Also, your boys would probably be very grateful if you allowed them to go to see some live music in Williamsburg one night by themselves while you and your husband had a date night at a nice restaurant.
As a Broadway musical lover , I can’t imagine visiting NY and not seeing at least one show. Tickets are available for everything on Stub Hub - every show every day. Book of Mormon is fantastic and has been out long enough that the tickets would not be too $$ (probably less than half of Hamilton). If you’re not from an urban area, just walking through Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown can be fun. Can combine that with some of the other sights in lower Manhattan that are mentioned above. Second all of the good recommendations from other posters.
If you find you are short of time, take the Staten Island Ferry to see Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from the water. Walk around Battery Park, eat in Brookfield Place, (French cafes overlooking the water), Walk across the street to the World Trade Center Memorial. You can also see the 911museum. If it is a clear day, ride to the observation deck of One World Trade Center. Walk past the Stock Exchange, Zucotti Park, (site of Occupy Wall Street), walk through Trinity Church and graveyard.
Fifth Avenue, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, 30 Rock
Little Italy, China Town, (Pearl River Mart), (Eastern States Buddhist Temple), Brooklyn Bridge
Strawberry Field in Central Park
Intrepid Air and Space Museum
Free museums in NYC http://www.nycgo.com/articles/free-nyc-museums
You can also try the following for discounted, (not as discounted as TKTS, but can order ahead of time), theater tickets http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/discount-tickets/musicals/ They may like, Chicago, Blue Man Group, Kinky Boots, Hamilton
Walking tours http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/free-things-to-do-in-nyc/
See an improv or stand up comedy act, I second UCB
I also agree with sightseeing by neighborhood or borough.
Pre purchase tickets for World Trade Center Museum, One World Trade Center, 30 Rock, Empire State Building, etc.
I would also suggest that you look at the Trip Advisor website for sightseeing and dining.
We once walked from by Central Park all the way across the Brooklyn Bridge. At some point we hopped on the subway to get back. It was a great walk.
Oh,my…I have my work cut out for me tomorrow writing this all down and trying to formulate a plan. I like the idea of just seeing the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island from a ferry. Thank you for that itenarary on that @ECmotherx2 .
I can’t tell you how helpful these will be. We have 3.5 days. Boys probably won’t be interested in Museums unless there is some Iconic painting to see. Oldest is a sports fanatic,moves Basketball. Don’t know if Knicks will be there. The first full day we have a walking tour for 6.5 hours, which I think will be very helpful.
The 2nd day, I would like to do the Statute of Libery and what was written above.
3rd full day I would like to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and spend time over there, which I know nothing about at all!! Honestly, it’s like going to a foreign country, but I read it’s good to leave Manhattan and see another area.
When you say neighborhoods…what exactly do you mean?
So, I need to figure out what to do the first afternoon and evening. We arrive on a Sunday. I think the Empire State Building for sure. We are staying near Times Square. This is on our walking tour, so don’t want to do the first day.
Times Square
Central Park
Greenwich Village
Washington Square Park
Soho
Little Italy
Chinatown
Wall Street
Ground Zero / The Former World Trade Center Site
Rockefeller Center (Bad weather optional site)
Saint Patricks Cathedral (Bad weather optional site)
Grand Central Terminal
Wow you are a good planner! I assumed this to be an old thread and wondered what you had ended up doing. Nope! Don’t know if other listed SoHO galleries or the village or the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Travel by subway. Walk around Times Square. (and this-just click the x if you don’t want to sign into anything: http://www.atlasobscura.com/destinations/new-york)
I would also consider the double decker bus tours. I have not been on one in NYC but have in other cities in different countries. If they work the same way, you get to see and hear about a lot of the hot spots and can get off and on at different stops. Usually the ticket lasts all day.
My D1’s current apartment is right near the Met and Guggenheim- 86th and 5th. I see the buses driving down 5th all the time. The Met is probably a stop. I second the rooftop of the Met btw.
Right near there is the Central Park reservoir. When staying at D’s, H and I always take a few laps around the reservoir. It has beautiful views. It also has lots of tourists. We always enjoy counting how many languages we hear. But do not block the joggers or you might see some of those “New Youk values” show. Haha
BTW, there are several other threads on CC asking the same thing OP. People always respond to new ones,however, because I think they like discussing NYC. I know I do!
NYC in some ways isn’t one city, there are a series of neighborhoods that tend to have their own vibe (those these days, to be honest, with all the money in NYC, while the neighborhoods might look the same in some ways, they aren’t the same. Chinatown in Manhattan is the old core of the Chinese experience in NYC (these days, Flushing is the major center of Asian life in NYC, but I still love Chinatown). The lower east side was a neighborhood of tenements, predominantly in the day Jewish and Italian, and there are still some of the old businesses and restaurants there (like Katz’s, or some of the shops on Essex street). These days the lowest east side has become hipster paradise, much like Williamsburg across the river, and you are more likely to see hipster chic stores and bars and restaurants as you would any of the old places.
Greenwich Village kind of has three parts to it, there is the central village around Washington Square Park (where NYU is located), it has been kind of upscale for a long time, the houses around the park are gorgeous. The Village was kind of known as a bohemian hangout in the day, home to writers and artists and for many years was the hub of gay life in the city (especially the west village). The east village was more of a rough vibe, it is where punk music came out of, and was basically a place full of tenements, in the 60’s the hippie generation lived there, then it became the home to the punk and such people in the 70’s. These days it has gentrified a lot, and while there are still unique stores there along St. Marks place, and along 2nd avenue you still see some of the Ukrainian influence in the area (Veselka on the corner of 9th and 2nd is really good food, kind of place where you see people always eating breakfast), on east 3rd street there is McSorley’s pub, which is an old tavern that still looks much like it did in the day (other than in the 70’s allowing women to go there:). The west village is no longer really the main gay area, it has so gentrified that it is pretty much home to very upscale shops and restaurants. It is beautiful to walk in, and see the sights, and the walk along the river on the west side is great
And so forth. Chelsea still has a somewhat large gay presence, though that is slowly dying as it completely gentrifies, but is still a nice place to walk.
SOHO is south of houston street, it once had artists who lived (illegally) in the old lofts that were there, these days it is very chic and tends to attract a lot of people from europe, lots of trendy shops and restaurants there.
You get the idea, you can still tell the neighborhoods, if the for the architecture. Some neighborhoods haven’t changed much, 5th avenue in the 50’s, madison avenue, park avenue, were always money and still are, Madison ave is some to a lot of very high end stores and shops.
The bus tour you are taking, @op, basically covers some of the common neighborhoods.
If the weather is nice, and you want to do something different, take the subway out to Coney Island, while the amusement area likely will not be open (it might be on the weekend), you can walk on the boardwalk, the NY Aquarium is there, and the original Nathan’s restaurant is still there, and the hot dogs can’t be beat, and the trip there is fun, it is like a trip back in time.
The View, a revolving lounge on the 48th floor of New York Marriott Marquis is a great choice for a buffet dinner, or just cocktails and desserts. No reservation required
http://www.theviewnyc.com/lounge/
And the Broadway Lounge at the 8th floor lobby is a good place to grab a snack and see the Times Square without fighting the crowds, especially if you can get a window seat. http://www.marriott.com/hotel-restaurants/nycmq-new-york-marriott-marquis/broadway-lounge/5272396/home-page.mi
I would suggest that you do 911memorial, battery park and Staten Island Ferry the first day. Book tickets to observation deck of One World Trade Center, (you can reserve tickets for a window of time, check the time for sunset and book to arrive just before that, you will see the view in the daytime, sunset and the city lights). I would do this instead of the Empire State Building. It fits better with your schedule.
Is Day 2 your walking tour? Does it cover Central Park?
Day 3, I would do Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown
Day4, I would do Brooklyn, perhaps in the eve. to see the skyline. This would leave the daytime to either revisit somewhere from your walking tour, go to the Intrepid, or see a show, (wed. matinee).
Basketball season ends in April.
I like top of the rock better than the empire state building for an observation deck (but of course not as iconic). I wouldn’t bother with brooklyn (having grown up there may be coloring my opinion) - there is so much to do without leaving Manhattan. You can probably get a good view of the skyline from the ferry (I like the idea of taking the ferry to see the statue of liberty etc.). There is something for everybody at the Met Museum - even 20 year old guys (I could probably spend 4 days there and still not see everything). In May, they should have their rooftop open (nice view), the boys will love the mummies, the temple, washington crossing the delaware, the greek/roman statues, and how could they not want to see the impressionists (some of the most famous ones in the world are at the met).
In addition to the TKTS booth in Times Square, there is one downtown at the South Street Seaport with shorter lines. I believe that tickets go an sale at 11 down there, while in Time Square it’s not until 2 or 3 (unless it’s for a matinee). Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge is nice, and it’s right near the Seaport (also not far from the Staten Island Ferry).
Most 20-year-old guys love the arms and armor galleries at the Met. It’s pretty cool to see the real-life suits of armor or Japanese swords, among many other treasures.
And if they were fans of the Percy Jackson books as kids – or Greek mythology generally – they’d likely really enjoy the Greek antiquities at the Met.
And if they saw the Night at the Museum movie, they’d probably get pretty excited by the Museum of Natural History. Actually, most people get pretty excited by that museum even if they haven’t seen the movie.
You’ve gotten some great advice. I will just add one more, slightly-out-of-the-box idea: the aerial tramway to Roosevelt island. Great views. Inexpensive. And kind of relaxing.
If you and your family are not easily offended, I would recommend Book of Mormon, especially for boys that do not love musicals. Mine thought it was hilarious. Worth the high cost for the experience for a Broadway show, if you can swing it. We got tickets last year on stub hub or similar site. Very good seats for not that much money (for Broadway that is!!).
St. Patricks Cathedral is a beautiful church, which is open to the public.
If you go to Statue of Liberty, try to get on the very first boat of the day so you won’t have to wait too terribly long to go up it. Ellis Island is interesting, especially if your family emigrated here from Europe.
The Met and Central Park are worth a day.Hopefully, with nice weather. Just walking through the park, Strawberry Fields, Central Park Zoo, the big carousel are all worth a look.
Natural History Museum too, especially if they are into dinosaurs or the Planetarium, which is spectacular.
What are they into? Perhaps a jazz club one night, or have them go see some music that they are interested in.
Are you from the midwest? Going out to see the Ocean at Coney Island or elsewhere may be worth it, depending on the weather and interest.
I think it makes a lot of sense to have it all planned out, as it can be a bit overwhelming in the City.
A few things…
–You won’t get tickets for Hamilton (unless you are willing to pay ridiculous scalper prices – I got tix for the summer a while back). School of Rock good good reviews. You can also look into Beautiful (if you like Carole King), Jersey Boys (if you like the Four Seasons), The King and I (excellent production), Lion King (amazing costumes), Something Rotten (funny musical), Noises Off (a farce/comely not a musical but funny). You may find some discount tickets online (I know my D got discount tix for Something Rotten recently) so you can google “Discount Tickets Name of Show” and see if anything pops up.
–Ellen’s Stardust Diner is the restaurant mentioned by @SouthFloridaMom9 . It is fun but they don’t take reservations so you often need to wait for a while to get in.
–Walk around Times Square.
–Statue of Liberty and Empire State Bldg. are great
-World Trade Center Memorial is sad but touching if you want to go.
–Walk over to Rockefeller Center and watch the skaters. St. Partick’s Cathedral is nearby and worth a visit.
–You can go to a stand-up comedy show one night. They are hit and miss but can be fun. The Comic Strip on the Upper East Side is where we often go.
–It involves a lot of waiting around, but you may be able to get tickets to see The Daily Show or the Nightly Show being taped. They are less popular since Stewart and Colbert left Comedy Central. Tickets are free and you can check the show’s website for availability.
–The Metropolitan Museum of Art has something for everyone (even non-art lovers may enjoy the Egyptian wing etc), the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History never fail to impress (although the rest of the museum is not as exciting IMO), the MOMA will be pretty near your hotel (interesting, very modern, not everyone’s cup of tea but there is a Picasso sculpture exhibit that I think is still there).
–Central park is wonderful if it isn’t too cold out.
Enjoy. It is an amazing city.
Thank you @happy1! I’ve always wanted to go back to that restaurant.
Question about Brooklyn Tours: We have a 6 hour private walking tour set up for Manhattan, it’s pricey…$400 for the 4 of us…but we are willing to pay that, as I think it will be money well spent. We also want to visit Brooklyn the last day. My initial thoughts were to walk over the Bridge and just do our own tour, but I started reviewing tours. There is one that is a “pay what you think we are worth” tour called Free Tours by Foot and you walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, and visit Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO…lasts 3 hours…you pay what you think it’s worth.
Another get s really high marks…A Slice of Brooklyn Tour. It’s by bus and it 4.5 hours…you stop at Grimaldis and the other place to try 2 different types of pizzas. You go ALL around Brooklyn of course. It’s $320 for the family. Things are really starting to add up at this point, and we haven’t even thrown a show in yet. Plus, I’m not sure I want to be stuck in a bus even with all the informative things t hey tell you…open air would be different, but I don’t think this is.
I’m wondering if we would be fine to just tour Brooklyn on our own. One of the main things DH wants to see are the Brownstones. It would be nice to see Coney Island, but I’m not sure how far that is. Anyway, just looking for opinions and suggestions.
I can’t believe people would pay that kind of money to take a tour in NYC. Just go to Brooklyn Heights and walk around the neighborhoods. Go on the promenade, down Montague Street, down to Atlantic Ave. You want to go to Grimaldi’s? Look up the address and take the subway there.