What you must do in NY

I%26#39;m traveling to NY on vacation for a week with my wife and this is my first trip. I wanted to know from those of you who live there or have been there recently what I MUST do, see, or eat while visiting NY ?

Web site links would be helpful also. Thanks, UP2NY

What you must do in NY

You%26#39;ve already found the most useful web site. Enter ';trip report'; in the search box and you%26#39;ll get linked to lots of posts by visitors who kindly report on their trips. Loads of great ideas.

What you must do in NY

You need to be more specific.

Have you checked the tourism sites or guide books?

www.nycvisit.com

www.newyorkled.com

As eastcoastgirl stated in a previous post:

';It鈥檚 like asking what the best movie is and then being disappointed when someone comes up with Citizen Kane..... If you want something else then only you can choose it.';

Here is a Trip Advisor post to people%26#39;s top tens. Maybe something will strike your fancy: http://tinyurl.com/by4uo

Hey, UP2--

I don%26#39;t know when you%26#39;ll be here, but if you%26#39;re coming in Autumn, particularly in October, that%26#39;s a lovely time to visit.

It would be much easier to respond if you let us know what things you like/want to do, but my top tens would be:

Central Park--don%26#39;t do the horse ride thing--walk it--it%26#39;s magnificent, truly the life-blood of our city.

A museum--I won%26#39;t presume to know what your tastes are, but whatever they are, odds are good there%26#39;s an excellent museum for it. Tell us if you are interested in museums of a particular sort, and you%26#39;ll get good recs here, I%26#39;ve found.

Dining is not as great as it used to be, but it%26#39;s still very good. If you%26#39;re aventurous there are cuisines from all over the world--again, let us know what your tastes are, and you%26#39;ll get lots of help here. (Personally I%26#39;d stay away from tourist traps--most of Chinatown, Tavern on the Green, Sylvia%26#39;s in Harlem, Little Italy--where the food is inferior to what you%26#39;ll get in a can of Chef Boyardee)

Greenwich Village stopped being interesting about 15 years ago, but you%26#39;ll probably as a visitor have a different opinion--worth an afternoon%26#39;s stroll. Same for SoHo.

A trip on the Circle Line around the island of Manhattan is well worth it.

I%26#39;d skip the Empire State Building and instead have a drink at the rooftop bar of the Peninsula Hotel, but you might wanna do both.

There%26#39;s some interesting stuff to check out in the boroughs--take a subway out to Flushing, Queens for some really great Asian cuisines; or to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn for some incredible middle eastern cuisine. Get out to City Island in the Bronx--pretty fair seafood restaurants, but it%26#39;s quaint and probably pretty unexpected for a visitor to NYC.

I would suggest not renting a car while you%26#39;re here for the time you%26#39;re in the city, but it might be worth it if you%26#39;re here in Autumn to rent one for a day trip out of the city. On the outer edge of Long Island are Montauk and the Hamptons, lovely this time of year, or perhaps a trip into the beautiful Hudson Valley.

Personally I%26#39;m not big on broadway, but I know tourists love it and you might want to take in a show. (I don%26#39;t even know what%26#39; on now, but I would feel fairly safe in guessing that 99% of them are mindless musicals where somehow or another the guy ultimately gets the girl--these things tend to sell pretty well.)

If you have interests in a particular culture, it probably has a presence here, and might well be having an exhibit, show, festival, etc.

Again, tell us your particular interests, and you%26#39;ll get great info here.

Regards,

Seth

I respectfully disagree with some previous comments. Chinatown has some great food and its very affordable. its a great little piece of asian culture in this great city. I do agree with little italy, unless you want to experience the craziness of puglias (probably spelled wrong), although the food aint%26#39; great.

if you haven%26#39;t been to broadway and think you will like it, go see one of the musical extravaganzas out there. hard to compete anywhere with these shows.

I work in the empire state building. I%26#39;ve never been to the top. its pretty crazy and takes a long wait to get to the top. there are other options, unless you have kids, then this is probably the place to go. I love a drink at the top of the beekman tower hotel.

Hey, Valt:

I agree that you CAN find great places in Chinatown, but it takes a lot of work. There are so many better Chinese restaurants in Manhattan, the boroughs and NJ that I%26#39;m just never inclined to head down there unless I%26#39;m with someone who ';has'; to see it.

The other thing, I find, is that our Chinatown, unlike that of many other major cities in the US, is dirty and ridiculously, unpleasantly crowded.

I%26#39;d say you can find better Chinese restaurants outside of Chinatown, and if you want that Asian culture experience, especially if you%26#39;re visiting from a place where that%26#39;s not easy, get on a subway and spend an afternoon in Flushing, Queens, where the restaurants are better (and far more varied) and the area is dominated by Asian culture.

However, a visitor might be inclined simply to go to Chinatown in the same way that when I%26#39;m in Paris I go to the Eiffel Tower--it%26#39;s something you want to experience. That%26#39;s certainly legit, and can indeed be fun.

Everyone has different tastes. I don%26#39;t believe there are any MUSTS other than to have a good time and remember it%26#39;s a vacation not a marathon where you tick things off a list of ';to dos.'; You won%26#39;t see it all in a week.

There%26#39;s tons of info right here. In addition to searching this forum, go to the left side of the page and click NYC tourism and/or attractions. Here%26#39;s another resource

http://nymetro.com/visitorsguide/index.htm

You and your wife must each have ideas of what you always wanted to see in NYC. Do those things. I will say everyone loves the experience of walking the Brooklyn bridge for the views. If the weather is decent, that%26#39;s a good idea.

seth,

you and i could have fun with this one. I personally don%26#39;t like the asian area in queens at all. I went to a cambodian (i think it was) restaurant about 3 years ago. we all got sick. really sick.

and please, please, tell me the name of the great chinese restaurants in NJ. I only know of 1 or 2.

%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Everyone has different tastes. I don%26#39;t believe there are any MUSTS other than to have a good time and remember it%26#39;s a vacation not a marathon where you tick things off a list of ';to dos.'; You won%26#39;t see it all in a week.%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;

NYWhiz that is so so true!!!

Aside from Central Park as a must visit, my experience is to take the time to visit neighborhoods in New York. Plan a few hours for each area you choose, talk with shopkeeps, eat in local places and take the time to be a part of the city.