so what else are you...

[maxx02]

seeing or doing while you're in NYC?

[etherealtb]

maxx02 said:

seeing or doing while you're in NYC?

Aw geeze .... as usual, when visiting a city like NYC, my list of things I want to do is probably more ambitious than is humanly possible for the amount of time I will be there (and my budget.) But here is a list of what I'm dying to do:

• Do more walks to admire NYC's great architecture and walking tours of different neighborhoods in the city. (My favorite thing to do is explore cities when I travel.)
  
• Try to see more of the Metropolitan Museum (which will probably be a lifetime project, as the place is ENORMOUS.)
  
• Visit the museum at Ellis Island and the Tenement museum and any other museums that catch my fancy (I'm a bit of a museum rat)
  
• See the New York City Ballet perform
  
• See an Opera at the Met
  
• Try to see more of Central Park, visit Riverside Park, the Cloisters

I'd better stop there, as I've already virtually blown what ever budget I had. LOL.

[maxx02]

lol! You make me feel like such a slacker and a loser.

I thought I might go to Zabars if I had time. ;D

[etherealtb]

maxx02 said:

lol! You make me feel like such a slacker and a loser.

LOL. Well, you have to remember, I've only been to NYC two times for a total of about 4-5 days with only 3 days spent doing hard touristing. Not nearly enough time to see all of the things I want to see in NYC.

I thought I might go to Zabars if I had time. ;D

Okay, I had to look up what Zabars was, ( www.zabars.com ) but will definitely add it to my list, as it looks pretty cool! One of the things I love doing in other countries is exploring the markets (its fun, trust me, you see all sorts of cool stuff you never see at toursity places) and I'm sure there is nothing like Zabars in LA, so I could count it as part of my cultural experience in NYC, right?

[ukelelehip]

For anyone looking for another straight play to see, I hear The Seafarer is supposed to be great and that one will start late October in NY at the Booth Theatre.

www.telecharge.com/BehindTheCurtain.aspx?prodid=5844

[catdishy]

I've never been to the American Natural History Museum, and the Rose Center for Earth and Space and the Hayden Planetarium weren't even built at the time of my last visit , around 1983. So, I plan to spend at least a half day, maybe 2 half days taking the latter in. I'll revisit a couple of old sites, like the Metropolitan Museum and Guggenheim, and I'd love to just explore lower Manhattan again.I'll be there with my niece, a big Beattles fan, so of course will have to visit Strawberry Fields in Central park.

[uncorked]

I....unlke some people...will only be getting to see RnR once (at least this time around). After buying those incredibly expensive tickets...someone got the impression I have money and I got called to go for a time-share seminar at the Manhattan club--for that I get discounted prices to another hotel--2 free tickets to The drowsey Chaperone and a voucher to come back sometime in the next year to stay fro free at the Manhattan club ...not a bad deal but the hotel is about a mile from the theatre

[etherealtb]

Oh yeah, I also forgot skating in Rockefeller Plaza. (I know its cheesy, but I used to be a skater as a kid and its a fantasy that needs to be fulfilled...)

[mcr5137]

uncorked said:

I....unlke some people...will only be getting to see RnR once (at least this time around). After buying those incredibly expensive tickets...someone got the impression I have money and I got called to go for a time-share seminar at the Manhattan club--for that I get discounted prices to another hotel--2 free tickets to The drowsey Chaperone and a voucher to come back sometime in the next year to stay fro free at the Manhattan club ...not a bad deal but the hotel is about a mile from the theatre

If I go, we'll only be seeing it one time too, uncorked!

I've been looking around a little bit at hotels........I'm trying to keep the search to Midtown......is that a good thing? I saw one, the Washington Jefferson Hotel that says it is in the theater district......anyone know anything about that one? We want to be able to walk anywhere we go (or take the subway during the day).

[catdishy]

uncorked, I may see Rufus two nights in a row, but comfort yourself with the fact that your hotel is nicer than mine by a mile (Hotel Pennsylvania), and mine didn't come with perks. Location isn't bad, though, across from Penn Station. Are we going to be backdoor Juanitas on the 26th?

[uncorked]

lets see......two nights of Rufus compared to a nice hotel....hmmmmm I don't know--I think you win. Most definetly we will be backdoor Juanitas. I don't think I could do it on my own --besides it will be fun to meet someone from this site !! I'm bringing my camera!

[maxx02]

If you get out of midtown you'll probably get a better price and a better night of sleep. You can get anywhere in Manhattan fairly easily. The subway system is fantastic or you can always take a cab.

I'm not sure if I've said it here or not, but you couldn't pay me to stay in midtown unless I'm booked into a hotel for business and I have no choice. I hate it. These days it dwarfs that old joke about being in the middle of Grand Central Station. It's more like trying to survive in a carnival.

If you going only for a weekend, head on down to the Wall Street area. You'll find bargains in hotels down there because most of their clientèle is weekday and goes home on the weekend. Not to mention there are some fun things to do downtown, like take the Staten Island Ferry or visit the South Street Seaport and Battery Park. You can also go to Ellis Island. And it's a quick train ride up to midtown to the theatre. It's also a great chance to visit Trinity Church and see the 9/11 memorial.

[mcr5137]

maxx02 said:

If you get out of midtown you'll probably get a better price and a better night of sleep. You can get anywhere in Manhattan fairly easily. The subway system is fantastic or you can always take a cab.

If you going only for a weekend, head on down to the Wall Street area. You'll find bargains in hotels down there because most of their clientèle is weekday and goes home on the weekend. Not to mention there are some fun things to do downtown, like take the Staten Island Ferry or visit the South Street Seaport and Battery Park. You can also go to Ellis Island. And it's a quick train ride up to midtown to the theatre. It's also a great chance to visit Trinity Church and see the 9/11 memorial.

So what part of town should I be looking in??? We will be walking 95% of the time, some subway.........not hoping to do cabs if we can get away with it.

We are thinking of coming on a Thurs. and stay until Tues. and we'd like to see Trinity Church, Ground Zero, Seaport, Staten Island Ferry.........of course 5th St. and Wall St. The Empire State Bldg is on our plans.

So name some areas to key in that would be good to find hotels! We will stay inside Manhattan, I don't want to stay in Brooklyn, Queens, Flushing, etc. So what areas should I look for?

Also, do most of the airports have shuttles to most of the hotels? We've been told by several people to fly into La Guardia, so would they have shuttles to some/most/any of the hotels in Manhatten?

[maxx02]

mcr5137 said:

So what part of town should I be looking in??? We will be walking 95% of the time, some subway.........not hoping to do cabs if we can get away with it.

We are thinking of coming on a Thurs. and stay until Tues. and we'd like to see Trinity Church, Ground Zero, Seaport, Staten Island Ferry.........of course 5th St. and Wall St. The Empire State Bldg is on our plans.

So name some areas to key in that would be good to find hotels! We will stay inside Manhattan, I don't want to stay in Brooklyn, Queens, Flushing, etc. So what areas should I look for?

Also, do most of the airports have shuttles to most of the hotels? We've been told by several people to fly into La Guardia, so would they have shuttles to some/most/any of the hotels in Manhatten?

lol! Well, I'd look for a hotel in Manhattan where I like the price. That's the neighborhood you should be looking in, whatever it happens to be. Most of the things you've mentioned (that I hadn't) are in or around midtown. There is a lot more to do in NY than just those things and perhaps if you stay off the beaten path you'll encounter some of those things.

Something I don't think most people realize is you can walk anywhere in Manhattan. If you really like to walk, it's not much effort to quite literally walk where you want to go. It's the best way to see the City and it's very easy because of the grid pattern of the streets. However it's not fast to, for example, walk from say the West Village to Midtown unless you're a good walker and keep up a good pace. But logistically it's easily done.

If an airport has a shuttle to a hotel, I'm not aware of it. You might get a shuttle to the hotel next to the airport but not into the City. I suppose there are exceptions if you do a package or something, but most people either take public transportation or a cab. As to the airport, which one you fly into has a great deal to do with fare and where you are staying.

I haven't flown into LaGuardia in years. I used to avoid it like the plague because it's difficult to get into the City using public transportation and it used to a pit. Nothing ever came in or left on time. It has some of the shortest runways of any airport in the country and something is always dropping off into Long Island Sound because it didn't stop in time(no one gets hurt typically but it's a pain). I live in LA so my flights are usually into JFK and I take the train because... well I lived there for years and that's what easiest and fastest for me. I don't necessarily recommend it for someone who doesn't know the City if you're coming from Kennedy. I'd just try to arrive at a reasonable time (some non-peak time) and take a cab. It will cost you 45.00 + tip. No exceptions from LaGuardia or Kennedy. Newark is something else.

If you're up to it there are all kinds of boutique hotels and small B&B's dotting the City these days. They are easy to find on the internet and they offer a different way to see NY because many of them are in brownstones or share buildings in neighborhoods with apartments.

The time of year which you are visiting might play into where you stay because it can be very bitter downtown in January and February with the wind blowing in off the ocean and the huge buildings casting everything into shadow by mid afternoon.

Okay this is probably way too much information so I'll stop now.