Any tips for my trip to New York

strauchr

Hey guys. I am Coming to America! (kind of a play on the movie of the same name) Anyway I have a trip planned to New York over New Years and wondering if any has any tips on what I should go see.

I really really badly wanted to go to a Knicks game cos I love Basketball but there were no games on. I am going to see the Rangers instead as I used be a Ice Hockey fan many years ago and it will be a chance to see Madison Square Garden.

I am staying in a hotel in Time Square for New Years eve so I will be there for that.

I have the usual bus tour booked where you see the sights.

I have booked into a restaurant in Brooklyn called the River Cafe.

Oh, and for the rest of my trip I am staying at the Waldorf

So, is there anything I am missing or anything you can recomment for a first time visitor to NY?

Ricka182

I don't live there, and generally try to try avoid going unless I have to, regardless; make sure to check out the Empire State building, the 9-11 Memorial site and Central Park(but not at night!!)....Times Square is huge this time of year as well....oh, and it's very cold this side of the pond, bring a very warm jacket...

jescab

don't forget Rockafeller Center - they have an outside skating rink where you can skate for a small fee.......they have awesome plays at Radio City Music Hall........

Ricka182

Almost forgot...if you're into punk/alternative music, try to make it over to CBGBs, a club that's been around for years....helped to spawn The Ramones in America.....

TeKniques

There is also the 110,000 square foot Toys R Us store in Times Square. Not that you have to be into toys or anything, but it is just an amazing store. Everything else people mentioned is right on. The food in NYC is pretty good too, so make sure you try a variety

Plantwiz

Don't forget Toy's R US has a ferris wheel

*****

You could catch some shows, tons of great musical on going!

Try not to look like a tourist. Oh, and their transportation people are on strike (for whatever little bee in their bonnets ) so, expect to walk, fight with a lot of people to get a cab or just be a bit delayed moving about as the subway and I believe buses all stopped moving.

Last I heard, they are being fined $1,000,000 per day-so it may not be long before they are working under protest. I guess keep it in mind so that they don't go postal if they have return back to work by the time you arrived.

2lazybutsmart

Take a hot air balloon with you; or risk walking miles and miles in the feezing weather with tons of people.

keatron

I heard that parts of Central Park are ok at night.

Ricka182

keatron wrote:

I heard that parts of Central Park are ok at night.

Yeah, under the lights, and anywhere near other people....

Also, the strike is over.

strauchr

Thanks for the tips guys. I have heard about Central Park at night but to be honest what can you really do in a park at night other than crime??

Also good to hear the strike is over, hopefully save me some walking.

I'll be keeping an eye on the weather but hopefully it won't be much colder than London as London is cold enough for me as it is (Originally from West Coast of Australia which barely gets below 10 degrees celcius)

porengo

strauchr wrote:

Hey guys. I am Coming to America! (kind of a play on the movie of the same name) Anyway I have a trip planned to New York over New Years and wondering if any has any tips on what I should go see.

I really really badly wanted to go to a Knicks game cos I love Basketball but there were no games on. I am going to see the Rangers instead as I used be a Ice Hockey fan many years ago and it will be a chance to see Madison Square Garden.

I am staying in a hotel in Time Square for New Years eve so I will be there for that.

I have the usual bus tour booked where you see the sights.

I have booked into a restaurant in Brooklyn called the River Cafe.

Oh, and for the rest of my trip I am staying at the Waldorf

So, is there anything I am missing or anything you can recomment for a first time visitor to NY?

I'm a native New Yorker and did New Year's Eve in Times Square for the first time last January. What a great experience! If you like Italian food, I would suggest eating at Carmine's www.carminesnyc.com on 44th Street between 7th and 8th Streets (makes reservations ahead of time).

Toys R Us in Times Square is amazing with it's T-Rex and indoor ferris wheel.

In terms of your bus tour...make sure it's with Grayline and not with City Sights. They both have the same routes and you can get on and off as many times as you like, but City Sights has about 10 buses to Grayline's 100.

I live in Brooklyn Heights where the River Cafe is located. Great choice! You'll have a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline while you're dining. The River Cafe is also located right under the Brooklyn Bridge, so I might suggest walking over the bridge into lower Manhattan after dinner.

In lower Manhattan you have the South Street Seaport, Ground Zero, City Hall, J&R www.jr.com (a great place for buying electronics), Chinatown and SoHo.

Rockerfeller Center is great this time of year with the giant Christmas tree and skating rink. There's also Saint Patrick's Cathedral nearby, as well as Sack's 5th Avenue.

And you can't forget the Empire State Building...especially with the new movie version of King Kong being released!

Oh...and while you're in Brooklyn, stop by Junior's www.juniorscheesecake.com for their cheesecake. You won't be disappointed!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

keatron

Thanks for that review. I have two trips to new york in 2006, now I know what to do while I'm there.

strauchr

Yes, good review! I think I am going to run out of time there. If I like I wouldn't mind working there for a little while (6 months max) just so I can see the city properly, as well as the rest of the U.S.

Anyone know of any companies that do sponsorship?

darkuser

go to
http://www.ticketmaster.com
for your knicks/rangers tickets (if you don't already have them)

I'm the network engineer at The American Museum Of Natural History
http://www.amnh.org
if you've got the time take the b or c subway (which are running just fine thank you) to the 81th street stop and I'll comp you some tickets.

strauchr

I'm the network engineer at The American Museum Of Natural History
http://www.amnh.org
if you've got the time take the b or c subway (which are running just fine thank you) to the 81th street stop and I'll comp you some tickets.

Thanks for the offer but unfortunately I had already left before I saw your post


I had a great time New York minus the weather on Tuesday when I decided to do all my shopping and the 6 hour below 0(celcius) wait in Time Square for the ball to drop but it was worth it. By the way the ball is much smaller than they make it look on TV.

And the people were more friendly and polite than I expected but then again coming from London thats not hard.

Anyway a great time overall, would recommend anyone to visit especially if your outside of the US. Now I gotta just see the rest of the US at some stage. That'll be after Europe.

porengo

strauchr wrote:

By the way the ball is much smaller than they make it look on TV.

And the people were more friendly and polite than I expected but then again coming from London thats not hard.

Last year I was in Times Square for New Year's Eve with a friend from England who said the same exact things!