I am going to NYC
7For the first time....
Got two round trip from LA for $298 total with tax on Virgin. (quick maybe still available)
I have never visited NYC. I will be with my Fiance. Our budget it low.
Advice on where to stay, what to do?
I am a super 'foodie' if you will (not a fan of the term). She likes to shop/sight see. Walking is not an issue. Neither of us club or party. Love me a good beer bar.
Feb 3-9 arriving at night on the 3rd leaving bright and early the 9th.
I JUST REALIZED--AFTER BOOKING--that this is Superbowl weekend. Where shall we watch the game?
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i have no advice. but holy shitballs, that is an awesome price!
@carl669 Right! Had to book it. Always wanted to fly Virgin and the fiance has been eager to visit NYC for yearsss.
Holy crap that's a great price.
@Thumperchick See you there?!
@connorbush ahh, no. Thanks though!
http://thelemonicekingofcorona.com (visit the world's fair site nearby while you're there)
http://www.difara.com (get there early and plan on a big line unless God is with you)
also if you're brave ride the 7 train through queens and get off at every stop to sample a different ethnicity's dishes, most of them GRAND
EDIT: also walk Central Park just for fun, it's cheap and pretty
@slydon Wow sounds so fun good train idea. Also, pizza--check! Lemon ice for after :-)
@connorbush you will also find a few museums by the park, if they fit your budget. And if you like movies see what matinees will be at Film Forum and/or IFC.
Fingers crossed that the weather will keep warm as it has been (except it has been getting colder and colder by the day). Feb is usually bitter cold. Just a warning!
If you are into skiing bring those clothes. or be ready to get some very good cold weather clothes. NYC is a fantastic walking city but with the long windy streets ya just have to be really covered.
I haven't lived/visited in a while but Time Out New York was a pretty decent weekly free newspaper then & you can get it online now. They will have shopping special and maybe food crawls etc. I am sure there will be something in there for best beer bars and best place to watch the Super Bowl.
@fjp999 Time Out New York! I will check it out, thanks!!!
you have to try the REAL NEW YORK pizza.
time square is one of those places you visit once for the formality and never come back to.
if you have time swing by coney island
and skip the empire state building . Go to the top of Rockefeller Center . The tickets cost the same and you will spend much less time waiting in lines
@communist Rockefeller Center; doing it!
@connorbush and fold the giant slice before you eat to avoid looking more like a tourist ;)
@thismyusername you got it!!!
Watch out for the rats stealing your pizza.
@communist There is some ticket you can buy that pays for a bunch of attractions. Of course, I don't know what it is called. Yes, 30 Rock is WAY better than the empire state building!
I loved the Met when I went. I will warn you though there are crazies on the subway though on the same trip we got lost on the subway and found our guardian angle on the Subway too. (I was a junior in high school and was there with a group from school. My sophomore and Senior friend would take off on our own during free time, we even walked from Rockefeller Center to the Met [worth it]) Also if you want a Broadway show It used to be at least that you could get day of tickets at a few places that were pretty cheap. Lines formed early
Live in New England..last time I went to NYC, we actually stayed in New Jersey. Cheaper,safer, quieter. We stayed in jersey city on the path (nj subway). I think we stayed at the Hyatt, but there are a few on the path. It was sweet. We went to a class at cake boss in Lackawanna while we there, saw Matilda, took an awesome boat ride from the pier in the financial district. The NYC passes are worth it of you are going for a few days.
Do you want to go to a free taping of one of the late night TV shows? http://www.nbc.com/tickets-and-nbc-studio-tour#tsjf
@OldCatLady cool resource! I'll check with the boss.
Manhattan is a great place to just walk around in & take in the sights. I don't have any particular attractions I love, but the city itself is a treat. Don't know where the good beer bars are, as someone who has lived and still works in the city locals just tend to go to nearby bars - of which there are tons, each with their own flair. My friends & I generally will head down to 1st and McDougal and wander about, in that area there is a bar every 10 feet. If you want an experience, some bars that I have been to with particularly interesting ambiance were please don't tell & the apotheke. I have also heard great things about ninja NY. And if you happen to head to the Manhattan BarCade during office hours ping me, I work nearby and am always happy to join someone for a drink.
@MrGlass woah!! Really cool bars. Thanks for the insider knowledge. I will most definitely keep those in mind and ping you if we end up at barcade.
@MrGlass I think you mean Macdougal and W Houston, or Bleecker.
@lazm Actually, just checked, I was thinking of 3rd and Macdougal.
@MrGlass đź‘Ťlove the area.
@lazm Theres a place I was going to recommend there, can't remember the name. Very low key, in a basement, cramped and underlit. Good bottled beer selection. Any idea?
@MrGlass Basement on Macdougal and 3rd.... Maybe the Jazz bar below/next to La Lanterna on MacDougal? If so, good choice. Little bit small, but great atmosphere.
Katz's Deli for the Pastrami Sandwich. It isn't expensive at all considering the size of the sandwich and the quality of the meat. But come hungry because they frown on sharing. You kind of both have to buy something.
@JonCBK
Yeah Katz's!
It's a shame you didn't book just a bit earlier! You will be catching the veeeery tail end of Restaurant Week. I suggest you live it up on the 4th and 5th. Three-course meals, lunch for $25 and dinner for $38. Budget for cheap eats for the rest of the trip and hit both on both days, because this shit is cash. You get to experience hella high-end dining and fancy-ass restaurants without breaking the bank. $25 and $38 are pricy for one person but you'd be spending $50-100 if you went there normally, for some places. Do your research and choose the fanciest places. Lots of mediocre restaurants participate and it's not worth it, but there are some gems.
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/restaurants/restaurant-week
street meat at 53rd and 6th
get mixed over rice with white sauce. the hot sauce is like somebody sprayed mace into a cup, so beware.
@Lotsofgoats They opened a storefront on 2nd at 14th! Have to pay tax there, but they take credit cards and have tables!
For cheap, last minute theater tickets, try here: http://www.nytix.com/Broadway/DiscountBroadwayTickets/2for1-tickets.html - or here - https://www.tdf.org/nyc/8/Locations-Hours.
For even more options, try this as a search string: NYC place for twofer discount theater tickets
@magic_cave I figured there was a good online alternative to standing in line in Times square
NYC has far more than you can do in, like, 50 years. I hope you have decent weather (once nearly froze to near-motionless at a showing of Seven Samurai at an East Village theater w no heat in sub-zero weather. But that was pre-vhs.)
You say you are a foodie. I hope that means "loves food" rather than "food snob." If the latter then try any Italian place on Mulberry St. between Canal St.and Houston St, esp closer to Canal St. Esp Luna? (This is Little Italy.)
A particular fav of mine, w home Italian cooking and an ambiance to be experienced at least once, is:
Cafe Puglia
189 Hester St
New York, NY 10013
This is just off Mulberry Street.
Also go to the real espresso places on or just off of Mulberry St, these are (or used to be) congregated south of Houston St.
Btw, Houston St in NY is not pronounced like the city in Texas. It's pronounced "howston."
@f00l love all food. Mostly cheap well made genuine non pretentious food
A restaurant for your inner 10-year-old:
Serendipity 3
225 E 60th St
New York, NY 10022
The food is so completely what a 10 year old would want, that you will be awed. It's beyond over the top, and excellent. Go hungry, and don't leave or stop eating until you can no longer walk. Everyone should get to go there once.
Dont worry, the place is filled with adults. This isnt Chuck E Cheese. The is what your local world-famous non-TV chef (ie famous for cooking not for being on TV) would make for you if you wanted to eat like the happiest 10 year old in the world. Impossible to explain this place, you just have to try it.
Not horribly expensive.
@f00l Serendipity 3 is good, but crowded. Though you can also just go there for dessert. I'd get a Sundae of some sort over their world famous frozen hot chocolate, but everything is kind of amazing and a bit magical.
And, if you want, you can spend a few bucks and take the tram across to Roosevelt Island as the stop is right by Serendipity 3. Take a ride at night and you can look back at Manhattan from an interesting angle. But then basically you take the ride right back. Not sure if there is anything to do at night on Roosevelt Island at night. During the day there are parks to walk through, but it will be cold in winter, so not much fun.
@connorbush I'm late to the party, but this is what I dropped in to add. I actually thought the frozen hot chocolate lived up to the reputation and the goat cheese nachos were fantastic.
Also, this may already be noted (I haven't made it through all of the comments), but I think MoMA is definitely worth the time. They have a complete Monet water lilies triptych. Gorgeous.
If you like Jackson Pollock, there's a current exhibit. And there's a Picasso sculpture exhibit through Feb 7th. I watched their video to see if Picasso sculpted anything other than human heads composed of male and female genitalia (yeah, I'm not so familiar with Picasso's sculptures) and I think I spied a goat. So... there's always that.
I would recommend spending some time in Central Park. Walk down on 5th Avenue from 59th to 42nd St(Sight seeing/Hignend shop).
Or you can do some shopping south of Houston and Boradway, or around the SOHO area.
For food... pretty good Italian food inside Eataly at the Flat Iron.
Korean food on 32nd St. Authentic NY pizza at Joe or Pizza Supreme... Or simply eat at a restaurant that's crowded.
For beer. Try the oldest Irish tavern in NYC, McSorley's Old Ale House.
It really pays to read up on NYC before you go. A book that is 40 years out of date but still relevant is the one by Kate Simon (of the Simon and Schuster family, and mom of Carly Simon.)
There must be recent excellent books, i just dont know what they are.
Any restaurant mentioned in a Woody Allen film is worth considering. Any restaurant where a Mafia shooting took place is worth considering (they like good food.)
Try to get a street map and a subway map and figure out how thd two if them work together before you go.
Daytime, subways in general (usually tho not always faster and much cheaper.) After 7 pm, taxis. You will take a lot of taxis. Uber is prob good in NYC.
Do not take fashion shoes. Plan on talking shoes you can do 10-20 miles a day in comfortably, because you might walk that much daily. Take some shoes you can use in snow, but you dont need backcountry boots. They plow and shovel quickly.
Practice working up to distance walking before you leave, because New Yorkers know how to walk and they go fast.
When you get there don't block the flow of foot traffic ever, on weekdays.
Dont make eye contact on the street. New Yorkers don't, unless they see someone they know. Both to respect privacy in a crowded city, and because making eye contact marks you as an out-of-towner, and therefore as someone who isn't streetwise and is possibly a mark. New Yorkers csn he brash and rude and foulmouthed, but also friendly and helpful...if you need help, then ask someone, pref in a nearby business, or someone busy doing something, or a food vendor. Then look them in the eye and ask directly.
Be cautious of deserted streets late at night if you dont know the neighborhood. Be cautious late at night leaving someplace in an empty neighborhood, go directly to the nearest big street and stay on big streets as you walk, or get a cab, or Uber.
Learn what the big streets are before you go. Some neighborhoods are never empty. The Village, East Village on 8th Street, Broadway north of Columbus Circle, the bars and restaurants of SoHo, the theater district.
Dont carry lots of cash or cc's when out at night. A few hundreds $ at most, or 1-2 cc's. Leave the rest in the hotel safe. Wherever you go, watch your purse or wallet - New York has pickpockets worthy of Dickens.
Dont wanna scare you, v unlikly anything likely bad will happen, Just be cautious. If you are robbed, dont look at the robber's face, look at the ground, give the wallet, watch, etc, no fuss, then go to police. Everyone in NYC knows the drill if it happens.
@f00l
I apologize if i gave the impression that NYC is particularly dangerous. It's not, at all, it's safer, in fact, that many other big US cities that are thought to be v safe. Mostly "dangerous" to your wallet in the sense that you will spend spend spend, even in the cheap.
But remember several things: NYC is the city in the US w the most skilled pickpockets, who might be able to get into your pocket, or purse (while on shoulder), without your noticing. So belt wallets or front pants pocket wallets, or wallet on sling under shirt, or sling purse in front of body, not on side, is good, esp in crowded area like standing in line or queueing.
Second, NYC is a city of people on foot, including you, which can make you vulnerable. And it never sleeps. And there are some deserted areas where locals will have reason to walk, even after 11pm, or between 2-5am, where muggers can wait. So...after, say, 11pm, just be someplace semi-alive, such as East Village, West Village, SoHo, Time Square, Broadway above Columbus, many other touristy or high nightlife areas and you're fine.
Re some after-hours club in the meat district or any other empty-streets area, skip it or let a local take you.
If you're walking in an area w people you're fine. Or you're leaving a party or bar on empty streets, remember you can call a taxi or uber to your loc, and either go to your next loc, or at least to an area w lots of people.
Dont go to neighborhoods you know nothing about after say 10pm without having people with you.
You're gonna have a blast.
The Brasserie is a 24 hour restaurant in the Seagram Building on the East Side. Relatively cheap, great onion soup, lots of good stuff on the menu, great place to eat, drink coffee, talk for hours. (The other Seagram Building restaurant is The Four Seasons.)
What would i have to do in a week?
I would skip Coney Island, because of winter only. The Metropolitan Museum (if in a hurry, go the Great Paintings and the Egyptian Temple, but it's worth hours). The other great museums: the Frick, Guggenheim, the Modern, lots of smaller newbie museums....World Trade Center memorial area, Central Park, SoHo on a Sat or Sunday, 57th Strret, 42nd Street, Cloisters, East Village, West Village (both for bars at night). Shop in SoHo $$$, the name stores $$$, try lower Lafayette near Houston and East Village and lower Broadway for cheaper. Washington Sq. Wall St (daytime weekday). Walk up 5th Ave from Washington Sq. as far as your feet can stand it. Grand Central. Bagels. Falafel. Spicy noodles. Certainly the theater. NY Mag, The New Yorker, and thr Sunday NYTimes are good resources.
If you have interests in jazz, opera, classical, rock, hip-hop, whatever, check the Village Voice and the mags above, now's your chance. But dont go to any venue that not in the main part of well-traveled Manhattan after dark unless the venue is pretty famous or you have locals to get you there. You dont want to get lost and confused on the street in NYC at 2-3am in winter.
Most venues will be fine. If you cant find it easily on a map, skip it.
Expect to spend a lot. Things cost.
I would skip expensive name restaurants unless $ doesnt matter. The local no-name food is often world-class.
One things that is delightful depending on the weather: take the Staten Island ferry just before sunset. Round trip, dont get off unless u wanna get stuck. You will come back after dark, and the view, and the lights, and the wind, and the sense of space and possibility...
But this sux once it's too cold.
If you are up for an adventure in your accommodation then you may want to check out this place http://carltonarms.com/winter-offer/ - and please do check it out as again I have not travelled to NYC for some years BUT this was a great place to stay and get info from the staff (they seemed like real New Yorkers with local info).
The winter offer seems a great deal... the place may not have the largest rooms or the softest sheets but perfectly meh! I don't know what those tickets are worth but maybe $200 making the rooms $100/night for 7 nights all taxes includes. which was about the same prices we paid a couple decades ago. Guaranteed NOT the Ritz but not the YMCA either!
I have a hotel recommendation that I gave to a friend who travels to NY a couple of times a year. He has not stayed here, yet, but he told one of his co-workers about it and they said it was pretty nice, all things considered.
http://www.riversidetowerhotel.com/
If I ever make it to NYC I'm going to check a few of these places out:
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-speakeasy-bars-in-new-york-city-2014-7?op=1
Climb the Statue of Liberty. It'll change your perspective on every movie you see where people are hanging out of the windows in the crown.
I've never been to the freedom tower, but that would be a must see for me. Standing on the roof of the world trade center was one of my all time favorite things.
Eat a bagel. With whitefish. You're welcome.
Chinese food and pizza.
GET A HOT PRETZEL FROM A STREET VENDOR. Seriously.
Have fun!
@DaveInSoCal A hot pretzel? They're not coming to Philly! If you want a NY pretzel, go buy a box of frozen Superpretzels and burn them slightly. If you're going street vendor in NY, get a dirty water dog and try to find someone still selling roasted chestnuts, at least for the smell and the atmosphere.
@DaveInSoCal I will warn that the ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island is freaking COLD in January. Worth it, but cold. Layer up.
@cinoclav I LOVE the hot pretzels in NYC. The dirty water dogs never did it for me, but those giant pretzels hanging for god knows how long.... MMMmmmmm.
Superpretzels? Really? A poor imitation. It's like asking for crab and getting krab.
@DaveInSoCal A bagel with white fish?!?! Blasphemy! A bagel should be had with cream cheese and lox.
@MrGlass Cream cheese and lox can be found anywhere in acceptable quality (although it's tough to find lox sliced as thinly as the master-craftsmen in NY can do it). A fresh and delicious whitefish or whitefish salad, however, is EXTREMELY difficult to find outside of NY. I've actually looked into having it shipped from NY to CA, but couldn't justify the price. Whenever I fly to JFK I go from the airport, to the bagel place (http://www.bagelplaza.com/), for bagels, twists, bialys, and 2 lbs of chunky whitefish salad.
tl;dr Lox and cream cheese are for amateurs. Whitefish salad is the real deal.
@DaveInSoCal That all implies that you can get good bagels outside the NY area, something I have found to be impossible.
@MrGlass That is correct. There are no good bagels I've found outside of the NY area.
@DaveInSoCal Yup, just like Superpretzels...
as opposed to real Philly soft pretzels
@DaveInSoCal Awww, street pretzels...what memories!
Oh, and lots of POIDH. Bonus points if you wear a Meh shirt.
Best beer bar - McSorley's in lower East Side. Oldest Bar in NYC. Real Irish joint, decent and simple food, but you go for the beer. 2 Choices: Light Irish Ale or Dark Irish Porter. 2 Mugs for cheap. Lot of history here and definitely worth the hike down to the Village.
Best Authentic Italian - Il Vagabondo - Upper East side - Authentic mafia-looking dudes running the place. Indoor Bocce Ball court.
Enjoy!
just saw @lazm mention of McSorley's above -- glad it has 2 votes here. It's pretty awesome
@Jdub thanks!!!
Go to a deli and eat bagels. Best in the world. If its a kosher deli, have 'em "schmear it"...cream cheese. Oh God, how a miss a decent bagel!
@radi0j0hn
Hiw I miss NY food! Best "drop in and try any kind of food" city in the world.
There are food traditions to skip there; soul food is great in Harlem, but forget real Southern food. And forget tex-mex, cal-mex, and foods of the SW US.
Good for any food tradition backed by a decent traditional population in the city. NY is famous for street food, pizza, Italian, Chinese, has great Korean, Japanese, Cuban, Indian, Caribbean, S American, Russian, kosher, Middle Eastern, anything from a "home-style European" tradition, tho i would skip French, that gets priced way up. And lots of various creative melting pot places, many cheap. And the best espresso outside Italy.
Try to get ethnic food in the neighborhood where the people settled in 100+ years ago, or more recently, depending on origin. Like Russian food on 1st Ave between Houston and 8th St if I remember correctly. Some Italian decendents of the original immigrants still live in Little Italy. Delis in midtown.
I dunno, if i were going, trying to narrow down to 1 week's worth of cheapie places to eat would make my head spin.
Go out to eat in China town. Pick a place with live fish in the tank that you can pick out. If there are many Asians eating there you are in the right place. Your fiancé will like that there is much shopping to be had in the area.
@Nyc_Tattoo we love Chinese!!! Great idea didn't even think of China town
Best Pizza - Patsy's Coal Oven Pizza - Harlem
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Got to Katz's deli on E Houston for Corned Beef and Pastrami.
Best Hot Dogs - Crif Dogs in the village. Get a Good Morning, a BLT, and a Spicy Redneck.
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@Nyc_Tattoo will do.
I lived about 45 minutes from the Port Authority Building and, as a kid, spent one summer going to the NY World's Fair as often as possible!
Oh, I can give you one more tip from my super limited experience. Depending on where you're going to/from and how many people are in your group - it can actually be cheaper to take a cab than train/subway/etc. Look up the fares for the major jumps ahead of time.
@Thumperchick
Daytime, cabs can be way slower than the subway, depending on route and traffic. Nighttime, cabs faster almost always. Both can be pleasant or unpleasant.
@f00l @thumperchick I recommend taking an uber in NYC if your not going via subway. Its cheaper and you don't need to hail a cab.
@MrGlass will do.
@connorbush So I didn't really want to bring up this topic but it's hit the interwebs once again... New York has a huge bed bug problem. If you haven't seen the story from this past weekend: http://www.viralthread.com/video-bed-bug-infestation-new-york-hotel-will-haunt-nightmares/
I'd definitely suggest checking the Bed Bug Registry and reviews on Yelp and Trip Advisor before booking your hotel. Hope your stay is bug free!
@cinoclav
If your budget is low, you might want to skip the Statue of Liberty (which has gotten expensive-my brother took his kids when he was here for Christmas $200). You can take the Staten Island Ferry round trip for comparable views.
The High Line is really great.
@naropa and make sure you don't pay for tickets, because the Staten Island Ferry is free.
When did they stop charging one way? Nice.
I got an email with this link today and though of you, @connorbush: http://www.eventbrite.com/rally/food-in-queens-close-to-the-7-train/
I live about 2.2 miles due east of the 7 train's last stop at Main Street Flushing in an area called Auburndale, near the Long Island Rail Road train station with that name. I generally avoid going into the city (called Manhattan by those who live outside of NYC and Long Island) though when I do get into the city I rarely regret it.
@baqui63 thanks!
Sad and good news.
Sad: I will not be going to NYC during these dates with these incredible fares.
Good: It is because my fiance attained new employment in her desired field doing her desired profession. Her job starts when we would have been in NYC.
The Virgin America fee to cancel is $150... I paid $148 for each ticket. I would just lose my tickets.
I applied the fares and was able to have the fees waived (so long as I upgraded to select seating) on one leg of my new trip. So now I am going to Vegas Feb 4-7 landing 4th around 7 pm leaving Sunday AM early.
@connorbush so rough man :( Congrats to the GF on the new job though!
@connorbush Dang that sucks. At least you get some Vegas out of it.
Congrats to the pre-missus on the job and to you on the engagement (she gets Best Wishes on that rather than congratulations, IIRC... or maybe that has changed... who can keep up with this crap?)
@connorbush Well, you can go to New York New York and PRETEND like your actually in NY.... yeah, sry dude.
Go see Penn & Teller. Best show in Vegas.
@connorbush oh no! Well maybe another time! It’s one of the few cities worth visiting.
You have to do broadway! We saw “some like it hot”, loved it. Not sure when it’s run ends though, I heard it was coming to a close. “Little Shop of Horrors” was in an off broadway theatre too which was good. Don’t but tickets online, go to TKTS. There’s one in Times Square with long lines, and there is another that the locals go to that I forget the location of, but has much shorter lines.
Get yourself a metro pass for the time you’re there. You’ll use it!
Saw above Chinatown mentioned, we liked it, especially the grocery stores there were fun to walk through, although a lot of Chinatown is very “Americanized”, I have heard from several people if you want more authentic you have to cross over to Flushing, they have a more authentic Chinatown.
We enjoyed walking the Highline in Chelsea. If you have kids, the Color Factory is a fun place to go. I didn’t think much of Central Park personally I’ll echo the above comments about Staten Island Ferry. Heading to Staten Island you want to board and go to the right side of the boat if you want to see the statue.
Lots of people trying to scam you. Don’t accept free peace beads or free anything. Nothing is free- especially in New York. It’s a scam.
Grand Central is worth a stop at to look around.
@OnionSoup Umm, you should know that this was a resurrected necropost from 2015/2016, and the spammer’s crap was buried in a reply up closer to the top. (Spammer go bye-bye.)
@werehatrack ah necrofoiled yet again.