I've never traveled much, and want to do some before I get much older.

Never been to NYC and that's on my agenda. I'll likely be going alone and wonder if anyone has suggestions of how to "play tourist" when I've never been.

My son-in-law and his 15 yr old daughter are just getting home tonight after 5 days there and he posted lots of Facebook photos and it just makes me want to go even more. I'm going to ask him what he did and see if I can use some of his ideas.

Suggestions? I'll be going from Salt Lake City

Thanks

Hey Mike, from SLC, fly into Newark (Liberty) Airport. You can take the "Air Train" from any of the terminals to New Jersey Transit. Then, it's about three stops to Penn Station. This is a lot less costly or complicated than flying into JFK. This route is very well-traveled and marked, so it's easy to get into Manhattan.

I'm sure there are others here who can help.

Look for free things--the Staton Island Ferry is free, you'll go right by the Statue of Liberty to and fro. Central Park has many fun places. Also, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Wall St. Trinity Church where Hamilton is buried in the churchyard. These are a short walk to the World Trade Center.

Try Prospect Park in Brooklyn for a smaller, but just as wonderful Central Park--both designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. And the Brooklyn Art Museum is a wonderful alternate to the MET.

Have a great time. The Boner.

Living in Manhattan, I fly in and out of NYC regularly to and from SLC where I have family. I used to always use Newark, but I find JFK more convenient now with the Air Train monorail connecting to LIRR.

Get the Air Train monorail to Jamaica Station (easy and regular service every 5-10 minutes). At Jamaica, get the Long Island Railroad train to Penn Station. You can then go anywhere from Penn Station. This is convenient and seamless in my experience.

I prefer JFK because I find flights are usually somewhat cheaper into and out of JFK than Newark.

As for what to see and do, you've had lots of good suggestions. I like Rockefeller Center. Top of the Rock is very nice and, at least in my experience, less crowded than the Empire State Building. While at Rock Center, buy a Teuscher Chocolate or two -- ridiculously pricey but the Champagne Truffles are the best in the world (flown in from Switzerland).

I work downtown, so if you're interested in 9/11, it's worth seeing the memorial, the museum, etc. One can now go up to the view at the top of the new One World Trade Center as well. For an historical place to eat downtown, go to Fraunces Tavern -- restaurant and museum. It's where Washington bade farewell to his troops at the end of the Revolutionary War.

Of course, Broadway is great fun, but many shows are pricey. However, you can go to the TDF ticket counter in Times Square and get 1/2 price tickets to some shows. Even better is to go downtown to the TDF office there. Check online, but I think it's still at the Seaport. Much less crowded than the Times Square one and same or better show selection.

Check on Broadwaybox . com for off-Broadway shows -- they can be entertaining and are less expensive.

There are always great things going on at Lincoln Center and last minutes tickets are often available -- especially if you just need one ticket.

As maizyday says, dining is always wonderful in NYC. My dad used to say he could never get a bad meal in New York. And, no one will look twice if you dine alone -- lots of people do it. They often choose to sit at the bar. Seek out neighborhood restaurants for good food at more reasonable prices than the big name restaurants.

If you like Lydia Bastianich on PBS, you may enjoy her restaurant, Becco, on Restaurant Row. They offer three unlimited pastas (you get all three) each evening for a set price. Reservations required as it's always crowded.

Gramercy Tavern is a classic NYC eatery in the Flatiron District. Dinner is very expensive. Lunch is more reasonable and they offer a soup/sandwich special each weekday. Sitting at the bar in the tavern area is delightful and other solo diners at the bar are often pleased to chat. No reservations accepted. We like to show up around 2:30 pm after the crowds have gone.

I also think Ellen's Stardust Diner in Times Square is fun for singing waiters and burgers.

Visit one of the Eataly stores for tons of neat (but of course) pricey foods/items imported from Italy. Also, while downtown visit Le District for great foods/items from France.

The JPMorgan Library and Museum is small, not crowded and often has interesting exhibits. I think the Cloisters is fascinating and well worth a visit if you have time.

Just a few suggestions. I hope you ignore the naysayers and enjoy one of the world's great cities.

What great ideas! Thanks for the update on the monorail from JFK. I would not have thought to try it.

I lived there for nearly a decade. It's so expensive I haven't missed it much since moving away.

My commute was often spent taking the Staten Island Ferry round trip day in and out to lower Broadway/Wall Street area. I worked two city blocks away from the WTC.

Central Park is still worth seeing if you're in the area. There's a zoo there my children and I visited.

Places I went were where I'd take my children. FAO Schwarz, the American Museum of Natural History, we went to the top of the WTC the year before we moved away to look over the city. I shudder now at how fragile that was.

It's a money pit. As nice as it is to visit, be prepared to spend a lot, whatever you end up doing.

Go to some of the restaurants in Hells Kitchen area. They are delicious and cheap. (relatively)
Yes, if you go to the name places, it costs more, but there are so many great restaurants all over the place. Chinatown is wonderful too.

And churches are free. Such beautiful architectural structures. Just walk in. Nothing like LDS that are closed 6 days of the week.

Walk the streets. There are little pocket museums in all kinds of places, usually free. And interesting. Look in shop windows. Look up.

You can try for a lottery ticket for Broadway and off, shows. They are very inexpensive.

So much to do that's not expensive at all. (Once you get there...which is usually expensive no matter how you do it.)

Central Park, Guggenheim Museum (coolest architecture ever), Museum of Natural History, Library (wow!), Empire State building observation deck, Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry, Times Square, Riverside Park, Grant's Tomb, Chinatown, 5th Avenue, Broadway plays, you'll never get to it all. Choose what looks fun to you and go for it.

I've been there twice, last time about 7 years ago.

So many good suggestions, I echo everything donbagley said so concisely. Also recommend the following:

-Metropolitan museum, Cloisters museum, so many Great museums!-St Patricks Cathedral, huge and so beautiful inside
-St Pauls Chapel. Small, old, church that was near the world trade center. Has an interesting graveyard, and a cool contrast to the more modern building around
-Subway. Easy to get around and will get you close to most places you want to go. Also has cool designs in the subway tile at many of the stations
-Subway museum
-Walking around Manhattan
-UCB theater for Improv comedy
-Bryant Park
-Take a walk on the Brookline Bridge. Free. fantastic views of Manhattan, and a great walk.

And so much more..... I want to go again!

St Paul's was right across the street from where I worked for most of a decade. Spent many a lunch hour there, either eating lunch outside on the park benches throughout the churchyard with co-workers. Or inside, for a prayer service held there at intervals during the day for the Wall Street workers.

near your hotel. Maybe Grayline. It was so worth it. We did as much in a day with them that would have taken us a week on our own. The got us into ground zero, a boat that showed us many things and near Statue of Liberty. We had a ball. Went up the Empire State building after buying a tourist booklet that saved us money and you can buy it before you leave. Metropolitan Museum of Art MOMA was nice with good food and Brooklyn beer or wine.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2017 09:03PM by mav.

If you like Museums, the Frick has a fantastic collection, but can be easily covered in a few hours. I say do the usual touristy things, top of the Empire State Building, Times Square--go to the TKTS discount theater booth and see a real Broadway show. And also go to Katz's Deli for some good pastrami and matzoh ball soup. All these things are spread out, so get a Metro card, or just walk, and soak up the Manhattan atmosphere. Good Luck!

Pilgrimage there multiple times a year. Wife adores Broadway. To be certain you have tix before your trip you can buy them on Broadway.com. A great web site. If a novice of Broadway suggest you see Phantom of the Opera and Wicked. Both stories you will recognize. Uncertain of your age but the Carol King musical entitled Beautiful is also excellent. The TKTS booth in Times Square may or may not have availability. Disagree somewhat with Boner. Have done all three airports and by and large LaGuardia an easy cab ride straight to your hotel. We stay Central Park South at the Essex House. Easy walking distances to most Manhattan and Central Park sites. Columbus Circle subway takes you any place you want to go. Restaurants galore. At Central Park South is a breakfast place called Sarah Beth's. Wonderful pumpkin waffle. Interesting Italian restaurant called Bond45. Plethora of ethnic establishments. Statue of Liberty okay but Ellis Island museum more interesting. 911 museum well worth it. You will need advance tix so get before you go. Most restaurants need reservations. Concierge at Essex House excellent. Pizza is different. If you walk across the Brooklyn Bridge just underneath is a place called Grimaldi's. Well worth the wait. John's is in Manhattan on 57th and superb. A subway trip into Brooklyn to eat st Peter Luger Steakhouse also a unique NYC experience. Cash only though. Enjoy!!!

Gatorman
Going back again this Christmas



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2017 11:52PM by gatorman.

I mentioned earlier that my son-in-law and his daughter are heading back to Utah for midnight arrival.

I had dinner with his wife (my daughter) tonight and she's excited to see him.

She said they used AirBnb and had a great experience. He also bought tickets to Phantom using an app on his phone. When they got to the theater, turns out he'd bought just one. The theater was able to get a 2nd seat but not sitting together. At the intermission, a theater rep came to him and they had 2 seats together about 5 rows from the stage so that turned out well.

I hope I can make this work.

My brother and his wife have used AirBnb a number of times in Brooklyn, and their experience overall has been okay, but not great.

The prettiest view of Manhattan is from Brooklyn, IMO.

In addition to the suggestions listed above, if you want to see a thoroughly modern cathedral give the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine a visit.

I would strongly recommend against using JFK airport. It is NYC's international airport, and is located a *very* long distance from the city center. Both LGA and Newark would work fine. Check the traffic if you are thinking of taking a cab from LGA. You could be sitting in traffic (and racking up the fare) for a very long time. You might opt for a shuttle instead.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2017 06:57PM by summer.

I only associate NYC with my son's seizures, 20-odd MRI's, diagnosis of brain tumor, failed attempt at first surgery, successful attempt at second surgery, diagnosis, and prognosis, and many, many Uber trips between Brooklyn and NYU, not to mention multiple flights between Atlanta and NYC. In my mind, New York City is a nightmare of bad people, poor conditions, rotting garbage, grimy streets, tiny over-priced apartments, low quality of life, and high costs. It's a dark and dreary place to which I hope that I will never return. Why not book a holiday in a clean and happy place like Minneapolis or Nashville? Shoot, Toledo, Ohio, or Tulsa, Oklahoma, probably promise more than NYC.

I've been to NYC twice. That was pretty much my impression also. I don't see why so many people think it's so great.

To me it felt dirty, chaotic, and overall unpleasant. We rented an apartment for the time we were there. It was nice enough, but of course tiny. It was $700 a night complete with cockroaches.

I don't have such great memories of having lived there either.

That was where my eyes became opened to the deceit of Mormonism for the first time. The church was a prominent part of my life back then, until it wasn't.

Mormonism certainly skewered my perceptions of living in the Big Apple.

On the other hand, living there will always be a part of my life story. The friendships I made from some dear people I worked with are some I will cherish always.

Oh, how I miss the city! Spent many a weekend as a teenager wandering around there. So much much to do and see.

I LOVE NYC. I've been 3 times, all on my own. Fly into LGA or Newark. Buy a City Pass and you can get into a lot of touristy places for a good price. I'm biased as a Broadway nerd, but you should really see a show! (Not Wicked. Please- it's overhyped! Lol) Go to Central Park. I also went to a cool museum by the park called Museum of the City of New York. I am in love with the city.

Jersey Boys my all time favorite but can't get that one song out of my head from Rent, still laugh at " I'm not dead yet..." from Spamalot, the incredible acting of James Earl Jones and Denzel Washington in plays I recently saw. But Wicked was great for the music and some carryover of the storyline. My 11 yo granddaughter thought it wonderful so that alone worth the ticket...Off Broadway Fantastiks and Avenue Q fun.. so much more. Even Matilda was fun..

Gatorman

I like you!

I am in NYC writing this. This is the land of concrete! Do not go in the Winter or early Spring. The city is cold, dark and dirty. I have cherished any sign of spring - every tulip, tuberose, and daffodil. On the one and only sunny day this past week, I took a carriage ride through a bleak, tired, and worn Central Park. There must have been close 100K people there that day! The walkways and open spaces were completely packed with people!

The Metropolitan Museum was amazing, but again, there were thousands upon thousands of people there.

Time Square was so packed with people that it was difficult to walk anywhere. The Broadway shows were sold out months and months ago. Good luck getting tickets to anything new unless you plan a year or more in advance. Broadway.com is a complete ripoff charging $65 handling fees per ticket to purchase online. No refunds.

I had a decent hotel, not too god-awful expensive, decent service. It is a Marriott - a Gideon Bible, but surprisingly, no BoM in the drawer. :)

I know I'm making it sound terrible, but there is a dynamic energy here that is undeniably invigorating! There is truly so much to see, but stay focused on what would be most meaningful to you. With careful planning, and timing, it can be an amazing trip!

The "land of concrete" is how I used to think of it. I would generally avoid winter when the wind whips through the urban "canyons." Brrr! (The only exception is when the Christmas store displays are up. That makes it worth it.)

In the summer the concrete holds in the heat, and it is deadly. Plus you have tons of tourists. So I would avoid July and August as well.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/2017 05:42AM by summer.

Doubt I'll get there....always looked a bit intimidating to me.

My dad said he would never visit me as long as I lived in New York City. He drove past there once (before I moved there,) with my stepmom, and they kept on driving.

He did the same when driving through San Francisco, just kept on driving. He hated big cities with a passion.

He however LOVED Vancouver, and Victoria, British Columbia. Victoria was his favorite place on earth.

Dad used to tell me he'd visit me if I lived near Niagara Falls, NY lol. That's where he and my stepmom visited on their way back from Massachusetts when they were first married. He loves it here.

By time I'd moved here, dad wasn't able to get around as much anymore, so that trip became postponed indefinitely.

My husband went to Vancouver a lot when he was stationed in WA state, near Seattle. He lived it there, Victoria, the little island too. That was before I met him though, his first duty station in the USAF.
Your father would of liked the eastern part of Canada also, the Maritimes, especially Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. I love Canada.

I encourage you to go. I just went there for the first time about 2 months ago. I loved it! I wish I'd gone sooner. I hope to go back, maybe in the fall. I'd love to see more Broadway plays and explore the food scene more. Try to take a walk on the High Line - an old elevated train line that was turned into a park... it has great views, interesting landscaping and it's free.
I loved Central Park, SoHo... I also made a point of going to the Neue Gallerie on 5th Avenue, between the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum. A small gallery where the Woman in Gold by Klimt is displayed. If you've seen the movie, you'll be familiar with its fascinating Nazi-related history. There are several other Klimts there also.

In NYC I loved:

Our Grayline bus tour. We had a great tour guide from Brooklyn who really educated us about the city, the different boroughs, and gave us a preview of places we wanted to go back and see later.

I loved the cathedrals, the Met museum, the NYC city library. Went to see Wicked (great).

Also visited Battery Park, Central Park, Ellis Island, did some shopping with my family.

You can find any niche type of shopping or dining. Had some great meals. And some weren't so great (Rockefeller Center Cafe had awful eggs benedict). The one that was most memorable for my kids was peruvian, I think. But if you want to explore any kind of ethnic foods, NYC is the place.

A while back visited NYC. On the plane sat next to a doctor returning home from a medical conference in our city. He suggested the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. It was the highlight of our trip. The cherry trees were in blossom (along with most every other spring thing). It was literally raining cherry blossoms. Magical. This was early May.
He also mentioned that the Met will take any amount donation for entrance. Since we spent several days there, that saved a little on entrance fees!
So much to see and do, have a great trip!

So much to see. You'll be hard-pressed to decide. Consider the Circle Line tour boats, which circumnavigate Manhattan.

Should you decide on a more manageable Eastern city--Boston--then I'm your personal tour guide. Won't cost you anything more than a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee!

So, are you a Bruins fan , who celebrated tonight, at the expense of Ottawa? ( Just joking). I do like the Bruins, and love Don Cherry, but Ottawa hasn't been in it for a long time.
I'm upset that the Blackhawks lost, completely shuttled out, I wish they won at least one game.
Speaking of NY, the Rangers only have one more game to advance, and I don't want to see them in it.

Somewhere late in life, I lost all interest in professional sports. Okay, I start watching the Patriots around Thanksgiving and into playoffs, but the extent of my knowledge is checking the headline as I walk by a newsbox.

My son went to college in California, and found himself surrounded by West Coast hockey fans, Vancouver especially.

If possible, everyone should visit to NYC at least once. There's no other way to grasp the size of it--and to feel the energy! My cousins lived there for a while, and it was a fun place to visit, but I would have hated living there. It's pretty squalid!

Visiting my cousins was very different than going there with my mom and dad, and staying at the Waldorf, and seeing Broadway shows, and eating at my Dad's favorite restaurants--all on his dime. The Christmas lights and window displays were incredible. Skating at Rockefeller Center was something I'd always wanted to do.

NYC us a little bit scary, so you need to be careful. Still, a better choice than traveling outside the States just now. We drove our own car into the city, and made many wrong turns--bad idea! Use public transportation. Be sure you have a lot of energy for walking.

I'm from San Francisco, so that's favorite city, because I know it so well, and it has "charm." The climate can't be beat.

My husband was in the Veterans day parade in Nov 2001, 2 months after 911. The towers were still smoking then. They were of course roped off. He said you could still hear the metal sizzling.They were given a tour near the area . A lot of them were upset by people taking pictures of it from their cameras.
After the parade, they had 2 hours of free time, before they had to meet back on the bus. My husband and his 2 friends looked around , but since they all have been there, they decided to just eat at some place they heard about,
Well, it was packed, the waiting area alone was like sardines, but as soon as people saw them in the uniforms, everyone started clapping and letting them ahead.
The owner seated them as soon as a table opened.The other customers were insisting on it, because the guys didn't want to be treated differently.
Well, when they went to pay afterwards, they told them that someone picked up their tab.
Everyone, even teenagers were coming up to them in the street, shaking their hands and thanking them for their service.
When they got on the bus and were telling the other guys , the same thing happened to all of them.
I wish people were still like that still. It had to take a tragedy for people to get together .
It also took away the NY stereotype, about New Yorkers bring unfriendly,

I mentioned earlier that my son-in-law and is granddaughter (my step-granddaughter, although it hate that description) went to NYC last week.

He's a detective for a local police force here in Salt Lake and he said the most emotional part for him was the visit to the 911 Museum and to take in all that you can see there. That's a place I'd like to go, but not sure if I can make it all happen!

I still remember that day , like yesterday. I still can't believed that happened.We were living in NJ at the time, In fact one of the pilots that was on the plane that crashed in Pa, was from the same town we were living in at the time. I heard stories all the time, for a while, of people who were affected by it.
Imagine while people were running down the steps to get out of harms way, firemen, policemen, EMTs, etc were passing them running INTO it.