reynabeyna

Ok, so I finally finished our itinerary, but I'm sure there are a few kinks. I realize things will do not happen as planned, but I do not want to miss a thing! If I missed anything let me know. Thanks for the help!

Wednesday August 23rd
Day 1:
Arrive at Newark International Airport at 4:52 p.m.
Check-in and unpack
Walk or take taxi to The Empire State Building
Late dinner

Thursday August 24th
Day 2:
Begin at the New York Public Library
Move on to Grand Central Station, Chrysler Buliding, United Nations, St. Patricks Cathedral, Saks Fifth Avenue.
Head to Times Square to purchase and catch the Night Tour on the All Loop Double Decker Bus at 7pm. Find dinner in Times Square

Friday August 25th
Day 3:
Have breakfast at Comfort Diner
Catch Double Decker Bus at Empire State Building and make first stop in Greenwich Village for some shopping. Other places of interest: Mark Twain's House , West 8th Street shoe district.
Take bus to Soho. Places of interest: NYC Fire Museum
Next stop in Chinatown for some souveniers
Continue on to Little Italy. Restaurant suggestions?
Try to take last bus to Rockefeller Center. Stop at H&M for more shopping!

Saturday August 26th
Day 4:
Take double decker bus from Empire State Building to Theatre District to purchase off-broadway tickets.
Head to Trump Tower , and Tiffany's to window shop, and play around at FAO Schwartz.
Have lunch on the steps of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tour The Met.
Have dinner in Hell's Kitchen or somewhere good nearby( any suggestions?).
Catch off-broadway show and head back to hotel.(suggestions on off-broadway show?)

Sunday August 27th
Day 5:
All day set aside for Central Park . Need to make a stop for frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity.
Purchase tickets for view from Top of the Rock. Good time would be right before sunset at 8pm.
Find dinner near by
Night open for suggestions

Monday August 28th
Day 6:
Visit World Trade Center Site to pay respects.
Stop at New York Stock Exchange
Head to NYC Police Museum
Take water taxi from South Street Seaport to Fulton Landing
Eat pizza at Grimaldi's and stop for ice cream at the Ice Cream Factory before walking over The Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan
Night open for suggestions

Tuesday August 29th
Day 7:
Catch Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Ferry in Battery Park
Visit Ellis Island Immigration Museum
Make a stop at the Flatiron Building
Head to Macy's and making a stop at Duty free Apparel
Shop in Garment District
Night open for suggestions

Wednesday August 30th
Day 8:
Today show,TRL?
MOMA
Visit any places we have not covered yet and grab last minute souveniers
Relax and enjoy our last day and night in NYC!

Thursday August 31st
Day 9:
Pack and prepare for check-out
Plane departs at 6:08pm

emd

Wow! Where are you staying- I assume near the Empire State Bldg, since you are taking buses from there?

I only have a minute now, but while I am thinking of it- you can buy your Top of the Rock tickets online before you go, esp. since you want a certain time. I bought mine yesterday as we are going on the last elevator up after a broadway show one night (we will be getting out of the show at 10:15 qand last elevator up is at 10:50-11 pm).

http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/ODTStatic/site.htm

amelie

It sounds really good to me. I wouldn't buy Top of the Rock tickets ahead of time though, I'd wait until I saw a weather report. We bought ours the morning of (June 29th) and luckily it stopped storming/raining so very hard the second we got to the top of the building. It was fantastic. I personally wouldn't do both it and the Empire State Building, but that is up to you.

Everything does seem like a good pace on your list though. Maybe on Day 8 you could do the NBC Studio Tour. We loved that.

Oh, and Serendipities on a Sunday... hmm. We tried to go on a Thursday at 2:30pm for dessert, but the wait was an hour and a half. They won't take reservations for dessert only. I was pretty upset, but maybe next time.

QC

This looks fundamentally sound, but I find it curious why you are taking Tour Buses everywhere.

Other notes:

Day 1: Perfect.

Day 2:
Find dinner in Times Square

Easier said than done. Crowded! I would suggest having dinner at about 8PM, you will be able to walk into most (non-chain) restaurants then as the theatre crowd will all be at their shows. AVOID chains like Bubba Gump or Olive Garden unless you like 2+ hour waits. 9th Avenue is wall-to-wall great places to eat in the 40's, you'll be able to stroll right in almost anywhere.


Day 3:
Have breakfast at Comfort Diner.

Why?

Catch Double Decker Bus at Empire State Building and make first stop in Greenwich Village for some shopping.

The #5 bus goes down 5th Avenue and terminates on Houston St. in the Village. The F train goes down 6th Avenue and stops at West 4th Street in the Village. Why are you taking a tour bus?

Other places of interest: Mark Twain's House

I think you are thinking of Hartford, Connecticut. No such place in NYC.

West 8th Street shoe district.

Good idea.

Take bus to Soho.

From 8th Street to Soho is 9 blocks, 1/2 a mile. Walk it.

Next stop in Chinatown for some souveniers
Continue on to Little Italy. Restaurant suggestions?

Don't miss the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (homemade Ice Cream) on Bayard St.

Try to take last bus to Rockefeller Center. Stop at H&M for more shopping!

Are you taking a tour bus again? Why!?!?!? Take the B or D train directly from Grand St. to 47-50 Sts/Rockefeller Center.

Day 4:
Take double decker bus from Empire State Building to Theatre District to purchase off-broadway tickets.

This is pure insanity. There is no reason to take a bus from 34th and 5th to 44th and 7th. It's not even a mile. Also, why are you going to Broadway to get Off-Broadway tickets?

Head to Trump Tower , and Tiffany's to window shop, and play around at FAO Schwartz.

Tiffany's windows are under construction right now. Try Cartier instead.

Have lunch on the steps of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tour The Met.

I suggest eating at the Met Cafeteria.

Have dinner in Hell's Kitchen or somewhere good nearby( any suggestions?).

The Met is at 82nd and 5th. Hell's Kitchen is the West 40's. Again, go to 9th Avenue to eat.

Catch off-broadway show and head back to hotel.(suggestions on off-broadway show?)

You seem confused. BROADWAY shows are in the area you describe. OFF-BROADWAY means "anywhere else in the city", usually in the Village.

Day 5:
All day set aside for Central Park .

Too much time, unless you hometown has no trees.

Need to make a stop for frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity.

Why?

Purchase tickets for view from Top of the Rock. Good time would be right before sunset at 8pm.

Good idea.

Day 6:
Visit World Trade Center Site to pay respects.
Stop at New York Stock Exchange
Head to NYC Police Museum
Take water taxi from South Street Seaport to Fulton Landing
Eat pizza at Grimaldi's and stop for ice cream at the Ice Cream Factory before walking over The Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan

All fine. I would suggest doing Brooklyn FIRST, then walking over the bridge and hitting WTC and the Stock Exchange.

Day 7:
Catch Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Ferry in Battery Park
Visit Ellis Island Immigration Museum

Book a tremendous amount of time for this. It takes forever to go to and from the Island.

Make a stop at the Flatiron Building
Head to Macy's and making a stop at Duty free Apparel

They have Duty Free Apparel?

Shop in Garment District

Most of these shops are WHOLESALE ONLY.

Day 8:
Today show,TRL?

Why? I would suggest the NBC Tour over standing outside and screaming, unless the Today Show has an outdoor concert, in which case, great idea.

MOMA

Get there early, CROWDED!

karameli

Find dinner in Times Square:
I'd suggest Virgil's barbecue -- yummy!! I dream of the pork nachos. I believe it's on 44th street just off of Broadway.

Little Italy: Never been but La Mela gets good reviews. Someone else might be able to second (or refute) that.

As far as TRL goes -- are you going with any teens? If so, you may want to walk past the studio the day before during taping (it's about a 20-minute walk from midtown, where you'll be part of the day). Often someone is outside taking sign-ups for people to sit in the studio the following day, but usually this is for teens and early-20-somethings.

rkyracr

I second the little italy restaurant La Mela - we visit it each time we go to NYC! Do not order from the menu, but have them bring you the family style dinner - it is just wonderful.
While in the area, you can get wonderful desserts at Ferraros, which is just down the street from La Mela.

nytraveler

The garment district is primarily wholesale - but they do sometimes have sales on sample items. This works only if you wear a sample size. Check out New York Magazine a week or two before you go - they will list if anyone is having a sample sale.

happytrailstoyou

I didn't read your entire post or any of the replies.

However, I believe you will have a much more authentic and fun NY experience if you take public transportation and forget about the double decker bus.

Also, the best way to explore lower Manhattan is on foot. Unless you are feeble, you can easily walk from Greenwich Village to SoHo, to lower Broadway, to Little Italy, to Chinatown, and to Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge, etc. Of course, on your walk you would stop in shops, restaurants, coffee houses, etc.

I also believe you will have a better time if you make a list of the things you want to do without having such a clear plan of exactly when you want to do them. Along the way you will find yourself having a good time doing things you didn't plan.

Have fun.

reynabeyna

Thanks Everyone!
We are staying at the Broadway Plaza Hotel. We are planning on the night tour on the double decker bus and for $49 you can have the pass for 2 or 3 days, so I figured that was the way to go. However, cabs and local transportation do sound fun. Is it very expensive by cab to get to one of my scheduled places to the next? I know we are going to walk TONS! Some of the places I mentioned (comfort diner, Duty free apparel, and such) were suggestions from other posts I made. They are close to our Hotel I was told. Someone told me that the last 2 weeks in August are quiet. Most go to the beach? True?

tuscanlifeedit

"Quiet" is relative. ;-) Yes, a lot of people take vacation, but the city is so huge and so busy, that as a casual visitor, you won't feel that it's quiet. And any tourist areas will always be busy.

I think you can drop the Garment District. From street level, you won't see store fronts, except for a few that supplie the apparel industry, and some fabric and notions shops. In the market for a gross of hangers or huge rolls of plastic wrapping? Ok, then go to the Garment District. But they don't sell garments there; they make them there.

My daughter is in the apparel industry and I've spent some time in the area. During the week, it is very busy with trucks, deliveries, people rushing about. I promise you, this is a business area and not a shopping area. Use that time to do something fun or relaxing, or just wander.

You have a whole day scheduled for Central Park. Won't you get tired of being in the Park? I love the park; I was even married there, but that's one activity. And the park is so big: you will walk your feet off.

Some favorite places of mine are the Botanical Gardens and the Shakespeare Garden. Strawberry Fields is popular, and all of these places are far apart.

I suggest you spread your visits to the Park to coincide with other activities. You could visit the Botanical Gardens and the Museum of the City of New York (nice and undervisited) at the same time. Look and see what interests you near the Met, and plan a foray into the park when you visit that museum.

Anyway, that's what I would do.

Because my family lives in New York, DH and I visit often. We buy a Metro card, use the trains, and occasionally a bus. We don't take too many taxis, and save them for when we are in a hurry or exhausted.

You will be very well located for public transportation, and I wouldn't spend for the tour bus. You won't need taxis, but they are there if you would like to take them.

wantsomesun

That is one of the BEST itineraries that I have ever read. But don't be surprised or sadened if you don't get to everything on your list, just plan to come back, the city can be overwhelming (and I live here)

A couple of suggestions to add. There is a tiny ice cream factory in Chinatown, called Chinatown Ice Cream FActory, lol. It is just east of Mott St right in the heart of Chinatown, if you find the Hagen Das Ice cream store on Mott, it is across the street and head east toward The Bowery. They have unusual flavors like Green Tea, which tastes to me like chocolate.

Another suggestion for dinner is the Peking Duck HOuse, again on Mott St, and they do the BEST Peking Duck you have ever had.

Also for a wonderful evening of pastery and coffee go to 1st Ave and 10th to Veniero's. Alot of the restaurants in the city serve their pasteries for desert. WELL worth the trip over.

Have a GREAT time and let us know if you have any other questions.

wantsomesun

I shop in the Garment district all the time. The stores in the 36th St area between 5th and 6th, Broadway and on to 7th will sell to you, just ask when you walk into the store.

Also on Saturday and Sunday, there are street fairs all over the city and you can get some fun things, some good bargins and fun food. I will look up the locations for the festivals while you are here and add them to this post.

ellenem

Just want to clear up a possible misdirection: Tuscanlifeedit mentions the Botanical Gardens in Central Park. There are Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn or the Bronx, but Central Park has the Conservatory Garden--important to know the correct term for Googling . . . Also there's a Conservatory Pond in a totally different area, where impressive model sailboats are in use. This makes a lovely stop for lunch or a snack--a nice patio with snackbar overlooking the pond.

basingstoke1

While you are near Chinatown and little Italy, check out the Tenement museum - it's worthwhile. Also try a real NY deli such as Katz while nearby so you will know what pastrami is supposed to taste like (actually, it's worth a detour IMO). Too bad the 2nd ave deli closed.

wantsomesun

There are at least 2 Street Festivals in the City while you are here, on 2rd Ave. Sat 3rd Ave from 14th - 23rd Sts. and Sun on 3rd Ave from 23rd to 34th St.

rqf

If you are going to spend a full day in Central Park you could have lunch or dinner in the Boathouse Restaurant. It is on the east side of the park near 75th St.

emd

wantsomesun, where did you get the street festival info? I'd like to chekc for the long weekend I am there, August 24-27.