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Sight Seeing in New York City


lynn
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I know I have asked this before but can't find the thread. So, again if the kids and I take the train from CT to NYC, I am assuming it stops at Grand Central. Where should I go from there? Are there tour groups we can hook up with that will give a walking tour and get us back to the train station in time or is it easy enough to get around without looking like we are "tourist". Any advice would be great, we like to try great food, I've always wanted to go to Carnegie Deli. visit to Ellis Island, empire state building etc. Is it possible to do in a 9-5 day?

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Empire takes hours because the line is crazy. And Ellis Island is a boat from the tip of Manhattan. I haven't done that so I'm not sure total time but just be aware that it's going to take you some time to get from Midtown down to the Battery. You will probably be surprised at how little you can accomplish in one day in NYC. I think most of the fun is wandering around and popping in places but I get to go all the time.

 

If you like good food, I'd probably pick one or two attractions not too far from each other and then research places to eat nearby.

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I always take the Staten Island Ferry because it's free and I love the views. Plus, I just love being on the water (anywhere). I like going to Central Park and wandering around, spending time people-watching, but I've been there enough that I've done all the tourist things. I still like Battery Park and the financial district, and I love finding a good cafè for an afternoon glass of wine and more people-watching. Like any big city, the people themselves are an endless supply of entertainment. :D

 

With kids, I'd stick to the ferry & maybe Ground Zero area. By the time you add in lunch, that's a full day.

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Stay away from empire state building. I lived down there for a while and never bothered to go to the top. Well, my mom took the boys to the Christmas show and told them all about how they were going to the top of the empire state building. Only when we got there, SHE went off to look around and left me and DH in the line with the boys. Talk about bait and switch. It was a line that took hours and hours and hours and hours. We finally got up there, only we didn't care anymore. Never Again!

 

So don't do that.

 

Everything down there takes hours and costs a fortune. If I was taking kids I would go to the Museum of Natural History and that is IT. Sit under the whale, look a the dinosaur statues etc. When you are done, cross the street and walk around Central Park.

 

If it is me and adults I always pick the Met. Don't take young children to the Met. It is hell. I would take my almost 13 year old, but only lately and without his brother. And he would poop out after 2 hours or so.

 

Oh, and don't pay full price at the museums. Just hand them a 20 for all of you (or give each person a 5$ bill to get in) and don't think twice. Only tourists pay full price. The full price is a suggestion, not the entrance fee.

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We have been to NYC probably 1000 times but we still play tourist.

 

Grand central is really nice to wander around.

 

Times Square is fun (my kids love it, even after 500 visits)

 

Museum of natural history is excellent

 

Metropolitan museum of art is really nice too ( though the hard marble floors kill my back)

 

NYC is super easy to navigate. Bus drivers are super helpful also.

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I definitely second the Staten Island Ferry. Free and the wait is only 15-30 minutes, tops. (it's a commuter service so it runs regularly). You go right past the Statue of Liberty and get an awesome view of Lower Manhattan. Sometimes you have to wait for the next boat at the SI terminal, sometimes they are slow enough that you can run around and get back on the one you just exited.

 

Ground Zero could be neat but check to see if the memorial needs reservations. It's free, but when it first opened you needed to reserve a spot. South Street Seaport is cool, too. And you'd get to wander around Old Manhattan. Not too much of what is really old is left but you still get the feel of the twisty, cramped streets.

 

Downtown is much less touristy than some other spots but it's one of our favorites for wandering around.

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Our visits have always included the Met. The Egypt exhibit is amazing for starters. It is a suggested donation like the Museum of Natural History. You can pay any amount. There is a playground in Central Park not too far from the museum.

 

We ride the Staten Island Ferry too. If you want to go to the Statue of Liberty, and not wait in line to get on the ferry and wait again in line once you get to the statue, you need to be in line first thing in the morning.

 

I suggest reading a tour guide and looking at a map and checking on line. You could make a day of going to the Met for a couple of hours, lunch, the park and the Central Park Zoo.

 

Oh wait you have teens. That ups the walking time. Are you comfortable with the subway?

 

Think about one attraction in the morning, lunch at the Deli and another in the afternoon.

 

Whatever you get done will be worth the day. Have a great time.

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The Natural History and Met museums are more uptown. You can do one of these, then hit Central Park, and then a restaurant.

 

In Midtown, for a nice view, go to the Top of the Rock instead of the Empire State Building. Times Square is our favorite place to wander around. The Discovery Center (in Times Square) has a (somewhat pricey) Harry Potter exhibit going on now (until April) that looks great. If 10 of you are going, you can get a good group rate. The Carnegie Deli is right in this area, too.

 

If you want to be downtown, the South Street Seaport, Ground Zero, Chinatown, and the Battery with ferry ride will make a nice full day.

 

Walking tours are ok. I think you'd be better off doing your own thing. Just make a plan.

 

Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are closed indefinitely because of the storm in October.

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I know I have asked this before but can't find the thread. So, again if the kids and I take the train from CT to NYC, I am assuming it stops at Grand Central. Where should I go from there? Are there tour groups we can hook up with that will give a walking tour and get us back to the train station in time or is it easy enough to get around without looking like we are "tourist". Any advice would be great, we like to try great food, I've always wanted to go to Carnegie Deli. visit to Ellis Island, empire state building etc. Is it possible to do in a 9-5 day?

 

About the bold--it depends on what train you take. If you take the Metro-North, it stops at Grand Central. If you take Amtrak, it stops at Penn Station.

 

I spent a week in NYC two years ago and didn't see everything I wanted to see.

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There is subway access from Grand Central. There are also phone apps with "walking" tours you can do. We had one that listed "famous" bakeries so we hit up a few of them. Also the nice thing about the CT trains is that they usually have extended service and it is cheaper to go after 10am and after 7pm. So if you didn't have a pressing reason to be back by 5 (like a 5 hour drive home) then I would take advantage of offpeak price train tickets.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yes, the CT train will go to Grand Central, not to Penn Station.

 

Is driving a possibility? If you have a specific destination in mind, it can be easier -- and cheaper -- to drive from CT than to take a train + busses/subway, especially if there is more than one person going. Plus waiting for the train, walking from train to bus/subway, waiting for the bus/subway and then doing the same thing going back can eat up your precious time.

 

Here is a link for parking garage coupons

 

http://nyc.bestparking.com

 

And, the Statue of Liberty can be reached from NJ as well as from NY.

 

ETA -- I re-read your post. A walking tour could be a lot of fun, imo. Without a tour, you'll walk past stuff and have no idea what you are seeing, unless you have a your nose buried in a guidebook or unless you are passing something super-famous. Now, other posters will probably kill me for this, but I often feel that going to a museum does not really give you a sense of what a city is like. JMHO. Disclosure: I am a native New Yorker and have/have had memberships in MoMA. MMA, AMNH, WCS (Bronx Zoo), and others that I have probably forgotten. But I think a walking tour would give you a better sense of NYC (depending of course on ages of your dc).

 

Googling will turn up lots of walking tours.

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If I only had one day in NYC, I'd just eat all day then roll back to the train. Lol.

 

I think the suggestions of a museum and central park are your best bet if you want to see some sights. You could spend all day in Times Square, too, though that depends on your style. Personally, I don't like feeling like I was dropped in the middle of 20 super bowl commercials all happening at the same time, but that's just me!

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We've done a NYC day-trip each year for the last 3 yrs. The first 2 yrs. we did lunch at The Stardust Diner, Toys 'R Us, the M&M Store etc. and then a Broadway show in the afternoon (Wicked and Mary Poppins). This year we decided to do something a little different and go to the Natural History Museum, Central Park Zoo and then hit the Rockefeller highlights since it was just before Christmas. We had from about 10am - 5pm and that was just barely enough time to do both plus eat a quick lunch and dinner. It really felt like we rushed through the museum.

 

Next time around I want to go back to St. Patrick's Cathedral (they were renovating it this time), Metropolitan Museum of Art, DS13 wants to go to Hard Rock and I'd LOVE to see The Lion King. :)

 

There's no way I would ever bother with the Empire State Building though. No. Way.

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You won't be able to do too much in one day. We did 4 days last time and were amazed at how little we got accomplished. Totally worth it though! My advice is try to plan several day trips and do your top one or two things each trip til you've seen most of what you want to see.

 

If you end up doing the SI ferry, the tenement museum down there is very interesting. I think Katz's deli is in that area too. We have taken our kids to the Met numerous times and they do okay...we don't make it more than a few hours though. Also love the Museum of Natural History.

 

If you're going in the next week or so, Kids Night on Broadway is in full swing. Buy one adult ticket, get a kid's ticket free. We've taken advantage of this deal numerous times.

 

http://www.kidsnightonbroadway.com/

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