I need advise on a quick trip to New York City (never been)

[Max]

Corned beef or Pastrami on rye. Carnegie or Katz's deli.

[Curval]

The White Plains area is really nice.  NYC not so much.

I don't like NYC, never have never will.  I live on a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic.  I feel more trapped and claustrophobic in NYC than I ever have here.

[Nath[BDP]]

See Rule #4

[Traveler]

My wife is being sent to New York City next week for work for a few days. I am going to tag along with her. Neither of us has ever been to New York so if anyone has any MUST DO activities I am all ears. We will be there Wed-Sun next week. We are planning on the usual stuff so far (Statue of Liberty, Central Park, seeing a show on Broadway, Going up in the Empire state building (do they do that on weekends?), seeing Time Square, etc etc.) Please let me know what else we should do while there.  Wed, Thur, and part of Friday I believe we will be in Long Island. The rest of the weekend should be spent in the city. Hit me up with some ideas please and thank you. 

Don't be afraid of the Big Apple in fact, take a Big Apple bus tour,  Statue of Liberty gets you down town in Battary Park.  After that cut across town , World Trade Center 9/11, I was in tower II,  head towards Wall Street and walk all the way down Wall Street to the East River, look at the old sailing ships, have Lunch, then head up town on the Number 4, 5, or 6 train to 34th street Empire State Building.  Next a quick walk up Broadway towards 42nd Street and Times Square .   That's a pretty full day .  What ever hotel you stay in usually has a deal with  Broadway shows if that's something you want to do as well.  

[Curval]

See Rule #4

[SilverZ06]

It looks like we are staying at the Roosevelt Hotel Wed-Fri and then the Hampton inn next to the empire state building fri-sun. We definitely want to check out a Broadway show but they are so damn expensive.

Quick question, Is battery park close enough to the Statue of Liberty that I could take good pictures of it or is it way off in the distance?

[Traveler]

It looks like we are staying at the Roosevelt Hotel Wed-Fri and then the Hampton inn next to the empire state building fri-sun. We definitely want to check out a Broadway show but they are so damn expensive.

Quick question, Is battery park close enough to the Statue of Liberty that I could take good pictures of it or is it way off in the distance?

You can see the Statue of Liberty from Battary park,   If you just want pics of the Liberty and not actually go to Liberty island, you can take the Staten Island ferry to Staten Island, gets pretty close to Liberty Island, is a fun ride, At Staten Island, get on the next ferry back and you get all those great pics approaching the Battary.

[Traveler]

I suggest you go to the deepest and most inner part of Harlem and Brooklyn to experience the culture. 

and it will be a very nice experience, Brooklyn has become the new Manhattan as far as desired locations for housing.  The same thing that happened to Hell's Kitchen (10th Ave. West Side) has happened to Harlem, that is, you can't afford to live there anymore.

[swinger]

SECOND AVE DELI 

[WEZEL]

Corned beef or Pastrami on rye. Carnegie or Katz's deli.

 

[TonyJoey]

Corned beef or Pastrami on rye. Carnegie or Katz's deli.

You beat me to it! Katz's was where we went when we dropped into town for about half a day and we weren't disappointed!

[Oldman731]

I live in Midtown.  Hard to really say where to go, I've been here my whole life and I'm still discovering new places.  If you wanna see a Broadway show I'd say go see Wicked.  Intrepid Museum is nice but overpriced these days.  Other aviation museums around the country have better collections. 

Stay away from Times Square unless you wanna eat at Chili's.  It's like an overcrowded outdoor shopping mall with chain restaurants. 

Agreed on all points.  Much depends on how much time you have.

Suggestions:

Figure out the subway system before you go.  You can get map online:  http://web.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf.  It is the only practical way to get around.  Cabs and buses are too slow because of traffic congestion.  The city blocks are longer than you expect them to be, as is the amount of time spent walking along them.

We always tried to get our friends to see at least this much:

- Fifth Avenue from 59th Street down to the high-40s.  St Patrick's Cathedral is along there, along with Tiffany's and the toy store I can never remember (from one of the "Home Alone" films).

- With the World Trade Center gone, Empire State Building is probably your best view of NYC.  It really brings home how much is there.  Plus you might get to see a gorilla.

- If time permits, take the boat to Liberty Island and Ellis Island.  It's sort of a round trip thing.  With summer tourist season you might need to get tickets in advance.  Ellis Island was a real surprise for us, and the museum in the base of the Statue is excellent.

- Chinatown, especially if you haven't been to San Francisco's.

- I'd put in a plug for the South Street Seaport Museum, which is close to Chinatown, but you may not have enough time.

- Intrepid maybe, but it takes awhile to get to it and it can be underwhelming, depending on expectations.

Eat anywhere.  Some places (Times Square, upper 50s on Fifth Ave) will be pricier than you think (as will most of NYC).  Chinatown, Little Italy are good but out of the way.  Battery area has more there now than it used to have, but still slow at night.

- oldman

[Hoarach]

The White Plains area is really nice.  NYC not so much.

I don't like NYC, never have never will.  I live on a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic.  I feel more trapped and claustrophobic in NYC than I ever have here.

After spending the past 2 years in the White Plains area (the school was in Valhalla), I hated the area.  Its all residential and really nothing to do.  Everything closes early.  Its mostly just for people that work in the city to live in my opinion.  If one wants to actually do anything, the train into the city happens more often than not.

[ozrocker]

Be advised, the bus tours are $50 +
That's why I love walking New York.
You can go where you want at your pace.
Is 7th Ave still hootchieville?(Used to be a lot of Prostitutes roaming 7th Ave). LOL

                                                                                                                                                      Oz
                                                               

[Slate]

  Make sure you take the Yellow amusement ride. 

               


  I was sure we were going to crash at every intersection.