In two weeks, I'm off to NYC for a few days. I'm staying with a friend in Brooklyn, so I'll be hanging out with her most of the time. I will have 1 day all to myself while she's at work, so I figure I will get all the "touristy" things out of the way.

I was thinking Top of the Rock and Ellis Island. And perhaps the Met if I have time. I've been to NYC once before & visited Times Square, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge & took "the beast" around the harbor. So I just wanted to do a few more touristy things. Any other recommendations? Or maybe ideas of areas in the city to walk around?

The rest of the weekend we will probably visit Central Park and do some shopping. So I'm just focusing on the tourist sites when I'm by myself on Friday. Please give me your suggestions!

Also, any ideas for something unique for a 30th birthday celebration on a Sat night. I have no idea what - something more memorable than just dinner or a bar??

If you go to Ellis Island, reserve on line and take the first ferry of the morning. If you do that, it will take up a huge chunk of your day, but I can see where it would be a great solitary activity. Lots of the exhibits have phones you pick up, where you listen to an imigrant telling his or her story....that kind of thing can be hard to do when you're in a group that is not interested in listening.

If it were me, I'd choose a musuem and spend as much time as I wanted there. (I'm the mother of three, so unrushed time in a museum would be fabulous.)

One of my favorite NY experiences was the Foods of NY Greenwich Village walking tour. You'll walk around a charming neighborhood, learn a lot of history, and eat tasty food samples.

http://www.foodsofny.com/

Ellis Island will take up most of the day. I would walk the City starting in the West Village.

Greenwich Village area is one of my favorite. If you're going to do CP and shopping another time I'd do the village. I loved Ellis Island when I went so if you have an interest then that is great too. It does take alot of time though but worth it in my opinion.

The Met, then the Top of the Rock at sunset.

Why not take a bus tour of the city? That's as touristy as it gets and will give you a decent tour of the city.

I think it would be hard to do everything you mentioned in one day...the Met alone could take a whole day if you're into art. As far as a special evening activity. There's no better place to see theatre than New York. I'd pick a Broadway play that you think you'd like and go for it, but you need to reserve ahead of time. Theatre in NYC is just amazing and fun and puts a smile on just about everybody's face.

I would consider exploring an art gallery this is what NYC is known for the world over. If you are not someone with an art background consider a tour. Museum mile on the upper east side takes you into another world. I like l Museo del Barrio is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue between 104th and 105th. ...but there are a million others, you don't need to spend 5 hours, spend an hour and move on. Guggenheim is great too.

And yes I would go to the met in the evening for ballet or some other performance. I would also see what is happening at Carnegie hall go if it is someone great, ignore if its a highschool that has rented the hall.

www.visitnyc.com to see what is on.

voyager the met could be the gallery if so no need to spend all day. Spend some time move on. The met could also mean the metropolitan opera complex. ...not just opera, ballet etc...

Ellis Island is pretty cool. And I love just strolling through Battery Park (where you'll catch the Ellis Island Ferry)and the surrounding area. Include a walk around the World Trade Center. Catch a meal in China Town. All of these are in walking distance, if you are game for a good walk.

You're right. I didn't even think of the Met, as in the opera, but since I was travelling with by husband and teenage son, opera wasn't even a remote possibility for me in NYC. Opera, art, Broadway shows, it's all great. How can you go wrong?

voyager think about the met next trip. It is a lot more than opera, but you might get a surprise at an opera too.

I think everyone should see the ballet there once.

Thanks for the responses. I think for my solo day I'll stick to Ellis Island, then take a walk through Battery Park and the trade center site. Then probably head up to midtown to do Top of the Rock and the other touristy sites. This may seem like a dumb question, but is lower manhattan to mid-town a walkable distance? It's hard to tell from a map. I love to walk and get a feel for a city, but also don't want to kill my feet either!

No, I wouldn't walk from lower Manhattan to mid-town.

Depends on your idea of walkable--about 4 miles

I'm planning a trip in October after just visiting in April. For a first timer, you really can't beat the NYC Party Shuttle tour. They take you to all the sites, take you on the Staten Island Ferry, etc. You get 30 min for lunch (bring your own) It's entertaining, informative and in a small group. You can arrange to have an entry ticket to Top of the Rock when you are finished. With your guaranteed entry time, you just breeze in. It's great!

Ha! 4 miles from lower Manhattan to mid-town...that definitely calls for a subway ride. Thank you - I probably would have over-estimated myself and tried to walk it.

Lolly100, you could also take a city bus uptown, or part of the way uptown then switch to the subway. The bus is of course slower than the subway, but would afford you more of that "feel for the city" without killing your feet!

- Bus fare is the same as subway fare, and you get one bus-to-subway, subway-to-bus, or (some) bus-to-bus tranfer within two hours. Though I advise you to get an unlimited pass; a one-day "fun pass" is $7, which pays for itself with four rides.

- To get an idea of bus routes, go to http://mta.info, click on Maps, then NYC Transit and Manhattan Bus for a detailed pdf of bus lines. Don't bother to print it, though: once you're in the city, ask at any subway token booth for a copy. (If you're asking in Brooklyn, make sure to specify the Manhattan map!)

- For example, the M1, M6, or M103 buses run from Bowling Green all the way up the island of Manhattan. (Look for buses that start with M for Manhattan.)

- Bus stops are typically every few blocks and are identified by round, blue signs and the route number. "Limited" buses make less stops, typically at major crossroads, and are identified by a purple sign in addition to the blue one. Limited buses are ideal because you still get to see, but move a little faster! All north/south ones will have stops in midtown.

- Bus drivers can be very helpful. Don't hesitate as you board to ask if they stop where you're going, and even to have them notify you when your stop is approaching.

Have fun!

hopstop.com is a great website to help you navigate around. It gives you options/directions, distances and time to travel. Keep in mind to get to Ellis Island you take the same ferry as the one to the Statue of Liberty. This is a loooong, process with lots of security. I don't want to discourage you from going, but it's not a quick visit.

Most people wouldn't walk from downtown to midtown but by taking the subway, you also miss Tribeca, Soho, the village etc. Buses aren't very fast, but they cost the same as the subway and you get to see a lot more. Here's the Manhattan bus map. Might help you get your bearings too.
http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/manbus.pdf