<p>See a Broadway show, go to Lincoln Center, visit the New York Public Library and see the real Winnie, Eyeore, Piglet, Kanga and Tigger, Rockefeller Center, NBC tour, Grand Central Station, Chelsea Market, Union Square Greenmarket. Eat at Gray’s Papaya, Lombardi’s for pizza, Katz’s for deli (when you’re at the tenement museum), Laboratorio de Gelato is right next door to Katz’s, Union Square Cafe for a splurge lunch. And I love Otto–one of Mario’s places–well-priced–down right near Washington Square Park. Have a blast!</p>
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<p>Well, if they truly want to do what New Yorkers do, they’d be going to work, running errands, taking their kids to the park, doing laundry, maybe having friends over for dinner. I know people say they want to do what New Yorkers do, but the reality is that what New Yorkers do over the course of 4 or 5 days isn’t much different than what people in every other city do.</p>
<p>RE: Tenement Tour- we experienced the Irish Immigrant tour, which worked into our schedule.
I wouldn’t want to do that on “hot” day in NYC, even the tour guide said it’s brutal…ummmmmm no air conditioning, steps, ect.</p>
<p>NYers do not have friends over for dinner, they tend to go out. </p>
<p>OP was the one who said she wanted to do what NYers do, and I don’t know that many of them have gone on the Circle Line or taken the ferry to SI. But they all sound like fun things to do. I may try them this summer when I back in the city.</p>
<p>30 Rockefeller Plaza!!! It is incredible.</p>
<p>Real New Yorkers ride the subway to most of their destinations because it’s fast. And they walk a lot. So you may want to rely primarily on these modes of transportation (and insist that your daughter wear comfortable shoes). </p>
<p>Real New Yorkers also eat the strange chicken-and-lamb-and-rice glop sold by the ubiquitous halal food trucks that have inexplicably replaced the hot dog carts that used to sit on every corner. Some of them eat it on the subway. While standing up. Consuming this stuff takes more courage than I have, but still, it’s what a lot of real New Yorkers do. (I hear that the hot (red) sauce is unbelievably hot. You may want to avoid it.) </p>
<p>Real New Yorkers also eat pizza. Real pizza. (I have lived outside the NY area for 14 years now, and the first thing I do when I go back is to buy a slice of pizza. What passes for pizza in Maryland, where I live now, is inedible.)</p>
<p>Real New Yorkers also go to the Museum of Modern Art on Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m. because admission is free at that time. Go a little before 4. The line will be several blocks long, but it moves quickly once 4 p.m. hits. This is a great museum if you’re interested in art. It’s an even better museum if you hate art. You get to wander around and say “They actually PAID someone for THAT!” You also get to point out that they have a security guard stationed in every exhibit room, even though most of the exhibits would arguably look better if vandalized. And the design exhibits are interesting even for people who are not art-oriented. Also, an inexplicably popular halal food truck is on the corner near the museum. The line for this truck is longer than the line for free Friday night museum tickets even though there are hundreds of other apparently identical food trucks throughout the city that never have more than three or four people in line. Perhaps someone whose knowledge of New York is not as out of date as mine can explain this.</p>
<p>I have also heard that real New York high school students ride the Staten Island ferry back and forth. At sunrise. On the morning after senior prom, after having stayed up all night. Of course, they never set foot on Staten Island (except for the ferry terminal). They just ride the ferry. You might want to do it at a more reasonable time of day.</p>
<p>[Edited to add: Sorry, I missed the part in your original post about not riding the subway because of physical limitations. My compliments to you if you can figure out the bus system. I never could.]</p>
<p>The Hayden Planetarium is great.</p>
<p>Also, any art museum where they have a Van Gogh.</p>
<p>I am not an art fan, but when you see a Van Gogh painting up close, you can’t help but be awestruck. </p>
<p>I think I was at the Museum of Modern Art, and was literally shocked by its genius.</p>
<p>I do not, however, agree that the Guggenheim is good. To me, it was a bunch of nonsensical modern art. </p>
<p>The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a must for any trip to NYC, even if you have been there already.</p>
<p>I like NYC bus system. It’s slower than the subway, but not hard to figure out. They go up and down the Ave, and with cross town bus at main streets - 14, 23, 34, 42, 57, 76, 86.</p>
<p>Great thread! Thanks…we are going down tommorow so dd14 can volunteer @ the Aids Walk in Central Park… we will hit the flea market after…</p>
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<p>oldfort, I lived in NY for years and have family and hundreds of friends who still do. I visit almost monthly and, although I agree that people eat out a lot (as they do in many places) to say that NYers do not have friends over for dinner, as a definitive statement, is just not accurate.</p>
<p>Stand corrected, I guess a better statement would be my friends tend not to go to each other’s apartment for dinner. We would meet for cocktails at a friend’s apartment beforehand then go out to dinner.</p>
<p>As a NYer of 30 years, I think you have lots of great suggestions.
I personally think the Staten Island ferry is one of the great cheap thrills of the city.
And while i think you should take the subway at least once just to know what it’s like, and may need to take it for efficiency, I agree with many that it’s great to look out at the world from buses.</p>
<p>Did anyone mention two other places for astounding views of the city?:</p>
<p>–one, the High Line in Chelsea (park, urban design, and unique vantage point at the same time . . . like many other experiences, towards sunset is perfect but other times are great too)</p>
<p>–two, the Promenade on the river in Brooklyn Heights offers the most stunning view of Manhattan, with one of the city’s loveliest neighborhoods at your back.</p>
<p>In general, the suggestions didn’t mention the many ways to experience Brooklyn, arguably the nation’s center of contemporary art and lit (and a hot place for restaurants too, not to mention vintage stuff and etc.) but a person can do only so much in one visit.</p>
<p>(Finally–this real NYer much prefers to eat at friends’ homes rather than eating out, but for a visitor, eating out seems the more feasible option.)</p>
<p>Have a great time.</p>
<p>Regarding physical limitations–both subways and the High Line have entries and exits with elevators but I dont know if there’s an easy-to-access guide to accessibility. Hm, if not, there ought to be.</p>
<p>[mta.info</a> | Accessibility](<a href=“http://www.mta.info/accessibility/stations.htm]mta.info”>http://www.mta.info/accessibility/stations.htm)</p>
<p>Of course, this does not tell you what percentage of the time the elevators are actually working.</p>
<p>Isn’t New York’s Fleet Week timed to go with Memorial Day? If so, look for free concerts, ship tours, etc., that might work with your schedule.</p>
<p>Leslier- if one were to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, is there a nice walkable area to explore once across the bridge.
Do you have any suggestions?</p>
<p>When my son’s girlfriend interned in NYC two summer ago, her company suggested the Brooklyn bridge walk as one of top five things to experience. But, once across then what ?</p>
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<p>Agreed. While I rarely host myself, most of my colleagues and friends from high school/college do have people over for dinner. </p>
<p>It could range from a pot-luck affair to a friend showing off their culinary talents. </p>
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<p>If you’re walking towards Brooklyn, the neighborhoods you’ll hit immediately that are quite explorable and interesting are Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights. Lots of bookstores, art studios, restaurants, historical buildings of interest, etc. You can also go on the promenade under/around the Brooklyn Bridge for gorgeous views of the East River and Manhattan. </p>
<p>If you’re walking toward Manhattan, one of the first buildings you’ll see is City Hall. Nearby areas include Tribeca, Chinatown/Little Italy, Wall Street, and Battery Park (gorgeous views of the Hudson River).</p>
<p>Marian- DS and I were in Manhattan last summer, and we were wondering why every food cart appeared to be the same halal cart. It was very strange, as we thought there would be an amazing variety, similar to Philadelphia. Do you know why?</p>
<p>Also, a lot of what we did has already been mentioned, but we also enjoyed Harlem very much, liked the Malcolm X Memorial and great soul food, but it may be difficult to get to if you can’t use the subway.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about the rise of the halal food carts.</p>
<p>I was in NYC about a month ago, for the first time in six years. The halal food carts caught me by surprise. </p>
<p>It was particularly jolting because I’m a fan of JD Robb’s (Nora Roberts’, really) futuristic mysteries set in New York City in about 2060. In those books, people frequently buy “soy dogs” from food carts. Sorry, Nora. If the soy dog is a descendant of the hot dog, its place in New York street cuisine vanished long before 2060.</p>
<p>I was just on the phone with D1. She is going to be in the City of the Memorial Day weekend. She said there is going to be an all day concert down at the Seaport, there is bar with a fake sandy beach. I guess that’s where she is going to be.</p>
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Since there is always someone who doesn’t host, it is just easier to go out.</p>