Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with newyork and tourism

NYC not for tourists

HotPatatta — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:33:14 -0800

If you only had one year left before moving out of New York City, what would you make sure to see and do before leaving? I'm looking for tips on shows, shopping, music, tours, parades, expos, festivals, restaurants, exhibitions, food carts, bars, activities, green spaces, hidden gems--anything else that's unique to this city. Let's say prices are not a concern.

Ferris Bueller, you're my hero

Diagonalize — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:17:58 -0800

How can I channel my inner Ferris Bueller and have one great day, except in New York? It's my little brother's very first trip to the East Coast! He's coming to see me in Boston, but he also really wants to see New York while he's out here. I've gone looking through a ton of the old NYC touristfilter questions, but trying to combine all of those great suggestions with my limited understanding of New York and an extremely ambitious timeline is proving daunting.

Mostly because of limited funds, we were hoping to make this a one day affair; we take the Chinatown bus out there, see whatever sights we can manage, stay up all night, and then take the first bus back in the morning. I've never taken the Chinatown bus before, so please talk me out of this if it seems like a tremendously bad idea.

My brother is a lot like Cameron: sarcastic, funny, fairly disinterested in most things, but still an all-around good guy and generally more easy-going than Cameron. The only thing I know for sure he wants to see is Times Square (I know). We're both in our early- to mid-twenties, kinda square, but still adventurous, and this East Coast trip is supposed to be his big last hurrah before becoming a grown-up. “Life moves pretty fast”, so how can we have one great day in New York, on the cheap?

Cheap NYC fun

HotPatatta — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:43:20 -0800

The Staten Island Ferry is said to be "one of the best values in New York City" because it's free and offers great views of the city. What are other "best values" in NYC, including shopping, food, activities, and anything else that's surprisingly inexpensive. I'll be moving to the City later this summer I need to not blow my nestegg.

Start spreadin' the news!

tomble — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:41:39 -0800

What can't we miss when we're in New York in June? So, I'm off to the U.S. for a month with my partner in June, hooray! First stop is New York for up to a week. Neither of us have been there before and we're really looking forward to making the most of it.

The question is - what things can't we miss when we're there? We're planning on taking in some shows, maybe getting to a filming of the Daily Show, walking around Central Park for a bit, but what can't we miss? I'm happy to contemplate both highly touristy and `off the beaten track' type experiences. We might even hire a car, so good portions of the state are open to us.

As well as good sights, recommendations of good restaurants and cafes are welcome too!

A few more of these questions to come as we work out where we will be travelling to over the month. Thanks all!

Which NYC bus routes have the most to see?

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:46:13 -0800

What New York City bus routes are the most scenic? I thought it would be a nice idea to take some visiting family members on those big red tourist buses, but the price is too rich for my blood (it's more than $50 per person, if I remember correctly). It then occured to me that for the low price of a Metrocard, we could take public buses instead. So which bus lines should we ride to see all NYC has to offer? Manhattan preferred, but outer borough lines won't be ruled out.

NYC on Xmas Eve:

shiu mai baby — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 05:43:02 -0800

I'm going to be in New York with my dad on Christmas Eve. What should I expect, crowd- and activity-wise? The current plan is to bum around a bit, see the tree, see the windows, and maybe catch a show. What is New York like on Christmas Eve? I've read up on Christmas day here, here, here, and all through here (which led me to the somewhat helpful thread here), but I haven't been able to find out much about the day before, aside from places for dinner and where to go for midnight mass (we'll be leaving in the early evening, so that won't be an option, unfortunately). Is it one of the most insanely busy days to be there, or have people pretty much holed up and/or gone home by then? What's the mass transit scene like?

I know the theatres generally have only one afternoon performance (if at all) -- do these typically sell out well in advance, even if it's not one of the hotter shows available? More specifically, I was toying with trying to catch the matinee of Avenue Q, which regularly shows up on TKTS, but if the Christmas Eve show is more popular than another day's performance, should I bite the bullet and pay full price?

Any other can't-miss things I should put on the itinerary?

Help me get the most out of my holiday!

liquorice — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 15:30:02 -0800

I'm visting four countries within a month, what should I see, visit, taste, smell and photograph while I'm there? Very soon, I'll be travelling to Eygpt, America, Canada, U.K. for around four weeks. Specifically, Cairo, Washington D.C., New York, Toronto and London.

The latter two I have previously visited so the essential tourist spots have been covered (i.e. Niagra Falls and Big Ben) but as I'm spending about 10 days in each location what other things do you suggest I try?

I'll have about three days at the former locations, however I've never visted any of them previously and I'm wondering how to narrow down what I see and if it's really possible to get an enriching experience from my travels there.

That being said, this is less about packing everything into every single second of every single day and more just a chance to get away from my current situation (that you'd have learnt through my previous AskMe questions).

There's also going to be a LOT of airplane/airport time, so any suggestions on how to stave the boredom away?

Thanks in advance, I'll send you guys a postcard. Hee.

Fun things for kids in NY?

i_am_joe's_spleen — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 18:23:35 -0800

Tourism with children in New York - where shall I take my 10 year old daughter? i_am_joe's_spleenette and I will be visiting family in Cedarhurst, NY for a couple of weeks in January. I expect to do some rubbernecking (I'm a New Zealander) while we're there. Said family are themselves recently relocated and not yet au fait with the area. Assume you have an adventurous 10 year old girl who is a good walker, that you can't drive (legally), and that you can use either a hotel near Times Square or your sister's place in Cedarhurst as a base. What would be fun expeditions to make? (Buying warm clothes is item one on the list...)

NYC Galleries Recommendation for 12/14/04 11:30-5:30, 12/15/04 to 12:00p

crankyrobot — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 16:19:00 -0800

NYC Galleries Tomorrow? Taking the early Accela from Boston, getting into Penn Station at 11:30. Hitting the new MOMA for some art absorbtion - but are there other things / galleries that I should hit before the Pixies show? I'm meeting up with a friend @ 5:30 who's treating me to the concert. I'll be staying through the next noon, so that's also an option for hunting.

Looking for ideas for a day-trip to NYC

dicaxpuella — Tue, 16 Nov 2004 09:24:01 -0800

Looking for ideas for a day-trip to NYC (more inside) I'm looking for a good route for a sorta "walking tour" where I can just park the car and spend the day wandering around Manhattan. I'll be driving into the city from PA with my mom and aunt (two hip ladies) and we just wanted to have a little fun day in the city, absorbing some food/culture/shopping. I do realize that we can probably see and do less than 1% of what's there, but I'm relatively unfamiliar with NYC, so I wanted to just get a good taste. Also, I have no pretentions, we'll do touristy and non-touristy stuff alike. Thanks.

NYC Hotels

jasondigitized — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 10:53:30 -0800

Anyone have a favorite hotel in Manhattan? Myself and a few mates are all meeting up in NYC for a getaway weekend and are looking for a cool place to stay, somewhere in the $150 - $300 / night range. We are all in our late 20's / early 30's, like to shop, party, eat, and chat up classy single women. Any places that might fit that bill?