New York advice

G

Ginge 2

Well-known member
Im going to NY next month for 5 days, 4 nights.

We are going with our 3 grown up children.

What I'm after is advice for the best way to see the Big Apples must see attractions, and the ones that YOU would advise to see, in the easiest, most reasonable way.
Any recommendations for return airport transfers from JFK to Times Square and quite importantly some decent restaurants that won't rip the arse out of me as I'm paying!!!

Any other advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.
 
The best tip I can give you is don't go up the Empire State. Do the Rockefeller centre instead, smaller queues, cheaper and you get to see the Manhattan skyline with the Empire state in it ! There is also a really good walk down an old elevated rail line which is free called the hi line. Food is what it is depending on what you want to spend. We had lunch mostly in the delis, loads of food for not much dosh. There is so much to do. Buy a time out guide. If you get in during daylight I'd get the subway.
 
Ginge 2 said:
Im going to NY next month for 5 days, 4 nights.

We are going with our 3 grown up children.

What I'm after is advice for the best way to see the Big Apples must see attractions, and the ones that YOU would advise to see, in the easiest, most reasonable way.
Any recommendations for return airport transfers from JFK to Times Square and quite importantly some decent restaurants that won't rip the arse out of me as I'm paying!!!

Any other advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.
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Take lots of low denomination bank notes- they expect tipping for everything 😃
 
9-11 memorial
Wall Street
Times Square ( don't get scammed ignore everyone who tries to talk)
Get a boat around all of manhattan
Katz deli ( don't go further east its a bit rough)
Central Park
Comedy club
Rockefeller plaza/ ESB
madison Square garden
 
Apart from the usual stuff

Take them to West Village on the subway. It’s a cool area full of cafes and artisan shops, full of celebrity hangouts and Instagram shots

Then head over to Chelsea and walk the high line. Chelsea market is fun.
Finally from there walk upto Hell’s Kitchen and the new developments there.

I also like Brooklyn Heights for food and the view of Manhattan.


More Random:

The 4 points graffiti haven over in Queens is awesome but it’s a rough area so be careful. Artists come from round the world to display there. Queens high street is good for old shops and food but it’s not exactly tourist area.

Coney Island is about 1 hour on the subway. It’s like the love child of Blackpool and Skegness… genuinely iconic and bohemian as hell. Freak show!!
 
We saved money by taking our 18 and 16 year old twice to Shakeshack during 7 days. You could buy decent Samuel Adams beer in there. Less than half the cost of a restaurant meal and no tipping required.

I found the Tenement Museum really interesting, showing how the immigrants who made the City (the Irish, Italians followed by dozens of other cultures) lived when they arrived in the City.

My and my son went to 2 baseball games, one at the Yankees and one at the Mets. Great experiences. Remember to bring your ID no matter how you are, or you won’t be able to buy a beer!

Wife and daughter went to see what was at that time an up and coming play “Come from Away” which did the West End rounds soon after.

We watched a film for free outdoors in Bryant Park close to Times Square. Worth seeing if that’s still going.

Wonderful City. Hope to go there again one day.
 
Chunkylad said:
Apart from the usual stuff

Take them to West Village on the subway. It’s a cool area full of cafes and artisan shops, full of celebrity hangouts and Instagram shots

Then head over to Chelsea and walk the high line. Chelsea market is fun.
Finally from there walk upto Hell’s Kitchen and the new developments there.

I also like Brooklyn Heights for food and the view of Manhattan.


More Random:

The 4 points graffiti haven over in Queens is awesome but it’s a rough area so be careful. Artists come from round the world to display there. Queens high street is good for old shops and food but it’s not exactly tourist area.

Coney Island is about 1 hour on the subway. It’s like the love child of Blackpool and Skegness… genuinely iconic and bohemian as hell. Freak show!!
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Got amazing Tacos in Chelsea Market. Went on a bus tour round Brooklyn which took you to a pizza place, where Saturday Night Fever was filmed and down to Coney Island on 4 July. Madhouse as you say!
 
Been a couple of times . . . its an amazing City.

My favourites parts are The Guggenheim Museum, Brooklyn Bridge, Central station, Chrysler building, a place called Central cafe near central station for a trad NY breakfast. It's just an amazing city to walk round and take in the buzz.

We went to see a show on Broadway when I went with the missus . . . great experience.

Didn't do the usual tourist stuff like Statue of liberty or empire state as didn't want to waste my time there queuing up!!!

Like others have said going up the Rockefeller centre is a better option.
 
Been quite a few times over the years, and my daughter got married there 10 years ago, love the place! Most things covered on .here, but a couple of bars worth mentioning are:
230 Fifth rooftop bar, the view is amazing and you feel you could almost touch the Empire State Building!
Campbell Bar in Grand Central Station, a fabulous art nouveau bar, the station’s dimensions are enormous.
Katz’s Deli. traditional nyc diner, mega pastrami sandwiches, also famous for the ‘When Harry met Sally’ scene.
’Eataly’ Flatiron, fantastic busy market with different eateries, great atmosphere.
One World Trade is a must, the views uptown are amazing, you can buy ‘skip the line’ tickets in advance.
The thing with NYC is too many things to see and do, but never enough time.
Defo do the hop on/off bus on your first day, gives you great orientation of the city. Enjoy.
 
Get a New York pass before you go. Gets you into attractions and beats a lot of the queues. You have to go up the Empire State as it's iconic as well as doing the Rockerfeller. I'd recommend a boat trip round Manhattan from one of the piers on the west side. Get to see the sights from a different angle. Central Park is great to just wander around[ but have a map]. The High Line is also a lovely walk and the Staten Island ferry [it's free ] is great and gets you a great view of Statue of Liberty. You just get on and then just walk off and round and get back on.

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Fantastic city, you will love it.

All the above highly recommended. Love Ellens diner for breakfast, walking the Hi Line, Red bus tour and agree, do Rockerfeller tower. From JFK, take a yellow cab, pricey but a real treat on the drive in.

Oh and take good walking boots !!
 
Ginge 2 said:
Im going to NY next month for 5 days, 4 nights.

We are going with our 3 grown up children.

What I'm after is advice for the best way to see the Big Apples must see attractions, and the ones that YOU would advise to see, in the easiest, most reasonable way.
Any recommendations for return airport transfers from JFK to Times Square and quite importantly some decent restaurants that won't rip the arse out of me as I'm paying!!!

Any other advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.
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Just check it's not New York in Rotherham. Might be stuck for things to do there.
 
You might be there a little early but if you aren't take in a Rangers game at MSG, regular season starts Oct 10th but preseason starts late September
 
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On top of the great suggestions above ….

I found the tour of the UN buildings quite interesting.
The Natural History museum was ok, but not as good as ours from what I recall.
The Native American History museum was good.
The Vietnam Memorial at Water Street is worth visiting if you’re into military stuff.
(It’s been massively upgraded since I went, originally it was just a sculpture of a wall with soldier’s letters, from Vietnam, carved on it. Still, very moving, even before the upgrade).
I wasn’t very impressed with the visit to the Statue of Liberty, but it’s so iconic it may be worth doing.
 
We took our family of 5 in December 2019; just before Covid locked everything down.

The youngest was 10, eldest 16.

We had an absolutely brilliant time.

Helped at the time but the 10 year old, not living by EST, but BST.

Meant we were on our own for hours before the place really got going.

We did a few of the things mentioned here, Top of the Rock was fantastic - and actually if you time it right, you get daylight going into nighttime when the lifts must look fantastic - we didn't. We were there at some early hour - but it was still special.
 
Performed for a three week show at Radio city music hall back in the day - busy city - skated at the Rockefeller centre (live on good morning America) . It’s a fun city with loads to do - have a blast
 
Get to the ticket outlet in Times square when it opens, there's usually a que but you can pick up on the day, theatre tickets for stupid prices
We saw The Book of Mormon for just over $100 for 4 people....tickets should have been $400+

Staten Island ferry is free and great just to people watch, see the harbor and the statue of liberty .....just don't get off at Staten Island as it's rubbish...and then go back and follow Foolweary's trip up to Wall Street, 9-11 monument etc....I would also recommend the Burger King by the 9-11 monument as everything is computerized and you can build any burger and mix every soft drink known to man...they had a dozen versions of Coke...and you can mix them together.....really cheap food and ordering it was just so fun.

We did a night bus tour that went up 5th Ave, then across the Manhattan bridge and we stopped off at a great pizza place in DUMBO and then ended up back at Times square. Great seeing everything lit up at night and you saw a different side of New York.

Grand central station Oyster Bar was a great laugh....Mid priced food, you can order Oysters individually and loads of meals for $10 - $15
Service was brilliant and ideal to grab a decent lunch....I would pre-book and get a booth....a real New York memory.
 
Staten Island ferry it was free when I went 13 years ago you get good views of SoL ,we also went inside the SoL to the top which we pre booked . We went on the train from JFK to Times Square but you have to change at ? forgot where but Iam sure you can Google it. I would go up the Empire State building just for its history .
 
I’ve been 3 or 4 times but quite a while ago……I promise you whatever you do you will enjoy it even if its just walking the Streets….put no pressure on your trip, no ridiculous itinerary…just relax and enjoy
 
Being a big Billy Joel fan, if I ever go, ………

I’ll be taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line
Cos I'm in a New York state of mind
 
1966_and_all_that said:
I've never been but would people recommend going to the Dakota building and the Imagine garden in Central Park?
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Definitely, we were fortunate enough to be at the Strawberry Fields in Central Park on the anniversary of his birthday, loads of musicians from all over turn up every year to play Beatles songs with everyone singing along, great vibe, which you’d love being a big fan.
 
We have just been for 8 nights and it’s an incredible place ,we always get very organised about what we’re going to do so as not to waste time ,there’s so much to do you can’t do it all so if it’s first time like us we prioritised things and did some early in the day like Ellen’s diner for brekkie (ace) Empire State (soon as it opens ) ,went to Moulin rouge show superb ,book things to do online and do things in areas eg the hi line walk is nice and it’s right next to The Edge .Marks at Madison is great restaurant ,Central park we went on buggy pulled by guy on bicycle superb and stopped for photo opportunities ,there’s a nice restaurant in the park for the evening 👍🏻 We booked taxi from airport but when you exit airport it’s absolute chaos with taxis 4 deep on the road and finding the one Youv booked was difficult but we did eventually.it’s noisy and hectic but brilliant
 
Lala said:
I’m going for 5 nights in Feb so this is all brilliant info for me too thanks.

The night time bus tour sounds ace 👌
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Take your long John's. It's bloody freezing in February, but it's the low season so the crowds won't be as bad.

We went 30 years ago, and our body clocks stayed on GMT. Went to St Patrick's cathedral at 6.00 in the morning!!! Circle Line boat tour very good. Also Rockefeller Centre.

Enjoy.
 
Levi501 said:
Been quite a few times over the years, and my daughter got married there 10 years ago, love the place! Most things covered on .here, but a couple of bars worth mentioning are:
230 Fifth rooftop bar, the view is amazing and you feel you could almost touch the Empire State Building!
Campbell Bar in Grand Central Station, a fabulous art nouveau bar, the station’s dimensions are enormous.
Katz’s Deli. traditional nyc diner, mega pastrami sandwiches, also famous for the ‘When Harry met Sally’ scene.
’Eataly’ Flatiron, fantastic busy market with different eateries, great atmosphere.
One World Trade is a must, the views uptown are amazing, you can buy ‘skip the line’ tickets in advance.
The thing with NYC is too many things to see and do, but never enough time.
Defo do the hop on/off bus on your first day, gives you great orientation of the city. Enjoy.
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Campbells at Grand Central is a fantastic bar, pretty hard to find though!
 
Went in April for the umpteenth time, love the place. Subway or walk to get around. Would recommend Central Park and all the shopping around Park Avenue, Grand Central Station food halls. Took in the Yankees v Phillies game at Yankee Stadium (Don't be put off by it's location in the Bronx). Couple of good restaurants/take outs all researched before going : Italian - Piccola Cucina Uptown, authentic & large portions close to Central Park. Mexican take Away - Los Tacos No 1 just off times Square big queues but worth the wait. Chinese - Chinatown need i say more.
We spent a good few nights in a great Bar/Food Hall called Urban Space (Vanderbilt) Happy hour as well between 5 & 7pm (Check those times it was a bit of a blur). The MOMA was disappointing apart from the Jackson Pollocks would try the Metropolitan (If you like museums) but you have to book. Enjoy!
 
Beaks said:
Take lots of low denomination bank notes- they expect tipping for everything 😃
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On our visit to San Francisco the restaurants have a minimum “ tip” charge of at least 12and half percentage rising according to the amount you spend to a whopping 18 and half and YOU ARE EXPECTED TO PAY IT.…..and it is clearly shown on the menus when you are given them.
You do get good portions mind you.

I would imagine NY is exactly the same……maybe buy from the local deli‘s rather than a restaurant as much as possible.

Recent article in the Telegraph on Line was not very complimentary about visiting the place these days but hopefully you will have a good time there.
 
I’ve been a few times, but not for a while. It’s an amazing city and as Blood says you don’t really need to plan anything, just walk around and enjoy, it’s exactly like it’s depicted on tv and movies.

One thing I’d recommend though is a boat trip down the Hudson and up the East River.
 
Levi501 said:
Been quite a few times over the years, and my daughter got married there 10 years ago, love the place! Most things covered on .here, but a couple of bars worth mentioning are:
230 Fifth rooftop bar, the view is amazing and you feel you could almost touch the Empire State Building!
Campbell Bar in Grand Central Station, a fabulous art nouveau bar, the station’s dimensions are enormous.
Katz’s Deli. traditional nyc diner, mega pastrami sandwiches, also famous for the ‘When Harry met Sally’ scene.
’Eataly’ Flatiron, fantastic busy market with different eateries, great atmosphere.
One World Trade is a must, the views uptown are amazing, you can buy ‘skip the line’ tickets in advance.
The thing with NYC is too many things to see and do, but never enough time.
Defo do the hop on/off bus on your first day, gives you great orientation of the city. Enjoy.
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100% this.

rooftop bar at 230/fifth is a must - surreal views of manhattan with a drink in hand is pretty unforgettable.
katz's is great - pastrami on rye please.
delis and diners are generally good - if it's got a signed pic of kojak on the wall, even better. tip generously and doggie bags essential.
burgers are quality and the pubs/bars often serve v good ones. had a great one in mcsorley's which also happens to be a great bar and an NYC Irish institution in east village.
chrysler building just for the foyer.
if you like seafood/oysters the grand central oyster bar is a must - sit at the bar, not the restaurant for the full NYC experience.
if you like lobster, ed's lobster bar in soho - maine lobster roll and superb pale ale.
if you and/or the kids are into music, lower east side is ace for record shops and venues. great bars too.

as mentioned, follow your nose, it's a great city for a mooch around. don't be beholden to the guide books/review websites. just dive in somewhere that takes your interest, like i did in umbertos clam house in little italy - an unforgettable experience in a good way!

i'd love to go back. enjoy.
 
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Been a few times but never done the touristy stuff because I’ve had mates who’ve lived there. Still walked around and saw some of the sights by foot.

Walking from Manhattan to Brooklyn over the Brooklyn bridge is something I’ve done a couple of times, great views of Manhattan. Bar hopping on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn is also fun and a bit more off the beaten track.

Whenever I’m in a new city I always buy a lonely planet pocket book and do some of the sightseeing walks.
 
Sven said:
Been a few times but never done the touristy stuff because I’ve had mates who’ve lived there. Still walked around and saw some of the sights by foot.

Walking from Manhattan to Brooklyn over the Brooklyn bridge is something I’ve done a couple of times, great views of Manhattan. Bar hopping on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn is also fun and a bit more off the beaten track.

Whenever I’m in a new city I always buy a lonely planet pocket book and do some of the sightseeing walks.
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yep, we got the subway over to Brooklyn so that we could face the views of the Manhattan Skyline when walking back across. Take your life into your own hands though with the cyclists.
 
Sven said:
Been a few times but never done the touristy stuff because I’ve had mates who’ve lived there. Still walked around and saw some of the sights by foot.

Walking from Manhattan to Brooklyn over the Brooklyn bridge is something I’ve done a couple of times, great views of Manhattan. Bar hopping on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn is also fun and a bit more off the beaten track.

Whenever I’m in a new city I always buy a lonely planet pocket book and do some of the sightseeing walks.
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Stayed in Brooklyn a couple of times, as you say the view over to Manhattan gives a different perspective, Williamsburg is a cool bohemian district, and the walk along Brooklyn Heights Promenade is a delight. Stayed in Long Island City also, the view over the river to Manhattan at night was amazing, cheaper hotels as well.
 
Walked over the Brooklyn bridge I was knackered by the time I’d got over it and should of walked from Brooklyn for better skyline .If I went again I wouldn’t be walking over it 🥵
 
One of my Cousins emigrated to NY many years ago. (now sadly passed away).
He had a good job in NY City and knew it well.
We visited a few times and it was great with him as he knew the City Centre very well.
I don't like heights but he persuaded us to go up one of the 'Twin Towers'. The one that that the Aircraft crashed into years later.
Absolutely amazing views from the top.
Loved it.
 
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Been three times. Used to know someone who lived there so that was handy for off the beaten track non tourist stuff. Last visit was just before Covid kicked in.

McSorleys Old Ale House, oldest pub in NY. It only sells two beers, a dark and light ale. Untouched in years. Order a pint and you get it in two glasses.

World Trade Centre view on a good day is amazing. Went on a Friday morning no real queue that I recall and could see for miles.

Got the subway one day to Hoboken in New Jersey, nice little suburb with brilliant views from a park on the edge of the Husdon of the Manhattan skyline across the river. We got the ferry back to Wall Street from there which takes you round the bottom of Manhattan .

If you've got spare time, a train ride up state is also worth seeing to get out of the hussle and bustle for a bit. Went to a place called Albany in a couple of hours, great journey right on the edge of Hudson River all the way.

Bar called The Football Factory across the road from the Empire State Building is good. Loads of US based expats go in there every Saturday and there was about ten separate games being shown the day we were in there Lot of different supporters groups frequent it.
 
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Get the big red bus tour, get off where you like and get the next bus and informative. Lived there for a couple of year from 18-20, it was the late 80s and the place was mental!
 
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