things to do on rainy/windy day in manhattan?
 

Hi,

My husband and I leave for NYC Dec 1 to arrive to rain and lots of wind. What kinds of fun things can we do and see in yucchy weather in NYC? (The husband is not a huge museum-goer or shopper for that matter, but I am sure I can drag him around to a few places at least). I am assuming that the ferries to Ellis Island do not operate in bad weather? This is what we had wanted to do on Friday...

Also, any "not to be missed" Christmas events or displays?

Thanks!

Well, in bad weather, obviously the best place to be is indoors:

* museums - the Metropolitan Museum of Art has 2 <i>extraordinary</i> special exhibitions right now ... Americans in Paris &amp; Cezanne to Picasso.

* shopping - Macy's is huge; you can spend half a day there.

* theater/movies - not only in Broadway a one-of-a-kind experience, you can see many movies in NYC that you can't see anywhere else (LA maybe).

I believe the tourist ferries run to Lady Liberty and Ellis Island in all weather. The Staten Island Ferry certainly does.

To really get in the mood for Christmas, walk along 5th Avenue from 58th Street to Rockefeller Plaza, and watch the snowflake show on the facade of Saks.

Enjoy NYC!

The weather would have to be pretty bad for the ferry to Ellis Island not to run. Remember that NY has lots of commuter ferries, too, that run in an all kinds of weather. Sounds like Ellis Island is a great option for you.

Would he like the American Museum of Natural History? They have a planetarium and IMAX, too.

Most of the Christmas displays are outside -- along Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf's, Tiffany's, Sak's, Rockefeller Center, will all be decorated for Christmas.

Try MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). I'm not much of a museum type person either but I love the MOMA. In addition to really famous works of art, it also houses products that were distinguished for their revolutionary design- products from companies like Braun, Sony, furniture, electronics, mechanics etc etc.
A tour of the United Nations is also interesting (check to ensure that it's open to the public on the day you'll go).

I've been in Manhattan on miserably blustery days, and everyone so far is right: Museums, theatres, galleries, shops (the Fifth Avenue walk is a great idea!). Bundle up! Cabs can be hard to find if it's especially rainy.

New York City is wonderful for first-run specialty movies; Gekko is right that you'll see stuff that never hits the suburban Googleplexes, and many indie films premiere in NYC a week before LA as they ramp up marketing (especially when the &quot;For Your Consideration&quot; ads get made). And Off-Broadway in New York is a special experience too, so don't forget that.

The Museum of Natural History is more fun than most museums so he could still enjoy that if he's not a fan of them in general. There is also a planetarium and IMAX movies there. ESPN Zone in Times Square is fun too - they have a lot of different interactive games. The food is not great there but you could still eat if the weather is terrible.

Don't miss a performance of the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall with the Rockettes. May I just say fabulous.

Absolutely go ahead to Ellis Island. It takes either a hurricane or blizzaard to have any affect on the ferries (they're really sizeable boats).

And there are lots of other ferries in NYC that are used by hundreds of thousands of commuters daily - the only time I can remember a problem was a couple of years ago when it was very cold for an extended period and Hudson was so full of floating ice chunks they had to get an ice breaker to open a path for them.

Just ignore the weather and do whatever you wanted to (unless it was a picnic in the park).

Most of what I would have said has already been said (movies for sure; off-Broadway and other odd performance venues) and how about an eat-a-thon? So many restaurants!

I know you said your husband does not like museums, but the Museum of the City of New York is really pretty interesting, and far off the beaten track.

Would he like the Frick? I love it, but...

Go to a jazz club or Carnegie Hall. Time Out New York (on any newsstand) will also list other concerts.