New York, New York

[TheAuthority]

1 hour ago, villa4europe said:

It's shit but it's not so bad that you can't use it

I got on the wrong train once I think, skipped a train cos I wasn't sure maybe twice and the locals are really friendly (surprised me how cool and helpful new yorkers were) 

New Yorkers love telling people where to go!

[TheAuthority]

3 hours ago, mottaloo said:

I'm due over in Manhattan in late September with my good lady who's never been. I was there for a st Patrick day parade 15 yrs ago.

I'll be staying in midtown not far from central park (Wellington hotel...3.5 * but only bothered about using it for a base). Thing is I'm totally put off by the subway tube system although once mastered it's the best way to travel - i get that. However, i do appreciate traffic can crawl and i intend to walk loads but @TheAuthority....am i being daft by thinking a yellow cab from my hotel to the piers for east river ferry and other ferries (wall st area) is a bad idea time and expense wise ? I don't think I'll crack the tube by the time I'm due to leave (staying 5 days) and dread getting in the way of the locals at the barriers never mind boarding the wrong tube !

Thanks in advance !

It's not a terrible idea but it will depend on what time of day you're going to take the cab and if any other crazy shit has happened/is happening. If something is going on at the UN for example, forget it. That journey is going to take 2 hours.

I looked up your hotel and here's my advice. Walk out of your hotel and walk south on 7th Avenue (the same way the traffic is going.) On 50th street turn right and in half a block you'll see the 50th street train station for the 1 train (1 train is Red.) Get on the 1 train going 'Downtown'  and take it all the way to 'South Ferry.' Which funnily enough is where all of the ferries are! If you prefer you can get off one stop earlier at Rector street and that is a bit closer to World One. That whole area including Wall Street is a fairly small area and so you can walk around very easily.

Honestly getting a cab in midtown (where your hotel is) is burning money unnecessarily IMO. Buy the weekly subway pass for $32 and it's unlimited on subway, busses and ferries.

Here's a map of the stops

		50 Street / Broadway
		Times Square-42 Street / 7 Avenue-Broadway except
		34 Street-Penn Station / 7 Avenue
		28 Street / 7 Avenue
		23 Street / 7 Avenue
		18 Street / 7 Avenue
		14 Street / 7 Avenue
		Christopher Street-Sheridan Square / 7 Avenue South
		Houston Street / Varick Street
		Canal Street / Varick Street
		Franklin Street / Varick Street
		Chambers Street / West Broadway
		WTC Cortlandt
		Rector Street
			South Ferry

[Stevo985]

I had no real issue with the subway. I thought it was easy enough to navigate, probably worth looking up before you go though.

 

Uber is in New York too. Seemed pretty reasonably priced to me.

[mottaloo]

 

@TheAuthority..mate, you're a legend, thank you so much ! The map you've put in your reply is great too ! I just didn't want to hold up the locals and get lots of "yo ! Come aaaaan daaawg, hurry up !"when I'm at the barrier or ticket office. 

I've read a few other of your replies on this subject and found them very helpful. I'm there for 5 nights and so far, I've only booked tickets for a show at the new world theatre which i think ain't too far from the Wellington hotel; it looks like walking distance anyway. The missus wants to do the ferries and central park and i think I'll do top of the rock as opposed to ESB.

Thanks again mate, it's very much appreciated !

Edited 2 minutes ago by mottaloo

[sne]

The public toilets to people ratio is about 1 for every 6 million people from what I've found.

There are a few in Central Park and I'm sure there are more but be prepared to hold it in for hours on end. 

Restaurants obviously an option.

[villa4europe]

Starbucks, don’t even be shy about it, paying customer thing is a myth, especially when they’re busy

[mottaloo]

@TheAuthority....hi mate, hope you're well in these testing times ? Just a quick question to someone on the ground so to speak....what's the vibe in Manhattan at present in respect of easing the lockdown ? I'd rather ask someone like yourself than rely on Gov. Cuomo and Trump slag each other off and what they spout on edited tv news clips 

I'm due to land in late Sept for 5 days. I know you don't have a crystal ball and i wouldn't hold you to anything you say; it would be interesting to hear from a resident of NY on their feelings and worries.

Thanks again and stay safe mate 

Edited May 3, 2020 by mottaloo

[TheAuthority]

4 hours ago, mottaloo said:

@TheAuthority....hi mate, hope you're well in these testing times ? Just a quick question to someone on the ground so to speak....what's the vibe in Manhattan at present in respect of easing the lockdown ? I'd rather ask someone like yourself than rely on Gov. Cuomo and Trump slag each other off and what they spout on edited tv news clips 

I'm due to land in late Sept for 5 days. I know you don't have a crystal ball and i wouldn't hold you to anything you say; it would be interesting to hear from a resident of NY on their feelings and worries.

Thanks again and stay safe mate 

Hiya mate - honestly we got out of there on March 14th. All of my work was cancelled and fortunately my wife's family have a summer apartment in Santa Fe New Mexico. We been here ever since and it's much more remote and safe than NYC. I didn't want to be stuck there with a toddler. At the time it seemed extreme leaving but in hindsight it was the best thing to do. I had friends who left a week or two later and they were treated like refugees at the borders of other states. Madness!

I honestly, like everyone else, just don't know what to tell you. My wife's job at a Broadway show is definitely shut at this point until June 7th. But we can see that being extended. By September the shows and restaurants I imagine could be open but with what sort of distancing measures in place I just don't know. 

I believe the airlines are allowing changes free of charge so my advice (for what it's worth) would be wait to see what the situation is like in August if you can, and then make the decision. Some of the parks are opening this weekend for exercise I believe and the infection rate is declining which are all good signs - I trust Cuomo out of all of them to be honest - he's been on top of it since the start.

Keep in touch!

[mottaloo]

@TheAuthority - thanks for your reply dude and it's good to see you've taken a sensible option of moving away especially with your young child. I guess I was really just thinking out loud about my trip and seeing how helpful you were with my subway worries then i knew you'd reply.

My flight company is saying if you've booked to fly up til end of may then you can get a refund or vouchers for another time. Likewise, the new world stage/theatre on 50th st (i think) where I've booked tickets to see Jersey Boys have said you can claim back now for shows up to 2nd june. Obviously, they'll both review nearer the date (25th sept i fly out) so like you said, check again in August. It'll be just strange if i do go....it just won't be the Manhattan i remember from last time.....decisions, decisions....

Anyway, more importantly please stay safe and no doubt I'll be back in touch one day soon. 

Cheers

John. 

[Sid4ever]

So do you book tours in the UK before travelling or book them on arrival?

Going in September for 5 nights think the itinerary is fairly concise and planned based  on previous comments and unfortunately according to @Stevo985 we are staying in a hotel in Times Square.

[Stevo985]

10 hours ago, Sid4ever said:

So do you book tours in the UK before travelling or book them on arrival?

Going in September for 5 nights think the itinerary is fairly concise and planned based  on previous comments and unfortunately according to @Stevo985 we are staying in a hotel in Times Square.

I booked most of our tours in the UK before we went. Found it much easier to plan out. Viator was a good site.

The hotels in Times Square are nice to be fair. We had dinner in the... can't remember the name but it's the one with the rotating restaurant at the top. It was a very nice hotel.

It's more the walking around Times Square that isn't the greatest.

[villa4europe]

tours? what tours are you doing?

i didnt pre book anything, 9/11 museum was on the door, top of the rock i booked online via my phone while in the hotel

i found part of the fun of New York was just walking and going off on one, get an offline maps app like maps.me or something like that, put a point of interest in and go for it, i split Manhattan up in to areas and then did like day 1 lower east, day 2 lower west and kind of knew 2 or 3 things to see and somewhere to eat each day, sounds  a bit cliched to say it but the city is one big tourist attraction i didn't pack my day out with museums and stuff

and time square is ok, its got a weird gravitational pull to it where i didnt really want to be there yet ended up there 3 times, made the mistake of eating there in a big american chain restaurant, dont do that, i did do a hot dog from a halal cart there but it was instantly forgettable, it was a $2 photo to say i'd done it but the hot dog itself was nothing 

my last bit of advice would be for food...get in on the bodega culture, which might be harder in times square, but the best food in new york i found was from the corner shops and convenience stores that have delis, be it bagel or a hero or whatever, i didnt eat enough pizza but i definitely got in to the deli sandwiches, keep an eye out for chopped cheese! 

[Sid4ever]

58 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

tours? what tours are you doing?

i didnt pre book anything, 9/11 museum was on the door, top of the rock i booked online via my phone while in the hotel

i found part of the fun of New York was just walking and going off on one, get an offline maps app like maps.me or something like that, put a point of interest in and go for it, i split Manhattan up in to areas and then did like day 1 lower east, day 2 lower west and kind of knew 2 or 3 things to see and somewhere to eat each day, sounds  a bit cliched to say it but the city is one big tourist attraction i didn't pack my day out with museums and stuff

and time square is ok, its got a weird gravitational pull to it where i didnt really want to be there yet ended up there 3 times, made the mistake of eating there in a big american chain restaurant, dont do that, i did do a hot dog from a halal cart there but it was instantly forgettable, it was a $2 photo to say i'd done it but the hot dog itself was nothing 

my last bit of advice would be for food...get in on the bodega culture, which might be harder in times square, but the best food in new york i found was from the corner shops and convenience stores that have delis, be it bagel or a hero or whatever, i didnt eat enough pizza but i definitely got in to the deli sandwiches, keep an eye out for chopped cheese! 

So far the plan includes Empire State Building, Rockefeller, One World, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty and a carriage ride in Central Park for our wedding anniversary (the wife's idea).

It's first time so unsure how much to plan as I am guessing we will just be in awe of the place.

[villa4europe]

The carriage ride for Central Park would be interesting, we went to strawberry fields first as it was the anniversary of lennons death (that was an experience) saw the horses and said let's do it, followed them towards the middle only to be told you can't get on them there we had to walk to the edge of the park, so we did... Only to find a monstrous queue so we said **** that but then it was also like we'd spent 2 hours walking somewhere then somewhere else and then we couldn't be bothered to do it again so I missed a lot of central park 

I'd definitely have a look to see if you can pre book at queue jump that somehow 

The visits up the buildings I did while there via phone Internet 

I'd also recommend doing brooklyn heights as its more relaxed and has the townhouses and stoops and then from there you can do Dumbo, sit the other side of the river and see the city, and walk over the bridge 

[Risso]

On 19/07/2022 at 10:02, Sid4ever said:

So far the plan includes Empire State Building, Rockefeller, One World, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty and a carriage ride in Central Park for our wedding anniversary (the wife's idea).

It's first time so unsure how much to plan as I am guessing we will just be in awe of the place.

You *can* do all of those things without pre-booking, but if you're planning to go at a busy time I'd think about pre-booking the Empire State and Rockefeller as they can get busy. Definitely book the Statue of Liberty, as that's the thing on your list that will be busiest. Every time we've been there have been loads of carriages free around Central Park, and you get permanently bothered by the touts trying to get you to take one.

 

Other things to consider:

Get the ferry to Staten Island and back. It's free, and goes right past the Statue of Liberty, and you get a great view of the south of Manhattan.

Similarly, get one of the East River ferries. They criss cross backwards and forwards from Down Town (Wall Street area) to and from Brooklyn and Manhattan. It's only a couple of dollars but you get some brilliant views of the ESB and the Chrysler Building.

Be careful in Times Square, it's a) a shithole and b) full of pickpockets and grifters trying to rip you off. Most people want to see it but it's really horrible.

Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and back

In fact just walk, and keep looking up. You'll have a brilliant time, it's an amazing city.

[Stevo985]

Same advice I gave further up thread. If you're doing empire state, go early in the morning. We did by coincidence more than anything because we did it on the day of our flight home. But the queues that had built up by late morning when we finished were ridiculous.

 

Oh and don't do a carriage ride. They're cruel as ****

[Risso]

Central Park isn't up to much anyway to be honest. OK it's just about the only decent sized green space in Manhattan, but there's not much there and the zoo is rubbish.

[mottaloo]

Gonna finally...FINALLY book my manhattan trip for sep 2023 (as my honeymoon) but all of a sudden I've developed amnesia as to best sites to book a hotel - apart from booking.com, Expedia, secretescapes etc....are they for lazy buggers and rip folk off ? Better to book direct with the hotel ?

Also, want to book a show.....2 years ago I booked jersey boys via Newyork.co.uk just before covid struck - said they'd keep my ref and wait for me but now say the credit expired on July 1st this year (I might've missed the small print) so they're a no no.

Again, better to book direct with the theatre ya reckon ? 

I have £900 aer lingus credit voucher to use, so I will be sorted for flights.

All thoughts most welcome 

[il_serpente]

Depending on how long you're going to be there, if you want some space and want to save on meals look into AirBnB or VRBO.   We did this years ago with the family.   We had a suite with a small kitchen.  Bought continental breakfast staples at the grocery and even cooked dinner in one night.   Hotel rooms in NYC are tiny and expensive.   Our place wasn't cheaper than the cheapest hotel rooms, but better than most decent hotels and much less cramped.

I'd personally avoid the tourist trap of Times Square hotels.   My last couple of trips I've stayed in hotels in the mid-50's just south of Central Park.   Walk to the park, MOMA, Rockefeller center, Broadway, Times Square.  Easy access to subways heading to Guggenheim, the Met,  Museum of Natural History and midtown and points south.

If you like to walk, check out the High Line-   an old elevated rail track turned into a park/walkway along the West Side.

Edited August 12, 2022 by il_serpente
clarification

[FLVillan]

On 19/02/2020 at 16:45, sne said:

The public toilets to people ratio is about 1 for every 6 million people from what I've found.

 

On a good day!  I lived in Manhattan before the coffee shops and restaurants relaxed their rules on who could use their restrooms.  The only public facilities between Central Park and Bryant Park/Grand Central are..... nowhere....