It’s free on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., which is nice for those of us who have a relatively low tolerance for modern art and wouldn’t want to stay long enough to justify the usual price of admission.
Pretty sure Grimaldi’s has a location right under the Brooklyn Bridge by BB Park. It’s a very short walk from there to the Promenade, where you can walk along the river, see the lower Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty while ending up in the heart of brownstone heaven, Brooklyn Heights. Two of my kids live in Brooklyn, and I can’t imagine anything worse than being stuck in a bus going from pizza place to pizza place. Hop on the subway or grab a cab if you want to investigate some of the other neighborhoods. Of course, the weather will play a part - if it’s a nice day you could spend hours walking Brooklyn; there are amazing food trucks at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park, depending on the day you’ll be in Brooklyn you could check out Smorgasburg, a phenomenal food truck experience in Williamsburg on Saturdays and now in Prospect Park on Sundays. We love the Williamsburg location in East River State Park.
My S’s gf was visiting last week during winter break, and they did the 3 hour Brooklyn walking tour offered by Free Tours by Foot. Most people paid around $20 each. They enjoyed the tour. It included a “rest stop” at Jacques Torres chocolate. He recommends the hot chocolate, although in May (vs January) it might not be such a draw!
One warning for the “free admission” museum offers - many museums offer these, and when we’ve gone, there have been long lines. We’ve gotten in eventually, but have had to spend at least an hour in line.
If you do go to the natural history museum, check out the planeterium, I don’t know what shows they have right now, but it is a great show.
There is a lot of good advice on this thread. We have visited New York many times as our D lived there for 4 years.
I would not want to do any bus tour in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and around Dumbo or Brooklyn Heights is a fun look at Brooklyn and you will have lovely views of the Manhattan skyline. Since you arrive on Sunday if you want to do the food trucks in Brooklyn you will have to do it that day. We have done this before in Williamsburg and everyone liked it. Staten Island Ferry is a great way to get city views.
If you do the Empire State I would recommend going at night. Hell’s kitchen has lots of great food and happy hours. Our girls always like going to Bare Burger (there are several around the city). A really great breakfast place is Alice’s Tea Cup. We have been to both the one on the UWS and the UES. If they don’t care for museums I would still try to do “pay what you can” and spend a couple of hours at the Met. It is a special place! A walk through Central Park and the Highline are also a must. Chelsea Market is great to grab a bite to eat. I would focus on neighborhoods and just plan to eat whatever you see when you are there.
Thanks everyone for more suggestions. @college_query …thanks for letting me know about the “free tour” and how much most people paid. I know you walk across the bridge and your Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo. I think we would all get a lot out of commentary and history. Sure, we could read it on our own…but I know the boys won’t and I’ll forget things. It’s nice to be history lessons while you are experiencing it. $20 a person doesn’t sound so bad for that.
I will take the advice to skip the bus tour.
I really wanted to go to the Empire State Building the day of arrival, but was worried we would be spending hours in line. I think going at dusk into night would be lovely.
My son takes the “free walking” tours all the time and usually tips $20. He says most of them are fantastic. He also suggests to see the observation deck at the same time you tour ground zero or the 30 Rock observation instead of the Empire State Building based upon time constraints.
Yes I agree with the above posters about walking across the Brooklyn Bridge into both Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo. The Heights and the Promenade are lovely (and personally one of my favorite places in the city). You can walk down to Brooklyn Bridge Park and to the Grimaldi pizza spot. Going to a spot like Grimaldi’s Pizza might involve an hour plus wait on line. A very expensive dinner option but a spectacular view would be the River Cafe. I’ve been with DH for special occasion but for a family of four…very pricey. You can however stop at the bar for a drink and drink in the spectacular view. You can also take a ferry back to Manhattan…
The tkts booth in downtown Brooklyn and the one at the South Street Seaport sell matinee tickets for shows the following day. Much less (like almost zero!) waiting time.
https://www.tdf.org/nyc/8/Locations-Hours
If you take the A or F trains to Jay St. and exit from the uptown end of the platform, the Brooklyn booth is right there when you get out of the station. The South Street Seaport booth is a pretty easy walk from the Staten Island Ferry.
Someone mentioned Pearl River Mart. Alas, they announced last year that will be closing soon, not exactly sure when. It’s definitely worth a visit if they are still open. But the tacky little stores on Mott St. in central Chinatown are fun too.
Oh, no, not the Pearl River Mart. I loved exploring around the different floors. My son knew that that was always a stop when he would meet me n NYC.
Too bad the tic-tac-toe playing chicken is no longer at the Chinatown arcade.
Re Pearl River: their current location is on Broadway in prime-time Soho. They knew that their business could not survive a rent increase once their lease ends.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/realestate/commercial/pearl-river-chinese-knickknack-emporium-will-close-its-doors.html
The article said they would close at the end of the year but they’re still open for now.
We (husband, son, and self) are going to NYC in late March. Trying to hit the slightly off the beaten path in addition to the “must do” things., so I am very interested in this thread!
18 year old son is not particularly interested in going to a Broadway play - but would love tickets to the Tonight Show! I’ll try my best to get the tickets!
I’m kind of fascinated by the Green-Wood Cemetery tours in Brooklyn. It gets fabulous reviews on the travel sites.
Figuring we’ll make a day of Brooklyn, with the Cemetery, Transit Museum, Juliana’s Pizza, and an evening walk back over the Brooklyn Bridge.
Also planning on doing a tour of Highline and Greenwich Village, the Cooper Hewitt museum, the Met, the New York Public Library (bummed about the reading room being closed), biking through Central Park, and of course Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (should we do the hard hat tour?).
Our hotel is in Chelsea. Would be interested in not as touristy, mid priced or lower, places to eat. Jackson Hole Burgers, Friedman’s, Num Pang, Mimi Cheng’s Dumplings, Best Bagel & Coffee, and Doughnut Plant have come up in my research.
Thoughts?
My H and S are huge fans of Seinfeld - they really enjoyed taking Kramer’s Reality Tour.
Mamaduck: checkout Craftbar. It’s a good restaurant in the general area of your hotel. Owner is Tom Colicchio, who is is also a judge on Top Chef.