...New York

miss serena

So who can suggest something of interest in New York. I know there's probably something on every corner compared to Dublin! There is the obvious Empire State building and Statue of Liberty, but any nice cafe's, venues, pubs, shows, shops, zoos, etc. It's really hard to find any info on the web without getting all the touristy stuff. It would be really handy if there was a website like entertainment ireland, with listings of gigs and shows.

I'll be staying in Manhattan and cant wait! Any help?

MrJoeSoap

Central Park is sweet.

Also there's a free ferry that crosses the water to Staten Island, its really cool at night.

I found NY much safer than people make out, I stayed on West 30th Street, which was just around the corner from MSG (has a nice tour if you are into sport, also Yankee Stadium, although its getting into the big games now) and Penn Station.

Just wandering around the place can be as good as any of the actual "sights".

Ground Zero is eerie, but worth a visit if you are in the area.

The MOMA is apparently great but I didn't actually get to go.

If you have money there is a helicopter tour leaving from the West "shoreline", equal with around 33rd street if I remember correctly.

Ticketmaster.com has links to shows that are on, as will your hotel/hostel probably. I think Conan O'Brien is filmed there too, if you can get tickets for that (usually given out free on the morning - will require queueing though, I went to see Leno in Burbank and it was an amazing experience).

If there's anything more specific don't be afraid to post here or PM me.

miss serena

I'm staying in Greenwich which is supposed to be lovely. It'll be a case of going for a cawfee and a stroll. I'd love to go to a Yankee game and get a big foam hand! But do you know how to get tickets, on-line? And what's MOMA? I'm such a New York newbie its funny!

I hope its as safe as you think, especially with the current threats.

billy the squid

info on new york yankees tickets can be found at the link below
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

just click on the button at the top that says "tickets".

MrJoeSoap

miss serena wrote:

And what's MOMA? I'm such a New York newbie its funny!

Sorry! The MOMA is the Museum of Modern Art. Its to the west of Central Park afaik.

Here's an overview of Greenwich Village, its an excellent location. The free ferry is within walking distance of you, it takes you to Staten Island (past the statue of liberty) and back, and best of all it is free.

"Greenwich Village - also known as the West Village or the Village - is more upscale than the East Village and is the original corner of cool, the closest any American neighborhood comes to a corner of Paris. This part of town has been home to artists and writers, nonconformists, entertainers, intellectuals, and bohemians since the turn of the 20th century.
Did You Know?
The nation’s largest public Halloween parade is the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.
Downtown charm is personified in lots of low-rise townhouses, thumbnail size gardens, secret courtyards, and a wacky serpentine layout of streets.

Washington Square Park and the rows of townhouses around it with charming alleys behind them are all frozen in time. The park, with its arch famous from much movie exposure, is the heart of the Village. This 9 ½ -acre park at the foot of Fifth Avenue is an oasis and circus combined, where skate boarders, jugglers, stand-up comics, sitters, strollers, sweethearts, chess players, fortune tellers, and daydreamers converge and commune.

Washington Mews and Mac Dougal Alley are quiet cobblestone lanes right off the square. Legendary streets such as McDougal, Astor Place, and Bleecker (famous Beat and hippie hangouts) are lined with super-hip boutiques, delis displaying esoteric beers from around the globe, and cafes and restaurants of all stripes.

It makes sense that New York University is in the Village, an area that has been home to some of the world's most famous writers and artists including Henry James, Edith Wharton, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Eugene O'Neill, Norman Rockwell, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Beat writers Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

At night, Greenwich Village comes alive with sounds from late-night coffeehouses, cafés, experimental theaters, and music clubs. Bars and restaurants ad infinitum serve everything from cranberry martinis and celestial sushi to pita-wrapped shwarma. Searching for the soul of the Beat generation? At fabled coffeehouses like Caffe Reggio and Café Figaro, you can order a double espresso or cappuccino and pretend for a few minutes that you're Allen Ginsberg, Jack Keruouac, or William Burroughs."

netwhizkid

If you are in New York for a good bit why not take a trip out to Six Flags in New Jersey there is a bus from the port authority bus terminal in Manhatten for like $25, Budget at least a whole day and $150 per person as it costs about $50 to get in and you still have to pay for lots of stuff while inside. Expect up to 2 hours queues for the huge roller coasters, (gaviscon might be handy to stop the breakfast coming up) There are lovely piers off wall street too and Pier 17 is particularly good it a giant shopping mall basically bulit on the River.

miss serena

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Sorry! The MOMA is the Museum of Modern Art. Its to the west of Central Park afaik.

Oh, I've heard of that place. It's supposed to be cool!

Thanks for all ye're help! Six Flags sounds like a go-er too. I've never been on a roller coaster, time to fix that!

d-arke

Hey Miss Serena,

I spent the summer of 2003 in New York and loved every minute of it. Lived in a place called Woodside (More or less an Irish community, 6/7 irish bars) in Queens.

Anyways, a couple of places worth visiting besides the obvious are places like Battery Park, which is at the Southern tip of Manhatten, its basically just a little park that runs along the west side of the skyscrapers and is quite peaceful, good views of the Hudson River and New Jersey. Depending on the day, theres usual something going along, street entertainers, artists etc.

For a good days out/walk, get the subway Canal Street,basically its China Town, but not like the china towns in London, Washington, or La. Its fairly crappy to be honest, but its full of little stalls where you can haggle on prices etc. And if your lucky enough, Little Italy is around the corner and you'll definitely find cafes there. Though the reason I say if your lucky enough, I only ever found the place once and couldnt find it again,weird.

From there, you should head over to City Hall Park (its around this area that you can begin a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge which is suppose to be cool. Though I never managed this cause it basically meant walking over then back and I was feeling lazy), walk over to Ground Zero (2min walk, westwards), head over the predestrian bridge (if its still there) into the World Financial Centre (quite weird being in the reception as it looks like the reception to the trade centres), then head out and your at like a little marina (they were filming some tv show when i was there) which i think is the start of battery park, then head southwards at least (15-20 min walk) down towards the Staten Island Ferry, which leaves every 45 mins, i think (roughly the length of the trip), no point getting of the ferry, u get some absolutely great views of manhatten from the boat. This place is just around the corner from Castle Clinton where you buy your tickets for Liberty Island (great views of Manhatten from here), I saw the Major (Bloomberg) here giving some talk about the problems of English in the secondary schools because of the many ethic groups or something like that.

Anyways, your walk doesnt end there, from Castle Clinton, you can continue walking Northwards on the East side to a place called South Street Seaport which has some cafes and a small shopping centreworth stopping into. Go to the top floor of the shopping centre and get some frozen yogurt or something if the weathers good cause you'll be needing it.

Also, just up from where your staying is a place called Chelsea, theres some good piers around there. One even has a golf driving range which you can walk to the end of and see people smacking golf balls towards you. (dont worry its all netted off, still cool)

Oh, or do what I did, took a day to Washington, as long as you book a couple of days in advance, you can get a daily return ticket for like $45 (i think), only problem being its a 3 hour journey, but well worth it. i left at 7am got there around 10am, did like a jump on/off history bus thingy, went around all the historical sites etc, got the bus back to Ny at 8pm and back for 11pm.

Anyways, your prob bored of reading now, so I'll just bullet point some other cool stuff to do
Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on West 46th and 12th Avenue, prob about $14.

The Dakota Building (Not quite cool, but its got its own piece of history in that John Lennon was shot outside it, westside of central park on 72nd street. Some small memorials to the man himself in central park)

American Museum of Natural History located on 79th Street West of Central Park. $9 student price at the time, think its prob about $11.

Well Miss Serena, if you've made this far, hope it gave ya something to think about. Have to say, Washington is well worth visiting for the day if ya can put up with 6/7 hours travel. I have some great pics i can send to persuade you if any doubt.

Dont be a stranger.

ps.Regardless of how long your there, NY will always leave an impression on you.

miss serena

Thanks d-arke! I'd say it'd be pretty cool just walking around and finding places. Im off tomorrow so I'll let you know how it goes.

blahblah06

woodbury commons

fjon

Instead of creating a new topic, I thought I'd bump this old one - hope that's ok!
I love the suggestions above. Any more people got any hints on places to go? I'm off to NY in a month.

40crush41

My favorite place in NY -Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, some of the best Italian food I've ever had.. so u can say its pretty decent

Dominic's is a popular resturaunt. My Aunt and Uncle swear by it, and trust me -that means a lot.

THE BRONX
Dominic's: Right in the heart of Arthur Avenue's Little Italy, Dominic's serves up classic Italian food family-style. The place is always crowded, and the tables are shared, so you might as well go with a group. There's no menu -- the waiter will tell you what you're going to eat, and they figure the bill through some mysterious accounting system that seems to always let the customer come out on the winning end. (2335 Arthur Avenue; 718-733-2807)
http://www.nynewsday.com/entertainment/dining/nyc-rest0918,0,5017714.story?coll=nyc-dining-packages

or if you just want a slice -I suggest Full Moon pizza, I love it. But honestly, it doesn't matter -from my experience, its all good
And with all that being said...hopefully you like Italian!

and since I'm bringing you to the Bronx anyway... being a die-hard Yanks fan I'm gonna back up the idea of seeing Yankees Stadium, after all -its the house that Ruth built

Actually, I was just in NY last friday and some of the things we thought about doing were: the met and the moma (of course), heard that the NBC tour is great, ESPN would be cool to check out.. Tried to get Conan O'Brien tickets just for the heck of it -but to get them you should try to be there early morning maybe thats a thought for you. Something I would love to see is the Laugh Factory. Also the view from the Top of the Sixes sounded like a neat idea.
heh, but then we saved that all for another day and windowed shopped
One day I'll fit some more things in and go skating at Rockefeller "Something you have to experience...even if you can't skate for your life"


Hope you pardon the length and that you get at least one good thought from all these words. New York is a great town, hope you have a heck of a time

~Beth

stratman

The Six Flags Great Adventure theme park in Jackson, New Jersey is only a bus from Port Authority away. They opened the tallest and fastest roller-coaster in the world last year! Definitely go check it out, although it's probably closed for the winter.

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatadventure/Rides/KingdaKa.html

ya-what-now?

Any tips on places for bargain shopping?

I know there's probably loads but one's that are pretty handy to get to would be great! I'm heading on Monday, would there be sales still on now??

Cheers

Celticfire

ya-what-now? wrote:

Any tips on places for bargain shopping?

Century 21 near ground zero, Daffys which are all over the city, Macys can be good value (huge sales on gold jewlery most times and safe to buy from).
If you are a real shopaholic head to Woodbury Common (tons & tons of outlet stores) , get the bus from the port authority @ 42nd st near times square....

Happy hunting

jesus_thats_gre

Go yo Virgils just around from the Toys r Us on Time Square.. Amazing southern style food with the best chicken wings you will ever eat!!!