<p>My daughter and I are doing a spur of the second trip to New York city…next week…including Memorial Day. We have been there together once before and we saw the Met, a show…and we shopped.</p>
<p>She doesn’t want this to be a shopping trip. So…anyone have suggestions for special areas to explore, restaurants that are a “must” (we have Tao, Trattoria del arte), and something fun to do in the city on Memorial Day? We are staying on 57th on the westside (near Carnegie Hall). I think she just wants to feel like a New Yorker.</p>
<p>I must say that due to physical limitations I do not go into the subway (eyesight thing) but am willing to do buses. </p>
<p>Thank you all so much for any advice.</p>
<p>Take the ferry to Ellis Island.
Off the wall suggestion go to the Boat Basin Sunday morning and sail a model boat or watch the kids and do the Sunday Times crossword puzzle.
Go to a smallish museum like the Frick. Great art beautiful architecure.
Have lunch at Cafe Bouloud’s Cafe (near the Frick and the Met)
Have lunch at Bar Bouloud (near Lincoln Canter - eat outside and watch the crowds)
Go to galleries in Chelsea
We just had an amazing dinner at EN Brasserie Japanese, but it’s probably best if you like sake and/or shochu.
Go to the Conservatory Garden in Central Park (corner of 5th Ave and 105th St.)
Take the ferry to Ellis Island. (Did I say that already? It’s incredibly moving and you can see the Statue of Liberty while you are at it.)</p>
<p>some happy memories of my trip to NYC with my daughter that you may want to try—</p>
<p>stop at a corner grocery and get fresh food to picnic in Central Park and don’t miss the carousel!</p>
<p>boat ride around Manhattan, gives you a very different perspective of the island</p>
<p>Chinatown is a always a treat</p>
<p>If you haven’t been to Ground Zero, it’s a pilgrimage. If it’s nice weather I would love to wonder around Central Park, seeing all the places where various movies were shot.</p>
<p>I second Ellis Island. If you want to do an art museum, do the Frick. The collection is superb, incredibly select, and you can see the whole thing without “museum torpor” setting in. Chelsea galleries are also fun.</p>
<p>Actually, I guess I’m just echoing mathmom. :)</p>
<p>There are two things I recommend, and both are free.</p>
<p>First is to take the ferry to Staten Island and do it round trip (about 25 minutes each way). Find out the time of that days sunset and work your over to SI to correspond to the sunset. Immediately get off the ferry and walk back through the terminal and right back on to the ferry to watch the city lights come on! It’s amazing to first watch the sunset and then the lights. On the way back to the city go to the very front of the ferry (outside) for the view.</p>
<p>The second is to go to the 9/11 Memorial. You will need tickets but again, they’re free ([National</a> September 11 Memorial & Museum | World Trade Center Memorial](<a href=“http://www.911memorial.org/]National”>http://www.911memorial.org/)). It is awe inspiring. I’ve gone twice now. Amazing. We went around lunch time and it was not crowded at all. You can take the bus (M5) to it (tell the driver and he/she will call out your stop).</p>
<p>Have a ball!</p>
<p>OH! If you do the Circle Line Tour around the island (3 hours) here’s a link to buy one get one free (my bf & I were just there and LOVED this tour).
[New</a> York Circle Line Statue of Liberty Cruises Discounts](<a href=“http://www.destinationcoupons.com/New_York/NYC/circle-line/Harbor.asp]New”>http://www.destinationcoupons.com/New_York/NYC/circle-line/Harbor.asp)</p>
<p>Bring the coupon to the ticket booth for the discount. And do the 3 hour tour. Fully circles the island.</p>
<p>Thank you for all your suggestions!!! They are terrific. I have been given (for booking our hotel) a cruise of some sort. Now I can’t wait to find out what cruise it is And Staten Island…hmm…sounds fun!</p>
<p>Walk across the brooklyn bridge</p>
<p>Go to yankee stadium</p>
<p>I second (third?) the Circle Line tour around the island. Also, head up to the Cloisters. You won’t believe you are still on Manhattan! It’s so beautiful!!</p>
<p>Check out The Top of the Rock for the best views and a great resource is Timeout NY (just google it). My kids are not fans of the circle line because the tour is filled with tour lecture. My husband liked it though. I think it is really for older folks. Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty and the Staten Island Ferry would be more fun for teens I think.</p>
<p>For food recommendations, look up yelp manhattan.</p>
<p>Have fun.</p>
<p>In addition to the Frick, the Whitney, the MOMA, and the Guggenheim are all worth seeing. And the Museum of Natural History is fabulous, even for adults (my DD returns frequently just to see the gems and minerals collection).</p>
<p>We were just in NYC 2 weekends ago & explored parts of Greenwich Village. We enjoyed walking down Bleecker Street & eating pizza at [John’s</a> of Bleecker<a href=“recommended%20by%20Anthony%20Bourdain%20on%20%22No%20Reservations%22%20-%20DH%20is%20a%20huge%20Bourdain%20fan”>/url</a>. We had a special anniversary dinner at[url=<a href=“http://www.masfarmhouse.com/”>Redirect | BentoBox] Mas (Farmhouse)](<a href=“http://www.johnsbrickovenpizza.com/]John’s”>http://www.johnsbrickovenpizza.com/), which was excellent. I know you said that your D wasn’t interested in shopping, but if you like flea markets, there is a nice Sunday market on the upper West Side on Columbus Avenue between W. 76th and W. 77th Streets [GreenFlea</a> Market in Manhattan | Biggest Flea Market in New York City](<a href=“http://www.greenfleamarkets.com/]GreenFlea”>http://www.greenfleamarkets.com/).</p>
<p>I love doing the hop on hop off bus tours that take you all over Manhattan (and even into Brooklyn). I was up there this weekend and did one for the 4th time and still find it very enjoyable. It amazes me how many people go to NYC and never do much more than shop, eat and go to shows. NYC is so much more than that. Each neighborhood has it’s own personality and history.</p>
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<p>Which is exactly why we LOVED the circle line tour! We learned so much about Manhattan and saw so much that we never knew was there…we did this the day before we dropped our daughter off for her first year of college at Barnard, and it’s a memory we will cherish forever!</p>
<p>Last May’s visit to NYC, friend and I went to Tenement Museum, lower east side, walked through Washington Park, to Bleeker street pizza, Chelsea Market, and Chelsea Hotel.
Not recommending this for OP’s visit, this was specific neighborhood visit.
Also, went to Russ and Daughters-another Anthony Bourdain recommendation.</p>
<p>Then for fans of quirky movie documentaries.
Watched
“I like Killing Flies”
“The Cruise”
“Chelsea Walls”
“Bill Cunningham”</p>
<p>I agree with the tenement museum. You go to an old tenement building, knock on the door of an apartment, and there is an actress playing the role of a 17 year old jewish immigrant from 1910, who tells you about her lifeand gives you tips about living in the neighborhood, such as avoiding the rats, and you can pick up various household utensils, which are incredibly heavy, such as a wash basin or an iron.</p>
<p>i</p>
<p>A Circle Line tour is fun but I wouldn’t recommend the one that goes around the entire island. It’s long and most people I know who have done it find it boring after a while.</p>
<p>The hop on/off bus tours are good and some of them will do a two day ticket so, if you plan right, you can also use these for transportation. South St Seaport is fun and you could combine that with a trip to the 9/11 Memorial. Theatre is always our first reason to visit NY so if you enjoy theatre, you could combine an afternoon at the Met or Central Park zoo then wander through the park, then down 7th Ave for an early dinner then to a show. We enjoy walking on the Upper West Side which feels like an actual neighborhood and there are many good places to stop for a bite to eat or a coffee, etc. Another good neighborhood for walking is the Village. Go along Jane St over to the river and see where many of the Titanic victims were housed upon return to NY. Have lunch there at the Cafe Gitane in the Jane Hotel.</p>
<p>A Yankees game is always fun. Walking the High Line is something everyone should do at least once in the city. Sit in Union Square or Bryant Square or Washington Square and people watch. </p>
<p>Have fun!</p>
<p>OP said they want to do what New Yorkers do. Just want to point out that NYers do not do touristy things.
They meet friends for brunch, go to Central Park on sunny days with their papers (or go for a run), go to W Village for pizza and check out little shops. NY has a lot of street fairs on weekends, it is usually a lot of fun to walk through it - good food and cheap/interesting stuff to buy. </p>
<p>There are a lot of good restaurants down in the Meatpacking district now, so instead of Tao, maybe try Buddha Bar or Buddkan. Tao has better food, but those 2 have great atmosphere and something different. Morimoto is also down there, very good Japanese restaurant. Gansevort Hotel has a great rooftop bar you could go before dinner with your daughter (no one under 21 at night) to watch the sunset. Bondst at E Village is a very shi-shi Japanese restaurant where you could see a lot of pretty people - young women in short cocktail dresses, and young men in their European suits.</p>
<p>When I visit a city, I mark a place by food.</p>