New York

P

Paulwirral

Active member
I've got a 5 day break in New York starting this Wednesday , killing two birds with one stone by catching up with a mate and sight seeing , obviously matey is at work and I've read all the guides and he's given me a list of things to do .
My question is though , it can't all be must see , can anyone who has been give an honest opinion of anything I don't need to bother with , anything they felt was disappointing or anything that was just a rip off ?
Cheers
 
I went for a 4 day break and didn't get to see everything I wanted to. (Macy's thanksgiving parade took up a whole day of that though)

Empire State was ok, queues were massive and it look ages to get to the top.
 
Don't go out of Manhattan, anything outside of there was a disappointment to me. Guggenheim museum was the biggest turnoff for me, thank goodness I had free tickets for it.

I have an endless list of things that are must see but the above is the only thing that I regretted wasting time on. Everything else was just great.
 
Get on one of those hop on/off bus sight seeing things.... if nothing else its a good way to get around.

We stayed near Empire State Building and our concierge suggested when togo and there was hardly any crowds.... If your staying in a hotel, my advice get a good rapport with the concierge and they will make your stay so much nicer.... its not what you know it who you know. 8)

Love NY, Couldnt live there with the speed of life though.
 
We bought the new york pass and although we didn't do half as much as we planned it still saved us money.

Hop on/off buses are good, we used both days on ours included with the new york pass. Don't pay extra for the upgrade though as it would be a waste of money. We took a gamble and didnt bother, but never had any issues getting on a bus. You also get a boat tour with the pass which is well worth taking to get close to the Statue for some great pictures. Also great for getting pictures of Manhattan from the boat to.
 
Controversial perhaps, but don't go up the Empire State Building - go up the Rockefeller Building instead. Queues not as big, better viewing platforms and you get a view of the Empire State Building as well - which won't be in your photos if you go up the Empire State....
 
z4pilot said:
Controversial perhaps, but don't go up the Empire State Building - go up the Rockefeller Building instead. Queues not as big, better viewing platforms and you get a view of the Empire State Building as well - which won't be in your photos if you go up the Empire State....
Click to expand...

+1
 
z4pilot said:
Controversial perhaps, but don't go up the Empire State Building - go up the Rockefeller Building instead. Queues not as big, better viewing platforms and you get a view of the Empire State Building as well - which won't be in your photos if you go up the Empire State....
Click to expand...


Pah, not heard of the selfie stick? :rofl:
 
Empire SB is open really early in the morning. I've never queued. Its great when there is only a handful of people there.
 
Must see, Times Sq of course. Statue of Liberty. Central Park,p. A good morning would be walk from Times Sq to the ferry for liberty statue, via Washington square, wall street, 911 centre etc. Load of film loctions on the route. :thumbsup:
 
z4pilot said:
Controversial perhaps, but don't go up the Empire State Building - go up the Rockefeller Building instead. Queues not as big, better viewing platforms and you get a view of the Empire State Building as well - which won't be in your photos if you go up the Empire State....
Click to expand...

I've also been told this by my mate who lives there , seems like sacrilege but this is why it's best to ask advice from those who have real world experience ,I've found this works in all walks of life :D
I've got 6 days there but I don't want to be wasting time stood in queues when there's a 2 for 1 opportunity :lol:
Cheers for the opinions and advice
 
We did both Empire State and Rockefeller Building (new york pass :D ), and if you only do one, do the Rockefeller without a doubt ;) better views by far.

we were disappointed by the Greenwich village tour we went on - far too much ' so and so did this, so and so did that' so what?!
 
Zed Five said:
Empire SB is open really early in the morning. I've never queued. Its great when there is only a handful of people there.
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+1, I went early on a Sunday morning and there was no queue at all.
 
Zed Five said:
Empire SB is open really early in the morning. I've never queued. Its great when there is only a handful of people there.
Click to expand...

+ 1 Get there early and no queues........... I think its worth a visit personally. :thumbsup:

Get the hop on hop off buses see as much as you can and then jump back for visting places that looked interesting. :thumbsup:
River cruise gave a different aspect to the city and the statue :thumbsup:
Times square was buzzing but can be seen pretty quickly. :thumbsup:
Central park :thumbsup:
Grand central station again can be seen quickly just for the architecture
 
we went to a place called cannibals - great joint if you like meat :D

Rockerfella building was great too. There was a rooftop bar near the empire state that was fantastic at nights, it felt surreal being in a rooftop bar with views of the lit up state building a stone's throw away. Did the other usual stuff such as the statue, helicopter tours etc. The highline was pretty cool too. I forget what else we did :lol:
 
If you go back again to NYC make sure you visit the federal gold reserves, sadly it's too late for you as they need 30 days notice, its one of the best things we ever saw in New York, very interesting & free.

http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/visiting.html
 
TonyP said:
If you go back again to NYC make sure you visit the federal gold reserves, sadly it's too late for you as they need 30 days notice, its one of the best things we ever saw in New York, very interesting & free.

http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/visiting.html
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Somebody else mentioned this was one to see.

Also worth noting if you want to go up the statue you need to book at least 3 months in advance.
 
Take the Staten Island ferry. It's free ! You get a cracking view of Manhattan Liberty etc. The bus tours as mentioned by others are pretty good except the Brooklyn trip which is boring. Intrepid is also worth a visit if like me you are a bit of an aircraft geek but they now charge extra to go on-board Concorde :thumbsdown: There is a small roof-top bar at the La Quinta Manhattan in mid-town (W 32nd st) well hidden and affords a view of The Empire State as you sip your beer (only open of an evening). Grand Central is amazing and well worth a visit. Don't bother going off the island and certainly dont be tempted to go to Coney Island it's a complete **** tip.
 
Get a New York Pass, well worth the money.

Then go see the following (on the pass):
- Wall Street Walk
- Central Park Sightseeing Bike Tour/Rental (great fun to go around the park on a bike, one of my highlights)
- Sightseeing cruise
- Sea, Air and Space Museum
- Madame Tussauds (unless you have been in London which is better, in which case skip)
- NBC Studio Tour
- Rockefeller Center Tour
- Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center)
- Empire State Building (both Rock and EPS are on the pass, so do both. If you don't get the pass, do the Rock)

Outside of the pass do the following:
- Pizza at Grimaldi
- Another pizza at Grimaldi
- Times Square
- Walk around the East Side
- Brooklyn Bridge
 
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