NYC Tips and Tourist Traps?

Riot_Rain · March 2009

So I'm going to NYC soon

I'm sure there are plenty of people here who have been to NY or live there, so please tell me:
- what's REALLY worth seeing
- which tourist attraction would be a huge let-down
- what a silly European tourist should NOT go and see
- where an overenthusiastic European tourist should ALWAYS go
- whether Ellis Island is worth seeing (is the Immigration Museum any good?)
- something that's off-the-beaten-track and pretty cool 8-)

We'll be there for 7 nights and are staying in an apartment in the Upper East Side.

I've applied for David Letterman tickets today... probably too late (will be there 2nd week of April), but might try and get standby tickets on the day... although you need to answer a trivia question which could be complicated as I cannot watch the show anymore over here (and the webcasts are disabled abroad) :roll:

adropinthepark · March 2009

I'm sure folks from this board will be able to provide you with some good info.

I think you may also want to pose your question on the City Data board.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-york-city/

The people there are incredibly helpful.

Hope your trip is a blast.

dave grolsch · March 2009

i,ve been to new york twice,it is brilliant.
Be prepared to walk for miles,dont be paranoid about getting mugged or shit,we were out and about at daft oclocktimes,i think its the safest "Big"city i,ve been to, its as safe as most uk citys and cleaner too if you are on manhattan.
Go to the bronx zoo its great,take the tube from central manhattan,experience new yorkers they are the best i love em.
The boat trips around the island are fun,you will get up close to the statue of liberty for pics.
You must go up the empire state building MUST OK

I stood on top of the empire state building and looked around 360 and thought about famous folk from NYC and i could see all the neighbourhoods(tyson,kiss.springsteen,ramones,).
Get up at five and walk through central park and see if you can spot any celebs jogging.
Take a walk through little Italy or across the Brooklyn bridge,gawd too much to do really.
pancakes/omellete(spelt wrong,fuck it)for brekkie in a new york dinner that locals use is bliss.awww
New york is so much more than i can can type here after been to my broes drinking malt whisky,but the city and people are wonderful,i was sad to leave

pretext · March 2009

I really love to take folks to Central Park. Start down at the sheep's meadow and walk up to the top of the great lawn. Totally worth it. While you're there, you can hit the Met. Technically, it's free, though there is a "suggested donation."
Go drink at McSorley's. It's an institution.

Wobbie · March 2009

dave grolsch wrote:

You must go up the empire state building MUST OK

This is the only thing I strongly disagree with. NYC is awesome but, for me, the Empire State Building was a HUGE letdown. You'll stand in line for HOURS; go through a ton of bogus "post 9-11" security and then see the same view you'd see from the Top of the Rock. I wouldn't recommend the ESB to anyone.

Have a great trip!

rival. · March 2009

tourist traps? stay away from times square!

JaneNY · March 2009

singularity wrote:

tourist traps? stay away from times square!

If you've never been to the city, it is kind of cool to go there once though - its always show on tv, so to be standing there is kind of neat.

Strawberry Fields (in central park) - a memorial to John Lennon.

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Madison Square Garden - just to see it or go see something there.
Blossom - nice vegan restaurant

guacamolejoe · March 2009

imalive wrote:

dave grolsch wrote:

You must go up the empire state building MUST OK

This is the only thing I strongly disagree with. NYC is awesome but, for me, the Empire State Building was a HUGE letdown. You'll stand in line for HOURS; go through a ton of bogus "post 9-11" security and then see the same view you'd see from the Top of the Rock. I wouldn't recommend the ESB to anyone.

Have a great trip!

Go to the ESB after 10:30 pm ( its open till midnight). There are no lines what so ever and the view with the night lights are incredible, much better than during the day!

dave grolsch · March 2009

imalive wrote:

dave grolsch wrote:

You must go up the empire state building MUST OK

This is the only thing I strongly disagree with. NYC is awesome but, for me, the Empire State Building was a HUGE letdown. You'll stand in line for HOURS; go through a ton of bogus "post 9-11" security and then see the same view you'd see from the Top of the Rock. I wouldn't recommend the ESB to anyone.

Have a great trip!

Really? i enjoyed it so much that i,ve been up twice,first time the queue was about 3hours,second no queue at all.

Get_Right · March 2009

what do you like to do?
Central park-Must see-all of it. Grab take out nearby and hit the park
Museums: Moma, Met, and Natural history
Touristy stuff: Never been to Ellis, but Rock center, times square, south street seaport, ground zero, empire state, statute of liberty cruise are all worth doing once in your life-despite the costs and the lines.

Other than that, the best thing to do in NYC is walk. Pick a neighborhood you want to check out soho, the east and west parts of the village, chinatown, theater district etc. and just hoof it around-thats really the best way to take in the flavor of the city.

Heineken Helen · March 2009

Get_Right wrote:

Other than that, the best thing to do in NYC is walk. Pick a neighborhood you want to check out soho, the east and west parts of the village, chinatown, theater district etc. and just hoof it around-thats really the best way to take in the flavor of the city.

ABSOLUTELY! Everything's worth doing and seeing. I enjoyed being at the top of the empire state building (don't remember queuing... dunno how). Ellis Island was alright... worth seeing but maybe the least memorable of all the things I've done in NYC. It was nice to see the statue of liberty close up though and the boat ride was nice... although we got stuck on liberty island in a thunder storm with proper fork lightning hitting the water about 100 ft away

just walk walk walk... get lost and see where you end up

Get_Right · March 2009

Heineken Helen wrote:

Get_Right wrote:

Other than that, the best thing to do in NYC is walk. Pick a neighborhood you want to check out soho, the east and west parts of the village, chinatown, theater district etc. and just hoof it around-thats really the best way to take in the flavor of the city.

ABSOLUTELY! Everything's worth doing and seeing. I enjoyed being at the top of the empire state building (don't remember queuing... dunno how). Ellis Island was alright... worth seeing but maybe the least memorable of all the things I've done in NYC. It was nice to see the statue of liberty close up though and the boat ride was nice... although we got stuck on liberty island in a thunder storm with proper fork lightning hitting the water about 100 ft away

just walk walk walk... get lost and see where you end up

which reminds me

bring good comfortable, waterproof shoes!

Heineken Helen · March 2009

Get_Right wrote:

Heineken Helen wrote:

Get_Right wrote:

Other than that, the best thing to do in NYC is walk. Pick a neighborhood you want to check out soho, the east and west parts of the village, chinatown, theater district etc. and just hoof it around-thats really the best way to take in the flavor of the city.

ABSOLUTELY! Everything's worth doing and seeing. I enjoyed being at the top of the empire state building (don't remember queuing... dunno how). Ellis Island was alright... worth seeing but maybe the least memorable of all the things I've done in NYC. It was nice to see the statue of liberty close up though and the boat ride was nice... although we got stuck on liberty island in a thunder storm with proper fork lightning hitting the water about 100 ft away

just walk walk walk... get lost and see where you end up

which reminds me

bring good comfortable, waterproof shoes!

Hahaha... well that counts for every holiday really.

Soho and little italy are nice places to walk around and there are some good pubs around there too.

smithnic · March 2009

The whole city is a tourist trap... don't come it's already too crowded and hard to get around... j/k
Take the Staten Island Ferry, it's free and really cool views of all of downtown.

JenInTheBx · March 2009

JaneNY wrote:

singularity wrote:

tourist traps? stay away from times square!

If you've never been to the city, it is kind of cool to go there once though - its always show on tv, so to be standing there is kind of neat.

Strawberry Fields (in central park) - a memorial to John Lennon.

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Madison Square Garden - just to see it or go see something there.
Blossom - nice vegan restaurant

Blossom is AWESOME- the food is great- it's now one of my favorite NYC restaurants. Great suggestion!

Riot_Rain · March 2009

Thanks everyone, very useful to hear what people say about all the stuff I've been reading about.

Will definitely bring good shoes and walk a lot! And Blossom sounds like an excellent place to eat

All I need now is a good second hand book store :geek:

vduboise · March 2009

Riot_Rain wrote:

Thanks everyone, very useful to hear what people say about all the stuff I've been reading about.

Will definitely bring good shoes and walk a lot! And Blossom sounds like an excellent place to eat

All I need now is a good second hand book store :geek:

The Strand is the place for that- it is on Broadway and 12th street.

Oh- and don't forget to go to Union Square Market- mondays, weds, fri and Sat.- great fresh fruits and veggies. and the Strand is near by.

Kel Varnsen · March 2009

Riot_Rain wrote:

I've applied for David Letterman tickets today... probably too late (will be there 2nd week of April), but might try and get standby tickets on the day... although you need to answer a trivia question which could be complicated as I cannot watch the show anymore over here (and the webcasts are disabled abroad) :roll:

I think I read somewhere once, that the trivia question is something along the lines of "who is the late show stage manager", answer Biff Henderson. Or the reverse who is Biff Henderson.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biff_Henderson

AS110195 · March 2009

imalive wrote:

dave grolsch wrote:

You must go up the empire state building MUST OK

This is the only thing I strongly disagree with. NYC is awesome but, for me, the Empire State Building was a HUGE letdown. You'll stand in line for HOURS; go through a ton of bogus "post 9-11" security and then see the same view you'd see from the Top of the Rock. I wouldn't recommend the ESB to anyone.

Have a great trip!

I agree with this. Top of the Rock is a better choice than the Empire State Building. It is also pretty high, and at that height, the 10, 20, 30 stories ESB has on TOTR really don't make that big a difference. What does make a difference is this: (1) No lines! (2) When you are up there and taking beautiful pictures of NYC, guess what? You can actually get one of NY's most iconic buildings in your picture, the Empire State Building! Not so easy when you're on top of it. The view is almost identical, with the added bonus that the Empire State Building is now part of your view.

Sprunkn7 · March 2009

ESB is a total rip off. Night time maybe better, never been. Don't let them talk you into the $85 ride. Bad bad bad.
You can go by the Statue of Liberty for free on the Staten Island Ferry. When leaving NYC stay on the right hand side of the ferry going out. Change sides on the way back and ride on the left for the same view. If you don't want to stand in line and are not going to go up the base it is the best bet. If you want to get off the boat and go onto Ellis Island you must take the other ferry in Battery park.

another good thing...http://www.rocksoffnyc.com/
Cheap, like $25 for a four hour cruise around the Statue of Liberty at night with a cover band. Drinks are not cheap, but just like a nightclub or regular bar.

Best free thing to do...walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. If the stand is open down by the water (over to the right) go have a hot dog and an asiago cheese corn on the cob. Best $5 you will spend on food! There is the Brooklyn Ice Cream shop right there..It's good but I have had better. If you have the money go to the River Cafe. Lunch is much less than dinner and the food is very good. 5 Star.

You should visit the MET. Take a walk in SOHO, Chinatown and over by the World Trade Center Site. If you go into the church across the street there is a special exhibit in there. Very touching. I went there right after 911 when people were still looking for family members and loved ones. Something I will never forget. From the site go to the Battery Park Promenade. Plenty of views and hidden gardens around every corner.

Not expensive United Nations tours. Weekends are good, you can get into all the rooms that have meetings during the week. A very touching Hiroshima exhibit with things that survived the bomb. A history that can not be brushed under the rug.

Central Park is a must. Skate in winter, walk the trails and see a show in the summer. It will take all day to make the full walk. The Mall, the fountain and castle can be done in a morning.

Good luck!

Just tips off the top of my head. I have lived a half an hour away from NYC all my life and find something new every time I go there.

Terryible · March 2009

Sprunkn7 wrote:

ESB is a total rip off. Night time maybe better, never been. Don't let them talk you into the $85 ride. Bad bad bad.
You can go by the Statue of Liberty for free on the Staten Island Ferry. When leaving NYC stay on the right hand side of the ferry going out. Change sides on the way back and ride on the left for the same view. If you don't want to stand in line and are not going to go up the base it is the best bet. If you want to get off the boat and go onto Ellis Island you must take the other ferry in Battery park.

another good thing...http://www.rocksoffnyc.com/
Cheap, like $25 for a four hour cruise around the Statue of Liberty at night with a cover band. Drinks are not cheap, but just like a nightclub or regular bar.

Best free thing to do...walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. If the stand is open down by the water (over to the right) go have a hot dog and an asiago cheese corn on the cob. Best $5 you will spend on food! There is the Brooklyn Ice Cream shop right there..It's good but I have had better. If you have the money go to the River Cafe. Lunch is much less than dinner and the food is very good. 5 Star.

You should visit the MET. Take a walk in SOHO, Chinatown and over by the World Trade Center Site. If you go into the church across the street there is a special exhibit in there. Very touching. I went there right after 911 when people were still looking for family members and loved ones. Something I will never forget. From the site go to the Battery Park Promenade. Plenty of views and hidden gardens around every corner.

Not expensive United Nations tours. Weekends are good, you can get into all the rooms that have meetings during the week. A very touching Hiroshima exhibit with things that survived the bomb. A history that can not be brushed under the rug.

Central Park is a must. Skate in winter, walk the trails and see a show in the summer. It will take all day to make the full walk. The Mall, the fountain and castle can be done in a morning.

Good luck!

Just tips off the top of my head. I have lived a half an hour away from NYC all my life and find something new every time I go there.

Thanks for all those tips, My girlfriend and I are heading there in June, spending 6 days there and a month in the USA
Also we are trying to look at getting Yankees tickets, but they are not on sale yet

as for letterman tickets, we also put our name down for them. Had a quick look on the net to find some of the question they asked

Who is Alan Kalter: The Late Show Announcer
what colour does Alan Kalter have: Red
who is Rupert Gee: Hello Deli owner
who owns the Hello Deli:Rupert Gee

there were a couple others but can't remember them

NYC Tips and Tourist Traps?

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