We want to spend an afternoon (probably Sunday) visiting the Tenement Museum.
1. Do we have to buy tickets in advance?
2. How do we get there from the Salisbury Hotel?
3. Is it practical to do 2 tours? I would like to do the "Piecing it together Tour and there is also a walking tour of the area.

Yes - definitely get tickets in advance. hopstop will guide you ther. You can do a walking tour afterward if you do the Tenement tour early enoughin the day.

Yes, it's practical to do two tours (if you look at the Tenement Museum website, their tours are set up to do both a building tour and a walking tour. The tour of the building itself is only one hour, and they necessarily run on time -- otherwise it would get impossibly crowded). If you're set on doing a particular tour ("Piecing it Together", which is the one we did, and really enjoyed), then yes, I would make advance reservations, especially on a weekend.

Where is the Salisbury?

57th st near Carnegie.

Check out their website, it answers your questions and you can order tickets there. It shows you what tours are available on what days (via a calendar) and what ones have openings.

I tried to visit The Tenement Museum last year and I never found it. My husband & I walked around for about a half hour with the address before we gave up. I visit NYC frequently and am fairly familiar with it - not sure what our problem was!

emboston, I'm not sure either because it's on a very well-known street!

In fact, if you go to googlemaps.com and type in Tenement Museum, you'll actually see it on the map!

I had no problem finding the Museum. Took the subway but don't remember which one or where I was staying at the time. Probably came from midtown. I didn't get a reservation because it was just one person. I got there pretty early and had to wait to get one of the tours. That was fine because I just explored the neighborhood but I wouled definitely make a reservation. Really enjoyed the museum and I did the "Piecing It Together Tour".

Take the B or D train at Columbus Circle and follow the directions provided by the Museum

Or take the E at 7 Ave and 43rd to West Fourth and take the B, D, F as described below

B or D to Grand Street
Exit at Grand and Chrystie. Walk east (away from Bowery) for four blocks. Take a left at Orchard Street and walk north for two blocks to the Museum Shop 108 Orchard Street.

F to Delancey Street or the J, M or Z to Essex Street
Once you get off any of these subways, walk two blocks away from the Williamsburg Bridge (west) to Orchard Street, turn left and walk 1/2 block south to the Museum Shop 108 Orchard Street, between Delancey and Broome, near Delancey.

if your not familar with the area,just take a cab there,then go to Katzs deli right around the corner--a real NYC experience,Then take the subway back --its a great exeprience

My experience suggests it's a good idea to make reservations ahead for the tours you want. They sell out sometimes.

We did "Piecing it together" last month and I had gotten tickets online. We got their earlier, there was space available on an earlier tour but since we had got the tickets online, we couldn't switch. If we had bought them in person, it seemed like we could have changed them. {something to keep in mind should plans change}

There is a movie to watch in the gift shop and browsing through the gift shop filled in our time.

We had lunch at Katz's Deli before hand. Great tour and lunch!

Sorry for the typo, that should be the E train at 7th and 53rd Street.
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There are many interesting restaurants in the neighborhood including Bereket, inexpensive Turkish food where many cabbies go and eat.

Clinton St Bakery, where they have table service and possible the best biscuits in the city. Great brunches, it is a zoo on the weekends.

Inoteca
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/inoteca01/
Fabulous small plate Italian dishes

Congee Village
Congee is a thick Chinese rich porridge also called juk. They have other dishes and it is just to the right of the rear entrance of the Museum..

And whatever you do be sure to go Il Laboratorio del Gelato right next to the Museum

Make sure you stop and get pickles from the pickle stand down the street! The Museum is pretty easy to find - there is a large sign on the side of the building. I have been on the tour with many times with school kids and they always enjoy it - especially the walking tour!

Gus's Pickles is no longer on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side. There is, however, the Pickle Guys at 49 Essex Street whose quality is equal to that of Gus's.

Bookmarking.

Bookmarking

We plan to visit on a weekday in either late September or early October this yr. Do we still need to buy our tickets (2) of them in advance and if we do, how much in advance should we buy them? Is a week enough time? Thanks.