Favorite thing to do in New York?

[actormcfamous]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 7:05pm

Hi everyone

I just found out that I am going to be in New York this weekend and am scrambling to throw plans together. I'm staying with a friend at NYU and on Monday may have a few free hours during the day while she's in class. Therefore, I was wondering what everyone's favorite thing to do in New York is. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Steve2]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 7:09pm

Besides Broadway shows?

[Pascal/Menzel/Bundy]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 7:18pm

haha yes besides Broadway shows...

Serendipity= amzing. (you've probably heard of it but they have amazing frozen hot chocolate. I think it's be in your best interest to make a reservation though if it's only a few hours you'll have.)

Ummmm.....
Central Park is always great. You can't really visit NYC without going there. It's a must.

Hope you have fun!

[henryt]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 7:35pm

If you want to do something super touristy, the wax museum is very fun. But you need a camera!

[folkyboy]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 7:39pm

i love
s'mac

[emo_geek]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 7:46pm

I am going in December for the 2nd time ever...and I am looking for cool unusual non tourist type of things to do :)

[brainlessorwise]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 7:48pm

I love this thread. I just moved here and am trying to figure out some new places to go. Keep them coming.

[Revolutionary]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 8:11pm

The single thing I find myself doing most often while in Nyc- Vegging out and people watching at either Union Square or Washington Square Park. I've probably wasted years of my life just...sitting and observing nothing and everything in particular.

[grnsmwhr]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 8:36pm

We're coming to NYC the 2nd time ever. Someone said there were a lot of museums close to Central Park but we didn't have time last time to visit any. What are the best ones? Thanks for any info.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 9:17pm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is on 5th Avenue and 84th Street, right at the edge of Central Park. The Museum of the City of New York, 5th Avenue and 103rd Street, has an excellent theatre collection. The Museum of Natural History, which has a planetarium, is on the west side of Central Park, at Central Park West and 79th Street.

For food try the Carnegie Deli, 7th Avenue and 55th Street, but only if you are really hungry--their delicious sandwiches are enormous. They have the best corned beef in NYC, IMO. And they only take cash, no credit cards.

Posted: 10/18/07 at 9:40pm

This is difficult because you're a student and I am a mom, so we do different things, but if you are up by Serendipity you might as well go to Dylan's Candy Bar...a really neat store. Bryant Park, behind the library, is a great place to hang out, too. My favorite thing to do in New York is WALK and explore different neighborhoods.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 9:41pm

The Met, The Moma, the Whitney.

You can't visit NY without going to the museums.
Updated On: 10/18/07 at 09:41 PM

[Revolutionary]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 9:55pm

re museums:

The Met and the Natural History Museum are both suggested admission, so you can give them like, $1, and get in. You'll save a lot considering the suggested admission price is something like $15 per person.

And the Guggenheim and the MOMA are both free on Friday evenings. I remember the MOMA's admission was pretty high the last time I checked, around $15-$20, so it's a great deal as well.

Oh, and almost forgot, The American Museum of Natural History in Brooklyn is nice too if you feel like venturing out to the brookland, lol, and on the first Friday evening of every month they host a livemusic/open bar for like, $20 that's pretty popular. I've been a couple times and it's always a lot of fun.
Updated On: 10/18/07 at 09:55 PM

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 10:59pm

Splash Bar on Monday nights for musical Mondays is always fun :)

[BroadwayEnthusiast2]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 11:08pm

Broadway shows, of course. Just walk around and explore.

[bkonbroadway]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 11:16pm

I love going into Central Park and just strolling around until I get lost and don't know how to get out. I always somehow end up at the Bethesda Fountain around 72nd Street. I love to sit there and have lunch. (It always makes me think of Angels in America and being "healed" at the fountain...I know it's cheezy...but I love it.) And if you're around Spring Street, there's an amazing place called "Rice to Riches" that has a whole bunch of flavors of rice pudding...amazing! Or if you're in the W. Village, you must get a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery!

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 11:17pm

If you're gonna be visting on Friday or Saturday, you should go see Forbidden NYU!

[grnsmwhr]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 11:19pm

Thanks for the tips. I love NYC, the last trip was awesome and contrary to what I was told, the people were really friendly.

[fnyboi88]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 11:20pm

I love to eat at Juniors in Times Square! I eat there at least two to three times when I'm in NYC.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 11:23pm

1. Walking through Bryant Park and over 42nd to Broadway is one of my favorite things to do.

2. Times Square late at night

2. MoMa

3. Deli food late at night after cocktails and walking back to my friend's place to eat it.

[Puppetguy]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 11:27pm

Get out of Times Square and see the city... if you really want to get a taste of NYC, head out to Park Slope in Brooklyn... spend some time on 5th Avenue then walk towards Prospect Park and check out the beautiful old Brownstones.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 11:37pm

Oh...and I always seem to end up at Strawberry Fields in Central Park.

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:07am

I wrote this for someone else but hopefully it will be relevent for you too. sorry if anythings repetative or whatever:

While you're on Broadway, you could eat at the hardrock cafe, though if you've been to the one in London then this one will probably seem lame, but it's definitely a fun place to go.

If you're interested in buying CDs there's a huge virgin records mega store around there where you can get lots of paraphenelia, dvds, electronics, and OF COURSE music.

Just walking around broadwy is enough fun in and of itself, you could go into all the little shops, m&m world, quicksilver, and there's a great popcorn shop around there somewhere too.

Let's see... if you're interested in art and science and stuff, there are definitely a bunch of museums that you could see My top 3 favorite would definitely be the MoMA (museum of Modern Art) the Met and the Natural History Museum. There's also the bodies exhibit down at south street seaport. (where they have a bunch of stores and stuff too if you're interested)

The village, I adore the village,if you're down there you definitely should go to the Life Cafe (which is on 10th and B) nearby is St. Mark's Place, a great place to go at night. There are a ton of cute shops and stuff there and if you're interested a lot of hookah bars nearby (there's on on 6th and B called Horus which I would reccomend)

Also downtown is Soho where you could go to different boutiques for cheap (and also not so cheap) clothes and stuff. There;s a restaurant down there called "Bari" which I really like, but as long as you're in the neighborhood I would eat in...

Little Italy, the cutest place ever and the BEST deserts at the bakeries. Sometimes they have little carnivals down there which is awesome. This is also a great place to walk around.

Just around the corner is China Town, If you want lots of cheap knock offs you could go to canal strett they have everything from jewelry to handbags to dvds to perfume. Go here during the day though.

I don't know how much you would like it but I love going to midtown and shopping at bloomingdales (60th and lex) which is right by Dylan's Candy Bar (this HUGE candy store)California Pizza Kitchen (which has really good food) and the famous Serendipity (which is known for it's ice cream, I would reccomend the forbidden Broadway Sunday SOOO good)

There are lots of parks, Central Park is probably the most famous, so if you want to just spend the day outside, that would be a good place to do it.

of course there are all the touristy landmarks like the statue of liberty and empire state building, might as well ride up to the top while you're in town.

If you're looking for more expensive, designer, shopping, just take a walk down 5th avenue and you'll find all the labels that you could have ever imagined.

If you like live music there are lots of concerts here just go to ticketmaster or check out local music clubs and pubs and stuff like Joe's Pub, the cutting room, mo pitkin's, arlene's grocery... there are tons.

Hope I helped a little ask me if you have any questions.

--
oh and just a couple tips if you don't want to be too touristy (not that its a bad thing, just little things so people won't roll their eyes)

1) don't call it the big apple
2) don't read maps, if you need help, ask someone, I honestly get lost in my own city ALL the time lol, just ask for directions
3) try not to walk too slowly
4) if someone bumps into you and doesn't apologize, they aren't being rude, it's just the way they were brought up, that and they were in a rush, I promise we're not mean spirited people we're just busy lol

So yeah I'm glad those helped, again please let me know if there's anything else you're interested in, if you have any questions, if there's something you want me to explain further, all that, I mean I really did just give you the bare minimum.

Also a WONDERFUL website (if you're taking public transportation) is hopstop.com you plug in where you're starting and where you're going to and it gives you subway and bus directions and all sorts of alternative routes (its like mapquest, but for the city) i love it.
--
Another good place, if you're uptown and are willing to spend a bit of money, to have brunch is Sarabeth's kitchen. They have the most amazing french toast and also their tomato soup is wonderful. They often have a bit of a line though especially on sundays.

Also don't forget manhattan is not the only place to go, there are tons of fun things to do in other boroughs including museums, theaters, and concert venues.
--
Parks, okay.

Well the most famous one is Central Park so things you can do there... well just about everything really. In addition to just walking around there are tons of lawns to lay out on / have picnic / play soccer whatever (great lawn, east meadow) then there is the carasel (sp?) which is a great place to go to with younger kids, if you're there in the winter go to walman rink to go ice skating and i THINK that in the spring it becomes a roller/inline skating rink but i'm not sure so you might want to check up on that. There's also the belvadere castle which is an interesting site I guess. If you've got money to spend you can also go on a horse and buggy ride around the park.

Bryant Park, I love this park though it isn't really a place of nature it's right near times square and if you go in winter it has ice skating and cute little shops to go to. The Ice skating is free but if you don't have skates you have to pay $8 to rent them, which isn't really that bad at all. Also there are tons of events and concerts and stuff that go on here in the summer.

Riverside park is also a nice place to go, it's right but the hudson river. If you're a biker or a rollerblader you can skate/bike right by the river all the way down or uptown.

Tompkins square park is also a cute place to go but its pretty small so dont expect to spend the whole day there. However, its in a great area to do other things in.
--
someone asked about metrocards so i wrote:
Metrocards 101

Busses:
- To take the bus you can either use a METROCARD or pay $200 in cash

Subways:
- In order to take the subway you MUST use a METROCARD because there's no other way to get on.

How to get a Metrocard:
- occasionally a store will sell them or you'll see a metrocard truck (like an ice cream truck) will sell them, but i wouldn't bother with looking for that
- If you're taking a train to the city, you can get a metrocard on the back of your ticket
- The most COMMON way to get a metrocard and easiest way is to go down into a subway station and buy one from one of the machines. The machines have very simple directions to follow.

Different types of Metrocards:
- The machine will ask you how much money you want to put on your metrocard. And there are sort of special deals

ANYTHING UNDER $10 -> It will be $2 per ride so if you put on $2 you will get one ride, if you put on $4 you will get 2 rides, if you put on $6 you will get e rides etc.

MULTIPLES OF 10 -> This is a buy 5, get one free system. So for $10 you get 6 rides (instead of five)
So if you pay $20 you get 10 rides.

UNLIMITED -> I'm not sure what the price is since I've never gotten it but an unlimited lets you ride the subway as many times as you want for a fixed price for one month

Transfers:
If you ride a bus or subway and then less than 2 hours later take another one you get a free tranfer. So it'll be 2 rides for $2.

any questions?

-- things other people said:

Definitely ask for directions when lost, most people are very understanding. Don't make a set itinerary, you won't be able to keep to it and will end up frustrated. Instead, each day have one or two areas you want to see, and a list of a few things in each area you want to try.

Some of my favourite things:
Strand Books- Broadway and 12th
If you love books, it's seriously heaven. They also have cool bargain carts outside the shop. The people who work there are friendly, and I'm not lying when I say there are miles of books.
Mud Coffee- They have trucks, but I love the actual place at 307 E 9th St. It's really cool and has a fun ambiance. Really good coffee.
Famous Joe's Pizza- 7 Carmine Street New York, NY
Good pizza, and fun for people watching, if you get the window booth. There's usually a bit of a line, though.

But honestly, the best way to see the city is to wander. Walk when you can, you'll find something to do, trust me. Buy a MetroCard, because you will need it. Umm.... I can't think of anything else, but have fun!
--
You have to go to the Swartz (sp?) toy store! It's so amazing all the things they have in there. Obvious places would be Empire State Building (definately bring gum for that, your ears pop in the elevator.) Plus, there's Rockefeller Center. The Seaport Mall is fun. There's the WTC memorial, which I haven't gotten to see yet, they were still building it the last time I went, but my mom and I are going again this summer.
--
If you go to SoHo, eat at Bar 89. Great food, great drinks and great bathrooms!

http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/new-york/bar-89-new-york.htm
--
Central Park Zoo is great! Small, but really inexpensive. They have a great Rain Forest Building!

http://www.centralparknyc.org/virtualpark/southend/centralparkzoos

Go to Top of the Rock instead of the Empire State Building, great views, and great views of the ESB! Also, there will be little to no wait, unlike the ESB.

http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/ODTStatic/site.htm

Of all the Museums, IMO, MoMA is the best! And should not be missed!

The best place in Central Park is the Bethesda Terrace and Fountian

http://www.centralparknyc.org/virtualpark/southend/bethesdaangel

And if you go in from the West Side, you should see Strawberry Fields

http://www.centralparknyc.org/virtualpark/southend/strawberryfields
--
Bar 89's bathrooms are so cool. They're completely transparent glass until you lock them. So fun. And they serve great food and desserts, so even if you're underage it's still fun. There's also a really good Thai place down in Soho called Peep that has great bathrooms. Yeah, don't ask why I know all the places with cool bathrooms...


*************************************************
Sorry that was really long and really random, hopefully it helped though.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:16am

I like walking down Mott Street. There is an Italian restaurant right before you get to Chinatown that I like to eat at. Forget the name, but it sits on a corner and has a "Bust/Statue" of an Italian chef outside the door. It has a little pation on the Mott street side. (And in the front I think). I have been down there twice. Like to walk into Chinatown to Ten Ren Teas.

[Clarinetbiter135]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:35am

Go to the museum of sex on 27th (I think) between Madison and Broadway. Students love it.

Also, go to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. Some of the best burgers in ny

Union Square is pretty cool too. I love a restaurant called "Republic" Its fairly cheap and the food is always fabulous.

And, of course, find the nearest grey papaya. hot dogs+fruity beverage=amazing