First visit to New York.. need advice?

gonei04

I am going to New York for a few days in March.. We are flying to JFK and staying in midtown manhattan... I intend to do a fair bit of shopping while im there and I really want to make the most of it.

I would really appreciate any advice (customs, shopping, restaurants, hotels, attractions etc)

jameshayes

Hey!

If your going just for shopping there is loads of outlet stores on the outskirts of town, otherwise stick around times square for all the attractions, empire state is a must. Central park is really cool, the zoo is brilliant, if you go to the customer service desk in Macys and show them your passport (providing you have an irish passport) you'll get some cool promotions inc 10% off almost everything!

Eat in Diners, you'll get the same food as you would in a rest. for a cheaper price! (burgers are amazing over there)

Just enjoy it!

MadsL

empire state is a must.

If you like queuing...

Far less time wasted for the same view including a view across to the empire state building from the top of the Rockefeller Centre:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NYC_Top_of_the_Rock_Pano.jpg

Eats:

Carnegie Deli
Opposite Carnegie Hall, famous jewish deli, go hungry and get the full Reuben sandwich - 1lb of pastrami

Tom Dunne

MadsL wrote:

If you like queuing...

I was there last week and went up on a Saturday evening - no queues, great views at night.

cold_filter

I agree tom, this time of year wouldnt be hugely popular with tourists as it can get quite cold so they q's will be small if any, empire at night is magical, i pla on proposing to my gf when we go(havent decided when to take that plunge though!!)

cant wait to go to ny again have been twice and always apply for green card and as soon as i get it im outta here...

smiley25

i was there around this time last year.Its brill,go to the two outlets for shopping,major dicounts to be found! Woodbury Commons and jersey gardens. I went to the statue of liberty too and would defo recommend it,we went at night to see the city lit up. Also theres a revolving restaurant in the Marriott in Times Sq,lovely view from there too.If you want all the fake bags go to Canal St on the subway.We took all the tags off our clothes coming home and just left them on if they were presents,my boyfriends bag was checked by customs because they left a letter on the top saying it had been searched but didnt charge yus anything. ALso you have to wander around times sq around dusk,its just so busy!
Would also recommend central park,its lovely and you can go iceskating there!

cold_filter

also if you get a chance there is a bar(slightly irish) called PD' hurleys on west 72nd street, give it ago, greay food cheap great service and cheap

Pythia

With regard to Customs, if you're taking the Aer Lingus flight home that comes in very early in the morning, the customs guys aren't there at that hour. So generally no problem there.
I went over with a basically empty suitcase and wore clothes as I bought them. This saves on space.
If you want to see the Empire State, go early. I went there at 7.45am and there was no queue. At 9am it was pretty bad!

Check menupages.com for restaurants. I went to some lovely ones.

I found the discount stores mainly disappointing (Century 21, Lohmans, Filenes, DSW etc). Woodbury was very good although not as good as I imagined either.

ScouseMouse

TO get from jfk to anywhere in manhattan, get a yellow cab. The fare is set by the city at 45 dollars plus tolls and tips. They did this to stop cabbies ripping off tourists. However the journey back to the airport is not set so be careful.

Dont forget to visit century21 dept store by ground zero. It does some serious bargains and is fantastic.

For any camera gear, go to bhphoto (do a yahoo search). This store is unreal. I bought a new panasonic camera there with spare battery, case, extra 1gig sdcard and optional worldwide warranty for 50 euro less than the camera alone that is in the window of the camera centre in the square, tallaght.

Rabies

Don't forget to go to Toys 'R Us in Times Square.

Tom Dunne

superscouse wrote:

However the journey back to the airport is not set so be careful.

Actually, good point. Our hotel organised a stretch limo for the five of us for $100 to JFK (that's between us, not each). Great value and cheaper than two taxis.

Also on the subject of transport, I hired out a big F**k off SUV for the trip to Woodbury Common. It took just over an hour. It cost a whole $125 including petrol (gas) and it had gps. Again much cheaper than public transport and much more convenient too.