marialuisa19356

I'm a 48 yr old italian female and will be visiting for the first time New York City in May.
How safe is it for a woman to travel to NYC solo? I think I have not courage to go out alone after dark.
So any advice on where to go, where not to go etc would be greatly appreciated. I plan on going at may for 7 days, I will be stay in neighborhood "Gramercy Park".
Also, what is the weather like in may?
If anyone has any helpful suggestions on a safe way to spend an evening, I'd be very grateful.
I enjoy good food, music, walking.

Grazie mille, Maria Luisa

vjpblovesitaly

"How safe is it for a woman to travel to NYC solo?"

I think NYC was rated safest big city in the USA. It is very safe.

"I think I have not courage to go out alone after dark."

Decide when you get there. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable, though you may be surprised how comfortable you feel. It is not a small city that "rolls up the sidewalk" at 8:00 p.m. "That is an American saying for a city that has nobody around in the evenings or nights)

"Also, what is the weather like in may?"

Lovely. Check weather websites for historical averages and forecast before you leave.

Aduchamp1

No one can isnure the safety of another but NYC is the safest large city in America. There are 100,000's of women who work and live alone or with roommates.

Gramercy Park, which is the neughborhood next to mine (but much wealthier), is a charming area and ironically it is the place in NYC that most resembles London.

Nearby Park Avenue South has numerous restaurants and bars and is active until the wee hours of the morning.

In order to FEEL more secure try and walk on the avenues or the main cross streets such as 14th or 23rd streets. There are almost always people there. Take cabs if necessary and if you feel threatened there are many 24 hour bodegas (nyc small grocery stores) where you seek safety.

We do not have street crime like in Europe where people squirt mustard or ketchup on you to distract you. We do not pairs on motor scrooters stealing bags.

And the weekend starts on Thursday night and ends Sunday morning, so there are always people on the street.

Enjoy, Enjoy. Enjoy.

Be sure to go to City Bakery for breakfast on 18th Street off Fifth Ave,

marialuisa19356

Thanks "vjpblovesitaly" and "Aduchamp1" for your advice.

I want to experience NYC as it really is: what to do "a local"?
I am not interesting for shopping or similia.
I'd appreciate any idea!!
Maria Luisa

gyppielou

I have spent lots of solo time in NYC and have always felt very at home and safe at all hours of the night.

May it the best time of year!!! And walk you will. Take in Union Square Farmers Market. Union Square Cafe has a friendly bar for dining and great food.

I love eating solo at Babbo's bar and then strolling thru Washington Square and dogwatching at the dog park.

TimoutNewYork is a weekly publication listing music, plays etc...

A day in Central Park walking and people watching is always fun - especially in May as everything is coming into bloom. A trip to Zabars, a specialty food and cooking store is always fun for to search for a picnic for the park.

Yellow Water Taxi's should be running which has a decent 2 day on/off rate to get on the water a bit. After making my exodus on Brooklyn Bridge post 9/11 I now enjoy hanging in Brooklyn and walking into Manhattan.

If you'd like some ancient chinese secret acupressure, my friend Tony's son has left chinatown for a tonier address De Yee Herb Center 149 E62nd. For about $60 an hour he will do what no spa ever could! Real healing hands. May be just the pampering you could use midway of your walking Manhattan from end to end!

If you have a rainy day, see what's playing at my favorite movie theatre in the world! The Ziegfeld. Just a beautiful house worthy of world premieres.

Search this forum, there have been many suggestions on finding music and touring the city solo.

Put your best streetwise cap on and be aware of your surroundings, but be confident with caution. Like anywhere, avoid dark streets and alleys. And realize, there are a lot of big bright streets in NYC!!!

What fun!!! Good for you!

gyppie

tchoiniere

Definitely agree with the previous poster about walking through Central Park during the day. It was a lot of fun. You will be there when everything is blooming.

mclaurie

Buy yourself these cards for self guided walking tours.
http://www.amazon.com/City-Walks-Yor.../dp/0811838447

When you arrive, buy a copy of Time Out Magazine and also NY Magazine or the New Yorker so you know what music is playing where. Some of the music schools have concerts. Here's a link to the Juilliard schedule

http://www.juilliard.edu/asp/calendar/calendar.asp

Menupages.com and chowhound.com are good websites for dining.

You will be perfectly safe in the evenings. There are people on the streets everywhere.

maps.google.com
is a website where you can create your own personal map. Put your hotel on it and then you can "search nearby" for whatever you want....restaurants, movie theaters etc.

There are street fairs almost every weekend in May.
http://nycstreetfairs.com/sched.html

nytraveler

The tourist areas of NYC are perfectly safe. If you prefer, later in the evening you can take a cab versus the subway - but it's really not necessary. In the residential areas you will find more than a thousand sidewalk cafes - and tons of people on the streets until at lest 11 or 12 pm - so don;t hide in your hotel room.

Get a couple of tickets for shows, check out which museums are open in the evening and visit them - and spend a couple of evenings justhaving a meal in a sidewallk cafe in a residential area (Greenwich Village, upper west side, lower east side).

If you want to eat indoors many casual restaurants serve light meals at the bar if you prefer that to sitting at a table by your self.

Really - you are being way too timid - get out and explore the city!