New York City

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tom_12345

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Anyone been recently? Seems endless things to do in NYC. Am staying close to T.Square. Hoping to catch some baseball/NFL in autumn. Have read that restaurants are expensive near T.Square, any recommendations for breakfast/lunch? Which subway/city pass is the best?

Thanks
 
Depending on quality of the hotel I recommend staying as far away from Times Square as possible. Check all TripAdvisor reviews of any hotel in which you intend staying. The subway in New York is good so even a hotel on the periphery may be a better choice. You'll come across many diners in NY so again do your homework reading the reviews. Note some of the breakfasts are huge. Open top bus tour is good. Tipping is expected everywhere so bring enough change every day. If you leave a 10% tip in a restaurant you may be followed out of the restaurant to contribute the remaining 2.5%, I kid you not. Shopping is excellent in the big stores where your passport will work as an additional discount card. Get your hands on as many discount cards (labels) as you can. The tendency there is to sell, sell, sell. Enjoy.
 
Thanks for the heads up. Hotel is in T.Square but I envisage we'll hop on the subway & get away from the main tourist traps. I plan to do a good bit of walking, just to see some of the sites is enough.
 
New York is amazing, you will have a fantastic time. Times Square is a handy place to stay as it's central and has good transport connections, but Leper is right, you will not want to spend a whole lot of time there really.

What month are you going? Which airport are you flying into? How many of you will there be and what are your general age ranges?
 
Leper said:
Depending on quality of the hotel I recommend staying as far away from Times Square as possible. Check all TripAdvisor reviews of any hotel in which you intend staying. The subway in New York is good so even a hotel on the periphery may be a better choice. You'll come across many diners in NY so again do your homework reading the reviews. Note some of the breakfasts are huge. Open top bus tour is good. Tipping is expected everywhere so bring enough change every day. If you leave a 10% tip in a restaurant you may be followed out of the restaurant to contribute the remaining 2.5%, I kid you not. Shopping is excellent in the big stores where your passport will work as an additional discount card. Get your hands on as many discount cards (labels) as you can. The tendency there is to sell, sell, sell. Enjoy.
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Remaining 2.5%? A standard tip is 20% these days!!

I was there a few years ago and went to Virgil's off Times Square. I'd love to go back and give it a proper go! I wasn't overly hungry, just fancied a snack. The size of the portions was unreal!! If we had gotten half of what we ordered, we wouldn't have finished it.
www.virgilsbbq.com

BBQ Restaurant in Times Square, NYC

The original Virgil's Real Barbecue was founded in the heart of Times Square. With their various Southern-style BBQ dishes, Virgil's grew to the top BBQ restaurant in NYC.
www.virgilsbbq.com www.virgilsbbq.com

Don't bother getting a coach around Central Park, they charge per minute! A walk over the Brooklyn Bridge is a nice walk. Also around where the World Trade Centre, although the queues to get into anything down there is huge. Worth going down though. Central Park is nice too.

The great thing with New York is just walking around and taking it all in. Stopping off to get a beer somewhere and watching the world go by and then go somewhere else.

America is extremely expensive now so be prepared for the trip to cost you a lot. It is going to be busy too, so if you intend to go to decent places to eat, book ahead. That place Virgil's was packed and we were lucky to get a seat.
 
It's been a while since I visited but for what it's worth, I'd suggest:

1. Eat as far away from Times Square as possible! Classic tourist trap; overpriced; mediocre not-too-bothered service despite the large tip system. I might make an exception for Ellen's Stardust Diner, just off Times Square. The USP is that the servers are all Broadway wannabe (or resting) singers and they burst into musical numbers from the shows throughout the meal. It's actually quite good entertainment, although the food is just mediocre diner stuff and way overpriced. And as well as the tips, they come round with a bucket at regular intervals to collect for some charity for out of work or sick actors. But still, you get cabaret with your meal - it's NYC baby!

2. Subway is dead handy and easy to navigate. Probably a good idea to do an open top bus tour early on to get a feel for the place. You'll feel like you know it already as you'll see so many streetscapes and landmarks you know from film and TV.

3. Visit the USS Intrepid Museum and exhibition down on the Hudson River. (Walking distance from Times Square) It's a retired WW2 and Vietnam era aircraft carrier and associated aircraft and submarine. You get the full run of the place and there's usually actual veterans on hand who are full of info about what life was like onboard.

4. Use the TKTS booth on Times Square to book last minute tickets to today's shows and plays. You won't get the blockbuster shows of course, but you can get really good value for off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway stuff. Note that there's a separate line (ie queue!) for non musicals which can save you a LOT of time.

5. Shopping in NYC itself is a bit meh (plus the NYC sales tax) but you can get a bus to the outlets or to Jersey if that's your thing. Macy's is worth a visit though, and is an iconic landmark in itself.

6. The 9-11 memorial and exhibition is well worth a visit, and is a quite sobering experience.

7. Get your photo taken with the "painted ladies" in Times Square :D

8. If you want to visit the Empire State Building, and you should, go late at night. The queues will be long gone, and you can go straight up to the observation levels. The views are spectacular!

And enjoy the visit. Everyone should do it at least once.
 
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misemoi said:
Haven't been in a while, but the high line gets good reviews as a place to hang out. Also suggest taking the Staten Island ferry over and back for views of the statue of liberty. Enjoy!
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+1
Or, as an alternative, get a ferry to Ellis Island. You'll sail past the Statue of Liberty and get good views. There's an excellent museum and exhibition centre in the original reception building on Ellis Island. Quite mind blowing numbers of immigrants landed here, many of course from Ireland.
 
I cannot wait to go back as its been a while.
I'd recommend doing Rockerfeller Centre rather than the empire state building. (I've done both). You get a great view of the empire state building itself and I personally thought better views overall.
MOMA museum is great and the exhibitions change all the time. There is also a great museum of film and moving immagery in Queens - https://movingimage.us/
Central park for a wander.
Ellis Island I think is great and I keep going back to it.
In relation to Broadway shows check whats on before you go and see if there are any big stars in anything you;d like to see. I was fortunate to see Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell in a great Martin McDonnagh play. You might be lucky with what you can pick up.
Enjoy.
 
ive been there many times and 10% is all they got from me and no more. dont be tempted to give in to tip shaming as they call it over there. the only tip i will give them is a good clatter from me if they ever ever follow me out of any restaurant and get aggressive with me. i wont stand for it . Having said that the subway is a great way to get around and hotels can be picked up very reasonable if you go around thanks giving , im not sure about other times of the year though. I love this city so much life so much vitality and plenty to offer , before covid we used to go every year in november without fail and have a ball. The best place and cheap enough place for a pint and a chat would be a pub called jimmys corner, its a boxing pub, the owner used to be manager to mohammed ali and people there just want to have a good laugh a drink and a chat


















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A few suggestions:

Highline - a repurposed, elevated suburban track, turned into mini gardens, lovely walks, lovely views, with art, events etc:

History

www.thehighline.org www.thehighline.org

Walk across Brookly Bridge, and then, eat here, under the bridge on the other side:

1 Front Street Brooklyn - Grimaldi's Pizzeria

Now serving beer and wine! The original, historic Grimaldi’s location under the Brooklyn Bridge, Grimaldi’s Pizzeria One Front Street features three floors of dining accommodating more than 100 patrons. The restaurant features Grimaldi’s signature red and white gingham tablecloths, handcrafted...
www.grimaldispizzeria.com www.grimaldispizzeria.com

Into both art + architecture ?:
This Frank Lloyd Wright designed building is incredible, not to mind the art inside
www.guggenheim.org

Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Timeline | The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation

Timeline for the history of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
www.guggenheim.org www.guggenheim.org

Gugenheim is located on the eastern side of Central Park, on 5th avenue, another must see place in Manhatten.
www.centralparknyc.org

Your Official Guide to Central Park I Central Park Conservancy

The organization that cares for NYC’s iconic 843-acre park offers public tours, family activities, and expert insight to help you get to know our beloved greenspace.
www.centralparknyc.org www.centralparknyc.org

Get public transport ferry, to Staten Island, you’l see quite a lot, and won’t be paying overinflated tour prices, as it is free, however 100% avoid rush hour, as very crowded. You have to get off at the other side, before re boarding, roughly 30minutes each way.
www.siferry.com

Home

About The Staten Island Ferry, one of the last operating ferry systems in New York, transported people between Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs long before bridges were introduced. The northern shores of Staten Island were littered with piers, competing ferry companies vied for a place in...
www.siferry.com www.siferry.com

The Staten Island Ferry

www.siferry.com www.siferry.com
 
Thanks all for the suggestions, will hopefully get to many of them. Going in September, flying into Newark. Going to NFL & a baseball game, big sports fans!
 
Been to NY more then a few times now and have stayed in Times Square as well
To me it doesn't really matter where you stay it's all part of the experience of what makes the city great
If it's your first time to NY you won't go wrong by using Google or a good travel guide for things to see or do
The "Top Ten" list is usually the same and if you can fit it all in you'll have had as good a city holiday as you're ever going to get

With regards eating, breakfast in the hotel is something we usually do. they can run from the very simple affair to the more lavish buffets'
We find them generally great because we can have our breakfast at leisure then back up to the room to do our "morning toilette" routine before hitting the streets for a day of sight seeing. Lunch is usually some where cheap like "Subways" either eaten in the restaurant or on a park bench while watching the world go by. Dinner, there are just so many places to go that it's nearly impossible to choose, so we decide what type of food we would like, Chinese, Italian Mexican and just go to the nearest one that takes our fancy and very seldom have we been disappointed
With regards tipping, the standard request seems to be in and around the 20 to 25% mark but this can really become quite expensive the longer the holiday goes on, so we opt for the 10% rule unless we get really great service then we would bring it up to 15/20% and have never had any problems with this anywhere in America

One thing I really love in America especially when it comes to eating is the, though not always, endless drinks that are usually included when eating in restaurants especially at breakfast where I usually drink a pint or two of coffee

If you're planning on seeing a show on Broadway, my advice would be to book it well in advance of your trip
With regards to sports there usually is plenty of tickets on the night unless it's one of the big games

One thing not to forget is to bring a pair of shoes that you are comfortable walking in for long periods of time because you're definitely going to get your daily steps in and then some, enjoy!!

One last thing, if you plan on using your CC for most transactions make sure you have a back up like a second CC or DC
I found this out the hard way when my CC snapped in half on the first day of a trip to NY many years ago
Mrs C said it was an eye-opening experience for her to follow me around shopping while paying for everything with her CC :eek:
 
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tom_12345 said:
Thanks all for the suggestions, will hopefully get to many of them. Going in September, flying into Newark. Going to NFL & a baseball game, big sports fans!
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NFL for sure, and in theory, sounds like a good idea, to see baseball for the first time, but after going to one in Shea Stadium, i wouldn’t recommend it, its a “coma inducing” waste of time, the most boring sport i’ve ever seen- bar none, half the crowd are asleep half the time, and games goes on for several hours, with almost nothing happening for 90 % of the time, and you are totally fleeced for drinks and snacks, for an extended period of time.

As for shows, last time i was there, i went to TS for late tickets, best i could get was a grand for 4 of us to see the Lion King, we swiftly passed on that one.
 
It's been ages since I was there but when I was on a tight budget we used to go into bars during happy hour as they had free food during that time. It was salads and meatballs etc but it filled the hole. The deli counter in convenience stores were also often excellent and cheap.
The rest has been well covered above.
 
fayf said:
the most boring sport i’ve ever seen- bar none, half the crowd are asleep half the time, and games goes on for several hours, w
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I couldn't agree more.

Add to that a non-trivial risk of serious head injury from a stray ball.
 
I can recommend Jimmy’s Corner bar 140 West 44th Street for the cheapest drinks downtown.
The late Jimmy Glenn ran a gym and trained a number of fighters and helped Mohammed Ali with the pads.
Great boxing photos cover the pub walls and there is a brilliant soul oriented juke box curated by the bartenders .
 
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