New York

We are going to New York in April for the first time ( we live in the UK)
we will be spending 6 nights there
any tips or good sites you can point me to?

We are staying in the Milford Plaza.
Thanks in advance
Sharon

Sharon Walker wrote:
We are going to New York in April for the first time ( we live in the
UK)
we will be spending 6 nights there
any tips or good sites you can point me to?

We are staying in the Milford Plaza.
Thanks in advance
Sharon

Your hotel is centrally located, 1 block from Times Square. NYC
probably has more to do than almost any other city on the planet
(possibly excepting London and Paris), with over 100 museums, dozens of
plays, concerts and dance, dozens of neighborhoods worth exploring.
thousands of restaurants worth visiting for a meal, so it would help to
know your interests.

General suggestions:

Get a good guide book or two. Walk distances up to a mile, use the
subway for longer distances. Pick out a few museums, see a musical and
play, visit a jazz club, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Visit some
neighborhoods (Greenwich Village, both East and West, SoHo, NoHo,
Tribeca, Chelsea, Chinatown, upper west side, upper east side, Downtown
[financial district] etc).

Larry

Hi Larry,

We have just been told for the rec.travel.cruises newsgroup that the hotel
we booked is a "flea pit" and a right dump.
I am very unhappy. Our Uk tour operator give it 3 stars and a friend
recommended it.
We will be your typica; 1st time visitors to Ny and don't want to waste time
when there finding things out so I thought doing some research beforehand
would be useful.
What in your opinion is the best museums to visit.
What skyskrapers offer the best views?
Is the statue of libery open to the public?
Helipcopter rides advertised any good?
Can you recommend any good shows to see?
Is central park safe to walk around? what's to see there?
what is the best way to travel? is the subway safe? are taxis expensive?
what is the best way to aviod getting ripped off by tour touts etc?

I don't expect you to answer all these quesitons Larry! but any help you
can give would be great. I assume that you are a New Yorker?
Thank in advance for your help,
Sharon.


Sharon Walker wrote:
We are going to New York in April for the first time ( we live in the
UK)
we will be spending 6 nights there
any tips or good sites you can point me to?

We are staying in the Milford Plaza.
Thanks in advance
Sharon

Your hotel is centrally located, 1 block from Times Square. NYC
probably has more to do than almost any other city on the planet
(possibly excepting London and Paris), with over 100 museums, dozens of
plays, concerts and dance, dozens of neighborhoods worth exploring.
thousands of restaurants worth visiting for a meal, so it would help to
know your interests.

General suggestions:

Get a good guide book or two. Walk distances up to a mile, use the
subway for longer distances. Pick out a few museums, see a musical and
play, visit a jazz club, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Visit some
neighborhoods (Greenwich Village, both East and West, SoHo, NoHo,
Tribeca, Chelsea, Chinatown, upper west side, upper east side, Downtown
[financial district] etc).

Larry

Sharon Walker wrote:

We have just been told for the rec.travel.cruises newsgroup that the hotel
we booked is a "flea pit" and a right dump.

Hotels in New York are exhorbitant prices, even by London standards.
If it's all paid upfront you're stuck, though you can get reasonable
last minute deals on the ground if you walk in to many posh hotels.

I am very unhappy. Our Uk tour operator give it 3 stars and a friend
recommended it.

Oh well, spend 18 hrs a day outside the hotel and don't fret it.

What in your opinion is the best museums to visit.

Depends on what you like. The Met is a great museum to visit,
but you can spend 10 whole days there over a period of a month
and not see everything. (-Note- that the posted admission price**
**is only a suggested donation. You can pay whatever you can
afford. There are nicer museums with small collections that you
can appreciate in a few hours. (Frick collection, for example).
Guggenheim is nice for its exhibits and the building, but it's
pricey unless you go friday evening I think, when it's free.

It all depends on what priority you put on things. There's a
very nice museum in the lower east side which is a tenement
building that gives you a complete view of NY development
from mid 1800's to early 1900's. I think it's worth it.

What skyskrapers offer the best views?

From the top, the Empire State. From the bottom, the Chrysler
or the GE. From inside, Grand Central Station.

Is the statue of libery open to the public?

Not like it used to be. You can only walk into and around
the base. Probably not worth it. It was fascinating to
walk up, though. Sad.

Ellis Island is probably a better tour than the statue now;
a good museum/tour, a nice ferry ride. Don't expect to eat
there if you make a day of it.

Can you recommend any good shows to see?

Get tickets at times square. Again, depends on what you like.
e.g. you can get last minute tickets to the opera which is quite
an experience. When we were there a few years ago, Cabaret was
the best of all the broadway/off that we saw. (Blue Man was
good too. But that's all old stuff, changes all the time).

We went with a friend to a gospel church in Harlem which
was quite fun (they're set up for 'tourists' as part of
their service). Out of courtesy we stayed for much of the
rest, but it got grindingly dull.

Is central park safe to walk around? what's to see there?

Yes, safe (maybe not at midnight, but you're surely not stupid).
By "walk around" you probably don't mean literally, as it's
about 8+ miles. Go have a look at the horse carts in the snow,
people skating on the rink etc.

what is the best way to travel? is the subway safe? are taxis expensive?

Subway is incredibly annoying compared to London underground
(amount of work being done on it, filth, re-routing with totally
unhelpful posters & staff etc). It works though. Taxis aren't
too expensive compared to London, but beware that east-west
travel is very slow in taxis (Manhatten) because traffic lights
are all timed for north-south travel. If it's a busy time,
you may be best catching a taxi straight up the ave, then walking
across four or five blocks. But don't make the mistake of
forgetting busses. They're great, and you can actually see the
town which you can't do from underground or taxis.

Walk as much as your feet will let you. Go to chinatown/
little italy, across the brooklyn bridge, around Greenwich village.

A tip: the best pizza you will find outside Italy is way up 1st ave
in a little crappy looking place in Harlem. You can get there by
bus and buy offlicence across the street.

Eat copiously at diners, they are NY's finest venues.

what is the best way to aviod getting ripped off by tour touts etc?

Don't use them.


--
Ken Tough

Thank you very much Ken.
Your advice is invaluable.
Thanks for the taking the time to reply in such depth.
If I get any more questions I know where to come!
Thanks again,

Sharon

Sharon Walker wrote:
Hi Larry,

We have just been told for the rec.travel.cruises newsgroup that the
hotel
we booked is a "flea pit" and a right dump.
I am very unhappy. Our Uk tour operator give it 3 stars and a friend

recommended it.

I haven't heard bad thing about it before. It's not a luxury hotel, but
in the past I've heard its rooms are clean but tiny. As Ken said,
however, you won't be spending much time there. Don't eat in it (or any
other hotel). For breakfast and lunch there are cafes everywhere; for
reasonable prices and good food go to residential areas like the West
side (Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues), North of 68th street or so. Many
New Yorkers eat most meals out, and you can get good food quite
inexpensively.

We will be your typica; 1st time visitors to Ny and don't want to
waste time
when there finding things out so I thought doing some research
beforehand
would be useful.
What in your opinion is the best museums to visit.

Ken recommended the Met, which I agree with. Also the American Museum
of Natural History (I'm biased, as I volunteer there), and MOMA
shouldn't be missed. The Guggenheim (5 blocks north of the Met) has a
wonderful exhibit of Aztec artifacts at the present time, and is also
known for its architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright.

What skyskrapers offer the best views?

Empire State Building. For a great view AND a great meal, Terrance on
the Park at 119th Street and Morningside Avenue is on top of an
apartment building on the highest point in Manhattan and has a 360
degree view. Similarly, the bar on top of the Beekman Towers.

Is the statue of libery open to the public?

The island is, but you can't go to the top of the statue anymore. The
best was to see it AND New York Harbor is to take the free Staten
Island Ferry. The round trip is about an hour. A trip to the island
takes half a day, costs real money, and doesn't give as good a view of
the statue.

Helipcopter rides advertised any good?

Not really; at least not worth the price.

Can you recommend any good shows to see?

Just about any; read the reviews and pick out some. The Producers (if
you can get tickets) is probably the best at the moment. We just saw
Democracy and liked it.

Is central park safe to walk around? what's to see there?

Yes, it's safe. In winter, not that much to see, but it's still nice to
stroll through.


what is the best way to travel? is the subway safe?

The subway is safe, but avoid it during rush hour. There was just a
fire that caused a lot of damage to the switching systems, and two
lines are shut down for repairs. This has put a much heavier load on
the rest of the system.

are taxis expensive?

Not by London standards!

what is the best way to aviod getting ripped off by tour touts etc?

Skip them. You don't need tours. Just take buses. The major museums
offer free tours.


I don't expect you to answer all these quesitons Larry! but any help
you
can give would be great. I assume that you are a New Yorker?

Actually, I live in a New Jersey suburb, but I work in NYC and I visit
frequently on weekends.

Enjoy your visit!

Larry

Sharon Walker wrote:
We are going to New York in April for the first time ( we live in the
UK)
we will be spending 6 nights there
any tips or good sites you can point me to?

We are staying in the Milford Plaza.
Thanks in advance
Sharon


OOPS, I missed the "April" part. In Central Park, visit the Shakespeare
Garden, near the Museum of Natural History, and Strawberry Fields,
donated by Yoko Ono. at 72nd Street in Central Park.

Thanks Larry. You have really helped us.
We are really excited about coming to NY!
Hope all NY's are as friendly and helpful as you
Thanks again,
Sharon
South Wales
UK