first time in nyc!

Hello,

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to New York around late June to early July. Haven%26#39;t researched much yet, but I plan on going to Central Park and the Brooklyn bridge. Hopefully, the Yankees or Mets will be in town that weekend. We%26#39;ll be there for 3-4 days with a middle range budget. What do you guys recommend for first time visitors? I%26#39;m open to any suggestions regarding activities, food, shops, theaters, and a place to stay! Thanks!

first time in nyc!

Hi, definately go to Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center, go to Macys and SAKS for shopping, not all that impressed with bloomingdales.

See a broadway show for sure!! If I think of anything else will post here!!

first time in nyc!

Welcome to the forum!

This is a collection of trip reports written by couples. (It gets more organized on the second page.) Most were first timers. Steal an itinerary!

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k472956-鈥?/a> Collection_of_trip_reports_from_couples_great_ideas-

Also, you should start checking out maps and books. Frommer%26#39;s website has great 1-to-4-day sample itineraries:

www.frommers.com

Also, let us know what your budget and food and atmo tastes are. The more specific, the better.

I%26#39;d definitely recommend eating at the River Cafe in Brooklyn and also Metrazur in Grand Central station. There is a free tour on Wednesdays and Fridays of the station and it was great. Have your shoe %26#39;shined%26#39; for $3 in GCS - fantastic experience. TOTR is great - we were there in November at about 11am, we%26#39;ve already booked to go back to NY this November and we%26#39;ll go to TOTR at 4%26#39;ish in the afternoon to see there difference.

I said that I wouldn%26#39;t go on the horse-ride around Central Park - but we did ... and it was a lovely memory. Just be careful of the carriage that you choose ... we opted for an open one that was set fairly high up and we made sure that they guy knew that there was $50 at the end of the ride, so he just took his time and talked all about the park (there were many carriages racing by us, so we were delighted).

We stayed in GV and would recommend that too - great shops, restaurants, subway links etc.

I can%26#39;t wait to get back later this year .. a BIG thank you to NYers.

Thanks for responding guys. Here are some more questions...

What should I expect at the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller?

Our spending budget is about 5-7k for two people, which I think should be plenty enough to have a good time. With food, we would like to try the local flavor or whatever that%26#39;s nearby or not to hard to get to - pizza, italian, american, anything good! On our formal night (which should be dinner before the Broadway show/Saturday night?), I don%26#39;t want to pay more than $300 for a dinner for four (is that silly what I just said?). I mean, we%26#39;re not wealthy or that sort. We%26#39;re just saving up money and excitement and we like to indulge when we travel. :) As far as atmosphere, we%26#39;re looking for somewhere upbeat, somewhere hip, somewhere without trouble. We%26#39;re two early 20%26#39;s fresh out of college students looking for a good time as we visit from California!

River Cafe and Metrazur is now in my notebook! Thanks for the advice on the horse-and-carriage ride also! By the way, what%26#39;s GV?

I%26#39;m getting more and more excited as I read your repsonses! Keep %26#39;em coming! :)

Hi

GV is Greenwich Village (which inhabites the space between the downtown financial district and midtown); its a great place to stay especially if you book an apartment as opposed to a hotel. Pop into a deli in the morning on your way to the subway .. come back late afternoon for a snooze and wake to your partner mixing a gin and tonic in your kitchen .. ahhhhh .. before heading out for dinner.

We had lunch at Metrazur (for 2) and didn%26#39;t splurge .. our bill came to $150 (including tip); the River Cafe was for lunch again (for 2) and that came to $225 including some cocktails. Evening meals were taken at The Strip House ... not sure of the cost and another evening was spent at Antica Venezia (in the West Village), right beside the river. It was very easy to get there from our apartment, might mean a taxi ride from elsewhere, but walking from the apartment to the restaurant was lovely .. all tree lined streets and windows with christmas lights etc. If you can, get to Antica Venezia - the wonderful aroma hits you at the front door and you are treated like a king for the entire evening .. complimentary brandys after your meal and stuff like that - unlike the others - this was reasonably cheap. Use menupages.com and you%26#39;ll find all the restaurants mentioned.

Hi

I recommend the top of Empire State ( at the beginning of the night) Madame Tussaud%26#39;s, a broadway show, a visit to the Natural History Museum, shopping in Macy%26#39;s, Rockfeller center and so on, and so on...

there%26#39;s so many espectacular thins you can do at N.Y

';What should I expect at the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller?';

You should expect fabulous views of the greatest city in the world! Try to go at dusk, so you can see Central Park during daylight, and then watch the city light up. Also, the waiting area to the observatory is very educational about the Rockefeller familiy, the Depression, Radio City Music Hall, Art Deco, and NYC in the 1930s. Lots of artifacts from that era.

Metrazur is very nice. Def has the ';wow factor';. You cna make rezzies on OpenTable

www.opentable.com

If you are an animal person, you might not be thrilled with the horse-and-carriage ride. Some find the horses sad looking. You really have to be into the idea, and negotiate the scope of the ride with the driver.

Another thing: we talk very fast here, and we%26#39;re not so big on idle conversation with strangers, esp when we%26#39;re on the move, so please don%26#39;t think we%26#39;re being rude. :o) It%26#39;s just a speech pattern. Don%26#39;t take it personally!

NYCers are very helpful and we love giving directions and inside info about our city to tourists, but many from the West Coast interpret our compact speech-patterns as rude or too abrupt, whereas all we%26#39;re tyring to do is be very efficient and not waste your time. On the other hand, when we%26#39;re relaxing and hanging out at bars, clubs, or on a long bus ride, etc, you can%26#39;t shut us up!

Here%26#39;s my usual spiel for first timers:

NYC on a budget: Luckily, NYC has many ';champagne'; attractions at ';beer'; prices that you%26#39;ll all enjoy!

For example, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History are pay-what-you-wish at all times. Decide what you want to pay ahead of time. Hand over the cash and tell the cashier how many people (e.g. hand over a $20 and say ';Three, please.'; or what have you.) I highly recommend seeing at least one of these and taking a ';highlights'; tour.

If you shop at Bloomingdales or Macy%26#39;s, show your drivers license or passport. at the customer service office first for the out-of-towners 11% discount card.

If you%26#39;d like an overview of Manhattan, take the Marvelous Manhattan tour or the Party Shuttle. Both get rave reviews here.

http://kingofnyc.com/

http://nypartyshuttle.com/

Here%26#39;s a recent thread on ';must see top ten'; things in NYC:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k931120-鈥?/a> What_are_everyones_must_see_s_and_must_do_s_whilst_in_NYC

Maps are essential for planning your itinerary. Many recommend the Lonely Planet, Frommers, Streetwise and the DK Eye Witness Guides. Another good map book is New York Block By Block, and the many laminated foldable maps you can find in bookstores. Your hotel will have basic maps and promotional material in lobby.

Personally, my fave is the Not for Tourist guide. It %26#39;s a small, chic ';little black book'; that has a very low goofy-tourist quotient. Very thorough, and all maps are printable from the website, once you register for free:

www.notfortourists.com/newyork.aspx

(I love my L.A. edition!)

To sightsee, group things by location/neighborhood. The majority of attractions are in Manhattan and easily accessible by subway.

For example, in lower Manhattan you can do these within a 1 mile radius: Staten Island Ferry, Battery Park, Fraunces Tavern, the ';bull'; statue, Wall Street, Trinity Church, Subtreasurey Building, Museum of Finance, Ground Zero, Century 21, St. Paul%26#39;s Chapel, Fulton Street, South Street Seaport, Brooklyn Bridge and City Hall.

The subway is the best way to get around, runs 24-7-365 and is very safe and economical. Because of shows like CSI, Law and Order and NYPD Blue, we still get a bad rap, but NYC is the safest large city in the US. Of course, one should use common sense and always keep a good handle on personal belongings, money, cameras, etc.

Don%26#39;t keep your wallet in your back pants pocket, don%26#39;t drape your purse over the back of a chair at a restaurant, etc. The most common crimes are pickpoketing and ';distraction crimes'; - where a staged commotion takes your attention away from your belongings or purchases.

Sightseeing by subway:

www.mta.info/metrocard/tourism/index.html

How to ride:

http://www.mta.info/nyct/subway/howto_sub.htm

Re dining before a show. Most restaurants in the Theatre District have very worthwhile prix fixe pre-theatre dinners. Make a rezzie for around 5:30-6:30, and they will get you seated, fed, up and out by curtain time!! That is part of their bread-and-butter, so they%26#39;re all pros at it. (Right now, my current faves are Cafe Un Deux Trios and Dervish, but there is a wide variety.)

Here are some great previous posts with cheap ethnic food recommendations.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k363890-鈥?/a> -Cheap_Food-New_York_City_New_York.html

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k276071-鈥?/a> New_York_City_New_York.html

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k274223-鈥?/a> New_York_City_New_York.html

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k793663-鈥?/a> Unusal_Foods-

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k830525-鈥?/a> List_of_Favorite_Things_to_Do_and_Where_to_Eat-

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k835997-鈥?/a> Ethnic_restaurant-

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k902768-鈥?/a> Your_favourite_cheap_eats_in_NY-New_York_City_New_York.html

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k676653-鈥?/a> Inexpensive_Places_to_Eat-

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k808386-鈥?/a> Cheap_unique_nyc_eateries_near_my_sightseeing_itinerary-

Here are two great websites for finding cheap or free entertainment and dining in NYC:

www.cheapotravel.com/ny

www.newyorkled.com

Two previous threads on pizza:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k777035-鈥?/a> Looking_for_best_pizza_Lombardi_s_or_Ray_s_and_Papaya_King

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k762570-鈥?/a> Perfect_Pizza_Seekers-

As I like saying, the worst slice of pizza in NYC is usually better than the best slices anywhere else, so it is hard to go wrong!

testing testing

I%26#39;m leaning towards getting an apartment around the GV area now that I%26#39;ve discovered we%26#39;ll have company. Thank you guys for all the suggestions. Special thanks to queensboulevard for all the links. I%26#39;ll update you all as I progressively plan.