Impromptu trip to New York - what to do?
March 5, 2016 5:27 AM Subscribe
I'll be visiting upstate New York on business in a week's time and am planning to extend the trip by a few days to explore NYC and possibly surroundings. I've never really considered going to NYC before, so I'm struggling to know what I should do to make the most of my time there!
I'm visiting from the UK, never been to the USA before and have no clear idea of the geography of NYC, so knowing what's in the different districts would really help. I'm assuming it'll be cheaper to stay somewhere within 30ish minutes' travel of the main sights. Where's a good area to stay (reasonable price - hotel or maybe AirBnB)? Are there less safe areas that are best avoided, either to stay or walk around (I'm a 30 yr old woman travelling on my own).
As for what to do, I'd like to do a few touristy things (Empire State building, Staten Island Ferry, maybe some museums/galleries) but it would be really cool to walk around and get a feel of the city. So what are the quintessential New York experiences? What foods/districts should I not miss out on? Suggestions, recommendations, and advice gratefully received!
I'm visiting from the UK, never been to the USA before and have no clear idea of the geography of NYC, so knowing what's in the different districts would really help. I'm assuming it'll be cheaper to stay somewhere within 30ish minutes' travel of the main sights. Where's a good area to stay (reasonable price - hotel or maybe AirBnB)? Are there less safe areas that are best avoided, either to stay or walk around (I'm a 30 yr old woman travelling on my own).
As for what to do, I'd like to do a few touristy things (Empire State building, Staten Island Ferry, maybe some museums/galleries) but it would be really cool to walk around and get a feel of the city. So what are the quintessential New York experiences? What foods/districts should I not miss out on? Suggestions, recommendations, and advice gratefully received!
I would recommend that you do the One World Observatory instead of the Empire State Building. It's brand new, and gorgeous. Plus, there are a lot of historic (if not totally touristy) things down in the Financial District, like Trinity Church and Fraunces Tavern.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:01 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:01 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Take a walk on the high line!
Have lunch at Chelsea market.
I'd say stroll though Central Park but that might be better in one of the other 3 seasons.
On your own? That sounds like a great time to go to one of the wonderful museums... you get to go as fast or slow with out worrying about anyone else!
The weather next week might be in the 50's-60's.
Walk though Times Square just because. It's just touristy stores but fun to feel the energy and people watch for a bit.
You might be able to take in a good show as a single. I'll let theater experts chime in as to go to Tickts or come other alternative.
Have fun.
posted by ReluctantViking at 6:21 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Have lunch at Chelsea market.
I'd say stroll though Central Park but that might be better in one of the other 3 seasons.
On your own? That sounds like a great time to go to one of the wonderful museums... you get to go as fast or slow with out worrying about anyone else!
The weather next week might be in the 50's-60's.
Walk though Times Square just because. It's just touristy stores but fun to feel the energy and people watch for a bit.
You might be able to take in a good show as a single. I'll let theater experts chime in as to go to Tickts or come other alternative.
Have fun.
posted by ReluctantViking at 6:21 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'd personally recommend AirBnb over a hotel, you often come out ahead price-wise. Also, the subway and cabs/uber should get you where you need. I'd stay somewhere below midtown for all of the sites - Chelsea, East Village, Lower East Side, Greenwich Village, Washington Square, Chinatown, etc.
If you find yourself in the Lower East Side, the Tenement Museum is a fascinating tour.
As for restaurants and bars -- If you're interested, I can send you a huge list of places that I've compiled from friends, broken down by neighborhood -- haven't checked out all of them, though I plan to put more of dent into the list for my trip to NYC this year.
I think part of the NYC experience is just walking around, and taking in the visuals, the aromas (good and bad) and the sounds -- there's nothing else like it. Bring good walking shoes!
And speaking as another 30-something lady, I found NYC to be pretty safe and easy to navigate, and New Yorkers are pretty cool about helping you navigate the city and the subway -- don't be shy, but follow your instincts if someone seems sketchy -- stuff that would apply in any other large city. Also, if you're worried about looking like a tourist -- keep your baggage on the street to a minimum and duck into a shop (or grab a drink at a bar/coffee shop) if you want to figure out the map or your next site. Hope that helps!
posted by deinemutti at 6:24 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you find yourself in the Lower East Side, the Tenement Museum is a fascinating tour.
As for restaurants and bars -- If you're interested, I can send you a huge list of places that I've compiled from friends, broken down by neighborhood -- haven't checked out all of them, though I plan to put more of dent into the list for my trip to NYC this year.
I think part of the NYC experience is just walking around, and taking in the visuals, the aromas (good and bad) and the sounds -- there's nothing else like it. Bring good walking shoes!
And speaking as another 30-something lady, I found NYC to be pretty safe and easy to navigate, and New Yorkers are pretty cool about helping you navigate the city and the subway -- don't be shy, but follow your instincts if someone seems sketchy -- stuff that would apply in any other large city. Also, if you're worried about looking like a tourist -- keep your baggage on the street to a minimum and duck into a shop (or grab a drink at a bar/coffee shop) if you want to figure out the map or your next site. Hope that helps!
posted by deinemutti at 6:24 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'll be visiting upstate New York
Could you define "upstate"? It tends to be used as shorthand for "everything not NYC." NY is a huge state (let's just say that from where I am, the one time I went by car to NYC took close to nine hours).
Anyway:
NY hotels tend toward the unreasonably rather than the reasonably priced. Also, small rooms (then again, UK hotels also have small rooms, so...) I stayed here on my last trip to NYC, with no issues. I always get around on the subway.
For theatre, I would do the Tkts booth; luckily, the weather is warming up, as you have to line up outside at the main location. (Don't be put off by the lines, as they move really fast once the booth opens.)
If you're interested in touristy stuff, Ellis Island is another interesting stop.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art!
Seconding stop at a Jewish deli for pastrami sandwiches, lox & bagels, latkes, maybe some matzoh ball soup...There's an incredible range of restaurants. You can also get good, inexpensive lunches from the food trucks, if you want to save up for a snazzier dinner. I admit that I usually get something yummy at Max Brenner in Union Square at least once (it's also located near the Strand, if you feel a yen to buy some books).
posted by thomas j wise at 6:59 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Could you define "upstate"? It tends to be used as shorthand for "everything not NYC." NY is a huge state (let's just say that from where I am, the one time I went by car to NYC took close to nine hours).
Anyway:
NY hotels tend toward the unreasonably rather than the reasonably priced. Also, small rooms (then again, UK hotels also have small rooms, so...) I stayed here on my last trip to NYC, with no issues. I always get around on the subway.
For theatre, I would do the Tkts booth; luckily, the weather is warming up, as you have to line up outside at the main location. (Don't be put off by the lines, as they move really fast once the booth opens.)
If you're interested in touristy stuff, Ellis Island is another interesting stop.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art!
Seconding stop at a Jewish deli for pastrami sandwiches, lox & bagels, latkes, maybe some matzoh ball soup...There's an incredible range of restaurants. You can also get good, inexpensive lunches from the food trucks, if you want to save up for a snazzier dinner. I admit that I usually get something yummy at Max Brenner in Union Square at least once (it's also located near the Strand, if you feel a yen to buy some books).
posted by thomas j wise at 6:59 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I was going to ask about "where upstate" too - because depending on where you are, it could eat up a lot of time just getting to New York City. Or, it could eat up money as well, if you're not staying somewhere very near easy transport (the suburban commuter trains only go so far outside the city, so if you're staying too far north you could be facing a couple hours on the expensive national rail system, or even more time on a bus).
But: assuming that you are staying somewhere where it'll be easy to get into the city, I recommend:
* Have a quick look at Times Square, and then get the hell out of there. It'll be like Piccadilly Circus - lots of people, and too many big corporate shops. The only reason I'm suggesting looking at it is so you can see just how much it looks like Blade Runner.
* Seconding the recommendations for TKTS, Jewish Delis and Ellis Island. TKTS offers half-price tickets on some Broadway shows, and it's a same-day service. I stress that it's some shows, mind you - TKTS only offers tickets for shows who've offered TKTS blocks of tickets instead of trying to sell them full fare, which usually means they're shows that have been running a while. The shows you'll find there are perfectly fine - just don't expect to see the latest hot thing like Hamilton, is all. (Although if you do find a safe and legal way to get tickets to Hamilton - you win a contest, someone gives you a very nice present, or you meet Lin-Manuel Miranda himself and he decides to be nice - take advantage of that and know that you are uniquely lucky.) As for Ellis Island - you get there by ferry boat, and the boat also stops at the Statue of Liberty too. So you could do both if you want, but you are not obligated to - both things are free, and you're only buying tickets on the boat itself. So you could spend as much or as little in both places as you like. But that said - I strongly recommend Ellis Island instead of the Statue of Liberty; it's a really comprehensive overview of America's immigrant history (warts and all), and is profoundly humbling, at least for an American. (Plus - it's indoors, which may be good in early spring.)
* The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of a number of museums all along the same patch of Fifth Avenue - there are so many that they call that one stretch of Fifth Avenue "Museum Mile". Many of them also have very reasonable admission policies, so you could even museum-hop, from the Met to the Neue Gallerie (German and Austrian Art) to the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum to the Guggenheim to the Museum of the City of New York. It'd be kind of overwhelming to try to hit all of them, but if you really wanted to go for it....
* It is worth taking a peek into Brooklyn (if only because everyone's gonna ask about it). Fortunately there are three Brooklyn attractions all right next to each other, and all of them easily reachable by subway. Brooklyn's Botanic Garden may be smaller than the main Botanic Garden in the Bronx, but that's a feature, to my mind - you aren't overwhelmed. It's easy to get to as well. It's also right next door to the Brooklyn Museum, which has an extensive Egyptian collection and a feminist art collection of particular note. Both of those are right by Brooklyn's Prospect Park, a city park that was planned by the same people who designed Central Park as well; the thing about Prospect Park, though, is that it kind of resembles their first draft for Central Park; there are more natural-landscape types of vistas. There are things inside the park though - one exit to the Botanic Garden is right across the street from the park's "Children's corner," where you'll find a carousel, a historic house, and a zoo. A short walk from a different exit to the garden, you'll find the park's Grand Army Plaza, which is the home base for a lively weekly farmers' market and sometimes hosts food truck rallies, with some really elaborate food being sold out of vans and trucks and carts. That exit to the park also is near Eastern Parkway, a major Brooklyn street that also has a pedestrian promenade and bike path running parallel for part of it. A walk along Eastern Parkway's promenade would make for a nice walk, and a good look at some parts of historic Brooklyn.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:54 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
But: assuming that you are staying somewhere where it'll be easy to get into the city, I recommend:
* Have a quick look at Times Square, and then get the hell out of there. It'll be like Piccadilly Circus - lots of people, and too many big corporate shops. The only reason I'm suggesting looking at it is so you can see just how much it looks like Blade Runner.
* Seconding the recommendations for TKTS, Jewish Delis and Ellis Island. TKTS offers half-price tickets on some Broadway shows, and it's a same-day service. I stress that it's some shows, mind you - TKTS only offers tickets for shows who've offered TKTS blocks of tickets instead of trying to sell them full fare, which usually means they're shows that have been running a while. The shows you'll find there are perfectly fine - just don't expect to see the latest hot thing like Hamilton, is all. (Although if you do find a safe and legal way to get tickets to Hamilton - you win a contest, someone gives you a very nice present, or you meet Lin-Manuel Miranda himself and he decides to be nice - take advantage of that and know that you are uniquely lucky.) As for Ellis Island - you get there by ferry boat, and the boat also stops at the Statue of Liberty too. So you could do both if you want, but you are not obligated to - both things are free, and you're only buying tickets on the boat itself. So you could spend as much or as little in both places as you like. But that said - I strongly recommend Ellis Island instead of the Statue of Liberty; it's a really comprehensive overview of America's immigrant history (warts and all), and is profoundly humbling, at least for an American. (Plus - it's indoors, which may be good in early spring.)
* The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of a number of museums all along the same patch of Fifth Avenue - there are so many that they call that one stretch of Fifth Avenue "Museum Mile". Many of them also have very reasonable admission policies, so you could even museum-hop, from the Met to the Neue Gallerie (German and Austrian Art) to the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum to the Guggenheim to the Museum of the City of New York. It'd be kind of overwhelming to try to hit all of them, but if you really wanted to go for it....
* It is worth taking a peek into Brooklyn (if only because everyone's gonna ask about it). Fortunately there are three Brooklyn attractions all right next to each other, and all of them easily reachable by subway. Brooklyn's Botanic Garden may be smaller than the main Botanic Garden in the Bronx, but that's a feature, to my mind - you aren't overwhelmed. It's easy to get to as well. It's also right next door to the Brooklyn Museum, which has an extensive Egyptian collection and a feminist art collection of particular note. Both of those are right by Brooklyn's Prospect Park, a city park that was planned by the same people who designed Central Park as well; the thing about Prospect Park, though, is that it kind of resembles their first draft for Central Park; there are more natural-landscape types of vistas. There are things inside the park though - one exit to the Botanic Garden is right across the street from the park's "Children's corner," where you'll find a carousel, a historic house, and a zoo. A short walk from a different exit to the garden, you'll find the park's Grand Army Plaza, which is the home base for a lively weekly farmers' market and sometimes hosts food truck rallies, with some really elaborate food being sold out of vans and trucks and carts. That exit to the park also is near Eastern Parkway, a major Brooklyn street that also has a pedestrian promenade and bike path running parallel for part of it. A walk along Eastern Parkway's promenade would make for a nice walk, and a good look at some parts of historic Brooklyn.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:54 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
You need a good map of NYC, or even just Manhattan. Since your trip is short (2-3 days?) and there are lots of sights to see, I suggest focusing your time on Manhattan. Also all the "main tourist sights" are spread out across the city. There is no one place to stay that's convenient to literally everything. But there's many places that are only a 20-30 minute subway ride away from any given location.
Here's some decent maps of uptown sights (note the Whitney has moved downtown), midtown sights, and downtown sights.
North of 59th in a nutshell: American Museum of Natural History/Hayden Planetarium, Central Park, Museum Mile with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, Cooper-Hewitt and more. The Met and Central Park are huge and cannot be seen all at once in a day.
42nd to 59th street: Rockefeller Center w/ the Top of the Rock observatory, Museum of Modern Art, Bryant Park/NYPL main branch, Times Square, Empire State Building (with observatory deck), Chrysler Building (no inside access), Grand Central, Broadway shows
14th to 42nd St: Flatiron Building (no inside access), Union Square, The High Line (I recommend starting on the north end and working your way down), The Whitney Museum (brand new with multiple gorgeous outdoor decks), Chelsea Market (very crowded on weekends), Chelsea art galleries (many are closed Sundays)
Houston St to 14th St: NYU/Washington Sq Park, West Village, Greenwich Village, East Village
South of Houston St: Lower East Side, Soho, Nolita, Chinatown, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street/NYSE building, the Charging Bull Statue, Woolworth Building (need tour tix in advance), City Hall (limited small group tours), 9/11 Memorial (get tix for the museum in advance), access to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty (time-consuming, get tix well in advance, not all tix include going inside the statue), One World Observatory (get tix in advance).
Don't go to South Seaport.
The Meatpacking District, West Village, Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Nolita, and Chinatown are all fun neighborhoods to wander in and out of stores, coffee shops, bars, restaurants, etc.
Nearly everything in NYC that is a tourist attraction is basically accessible via subway, bus, and/or walking. If you have a smartphone, use the CityMapper app to get around. You can also save trips for offline usage later. Google Maps is unreliable as it often doesn't account for service changes on the subway.
NYC is also very safe especially if you stick mostly to the tourist sights in Manhattan. Just be street smart. Look for other people being around at night, don't zone out with earbuds in, be aware of your surroundings, don't hold purses/bags in a way that you can easily be pick pocketed, etc.
Also: DO NOT USE AIRBNB IN NYC! It is illegal for someone to rent out their apartment for short term stays of less than 30 days, if the building has 3+ units. It's only permitted if there is a permanent resident also present during your stay. And doing so also most often violates condo board rules, coop board rules, or their rental agreement with their landlord. The Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement is a special task force now cracking down hard on illegal rentals. Approximately 3/4ths of Airbnb listings in NYC are illegal, per a recent study. There have been cases of landlords evicting entire buildings of residents to create illegal hotels that don't pass muster with fire safety laws (among other things). Whatever Airbnb place you book might be gone tomorrow.
If cost is a concern, look at the various hotels in Long Island City. It's a safe area that's a very short ride into Manhattan via subway.
I really love the sort of immersive theatre that's only really economically viable in NYC - I'm sure Sleep No More is still running, but I'd recommend a smaller company's show called Then She Fell which I think is still going.
Well... Sleep No More, which kickstarted a big wave of immersive theatre shows in the USA, actually came from Punchdrunk, a UK theatre company. I do highly recommend Then She Fell from Third Rail Projects, a Brooklyn based theatre company, but it sells out well in advance. They also recently opened a new show called the Grand Paradise. Also excellent but very different. None of these shows are cheap.
Check out some "Only in NY" type foods while you're here: bagels and smoked salmon, egg on a roll (breakfast), pastrami on rye, pizza, hot dogs & papaya juice, black and white cookies, cheesecake, egg creams, pickles, halal carts. Ex: Russ & Daughters (they have both a retail store and a sit down cafe now, very busy on weekends), Katz's Deli (from When Harry Met Sally, also pretty busy on weekends/nights), Papaya King etc. (not gourmet but iconic), William Greenberg's black and whites, Junior's cheesecake, egg creams from Gem Spa or Ray's, Pickle Guys, the Halal Guys (SE corner of 53rd and 6th after sunset + brick and mortar locations), pizza from John's on Bleecker St (they only do whole pies, ask for it well done) … these are all iconic "NY" sorts of places that are worth a look.
As a visitor from the UK, you may also want some quintessentially "American" meals:
Steak - Keens (midtown) or Wolfgang's (multiple locations)
Burgers - Shake Shack (multiple locations)
BBQ - Mighty Quinn's (multiple locations)
Fried chicken - Pies n Thighs (Chinatown), Bobwhite (East and West Villages)
Lobster rolls - Red Hook Lobster (East Village), Pearl Oyster Bar (West Village), Luke's (multiple locations)
Brunch - Shopsin's (Lower East Side), Clinton St Baking Co (Lower East Side), Prune (East Village)
When walking around town beware of heading into any random place that has a Zagat rated sign displayed in the window (it is essentially a popularity contest & doesn't take much to get into the book at all). I'd recommend researching places to eat ahead of time, verifying addresses and hours (Yelp is good for this), and keeping a list of options in your back pocket (organized by neighborhood roughly) if you know you're going to be in a certain neighborhood. I keep one on my smartphone when traveling; some people like printouts instead. And expect lines during peak times (like weekday lunch in Midtown, Friday or Saturday night downtown, weekend brunch, outdoor food stands/trucks on a nice day, etc.)
posted by kathryn at 8:10 AM on March 5, 2016 [11 favorites]
Here's some decent maps of uptown sights (note the Whitney has moved downtown), midtown sights, and downtown sights.
North of 59th in a nutshell: American Museum of Natural History/Hayden Planetarium, Central Park, Museum Mile with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, Cooper-Hewitt and more. The Met and Central Park are huge and cannot be seen all at once in a day.
42nd to 59th street: Rockefeller Center w/ the Top of the Rock observatory, Museum of Modern Art, Bryant Park/NYPL main branch, Times Square, Empire State Building (with observatory deck), Chrysler Building (no inside access), Grand Central, Broadway shows
14th to 42nd St: Flatiron Building (no inside access), Union Square, The High Line (I recommend starting on the north end and working your way down), The Whitney Museum (brand new with multiple gorgeous outdoor decks), Chelsea Market (very crowded on weekends), Chelsea art galleries (many are closed Sundays)
Houston St to 14th St: NYU/Washington Sq Park, West Village, Greenwich Village, East Village
South of Houston St: Lower East Side, Soho, Nolita, Chinatown, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street/NYSE building, the Charging Bull Statue, Woolworth Building (need tour tix in advance), City Hall (limited small group tours), 9/11 Memorial (get tix for the museum in advance), access to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty (time-consuming, get tix well in advance, not all tix include going inside the statue), One World Observatory (get tix in advance).
Don't go to South Seaport.
The Meatpacking District, West Village, Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Nolita, and Chinatown are all fun neighborhoods to wander in and out of stores, coffee shops, bars, restaurants, etc.
Nearly everything in NYC that is a tourist attraction is basically accessible via subway, bus, and/or walking. If you have a smartphone, use the CityMapper app to get around. You can also save trips for offline usage later. Google Maps is unreliable as it often doesn't account for service changes on the subway.
NYC is also very safe especially if you stick mostly to the tourist sights in Manhattan. Just be street smart. Look for other people being around at night, don't zone out with earbuds in, be aware of your surroundings, don't hold purses/bags in a way that you can easily be pick pocketed, etc.
Also: DO NOT USE AIRBNB IN NYC! It is illegal for someone to rent out their apartment for short term stays of less than 30 days, if the building has 3+ units. It's only permitted if there is a permanent resident also present during your stay. And doing so also most often violates condo board rules, coop board rules, or their rental agreement with their landlord. The Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement is a special task force now cracking down hard on illegal rentals. Approximately 3/4ths of Airbnb listings in NYC are illegal, per a recent study. There have been cases of landlords evicting entire buildings of residents to create illegal hotels that don't pass muster with fire safety laws (among other things). Whatever Airbnb place you book might be gone tomorrow.
If cost is a concern, look at the various hotels in Long Island City. It's a safe area that's a very short ride into Manhattan via subway.
I really love the sort of immersive theatre that's only really economically viable in NYC - I'm sure Sleep No More is still running, but I'd recommend a smaller company's show called Then She Fell which I think is still going.
Well... Sleep No More, which kickstarted a big wave of immersive theatre shows in the USA, actually came from Punchdrunk, a UK theatre company. I do highly recommend Then She Fell from Third Rail Projects, a Brooklyn based theatre company, but it sells out well in advance. They also recently opened a new show called the Grand Paradise. Also excellent but very different. None of these shows are cheap.
Check out some "Only in NY" type foods while you're here: bagels and smoked salmon, egg on a roll (breakfast), pastrami on rye, pizza, hot dogs & papaya juice, black and white cookies, cheesecake, egg creams, pickles, halal carts. Ex: Russ & Daughters (they have both a retail store and a sit down cafe now, very busy on weekends), Katz's Deli (from When Harry Met Sally, also pretty busy on weekends/nights), Papaya King etc. (not gourmet but iconic), William Greenberg's black and whites, Junior's cheesecake, egg creams from Gem Spa or Ray's, Pickle Guys, the Halal Guys (SE corner of 53rd and 6th after sunset + brick and mortar locations), pizza from John's on Bleecker St (they only do whole pies, ask for it well done) … these are all iconic "NY" sorts of places that are worth a look.
As a visitor from the UK, you may also want some quintessentially "American" meals:
Steak - Keens (midtown) or Wolfgang's (multiple locations)
Burgers - Shake Shack (multiple locations)
BBQ - Mighty Quinn's (multiple locations)
Fried chicken - Pies n Thighs (Chinatown), Bobwhite (East and West Villages)
Lobster rolls - Red Hook Lobster (East Village), Pearl Oyster Bar (West Village), Luke's (multiple locations)
Brunch - Shopsin's (Lower East Side), Clinton St Baking Co (Lower East Side), Prune (East Village)
When walking around town beware of heading into any random place that has a Zagat rated sign displayed in the window (it is essentially a popularity contest & doesn't take much to get into the book at all). I'd recommend researching places to eat ahead of time, verifying addresses and hours (Yelp is good for this), and keeping a list of options in your back pocket (organized by neighborhood roughly) if you know you're going to be in a certain neighborhood. I keep one on my smartphone when traveling; some people like printouts instead. And expect lines during peak times (like weekday lunch in Midtown, Friday or Saturday night downtown, weekend brunch, outdoor food stands/trucks on a nice day, etc.)
posted by kathryn at 8:10 AM on March 5, 2016 [11 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you so much for the info! I have limited net access at the moment, so will followup later. Just to clarify "upstate NY", it's Yorktown in Westchester County, and will be staying in Mt Kisco during the week (where I gather there is a <1 hr train into the city).
posted by bent back tulips at 8:25 AM on March 5, 2016
posted by bent back tulips at 8:25 AM on March 5, 2016
N'thing as a New Yorker that we prefer visitors to use our licensed legal hotels and not take safety risks, break the law, or cheat the city out of needed revenues when you stay here. There are decent Manhattan hotel rooms to be had for under $300 and many prior askMe threads about this (one just the other day).
NYC tourist sites get depressingly mobbed and commodified after a while, more so if you are coming from another world city. The things that let you walk and mingle with the broadest public are most fulfilling. Visit and walk Harlem in a Sunday afternoon. Or Hudson River Park and High Line. Or Central Park if weather is nice. Take the subway. Eat at food carts. Skip the Empire State and Times Square if possible.
posted by spitbull at 8:38 AM on March 5, 2016
NYC tourist sites get depressingly mobbed and commodified after a while, more so if you are coming from another world city. The things that let you walk and mingle with the broadest public are most fulfilling. Visit and walk Harlem in a Sunday afternoon. Or Hudson River Park and High Line. Or Central Park if weather is nice. Take the subway. Eat at food carts. Skip the Empire State and Times Square if possible.
posted by spitbull at 8:38 AM on March 5, 2016
If you plan on taking taxis while you're in the city, a recent shitty incident with my mom reminded me of some key advice:
- Unless you have called Uber or a car service to come and pick you up, never get into a car-for-hire that isn't an official taxi cab. In NYC they're yellow in Manhattan, and green in the outer boroughs (except for at the airports, where most of the cabs will be yellow. )
- You can hail a cab on the street if you see one. You can tell which cabs are available by looking at the numbered signs on top of them -- if the numbers are lit, and "off duty" is not, the cab is available. Try and stand near a corner, on a street that's headed in the same direction you're trying to go. (Many NYC streets are one-way.)
- Some busy places, like the airports or Penn Station, will have a Taxi stand with a line of people out front, and an attendant whose job it is to put you in a cab. Some hotels will have doormen who will hail a cab for you. HOWEVER, in neither of these cases should you EVER hand money over to someone who isn't your cab driver. The only exception is if you're tipping someone a couple of dollars (appropriate for the doorman, not for the Taxi stand attendant.)**
-In general, if you're trying to get from one part of Manhattan to another, the subway is going to be faster than a Taxi. This is especially true during rush hour and on the weekends. The exception would be if you're trying to get from very far uptown to very far downtown (or vice-versa) or if it's after 11PM or so, when the subway starts to run less frequently.
**I mention this specifically because my mom, who grew up in New York and has taken hundreds of Taxis, was nonetheless scammed into handing over cash to a fake Taxi stand attendant.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 8:38 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
- Unless you have called Uber or a car service to come and pick you up, never get into a car-for-hire that isn't an official taxi cab. In NYC they're yellow in Manhattan, and green in the outer boroughs (except for at the airports, where most of the cabs will be yellow. )
- You can hail a cab on the street if you see one. You can tell which cabs are available by looking at the numbered signs on top of them -- if the numbers are lit, and "off duty" is not, the cab is available. Try and stand near a corner, on a street that's headed in the same direction you're trying to go. (Many NYC streets are one-way.)
- Some busy places, like the airports or Penn Station, will have a Taxi stand with a line of people out front, and an attendant whose job it is to put you in a cab. Some hotels will have doormen who will hail a cab for you. HOWEVER, in neither of these cases should you EVER hand money over to someone who isn't your cab driver. The only exception is if you're tipping someone a couple of dollars (appropriate for the doorman, not for the Taxi stand attendant.)**
-In general, if you're trying to get from one part of Manhattan to another, the subway is going to be faster than a Taxi. This is especially true during rush hour and on the weekends. The exception would be if you're trying to get from very far uptown to very far downtown (or vice-versa) or if it's after 11PM or so, when the subway starts to run less frequently.
**I mention this specifically because my mom, who grew up in New York and has taken hundreds of Taxis, was nonetheless scammed into handing over cash to a fake Taxi stand attendant.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 8:38 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh and you're not "upstate" in Yorktown or Mt. Kisco! Those are NYC suburbs and you can come in by train in an hour.
posted by spitbull at 8:39 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 8:39 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Get the app "Hotel Tonight" for last minute rates, generally the best you can find. They let you check and reserve as close as (I think) 6 days ahead, but if you can stomach it, wait till you get off the plane, because same-day rates are best (disaster aversion: check availability, generally, in area hotels to make sure there's not a convention that week filling up all the places).
If it's not a crazy-occupied week, and if you can budget $200-250/night, you can get away with this risk. And if worst comes to worst, you can always get a room a bit outside town for a night if you can't get anything good. Experience outer borough or suburban life, it's good to experience more than touristic ground zero.
Doesn't matter where you stay if you're going to be intrepidly out and about all day (sounds like you will), so free/easy attitude toward booking works well (not true in Europe). There aren't many bad neighborhoods in NYC these days, and the few bad ones don't have hotels, anyway.
As with London, the subway (metro) is your friend. It's literally all you need. Learn the hell out of the subway system ASAP, and consider it a magic carpet ride.
If you need specific tips, feel free to PM me, I'm a lifelong new yorker and have written guide books.
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:46 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
If it's not a crazy-occupied week, and if you can budget $200-250/night, you can get away with this risk. And if worst comes to worst, you can always get a room a bit outside town for a night if you can't get anything good. Experience outer borough or suburban life, it's good to experience more than touristic ground zero.
Doesn't matter where you stay if you're going to be intrepidly out and about all day (sounds like you will), so free/easy attitude toward booking works well (not true in Europe). There aren't many bad neighborhoods in NYC these days, and the few bad ones don't have hotels, anyway.
As with London, the subway (metro) is your friend. It's literally all you need. Learn the hell out of the subway system ASAP, and consider it a magic carpet ride.
If you need specific tips, feel free to PM me, I'm a lifelong new yorker and have written guide books.
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:46 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you have a place to stay in Mt. Kisco, then just take day trips in from there. People commute from there to Manhattan and the trains run late. There might be express trains and buses that take less than an hour.
At this time of year, bidding on hotel rooms via Priceline works really well since it's is a low tourist season. First go to biddingfortravel.com to learn how to do this. Or check out The Pod Hotel, which is popular with Europeans. I've stayed at the one on 51st St. It's good value and centrally located.
posted by Elsie at 9:14 AM on March 5, 2016
At this time of year, bidding on hotel rooms via Priceline works really well since it's is a low tourist season. First go to biddingfortravel.com to learn how to do this. Or check out The Pod Hotel, which is popular with Europeans. I've stayed at the one on 51st St. It's good value and centrally located.
posted by Elsie at 9:14 AM on March 5, 2016
Hey I grew up near Mt Kisco, and don't let them hear you call it upstate! :) That's Westchester!
Yes, you could stay in Mt Kisco and just do daytrips, but there's nothing like the city at night. I second staying somewhere below 23rd street and you could not go wrong just walking around and doing whatever catches your fancy at the moment. Everywhere in Manhattan is safe and walkable, but Brooklyn does require more of a time and planning commitment.
posted by maggiemaggie at 9:26 AM on March 5, 2016
Yes, you could stay in Mt Kisco and just do daytrips, but there's nothing like the city at night. I second staying somewhere below 23rd street and you could not go wrong just walking around and doing whatever catches your fancy at the moment. Everywhere in Manhattan is safe and walkable, but Brooklyn does require more of a time and planning commitment.
posted by maggiemaggie at 9:26 AM on March 5, 2016
Since people mentioned HAMILTON, it's worth noting that there is an authorized way to see the show for cheap: the daily ticket lottery. You can't plan in advance around it, but you could put in each day for the lottery and then hit up TKTS if you don't get lucky. Also, my wife (an actress) informs me that you could also use the TodayTix app on your smartphone (provided you have data or are somewhere with wifi); the sale window for that goes out two weeks on some shows.
posted by fedward at 9:47 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by fedward at 9:47 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'll write up a longer thing later, but something to consider: geographically, New York is made up of five boroughs - Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island, which means it's basically a mega city made up of four smaller cities (plus Staten Island). Each of those is itself a huge city - for example, if Brooklyn was split off entirely it would be the fourth most populous city in America, and the rest of New York would still be the single most populous. Getting between the boroughs is fairly easy, but for a first trip to New York (and as much as it pains me to say this as a Brooklynite) I'd highly suggest just sticking to Manhattan (plus maybe the Staten Island ferry). Conceptualizing it as a trip to Manhattan will make everything feel a bit smaller and more manageable, plus it'll leave you something else to focus on for future trips.
posted by Itaxpica at 10:03 AM on March 5, 2016
posted by Itaxpica at 10:03 AM on March 5, 2016
Some tips:
Don't take cabs unless it's late at night (like, after 2AM). Subways get pretty sparse late night and you could be waiting 20 minutes. During the day, cabs save you no time and are much more expensive than the subway.
Avoid crosstown buses. You can walk faster.
Don't be afraid to ask someone for directions. New Yorkers generally love helping people with directions. But you gotta ask. We're not going to volunteer.
At a bar, coffee shop, deli, wherever--know your order well before you get to counter, and for god's sake have your money or credit card ready to go. New York service is brusque, impersonal, but usually very efficient.
Move quickly and purposefully. Do not amble down 5th Ave in midtown at 1PM on a weekday. Save strolls for Central Park.
Don't block the subway entrances. If you need to look at a map, check your phone, whatever, step to the side, somewhere where you're as out of the way as possible. This goes for the sidewalk too.
You probably shouldn't jaywalk unless you're pretty confident in your ability to judge the speed of traffic. And you'll notice that New Yorkers generally don't pay any attention to the walk signal--if traffic is heavy, they'll look up at the car's traffic signal and go as soon as it turns red.
Oh, and if you do jaywalk, watch out for bikes.
And enjoy! All of the suggestions above are great, and New York is a fantastic city. You'll have a great time.
posted by Automocar at 10:13 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Don't take cabs unless it's late at night (like, after 2AM). Subways get pretty sparse late night and you could be waiting 20 minutes. During the day, cabs save you no time and are much more expensive than the subway.
Avoid crosstown buses. You can walk faster.
Don't be afraid to ask someone for directions. New Yorkers generally love helping people with directions. But you gotta ask. We're not going to volunteer.
At a bar, coffee shop, deli, wherever--know your order well before you get to counter, and for god's sake have your money or credit card ready to go. New York service is brusque, impersonal, but usually very efficient.
Move quickly and purposefully. Do not amble down 5th Ave in midtown at 1PM on a weekday. Save strolls for Central Park.
Don't block the subway entrances. If you need to look at a map, check your phone, whatever, step to the side, somewhere where you're as out of the way as possible. This goes for the sidewalk too.
You probably shouldn't jaywalk unless you're pretty confident in your ability to judge the speed of traffic. And you'll notice that New Yorkers generally don't pay any attention to the walk signal--if traffic is heavy, they'll look up at the car's traffic signal and go as soon as it turns red.
Oh, and if you do jaywalk, watch out for bikes.
And enjoy! All of the suggestions above are great, and New York is a fantastic city. You'll have a great time.
posted by Automocar at 10:13 AM on March 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Weather permitting, take a Circle Line boat tour around Manhattan. It's not free like the Staten Island Ferry, but it will give you a good overview of the city's geography, and a view of the Statue of Liberty. (I can't remember the last time I took the Circle Line during the winter - I have a vague memory that the windows got a bit fogged up from the difference in outdoor/indoor temperature on the ship, but it should be warm enough to go back & forth between sections for the really good views/photo ops.)
posted by oh yeah! at 11:00 AM on March 5, 2016
posted by oh yeah! at 11:00 AM on March 5, 2016
I often think that a big difference between NYC and London/other European capitals is that, while there is a ton to see and do, many of the best-known NYC "tourist attractions" aren't really worth seeing once you factor in the attendant annoyances. I mean, there is really no reason for the average person to "go to Times Square." Or Rockefeller Center/Radio City Music Hall. If you try to recover the 60s in the West Village, you will regret it bitterly (though there are certainly many wonderful places to eat there). Just be skeptical of what people try to sell you locally.
You can try for online rush tickets at the Met (or standing room, which I think is box office only) if you like what's showing. You don't need dress clothes to attend. The other Met (museum) is open late Fri and Sat nights, which allows for a more unhurried experience.
I mention this specifically because my mom, who grew up in New York and has taken hundreds of Taxis, was nonetheless scammed into handing over cash to a fake Taxi stand attendant.
I'm really curious about this story! How did it happen? It has never even occurred to me that one might give cash to a taxi stand attendant.
posted by praemunire at 11:34 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
You can try for online rush tickets at the Met (or standing room, which I think is box office only) if you like what's showing. You don't need dress clothes to attend. The other Met (museum) is open late Fri and Sat nights, which allows for a more unhurried experience.
I mention this specifically because my mom, who grew up in New York and has taken hundreds of Taxis, was nonetheless scammed into handing over cash to a fake Taxi stand attendant.
I'm really curious about this story! How did it happen? It has never even occurred to me that one might give cash to a taxi stand attendant.
posted by praemunire at 11:34 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks so much, this has been really helpful - including general tips about getting around, navigating, subways etc. I hadn't realised the situation with AirBnB, so rest assured I will be avoiding that solution.
And many apologies for besmirching Mt Kisco with the "upstate" moniker... this must be a US/UK perception of distance where an hour seems a long way away!
posted by bent back tulips at 5:05 PM on March 5, 2016
And many apologies for besmirching Mt Kisco with the "upstate" moniker... this must be a US/UK perception of distance where an hour seems a long way away!
posted by bent back tulips at 5:05 PM on March 5, 2016
No, that's OK, New YorK (City) residents call everything north of the NYC border "upstate", a description that occasionally surprises upstaters.
For perspective on the whole "upstate"/ "downstate" thing:
New York State (~50,000 square miles) is just about the size of England (~50,000 sq miles):
New York City (~300 sq miles) is about half the size of Greater London (~600 sq. miles).
But NYC is about 1/2 the population of NYS. (More than half of New York (Staters) live south of the city's northern border, so the "upstate"/"downstate" distinction does make some sense.)
And Mt. Kisco is about 40 miles / 1 hour north of Times Square. In 'London' terms, that's well outside the M25. (A distance comparable to Luton or Chelmsford, maybe?)
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 9:46 PM on March 5, 2016
For perspective on the whole "upstate"/ "downstate" thing:
New York State (~50,000 square miles) is just about the size of England (~50,000 sq miles):
New York City (~300 sq miles) is about half the size of Greater London (~600 sq. miles).
But NYC is about 1/2 the population of NYS. (More than half of New York (Staters) live south of the city's northern border, so the "upstate"/"downstate" distinction does make some sense.)
And Mt. Kisco is about 40 miles / 1 hour north of Times Square. In 'London' terms, that's well outside the M25. (A distance comparable to Luton or Chelmsford, maybe?)
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 9:46 PM on March 5, 2016
Yeah, the 'don't let them hear you call it upstate' is a bit of a standing joke in Westchester, but Mt Kisco is definitely a 'bedroom' community - meaning most people who live there have at least one household member who goes into NYC every day.
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:51 PM on March 6, 2016
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:51 PM on March 6, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 5:48 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]