Everything & Anything New York City

greenface

Top tip = make an early start if you want to fill your weekend. split your days uptown from 31st & downtown from 31st . Brooklyn bridge . Statue of Liberty . staten island ferry . C21. high line .. flatiron .. freedom tower..( china town . macys ..empire state .. TOtR ) can be done anytime but dusk is best for viewing galleries . Times sq .. central pk.. 5th ave .. grand central..museums ... shows on broadway .. enjoy NYC

holidaysforme

We are trying to decide between October half term and Christmas next year for a week in New York.

Any thoughts on which is best? I know December will be very cold but we have a special birthday and anniversary to celebrate in mid December, so it would be nice to celebrate it at the time rather than a couple of months before.

On the other hand we have packed a lot in to our previous trips , going in spring, done loads of walking/ sightseeing etc, and taking daughter for the first time, so will want to do all the touristy things with her.
Would October be better for this.? if we go in December, I fear we might find it too cold to do much walking/outdoor stuff. Also worried that if the weather is bad here flights will get cancelled/ delayed If we have heavy snow.
Also any experiences on using Norwegian Air for the US.?
i've used them for Eurooe and they have been very good.

Indout96

We have done Christmas before and it was very very cold but wrap up warm and its a great time to go. The main problem is not the actual temperature but the wind which seems to be in your face whichever way you turn.
The atmosphere is superb, sat in an Irish pub with 3 Santa's was a great experience.
We were going to do it again this year but decided on Thanksgiving instead for Macy's parade and Black Friday.

kabayiri

19lottie82 wrote: »

Right...... my hubbie and I are heading off to NYC for the first time, 4 week on Friday! We arrived on the Friday night at 6pm (JFK), and fly home at 8pm on the Monday. We have a nice central hotel (31st st, near the Empire State), but I'm starting to panic! So much to do, so little time! The original plan is to spend the Saturday sightseeing and the Sunday shopping, but I think we need an itinerary and it all seems so overwhelming.

Can anyone advise if we would be best to book a guided tour? And if so what one? Or should we do it ourselves? Is the hop on hop off bus worth it? I'm fairly confident with the subway in London so would be happy enough to use itt in NY.
...

We are going to NYC over the weekend too Lottie, though we arrive a bit earlier.

It's worth remembering that the New York marathon is on Sunday, so it will be busy along the route.

There is also a halloween parade I believe, which should be good.

We were considering the bus tour too.

emz_m

19lottie82 wrote: »

Can anyone advise if we would be best to book a guided tour? And if so what one? Or should we do it ourselves? Is the hop on hop off bus worth it? I'm fairly confident with the subway in London so would be happy enough to use itt in NY.

Looking for peoples opinions on the top 3, 4 or 5 "must sees" while we are there, and a rough idea of how long each one will take?


And any shopping tips would be appreciated also. Not to fussed about visiting outlets as we go to California every year so can do that there.

My 5 must-sees would consist of the following, in no particular order:


1. Top of the Rock
2. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
3. Broadway show
4. Central Park
5. Greenwich Village – my favourite neighbourhood in Manhattan




A loose itinerary will be useful, as a little research will help you make the most of your time. Having an idea of where the attractions are in relation to each other will also minimise travelling time, as you don’t want to be tracking back and forth.

Personally, I’ve never been interested in organised tours, but it may be helpful given the relatively short time you’ll be in the city. If you decide to go with a tour or the hop-on/hop-off bus, I would advise that you do this on your first day, as it will help you get oriented.

I would recommend that you create a list of the attractions you definitely do not want to miss, followed by a list of back-ups. Order the list of where they are in relation to each other on a map, then split between your days.

Here’s a brief overview of some of the main attractions that are grouped together:

Lower Manhattan: 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Century 21, Wall Street, South Street Seaport, Brooklyn Bridge, Battery Park, Ellis Island, Immigration Museum, Statue of Liberty, Staten Island ferry

Midtown/Theatre District: Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal, Fifth Avenue shopping, St Patricks Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, New York Public Library, Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Broadway

Upper East Side: Frick Collection, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Upper West Side: American Museum of Natural History, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Columbus Circle, Dakota Apartments

Central Park separates Upper East Side from the Upper West Side

Manhattan also contains many interesting neighbourhoods with unique personalities; such as Chinatown, Lower East Side, Tribeca, Chelsea, SoHo, and East/West Village.


I hope you have a fantastic trip. J

19lottie82

Amazing! Thanks Emz_m!

linz81

Hi all
I'm visiting NYC again (3rd time lucky:j) in 5 weeks time and I've booked us tickets to go up to the crown at SOL as a surprise for my sisters 30th bday.
While we're in that vicinity we're wanting to visit the 9/11 memorial, as it wasn't open during our last visit.
We're booked with Statue cruises at 11am so I was looking to book our tickets to 9/11 memorial for 2.30pm. Do you think this will leave us enough time (or too much time) on Liberty Island?
Thanks in advance

b33r

linz81 wrote: »

Hi all
I'm visiting NYC again (3rd time lucky:j) in 5 weeks time and I've booked us tickets to go up to the crown at SOL as a surprise for my sisters 30th bday.
While we're in that vicinity we're wanting to visit the 9/11 memorial, as it wasn't open during our last visit.
We're booked with Statue cruises at 11am so I was looking to book our tickets to 9/11 memorial for 2.30pm. Do you think this will leave us enough time (or too much time) on Liberty Island?
Thanks in advance

I went up SOL to the crown just a few weeks ago

My tickets were also for 11am. Whether you'll be back for then depends on a few factors I would say; queues and also if you want to go to the museum on Ellis Island or not.

We got on the ferry from battery park about 10.30 and were back about 1.45. We didn't encounter any queues for the ferry going or going up the statue itself and probably had about a 1/2 hour wait for the ferry to come back. We did spend probably about an hour or so just wandering around on Liberty Island/the statue base. We didn't go the museum on Ellis Island and just stayed on the ferry.

Hope that helps!

Anica85

Look for local recommendations - I personally use travel blogs for planning.

Here's what, I would recommend:
For any info about Queens and going out in style check Olga's blog -Page on dreamsinheels.com
Culture and best of Broadway - Tracy from Tracy's New York Life
For best street art, museums and walking tours - check Jess blog -The best of NY, as used by NYers.
JohnyBell knows many places with good, healthy food - NY Trendy Moms
If you're into quirky, vintage fashion, then try Dyanna's blog - A San Francisco (SF) and New York (NYC) Streetstyle Blog
Christine from C'est Christine l Travel Fashion Yoga Lifestyle NYC Blogshares good tips on how to spend a weekend in NY, she also knows best yoga places in NY.
If you into male fashion, or best bars, check Freddy's blog - Blue Perk | Berlin based Menswear & Lifestyle Blog Don't be mislead by the bio lines, Freddy is no longer Berlin based blogger, he moved to NY a while ago.

For more of the practical info, use a very recent Expedia guide. It's a interactive PDF version, so you can use it on mobile while you there http://expediablog.co.uk/download-the-expedia-new-york-pocket-guide/

Baskcm

hello long time not posted just looking for some quick advice if anyone knows.

early stage planning for 2018 trip to NYC with the fiance for what will be out honeymoon. We decided since this is our third trip to NYC that we shall be pushing the boat out as such and going for 14 days.

i was just wondering are flights normally as expensive as what they are on expedia at the moment going for about £400 and i was just wondering is this main reason due to the fact that its for 14 days we are going, The past two times:

1st: May 2012 for 10 days
2nd: July 2014 for 12 days

both these times the prices where basically zero.

im just querying since if they are i would need to budget them in