rickydicky

Hello everyone. We are two Brits arriving in New York in April to start a six week road trip finishing in Texas where we have friends. We will have four days in New York ( our third visit) and have been busy pinching ideas from all over this site. Thank you!
Some information: my girlfriend and I are just sixty and very fit. We are interested in walking, music, photography, watching, learning and enjoy travelling by bus.We are not bothered about fine dining, tourist hot spots, Broadway plays and visiting every museum.
I guess we will take the Staten Island Ferry, walk the Highline and the Brooklyn Bridge, visit Central Park and Grand Central Station. I would love any advice on the following:
Good areas to walk and photograph -parks, river, waterfront etc.
Good areas for buskers and just watching life go by.
Are there free places to get views of the city without going to ESB or TOTR?
A bar with good beers and music or great jukebox.
Stores,delis, cafes, markets where we can buy/eat good local food. Sue and I cannot spend 6 weeks eating burgers, barbecue, shakes and pastries - much as we'd love to!
I hope this gives you some flavour of what we're into and by the way we are likely to be staying midtown although that's not fixed. To be honest I would welcome any ideas that you are kind enough to mention. Thank you.

Golemtoo

The International Center for Photography is a museum rarely mentioned here, that is worthwhile if you are interested in photography.

http://www.icp.org/

For buskers try Central Park and Washington Square Park.

Delis mean different things in NYC. My favorite Jewish Deli is 2nd Ave Deli with Katz's, the better known, a close second.

For burgers the Spotted Pig is wonderful for a more expensive burger and some of the best fries in NYC.

http://thespottedpig.com/

Corner Bistro is an old NY favorite, which a bar with seats in the back and is a zoo on the weekends.

In the East Village-Black Iron and Paul's Da Burger Joint. I do not think I have ever seen a tourist in Paul's. It is a divey place with complacent/wise ass waitresses. Not the best burger but one where you feel like a NY'er.

isabel

My favorite walk is around the tip of Manhattan. Start at North Cove (on the Hudson, directly behind the world trade center site. There is a good gelato shop inside the Winter Garden right there at North Cove. Then walk south to Battery Park, around to the east river side and up past the Brooklyn Bridge. You can stop at South Street Seaport for food and nice view of the bridge from their terraces.

City Hall Park, which is also in that area, is one of my favorite small parks.

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge or take the ferry, then walk north up past the Manhattan Bridge. Great views of the Manhattan Skyline from there. You can also walk south - the park goes all along there - for different perspective.

Take the hop on hop off water taxi. Goes from 42nd street on the Hudson side all around lower Manhattan with lots of stops, and up under all the East River Bridges. If you don't want to do that, a shorter ferry ride is the Ikea Ferry from just south of South Street Seaport to Ikea in Brooklyn. You don't have to go to Ikea, just get back on the return ferry. It's free some of the time but I can't remember when (weekends in the summer maybe?).

Take the tram over to Roosevelt Island. Either early in the day or sunset. Great views of midtown.

http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/new_york_city

nytraveler

In NYC "local" food is everything you can think of - from Gray's Papaya (hot dogs and papaya juice) to hole in the walls selling Vietnamese sandwiches to upscale cupcake bakeries, Jewish delis and bargain lunches at a plethora of chinese and indian restaurants all over the city. You can check out menupages.com - searchable by location and cuisine - with actual menues with prices.

As you are touring just check out the places you pass during the day - those that are crowded will usually have decent food. If you are looking for something specific, ask here or have a look at Chowhound.

Some of the best views are from the Brooklyn promenade and the Staten Island ferry. For street performers look at Central Park on weekends, Fifth Ave in front of the Met and Washington Square Park. April may be great for this - but be aware that you can still get weather that is quite chilly - our spring is later than yours since our winter is usually so much colder.

Ackislander

One of the best ways to see a lot of Manahattan, not a "panorama", is to take the 4 bus from PennStation to the Cloisters, then change to a 5 bus on the way back and go all the way to South Ferry or an 11 near St John the Divine and go to the High Line.

Takes forever, but the journey, not the destination is important. Fascinating contrasts between Upper East Side, Harlem, Washington Heights, Upper West Side, etc.

Cheap and lots of subway stations where you can bail if it is too slow for you.

mclaurie

-Good areas to walk and photograph -parks, river, waterfront etc.
Walkingoffthebigapple.com is a website with lots of good ideas for self guided walking tours by area and by theme. You can also find maps of the greenbelts along both the East River and the Hudson River online. If you're looking for a good close view of the Statue of Liberty, the Staten Island ferry won't provide it. You'd be better paying for a cruise. Nywatertaxi.com does a hopon/off ticket that will show you a lot of the waterfront areas from the wayer. They also do cruises.

-Good areas for buskers and just watching life go by.
Washington Square Park
Union Square
In front of the Metropolitan museum on weekends
Bethesda Fountainin Central Park

-Are there free places to get views of the city without going to ESB or TOTR?
Yes, but none quite the same. Gorgeous skyline view from the Brooklyn Promenade in Brooklyn Heights.
A ride on the Roosevelt Island tram is included in the unlimited metrocard which you both will want to buy.

For food, the city is FILLED with gourmet shops, fabulous ethnic cheap eats and virtually every restaurant does take out and delivery. Some websites that might help you
Menupages.com
Eater.com
Seriouseats.com
Yelp.com

bmw732002

"You can stop at South Street Seaport for food and nice view of the bridge from their terraces"

I think the SS Seaport got smacked around pretty good by Sandy. It is heavily under reconstruction.

Just an FYI

-john

nytraveler

It may be open and running by April - do check before you count on it.

easytraveler

I've used this service for a couple of cities in the US, especially in New York, and find it a wonderful way to get to know a city. You pay what you think the tour is worth at the end in the "tip" for the guide.

http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/new-y...rs/default.asp

I've done the "All in One Downtown" and the "AIO Uptown" and found them both entertaining as well as a quick way to learn as much as possible about NYC. Each of these All in one tours lasts about 6 hours, almost all of it on foot.

You will need to purchase your own metro tickets and meals.

happytrailstoyou

Walking in our favorite activity when visiting New York City. We like to spend a long day following this general path: Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Broadway Theater District, Murray Hill, Gramercy Park, Chelsea, the Meat Packing District, Greenwich Village, SoHo, the East Village, the Lower East Side, Little Italy, Chinatown, Brooklyn Bridge and Wall Street.



HTtY

rickydicky

Thank you, thank you. I'm overwhelmed by the speed of reply and the quality of information. This is seriously great stuff.
Golemtoo : The Spotted Pig, Corner Bistro and that deli are now on my list.
Isabel: this is genius. You could plan our whole tour!
NYtraveler : great tips about Brooklyn promenade and busking areas.
Ackislander : that bus trip really appeals. Thanks.
Mclaurie : great to see your advice backs up so many other people.
bmw732002 : will definitely check out South Street Seaport.
Easy traveler : thanks for the tip and the link?
If I had my way you guys would all be on a salary. Any more suggestions?

Cosmia

On my last trip to New York I stayed in downtown Brooklyn and I liked these things:
Prospect park for walking and some people watching.
Brooklyn Heights promenade and the parks below Brooklyn bridge for views of the city.
Brooklyn Fare (grocery store) and Mile End Deli for lunch. I really really liked pizza from Artichoke and falafel from Taim on that trip too for my takeout dinners.

sf7307

HTTY, how many miles do you cover in that day? Last time we were there, we covered 7-1/2 miles on foot and thought we did great -- we started at Grand Central, walked up to Rock Center, down to the Diamond District (had an errand to run), then just kept going, eventually ending up at the World Trade Center memorial site (with many stops along the way, including the High Line again, visiting a friend who works near the Flatiron Building, walking through the unbelieveable Whole Foods in Tribeca, etc.). We did take the subway back up to 2nd Avenue Deli for a fabulous pastrami sandwich for dinner before walking back to Grand Central for our train out of the city!

Kwaussie

Enjoying reading the replies as we will arrive in NYC in a couple of days & hope to walk our way around all of the above.
I'll let you know how we get on rickydicky. We have been doing a road trip the other way from Texas up. You can see how we got on in the other places on my trip report.

happytrailstoyou

sf7307, Now that's the way we like to go. I'd say we walk at least 10 miles, but we do it over a long day stopping many times along the way. HTtY

tomfuller

If you enjoy travel by bus, you will love travel by train.
The train has more than 1 bathroom which improves the odds of finding one that does not stink.
You can eat food cooked on the train. You won't have to worry about driving on the right side of the road.

rickydicky

HTTY : we will certainly use the second part of your walk.
Cosmos : views, park, photo opportunity and a deli - excellent.
Sf307 : thanks.
Kwaussie ; I'm gonna take a look at your route as soon as I've finished this post. Will be interesting to see which way you travelled.
Tom : I like your style but the bus bit was just for skipping round Manhattan.
Anyone any ideas on a nice relaxed bar with music, micro-breweries or a cafe with views, wi-fi, papers etc. Thanks to everybody for such a valuable insight into your wonderful city.

POMAH

Go to Brighton Beach. Then take the B68 to Jst./Coney Island ave, take the B6 towards 86st. You'll see some nice sights, and the end of Bay Pkwy has a nice view of Verrazano Bridge.

nytraveler

That is if there is anything left after this latest noreaster.

All of the barrier island and beaches immediately facing the ocean were flooded and damaged by Sandy - and now this next of the winter noreasters. Before heading to Coney Island or anywhere nearby - check travel availability and status of the sights you want to see.

The main amusement park at Coney Island and Famous Nathan's are expected to reopen in the spring. But many of the smaller amusement areas were heavily damaged - some games and machines beyond repair. Which will reopen when is unknown. The aquarium is no shut and lost a number of exhibits when cold sea water flooded the tropical exhibits. They hope to partially reopen by next summer but details are unknown.

POMAH

The OP was asking about people watching, not riding on the cyclone. For unusual characters and food, Brighton Beach is good.
Then the now Chinese/Asian Bensonhurst(formerly an Italian hood) is worth a visit by B1, and 86st has "Istanbul" the best gyro in town.