Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with nyc 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?

"Let them eat bagels."

whimsicalnymph — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:08:15 -0800

Where can I find the best bagel in NYC? At the risk of starting a riot, I'd like to hear MeFites' opinions on where the best bagel can be found in NYC.

I have lived in New York over a year, and I have yet to eat a bagel (I think Super Size Me made me not want to eat them for a while).

I have a friend coming into town in October, and as part of her visit, I'd like to take her to a great NYC place, with the best bagels on Earth. No small feat, but I imagine if anyone knows where such bagels can be found, the people of AskMe will know.

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.

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?

How to entertain unfun folks in nyc?

Bookhouse — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 11:49:08 -0800

What are some free or inexpensive ways to entertain anti-New Yorkers in New York City? Some relatives are coming into town tomorrow, and we're at a loss of how to entertain them -- they aren't into exotic food, art films, art museums, a lot of walking, spending money, shopping or the outdoors. Yeah, New York City isn't really for them, but they are coming so we've got to find some cheap ways of filling the days. Bus and boats tours seem pretty pricey, and we're hep to the big tourist thangs like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, but any other ideas for time fillers and non-threatening eating would be welcome.

We're looking for fun things to do in NYC the last week of the year.

Mr. Justice — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 04:50:41 -0800

We're looking for fun things to do in NYC the last week of the year. Suggestions? We haven't been to NYC for a couple of years (wife worked there some years ago) but are going back briefly. Here are some things we are planning to do in late December: see comic art exhibit at the Jewish Museum/Newark Museum, revisit excellent Turkish restaurant in Bklyn Heights, hit Forbidden Planet and Strand Bookstore, see old friends, find a good place that we can eat dinner that also plays live background jazz during. etc. Your suggestions on a good live jazz place as well as anything else fun to do would be greatly appreciated. We live in the South so we're looking to find things we couldn't find there.

Luggage storage in Manhattan?

electric_counterpoint — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 07:06:03 -0800

Where can I leave my luggage for a day in Manhattan? So, the lovely Ms. Counterpoint and I are visiting New York for a long weekend in a week's time, and we're staying in a hostel. It's the West End Studios (850 West End Avenue), and since we have a private room we'll be leaving our stuff there when we go out.

But! We're checking out Monday by 11, and we've got the rest of that day to explore the city before we get to La Guardia in the evening. What can we do with our bags during that period?

I saw this thread on the same subject, but our situation is different: 1) we don't have a room (having checked out of it by this time), and 2) we don't have any friends in New Jersey. With those conditions in mind, none of the advice in the previous question seems to help us.

Oh, there's this: We want to spend some time in Brooklyn -- if that's more conducive to dropping off luggage, we could schedule that trip for Monday.

Brooklyn sights for grown-up arty types

pomegranate — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 08:02:50 -0800

Weekend trip to Brooklyn in October to hang out. Anything you recommend? Restaurants, galleries, shops, hang-outs, etc. I think we're staying at a B&B in Park Slope. I'll be 5 months pregnant by then so we won't be bar-hopping but we do want a nice, mellow trip with a focus on the country's fourth-largest pseudo-city. We may go to Manhattan to meet some people for lunch one day but other than that it's all about laughing at hipster costumery, eating great food, and buying local handmade goods/art. (Think http://designsponge.blogspot.com/ in terms of aesthetic.) Please share your secrets.

BrooklynFilter

Danf — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 09:15:50 -0800

A swap possibility in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Opinions? My family is going to NYC for the first time in early summer, as tourists. I have been trying to get a housing swap (we live in Eugene, OR) and we have interest from a nice-sounding couple who live in brownstone in Sunset Park.

My question is: Since most tourist-oriented stuff is in Manhattan, would Staying in Sunset Park be too much of a hassle? Also, what is it like? Walking after dark from the subway, living there for several weeks.

Any experiences, opinions, warnings, gladly accepted.

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.

How to transfer between airports in NYC?

jewishbuddha — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 12:24:18 -0800

NYC Travel Help: I need some advice about transferring between NYC airports. [+] I live in Washington, D.C. On Jan 1, I’m flying out of Newark to Israel. I fly back into JFK on Jan. 12. (It’s not an ideal arrangement, but I’m not paying for the flight, so I can’t complain). I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle getting up there and back for the least cost/hassle.

Open-jaw flights were running in the $400+ range when I looked. I can do round trip to Newark for like 150, and take a bus from JFK to EWR on the 12th. There weren’t really any good options for doing round trip to JFK. I can get a round trip to La Guardia for 99, but then I’d have to do some kind of transfer between airports at each end of my trip, which seems like a pain in the ass. I can take a train to Newark, then get a one way ticket from JFK or LaGuardia back to D.C.

It seems like there’s a billion different not-quite-good options. I’d appreciate any advice on the best way to manage this – ease of transferring between airports, cost of different transfers, companies you’ve used, etc. Thanks.

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?