Underhill

This time around we'll have time for the sightseeing that we missed last December, when we had a whirlwind 3-1/2 days to hit the museums. We want to see some of those again, and add the Cloisters and Guggenheim, but also hope to visit at least some of the major landmarks and other sights. Would the 3-day Hop On/Hop Off bus tours be a good option? What could we easily do on our own? My DH loves subways, but my knees don't like all the stairs. I'm pretty much okay with flat walking, though.

My DH wants to go up in the Empire State Building (I eschew heights) and see Ground Zero and the museum. We'd both like to visit the Brooklyn Museum for the Egyptian collection, take a ferry ride, see Grand Central Station, wander in Central Park, see Greenwich Village, Chinatown, and Little Italy...and whatever else time allows for. On one day we'll be cheering on a friend running in the marathon, but that will still leave us with a half day on that Monday.

I'd be very grateful for any and all suggestions to add to my 3 guidebooks. Thanks.

HappyTrvlr

The Hop on Hop off buses sit in traffic a lot of the time. However, if you can't do subway stairs perhaps they are an option. There are some subway stations with elevators, not many but a few. Check the transit maps online. Or take buses or taxis.

nytraveler

NO the HOHO buses are a really bad idea. They tend to get stuck in traffic, run only every 30 minutes or so and can be full when they arrive so you need to ait for the next.

Much better to take the subway - or if the stairs are too much - take a city bus - which run every couple of minutes and go everywhere (much cheaper and faster than HOHO).

By Nov Central Park with have leafless trees and no flowers - still the same sights but not the nature.

Be aware that hotel rates will be sky high on Marathon weekend and you should get reservations now or risk being shut out. Also that travel in Manhattan above 59th St will be extremely diffiicult on Marathon Sunday since there will be well more than a million people on the streets - I would allocate that for downtown sights.

maxima

hoho bus in NYC is way overpriced and not a really good idea.. too much traffic, too slow, if it rains you are stuck with an open upper deck. so no a 3 day pass is not a good idea.

plan on taking the subway to the brooklyn museum. you can take the subway or a bus to the cloisters the subway is faster .. the admission policy is the same as the Met.. pay what you wish so long as you pay something, ..though you will see a suggested price...

if walking is no problem, you may want to add a walking tour..i personally like Big Onion for neighborhood tours and history.

if you haven't been, perhaps one of the tours at the tenement museum.

Underhill

Thanks for the comments about the Hop On/Hop Off buses. We used them in London and Paris, where they were pretty good, which is why I thought of them in NYC. But we'll take a pass.

We've had hotel reservations for 6 weeks, ever since learning that our friend would be running in the Marthon. Sounds as though on the Sunday we should head for Chinatown and Little Italy? Or out to the Cloisters?

IMDonehere

The traffic on Oct 31 will be particularly bad due to the Halloween parade. The HOHO costs something like $45 a person per day. You can walk, take the train, bus, and cabs and still save hundreds.

I would go to Chinatown on days other than the weekend. Go to Jing Fong for dim sum during the week, it will be the cheapest and most interesting meal you will have in NYC.

SueNYC

There will still be fall leaves on the trees over Marathon weekend and they are quite beautiful. People on the Upper east side decorate their townhouses for Halloween as well.

I love showing the Park privately and publicly that time of year. You will know which pictures are taken during the Marathon. A couple of Park pictures were taken at other times. https://www.anyroad.com/tours/the-ny...-the-blue-line

SueNYC

Hard to know what to add to your 3 guide books if we don't know what they are...

SambaChula

I have recently been in NYC a couple of times with a resident friend who has a child in a stroller. We used the subway quite a lot. She knows the locations of the elevators in all stations. If you can familiarize yourself, you ought to be OK.
I find that taxis are fairly cheap too for certain trips, although my NYC friends all think I'm being lazy. Just older and tired. For example, I went from W. 37th St to the Met on the east side of the Park, which involves a sort of shuttle trolley across town and lots of walking both to get to the shuttle underground and to get to the museum from the end stop. On the way back, a taxi was about U$10, a bargain, I thought. You're going to spend half of that on subway fare anyway (for 2). And they take credit cards---easy. It's a vacation after all.


Consider the Top of the Rock, which usually has lees of a line and has a view of the Empire State Building. Additionally, there are some large inside viwpoint spaces where you could sit while DH went outside on the terraces, and which might not be so difficult for those challenged by heights.

The ferry is one of my favorite things to do, cheap. get on the right side rail going out, as fast as you can get there, where you get the best view of the Statue of Liberty.
Cloisters is also a favorite; wouldn't know you're in Manhattan.

You might also like the Highline, an interesting park converted from an elevated train track, and the galleries and market in the neighborhood.I was last there on a pretty blustery day, but it was still fun.

The Tenement Museum has several interesting tours. Check it out online, but make sure you do reservatiuons in advance as tours fill fast. Their shop/waiting area also has some interesting books and souvenirs. The Lower East Side neighborhood has some unique, craft-y, trendy shops and some classic oldies.

Have fun.

maxima

to get to the cloisters you can take the A train and will exit the 190th Street station by elevator and then walk north about 10 minutes or exit the subway and take the M4 bus one stop. Alternatively you can take the M4 bus on Madison Avenue north to the Cloisters or in reverse after leaving the museum but this is a long slow ride.

Chinatown is generally pretty crowded on the weekends and less so during the week. Little Italy these days consists of a few blocks, mostly Chinatown has spread out into what was once Little Italy. I would go to the Cloisters on Sunday,and to Chinatown/Little Italy on Monday.

You could combine the Brooklyn Museum with the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, they sell a combo ticket. they share the same parking lot, so you can exit the museum at the parking lot entrance and then enter the gardens.

toncasmo

ttt

Underhill

My 3 guidebooks: Frommer's, Michelin, and Eyewitness.

Hallowe'en parade? I didn't know about that. Where and when, please.

Underhill

Dim sum = our favorite thing. Thanks for the restaurant recommendation.

nytraveler

In the Village. It's like nothing you have ever seen - very adult. Groups marching together in matching or themed outfits, enormous puppets, with more than 50 bands and a huge number of watchers (more than 100K?). But sort of like Carnival in Rio - not for small children (can be very scary and/or with minimal clothing). It's an incredible hoot for adults.

On local TV if you prefer that to being in the mobbed streets.

IMDonehere

Jing Fong as my Chinese friends tell me is pure Hong Kong. There will be women pushing carts around and unless you speak Cantonese just point. They add will take care of the bill. My favorites are turnip cakes and the chicken feet in a brown sauce. Seats 800 people but is still jammed on weekends.

A little more upscale is Nom Wah on Doyers Street (hard to fins), the oldest Dim Sum place in NY. A nephew who was a banker or lawyer took over the establishment and while the food is excellent and from a menu, he kept the tin ceiling and the crooked marble floor.

Also there is Golden Unicorn with the oddest set up. They're on the upper floors so you tell a hostess in the main lobby that you want dim sum and she will direct you. Same carts as Jing Fong.

Underhill

Sounds as though we have good choices for dim sum. We some names in Cantonese, having friends who speak the language and take us to their favorite spots in San Francisco. I'm glad to hear about the carts; much more fun than ordering off a menu.

I think we'll watch the Hallowe'en parade on TV. Thanks for the tip.

nytraveler

It's usually on NY1 - the local 24 hour news channel and I thnik begins about 9 pm - but do check for details.

Underhill

Thanks for the info.