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Pedicabs in Central Park
Pedicabs in Central Park
"Then he came to New York; don't we all?" - Dorothy Parker
"Then he came to New York; don't we all?" - Dorothy Parker
SEEING THE BIG APPLE, especially on your first visit, is much easier if you make a list of a few places you most want to see and do a tentative day-by-day timetable. As you walk around the city, your schedule will undoubtedly change, but start out with a short MUST DO list.
To see more of New York City in a small period of time, it's much easier to plan your daily activities by neighborhood. For example, a visit to Battery Park/New York Harbor can easily be combined with a trip to Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty, Fraunces Tavern and then a walk up Broadway to Trinity Church, St. Paul's Chapel, One World Trade Center, City Hall, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Visting Times Square and the Broadway theater district can be followed with a walk across 42nd Street to the New York Public Library, Grand Central Terminal, the Chrysler Building, and the United Nations. Take a walk up Fifth Avenue by starting at Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral and continuing up Fifth with stops at Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Remember you're not going to be able to see everything. Native New Yorkers haven't seen all of NYC and never will; it's impossible. Browse the websites suggested in the WHAT TO DO GUIDES below and decide which places you would like to visit and which tours might be best for you. Always remember to check if places, such as museums, are open on the day you wish to visit.
GETTING AROUND
Wear comfortable walking shoes!
For subway and bus fares, purchase an OMNY card (available for your smart phone, credit card, or as a card) or buy the old-fashioned Metro Card (available at subway stations or online).
Citymapper app: a phone app which gives directions and gets you from one location to another.
Metropolitan Transportation Trip Planner: helps you travel by public transportation from place to place.
NYC Ferries: a fun way to see the city at the cost of a subway or bus ride. The ferries go to Brooklyn, Queens, Coney Island, the Rockaways and other locations. You can hop off and hop on at various stops. It's a great ride especially in the summertime!
WHAT TO DO GUIDES
Free tours by foot: (Breaks down things to do by neighborhood.)
Secret New York: free things to do in NYC
HOW TO BUY TICKETS. TO BROADWAY SHOWS:
TDF: The nonprofit organization, the Theater Development Fund, offers inexpensive tickets to Broadway shows. Not every show is available and you aren't allowed to chose your seats (sometimes you get orchestra seats; other times they may be in the balcony). However, if this is your first trip to New York City, you may want to treat yourself to orchestra seats and buy tickets at the boxoffice. Do not purchase tickets from anyone selling them on the street; almost always it's a scam.
TIX: Buy tickets on their app and a representative from the organization will meet you outside the theater with your tickets before the performance.
Broadway.com: Broadway plays, concerts, and sporting events
SeatGeek.com: tickets to sports, concerts, and other events
Playbill: buy Broadway tickets and also catch up on Broadway's latest news.
Get Your Guide: offers site seeing tickets to a variety of events.
CHECK OUT THESE TOURS:
The Circle Line boat ride
LGBT TOURS AND SITES:
A guide and easy-to-use-map to LGBT sites, landmarks, and history: www.nyclgbtsites.org
Highly recommended are the American Museum of Natural History (and its Hayden Planetarium Space Theater), Central Park, Central Park Zoo, and a ride on the carousel at Central Park or on Jane's Carousel at Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the South Street Seaport Museum. The Tenement Museum also has special tours and programs for children and young adults.
VIEWING THE NYC SKYLINE: Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Staten Island Ferry, Top of the Rock, the Edge, and the Summit all offer different views.
VISTING THE OTHER BOROUGHS: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island
SUGGESTIONS FOR A FIRST VISIT:
Take one of the Top Ten Hop On/Hop Off Bus Tours to get a quick introduction and orientation to the city and its most popular sites. (The next day you can return to and spend more time at the places you found most interesting.)
See a Broadway musical or play.
Visit Grand Central Terminal on East 42nd Street (walk outside onto East 42nd Street and also view the nearby Chrysler Building).
Walk around Central Park.
Go to Greenwich Village.
Visit Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Modern Art.
Take a Staten Island Ferry ride in the late afternoon just before sunset and see the night time Manhattan skyline on your return ride.
Visit the Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard Street on the Lower East Side.
Go to the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) for the best views of Manhattan.
Go to the Brooklyn Bridge Park for some free and fantastic views of Lower Manhattan's skyline.
SEE LOWER MANHATTAN:
Take the subway or bus to Battery Park and go to either the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island. (Ellis Island has more to see and is more interesting from an historical viewpoint.)
From Battery Park, walk up Broadway and along the way stop at Federal Hall, Wall Street, Trinity Church, Saint Paul's Chapel, the 9/11 Memorial Museum and One World Trade Center, the Woolworth Building, and City Hall.
From the east side of City Hall, view the Brooklyn Bridge and walk across to Brooklyn.
In the afternoon have lunch in Greenwich Village, walk around Washington Square Park.
In the evening go to a Broadway show!
A MUSEUM DAY:
Visit the American Museum of Natural History (at West 79th Street and Central Park West) in the morning.
Take the M79 crosstown bus at West 81st Street -- just outside the museum across town to East 79th Street and Fifth Avenue and go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 82nd Street & Fifth Avenue and spend the afternoon there. The Metropolitan Museum is right at Central Park, so take a walk in the park.
If time allows, you might wish to go to nearby museums such as The Museum of the City of New York or The Jewish Museum.
RESTAURANT SUGGESTIONS:
Note: New York City prices for almost everything are higher than what you pay at home. But, you don't need to spend a lot of money to get good food here. There are plenty of neighborhood restaurants and good food can be found in a coffee shop. Dining at an expensive restaurant is not necessary unless you wish to treat yourself or celebrate a special occasion. Delicious pizza is available all over the city and every New Yorker has his/her own favorite pizza place. Have a meal in Little Italy or Chinatown or try something new and daring at one of the city's many ethnic restaurants.
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