Anyone Ever Visit New York City?

[Scorponok]

Just wonderin'...

My 2-3 friends and I are sort of trying to plan a vacation there to see all the sights.

What are your experiences visiting there, how much should I expect to spend, and do you guys know of any good rates on accommadations, etc.?

Thanks CPer, I love you guys.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

NYC is awesome. I only really spent a day there when the Oilers were training before the Stanley Cup Finals but I liked it so much that I'm planning a summer vacation there next year.

I really only had time to hit some of the main sites - Times Square, Empire State Building, MSG. If you're going during the baseball season definitely take in a Yankee game since there's only two seasons left in that stadium.

[Cheese]

Yep SCH is bang on...a fun town...albeit expensive if doing the touristy things.
The GM of the CPHLs Leafs nyrcrisfer lives there...go to the CPHL site GM section and drop him a PM..or email ....Im sure hell fill ya in on all the hot spots.

[JiriHrdina]

Old thread of interest: http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...light=New+York

[OILFAN #81]

My aunt/uncle and cousins live there. I've been there 2 or 3 times and am going there again this upcoming March with friends. NYC is amazing. It is a pretty expensive place. (compared to other places i've visited)

Depending on how long you are going for, you'd want to check out the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and Empire State Building.

I suggest taking in some broadway shows(even if you may not be the biggest theatrical buff). These shows are simply amazing and definately a good time. Also depending on what time of year you go, I also suggest going to MSG for a Rangers game and Yankee Stadium for a baseball game.

Prices vary depend how many nights you stay for and where you stay. Lower Manhattan is more expensive then other parts of the city. How long are you going for?

[icarus]

I heart NY.

I guess if it is your first time you'll want to do all the touristy things but that can eat up time better spent just exploring. The West Village and the East Village are great for just wandering around, and also Central Park. Get out and check out some of the great bars and clubs (although you will have to surround yourselves with girls otherwise you'll only be able to get into pubs).

Everything about the city is exciting though, so you'll have a great time regardless.

Cheap accomodation? Um... I don't really know. There is a HI hostel on Amsterdam Ave towards the upper west side, but it is a little bit of a hike to everything.

[Antithesis]

I'd expect to spend $150/night and upward for a clean, private hotel room (my wife and I stayed in a Red Roof Inn. It cost that much, and it was not anything more than those things.

There is absolutely no way you could see "everything" in the city without being there for a very long time.

When is your vacation going to be? Summer - go to a Yankees game. Easter - see the Macy's Flower Show.

Museums
Theater (Spamalot, Phantom, etc)
Shopping
Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty
Times Square
Eating out at little Italian or Chinese or whatever places

All sorts of stuff to do, its endless. If you could give some more specific info on your interests and stuff, I'm sure the CP experts could give you some great hints and info! Have fun!

[Red Mile Style]

Yep, NYC is unlike any where else. You could do something different there everyday for your whole life if you wanted to.

Ridiculously expensive for everything, in Manhatten especially. So, whatever you're planning to spend, triple it just to be safe.

I'm a geek, so my favourite part of New York was UN headquarters and the Guggenheim. I have a buddy who lives there and he let me in on a little secret; the Met and the Museum of Natural History on West 81st St. do not have admission prices they are suggested. He paid 15 cents, and being the big-spender that I am, paid $1.

Give yourself plenty of extra time to just walk around midtown/times square and Central Park (this place was a mind-######. It's enormous and in the middle of bustling Manhatten, incredible).

Stay out of the Bronx (exception: Yankee Stadium), and if you are flying in/out from LaGuardia that should be the only reason why you are in Queens. Brooklyn can be scary in parts - but Coney Island/boardwalk are a nice escape from the city (plus a few times when it was raining in Manhatten, we took a subway to the beach and it was sunny). There is a free fairy to Staten Island a few blocks away from ground zero/NYSE, you can get a nice view of the Statue of Liberty but either than that, Staten Island is like the Edmonton of NYC .

For absolutely no reason whatsoever, do not go north of 100th Street after dark. My friend and I wanted to checkout the Apollo in Harlem... scariest thing I've ever done.

Monk's cafe on Seinfeld was cool to visit (although in real life it's called Joe's Diner), as was the soup nazi.

Broadway tickets are flippin' expensive, but there are a few places to get cheaper tix. I got a ticket to Rent for $20 (originally $70) because a tour-guide had too many for his group about 10 minutes before show-time. There is a place in time-square where you can get discounted tix.

Before you go, check out when t.v. shows are being filmed and what you have to do to get tix. I wanted to see SNL, but you have to apply for tix months before, Letterman is pretty easy to get into, John Stewart etc.

My favourite tourist attraction was the Empire State Building, it costs about $20 to go up to the top, but you get a view of everything. It was cool to go in the late afternoon/early evening because I got to see what everything looked like during the day, and at night.

The first couple of days I was there I spent in the subway. I showed up at Yankee stadium during the fifth inning! For the most part, people help you get to where you're going if you ask them - I found that New Yorkers weren't nearly as bad as the rap people give them. Don't be afraid to approach them. But, with the Subway comes... get ready for it... THE RATS!!!!

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!

shivers....

The first time I saw a rat (and it was the size of a skunk) I let out this loud girly shriek, and it was a pretty tell-tale sign I was a tourist. I eventually got used to it, but then on my last day there, one actually made it up onto the platform! I thought I was going to puke...

You gotta check out SOHO, NOHO, Grenwich Village, the East Village, West Village, Alphabet city... la vie boheme!

I go on forever on what there is to do in NYC. The place is amazing and you will have a great time!

[Sainters7]

DEFINITELY see a baseball game at Yankee Stadium! We were there back in August 2002 and caught a Friday night Yankees/A's game, when they were 1-2 in the AL. WHAT...AN...ATMOSPHERE! Takin the Subway through to the Bronx, so much fun. And I loved the crowd. One guy trying to get people to guess the attendence actually told me to "Get atta heere' ", and he was serious haha, he was actually mad at me. Awesome! At one part a few people in our section started doing the wave, so we joined in. Suddenly this guy in a Yankees jersey, with a really thick NY accent, turned around and said to us "That s*** is Shea!"(Shea Stadium, where the Mets play). In other words, cut that crap out, thats what Mets fans do. It was 2-0 Oakland in the bottom of the ninth, with runners on 2nd and 3rd for the Yankees, and Bernie Williams hit a beeeautiful shot to centrefield which tied the game. I didnt even know a crowd could get that loud for baseball. What a moment!

The view is fantastic too, you can see all the buildings in the backdrop. Overall we spent four days in New York, and 33 days touring the United States, and that was arguably my favourite moment of the entire trip. I highly recommend it.

We mostly did the touristy things too, like saw the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, Times Square(which was a five minute walk from our hotel), Yankee Stadium as I mentioned, Ground Zero(it was under a year since 9/11 at that point, so they were still doing construction on it. It was surreal)...my friends even took in a Regis and Kelly show haha. Awesome time down in NYC.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Red Mile Style

I'm a geek, so my favourite part of New York was UN headquarters and the Guggenheim. I have a buddy who lives there and he let me in on a little secret; the Met and the Museum of Natural History on West 81st St. do not have admission prices they are suggested. He paid 15 cents, and being the big-spender that I am, paid $1.

Everyone had told me about this 'secret' before I went, but when I got there they were pretty up front about it being just suggested. All the big museums in London are the same way.

[Nilson_26]

My suggestions:

If you are a hostel kind of person, there is the Big Apple Hostel. It was cheap and within walking distance to Times Square, MSG, the Broadway shows, 5th Ave, St Patrick's Cathedral, etc.

For tv shows, try Conan. When I went we had "tickets" (they don't guarantee a seat, they just give you a higher priority) but they do standby sameday as well, plus it is done taping early enough that you can still fit in a show or something after. (Also, bonus for me was that we got to meet John Kraskinski (Jim from "The Office") outside the studio after the taping!)

Go to a Ranger's game and sit in the cheap seats. I was there on Halloween so we went as "Flames fans dressed as Habs fans" and cheered our faces off for Montreal. Tons of fun and great fans from both teams up there.

Get off the subway by ground zero and do the walk from there to Battery Park. Waste an afternoon in Central Park. Go to FAO Schwartz and play the giant keyboard.

I did a TON of stuff there and I still feel like I need another month to see everything I missed.

[Devils'Advocate]

As a Devils fan, I've been to the Big Apple for a couple games....

Lemmee see.... when I was there last the Statue of Liberty was closed, but I believe they have since re-opened it. I went past the Chelsea hotel (I'm a big Leonard Cohen fan). Time Square of course..... went to NBC studios. And if there is anything you want to buy - ANYTHING - you can find it in NYC.

One thing you don't want to miss is GENUINE New York cheesecake.

We started on Wall Street, walked over to Ground Zero, and then up Broadway to Time Square. We didn't get half the stuff we wanted done between Broadway and Time Square and NOTHING past there. I want to go back to see all the things north of there (Yankees Stadium, Central Park). You need a week even to get a taste of what New York has to offer.

[White Snow Bear]

Things you must do/see in NYC

1. Broadway show

2. Grand Central - Just go in and see this place, it will make you faint.

3. MSG

4. Ellis Island

5. Ground Zero

6. Brooklyn Bridge

7. Times Square

8. Empire

9. Yankee Stadium

10. see what's going on @ jacob javitz center, or go to gugenheim museum.

[Hack&Lube]

I'm glad I did the WTC tour before it all happened.

[Flames in 07]

Best place on Earth.

As for what to do and where to stay it totally depends on what you want to spend. I always stay at Hotel41 (www.hotel41.com), right in Times Square, middle of everything.

Bring your walking shoes, you'll probably walk at least 5 k a day, I usually average about 8k per/d.

Central park is more amazing each time I see it,
shopping down 6th St and up 5St is cool if you like to shop,
You should probably do the bus tour, I forget their names, but the blue bus company is new, and not as good, the red one is a little more expensive but worth it ... take the tour to Brooklyn if you can. one of the scariest things I can ever remember is being on the top right side edge of a doubledecker going along the brooklyn bridge in the right lane (BTW, don't just look at the bridges, go on one to appreciate how big they are)

Go to the WTC site, they have a good memorial

Learn that the subway is your friend, you'll use it alot

Fulton Square and Piers are cool, just to the east of battary park

Union square is cool at night ... lots of NYU students there

Go to the ESPN zone, and into the TV room, find a recliner, and veg

Go to a football game at meadowlands (via bus from Grand Central Station)

Baseball games and Yankee stadium are cool

Eat at as many places you can ... all food is amazing, even diners that don't look like much have great food.

[Bingo]

Was just there on business ten days ago ... great time. Spent a week in NY State, and about 4 days in NYC and love it all though I was too busy to see a whole lot.

I'm with those that say don't over plan. Just walk around and take it in.

R Subway to Canal street and take in the knock off vendors, some pretty good deals in there if you are patient.

Walk from Canal up Broadway and you go right through SoHo ... worth the look. Get a coffee from Dean and Delucca's while you pass Prince Street.

Keep walking and a dozen blocks later you arrive in Union Square. Grab some roasted Almonds from a street vendor. Great stuff.

Check out the WTC site ... very moving. Very very moving.

Century 21 across the street is some of the best shopping I've seen in my life.

From Century 21 head east to the Brooklyn Bridge and cross the sucker on foot. Worth every second of it. Amazing view. When you get to the other side twist around under the bridge and have a Pizza and Grimaldi's. Very good pizza, and very NY experience. Loved it.

Vice Versa near Time Square is great for Italian food. Opal was a great club I checked out.

Wasn't a big fan of Smith and Lowenski (spelling?) the steak was brutal.

Hope that helps.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I'm with those that say don't over plan. Just walk around and take it in.

I'm going to second (third?) that motion. Manhattan is a great place to just walk around. The more "touristy" things, esp. the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building are just expensive and time-consuming. My favourite times in NY were just walking around Manhattan, and stopping in at the museums (MoMA and the Met are on the same street, and the Guggenheim is a small ways up from the Met.)

[Scorponok]

This is good stuff guys! Keep it up! Hotels are only $150 per night? I was guessing they would be well over $300 a night.

A little background: Me and my cousin, well we are both geeks at heart, so it sounds like the Museum of Natural History is right up our alley. My sister, well she likes to go shopping for clothes. I'm not a big clubbing person, so I'll probably not do that.

This will be the first time ever, for all three of us, that we'll be in New York City.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by Scorponok

This is good stuff guys! Keep it up! Hotels are only $150 per night? I was guessing they would be well over $300 a night.

A little background: Me and my cousin, well we are both geeks at heart, so it sounds like the Museum of Natural History is right up our alley. My sister, well she likes to go shopping for clothes. I'm not a big clubbing person, so I'll probably not do that.

This will be the first time ever, for all three of us, that we'll be in New York City.

The Museum of Natural History was pretty lame, I thought. A taxidermist's wet dream.

If you're going to be there for at least a few days, you should look into a New York Pass. It's like 110 dollars, but it includes admission to just about anything you'd want to go to. It probably saved me a good 60-70 dollars on admission fees to things alone. There's a couple of versions of this out there, and they each included different attractions--this one allows you to skip to the front of the line at the Empire State Bldg., which will save you about 2 hours most days. Shop around and see which one sounds best to you.
http://www.newyorkpass.com/?AID=9785993&PID=2038814

[Lurch]

I'm going in November, and so far I've got two things planned that might fit in (I've never been, so this is not really advice I guess!). Anyway, I'm going to a Giants game at the Meadowlands and a heavyweight title fight at MSG the night before (Klitchko). I'm definitely planning on checking out a lot of the ideas on here as well - great resource.