do there. It?s quite a contrast to where we live.

Judyrem

DeniseL, that was a really good trip report IMO. We are going to NYC in Dec., so I was interested in your report. I was thinking about going to the Tenement Museum...will have to do a little more research.

DeniseL

If you go to the tenement museum, don't go on a tour with Nadine.

Part of not really getting into the tour could be us. We really didn't care for Ellis Island either. If you liked Ellis Island you would probably like the tenement tour also.

Our ancestors did not come through Ellis Island. I don't know if this is what influenced our appreciation or what.

janette

I agree that the Big Apple Greeters sounds like a wonderful thing to do but if you do sign up maybe have an alternate plan in mind. I signed up with BAG's about 2 months ahead of my last trip to New York and since I hadn't heard from them a couple weeks before leaving I called just to confirm. I was told that I had a greeter assigned and that I would be contacted at my hotel. I was contacted - only to be told that they couldn't find a greeter for any of the 6 days I'd be in the city. I was quite disappointed but I do realize it is a volunteer organization and they were extremely apologetic in the voice message they left me. It all worked out fine though - my friend and I took a Harlem walking tour with Big Onion tours and it was great.
Good luck and enjoy your trip.

WendyLee

Just got back yesterday and must add my two cents. You want to see something great? Go see Wicked on Broadway. I've seen many Broadway Musicals, but this was the best. You'll have to pay full price for tickets - it's not at TKTS - but it's worth it. Save dinner for afterwards - at Orso on 46th. Incredible night!!

enjoylife

Get the "Frommer's Memorable Walks in New York." It is a small book which has maps of all the neighborhoods and discusses the highlights. It is lightweight and can fit in a purse.
The retail price is only $12.99. That way you can go about the neighborhoods at your own pace.

DeniseL

I just wanted to add how I got the Phantom of the Opera tickets. They were only $40. I went to broadwaybox.com. They have a list of broadway shows available for as low as $25. This is cheaper than TKTS. Also, you know before what's available. It sure beat standing in line.

Judyrem

DeniseL, thanks for the info on broadwaybox,,,I may get to use it!

Pittsburgher

When I took my daughter (then 21) to NYC for the first time, we did the Greenwich Village pub tour on Saturday afternoon and had a perfect time! The guide was an actor who was very kmowledgeable (or at least convincing!) about who wrote and/or drank where, we went to three or four pubs, and met some other interesting people -- I would definitely recommend it, even if you don't indulge in the brews!