I did this great food/history tour - http://hidden.nyc/product/chelseaflatiron/. So much good food, and it was really interesting to learn the history of the flatiron area.
@oldfort she loves Zara! We don’t hv one here in Southestern Virginia and finally walking through the store when we were there in Oct was very exciting for her. And Glossier. That was also a highlight for her.
She would love all of these suggestions- from the thrift stores, to the department stores, to the garment district. I see multiple trips in our future to see all of it!
She has already said she wants to go to college in NY, but as a 9th grader, that could very well change in the next couple of years! She thinks it’s the greatest place she’s ever been- the people, the energy, the fashion, the food. It all drew her in.
I hope you and your daughter have a wonderful trip, @VaNcBorder.
I live in NYC for decades and most of these ideas are very good. I have just a few suggestions to make your trip easier.
- Download the citymapper app. It can help you navigate the various modes of transportation. Subways are generally faster than taxis and uber/lyfts. Yellow cabs can be cheaper, because they seat up to 4, and are more direct often than Lyft or Uber. Don't take any car to midtown because the traffic is terrible. Subways are the way to go. the app is better than google maps because it tells you which trains are not working at the moment.
- Instead of standing in line at TKTS for 1/2 price tickets, there are now several TKTS locations in the city. One at South Street Seaport, one at LIncoln center. Download the TKTS app and you can see what tickets are being offered and where. Southstreet Seaport location opens early and you can get tickets before they start selling at the Times Square location. The app will also tell you what shows are being sold at the moment and for what amount of discount. If you want to attend a PLAY instead of a musical, the Times Square location has a "play only" window and you can skip the line.
- Hamilton tickets -- StubHub and similar places are selling them. Also, you might be able to pick up much better tickets at face value by standing in the returned tickets line outside of the theater. Basically for every show on Broadway the cast and crew get a few tickets to give to friends. Some of those tickets get turned in each day for sale at the box office. It used to be that line went around the block but in recent weeks I've seen it as short as 5 or so people. If you have some flexibility and are willing to give it a try, you might score some orchestra center tickets for face value rather than at the premium price charged through the resale online places like Stubhub.
- FIT museum -- often the shows are really great. She will love them. I'm sure of it.
- How about taking her to Mood Fabrics and meeting Swatch? If she's a fan of Project Runway.
- Cheap places to stay: In the very nice Columbia U neighborhood, there are cheap rooms. If this interests you, check out -- -- International House https://www.ihouse-nyc.org/guest-accommodations-nyc-housing/
- Union Theological Seminary -- https://utsnyc.edu/about/landmark/ (very pretty building and famous for the many movies and shows filmed here all of the time. Law and Order was filmed in this building a lot. The Americans. Also this neighborhood is where the Miss Maizel show is being filmed regularly--along Riverside Drive especially.
- Teachers College -- https://www.tc.columbia.edu/housing/guest-and-conference-housing/guest-housing/
The Lower East side has lots of thrift-like stores which you can look up online. One store that she might want to consider, near NYU, is Beacon’s Closet. The buyers there seem to curate better than other stores. There are locations in Brooklyn too - Williamsburg and Park Slope
The High Line and Brooklyn Bridge get pretty crowded with tourists. If you’re okay with that, then go for it at the times mentioned above. If you like a quieter time, then go before 10:00 am. The Brooklyn Bridge has some serious bike commuters so stay on the far right side at all times. FYI.
The Cloisters are great, way uptown. If she wants to see art that’s off the beaten track, she might want to go out to Queens. You can google what galleries interest her, but for “real” working artists trying to make it in NYC–and often are making it in NYC–Queens has developed into the super-hip neighborhood for that. These are the up-and-coming artists. Also there’s good pizza at Roberta’s if you head out that way. http://www.robertaspizza.com/
I personally would skip the Empire State building (lines literally for hours) and Statue of Liberty (the Staten Island Ferry gives view for free and the boat leaves every 1/2 hour). I also personally would skip the 9/11 museum and maybe look at the water memorials outside and walk into the flying-bird-like Oculus as it’s magnificanet. It’s really just a train station! But a really pretty one. For also nice train stations, a quick walk through Grand Central is pleasing. Nearby is the NYPL – main branch – and a quick trip in to see the main reading room is nice. Behind there is Bryant Park and there are plenty of little places to pick up coffee and snacks. Also you can take a load off on one of the chairs. They clear quickly and you should be able to find a table or spread out on the lawn. BATHROOM IN BRYANT PARK IS SPOTLESS usually. There’s an attendant.
If you’re gong to walk across the Brooklyn bridge, you also may want to first watch the documentary by Ken Burns. You won’t be disappointed!
Places to eat fairly cheap but also pretty tasty–
- NYC’s best bagels – Absolute Bagel at 107th and Broadway Some people like Murray’s but I find them a little cakey and sweet for my taste. Still if that’s all you can find, you know, that’s all you can find. There’s a Murray’s near the NYU-location of Beacon’s Closet.
- Roberta’s (mentioned above) in Queens if you head that way – not worth a trip by itself
- Xian Famous – a local chain that has “real” Chinese dumplings. Google for locations. But there’s one near the Empire State building and one near the NYPL main branch, and so on. They are spicy and really good, and quite authentic, so you might be surprised. Hand-pulled noodles too. Just order the dumplings if you don’t know what to get.
- Ippudo (good ramen)
- Caffe Regio – old place that’s been around forever and has been in several movies. More fun to see and be a part of than a place to go for the best food ever. https://www.caffereggio.com/
- Also not a destination in and of itself but if you happen to want food and you’re in the Lincoln Center area, underneath the green lawn roof, like on the street level where the movies show, there’s a place called Indie. Food is tasty and that neighborhood is hard to find decent food. https://www.indiefoodandwine.com/
Here’s a place for dessert- Lady M Confectioners https://www.ladym.com/collections/cakes.
Try the signature mille crêpe cake, it’s heavenly. My DIL who doesn’t like cakes, absolutely adores it. Do a takeout as they charge more for eating in.
@Dustyfeathers wow! Thank you so much for so many wonderful tips and suggestions! I will be printing out all of your suggestions and mapping out some definite hot spots for us! I love hearing about all of the hidden gems that we wouldn’t otherwise know about! I appreciate the time you took to respond and give us some great options!! And forget my daughter for one moment, I would love to see where the Marvelous Mrs. Maizel is sometime filmed. One of my favorite shows!
Not sure if you have booked your hotel, but I got this few days ago. The sale ends in 3 days. You can get a room at the Hyatt, Grand Central for 65-100, usually at 270. It is an easy location to get around.
https://us.secretescapes.com/luxury-hotel-beside-grand-central-terminal-grand-hyatt-new-york-midtown/sale
Wow @oldfort that’s a great hotel deal!
I had the opportunity to live in NYC last summer through an internship and I loved it! I’m a low-key musical theater geek so frequent trips to Broadway were a must for me. If you’re at all interested in seeing a Broadway show, the Playbill website has a listing of every current on- and off-Broadway show and their rush, student rush, and lottery policies. If you’re OK with spending a few hours one day (I’d recommend a two-show Wednesday) standing in a line waiting for the box office to open, rushing is a great way to go–each person in line can get up to two tickets at most shows that have rush and they’re usually pretty good seats. Prices run about $30-50 and you’ll usually meet some very interesting people in line. For the typical 10AM box office opening, showing up at 8AM will get you close to the front of the line unless the fans are really gung-ho. “Come From Away” and “The Band’s Visit” are both shorter, softer shows but are both fantastic and as of last summer reserved rush seats–I saw “Come From Away” three times over the course of the summer. Also, find out where the stage doors are for the theater you’re attending and go stand near them after the show–many actors are happy to sign playbills/programs/literally whatever piece of paper after the show, making a great (free) souvenir of your Broadway experience.
My bf’s dad is an artist and being around them got me into art, so I can’t take a long trip to NYC without visiting the Met and the MoMA. Even though both are popular and crowded, you’ll see some of the most famous pieces of art on display in the US. The Met’s Costume Institute at the Met Fifth Avenue (which hosts the Met Gala) has frequent exhibitions, including their all-over-the-museum exhibit that was put up for the last gala. Annoying if you want to see the Medieval art but really cool if you’re into fashion design.
Across from the MoMA you’ll find one location of Xian Famous Food, which @Dustyfeathers mentioned. My favorite there is the hand-pulled beef noodles, a spicy and tangy delight. If you’re up for another interesting experience with unique Chinese food, Kebab Empire on 8th Ave is one of the first restaurants in the US to serve Uyghur (a Muslim minority from northwestern China) style kebabs. It’s not too pricey and delicious. For ramen, Naruto Ramen on the Upper East Side has incredibly authentic and inexpensive ramen.
I really can’t add much, except I enjoyed visiting Washington Park. It’s such an iconic place in movies and it’s nice to walk around the area, too.
@GoatGirl19 is right - the Met’s Costume exhibits are amazing and would be perfect for anyone with an interest in high fashion. We were there last summer and got to see the Divine Design (Catholic-influenced haute couture) exhibit and it was both jaw-droppingly beautiful and very interesting for me and my two teen / early 20s girls.
My girls’ top shows on Broadway (we’re theatre nuts and one goes to school there now) are Mean Girls, Come From Away, Hamilton and The Show That Goes Wrong. But there are so many good shows, definitely try to fit one in.
Central Park in good weather is a total treat.
I know your D is “only” 15 but one of my kids decided she wanted to live in NYC at about the age of 10 and never faltered, she’s in college there now. You could visit a couple of college campuses. 
In the couple of days since I posted, we made an adjustment to our plans. Originally DH was coming with us, but he is not keen on NY and really was only going under duress since he was trying to make me and DD happy. I put him out of his misery by switching him out with our friends we went with in October (a close friend of mine and her DD who is almost 15 and friends with my DD since birth). Four girls in the city will make everybody much happier!!
We are staying at the SoHotel and will have our own room which will be different (nicer) than our last trip when we all 4 shared a tight room. Our one definite so far is doing a food tour in Greenwich Village. Some priorities will be The Met and buying a college t-shirt from any college we pass. I figure a walk around whatever part of a campus we can see will be a bonus!
Just praying the polar vortex is one and done for this year and the temperatures will be bearable! Have printed out all of your suggestions to go over with my friend next week. Any more ideas are still welcome!!
See a broadway play- go to TKTS booth in Times Square for affordable same day tickets. Bryant park ice skating and lodge are open through March 3rd. Fun food and atmosphere. Also my girls love nothing more then strolling 5th Avenue and seeing all the iconic shops. You could have an elephant ear pastry at the cake boss store- delicious!