Hi all Any suggestions on what’s best to see and do in New York? Hubby and I are going there after Boston. I have 5 days in Boston enjoying the city while hubby is working. And tafterwards we are going to catch the train to New York for 5 days
Been wanting to go to New York for ages so do not want to miss anything so all suggestions and must dos are very much appreciated. I have pretty much planned Boston as been there before for 11 days before. but would also appreciate it if you have any ideas on Boston too as hubby and I have Sunday together in Boston :-)
We took a commuter train to Concord and then, walking through a woods, found our way to Walden Pond. Perhaps that is something you have never done in Boston?
Besides the obvious in NYC (Times Square, Statue of Liberty, 9-11 Memorial), we found these places photogenic, free, and with a variety of people, architecture, art, and nature: Walking the High Line, taking a water taxi beneath the Brooklyn Bridge (well $5/person), and Central Park (could spend days here). If you do the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center), get your tickets ahead of time on the Internet as the lines otherwise can be a two-hour wait.
I hope you find your trip to these wonderful cities as much fun as we did!
Trip around the Island of Manhattan, Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, don't be afraid to use the subway. Drinks at the top of the Rockerfeller centre , Empire State Building at night, great views both up and downtown.
Not cheap as it used to be. Great shop B & H, not far from the High Line.
I have not been to it, but there is the "Highline" in NYC, an elevated walkway. A Circle line boat tour is fun, as is the boat ride to Statue of Liberty. If you like to do street shots, Chinatown and Little Italy have wonderful places to photograph--AND EAT! I love walking the Brooklyn Bridge and going to Central Park. Other points of interest have already been noted above. Have a wonderful time. And take in a broadway show!
Activity 1: Enter Central Park at the Harlem entrance (if staying in midtown or near Broadway, a cab up there is fairly reasonable). Then, walk from the north end of the park south to where the Plaza is, or south to the upper west side. There's so much to see, that's a whole day event.
Activity 2: World Trade area, museum which is on the south end of Manhattan. Also near there is Soho, Washington Park, and other interesting spots.
Activity 3: Brooklyn -- botanical garden there is beautiful and would be wonderful this time of year. You can take the train there and one of the trains goes across the Bridge above ground with terrific views.
Activity 4: When in the south area, you can get the Staten Island Ferry which takes you by the Statue of Liberty and you have wonderful views of lower Manhattan skyline.
Activity 5: Theater -- the variety is endless. Join Telecharge Broadway Discounts (free, just google it) and sign up for the mailing list. You'll get offers for discount tickets to a range of shows and can plan ahead, or you can to to Hottix for 'day of' performances. Their booth is at Times Square (another activity).
It's handy to have a map (the ones I like are the laminated ones with the train and bus system on it. Trains are best as you don't have to deal with traffic, but cabs are plentiful and not that expensive if you think of the time they can save you -- just consider the timing as you don't want a cab if it's rush hour).
Activity 6: Bryant Park and Library (you can eat in Bryant Park and just hang out -- lovely outdoor setting)
Activity 7: Grand Central Station -- wonderful architectural photography, best with superwide angle, but also lots of details of interest.
Activity 8: Just wander around -- upper west side, upper east side, Hells Kitchen, Highline
Activity 9: Museums -- so many of them! There is a museum row on the east side of Central Park starting around 80th or so (not sure -- I just check map -- they are north and south of the Guggenheim, one of NYC is really interesting and small unique spots), plus the Met, the Modern.
Oh -- Chinatown and Little Italy -- great places to eat there.
Have a great time...you can't help but find interesting places to walk, photograph, eat, people watch, etc.
@janeandcharlie Thank you for for idea for Boston sounds lovely and all the ideas for New York and tip regarding tickets , looking forward to both cities. @30pics4jackiesdiamond Thank you for the idea of Harvard, I didn’t really cover that last time. So exciting loving planning this trip @padlock Thank you for the ideas and tips,and a place to spend hubby’s money🤣 @joemuli Thank for the videos links really good enjoyed them, looking forward to a great holiday @darylo Thank you for your tips and ideas, looks like it going to be a fabulous holiday @taffy Thank you for your detailed ideas and tips, looks like I’m certainly going to have a fun filled holiday and hopefully a fabulous time taking photos.
I think Jane and Taffy have all he good stuff covered! LOL! My only advice is to study the train schedule. It's the strangest train map I've ever encountered. Three trains going to the same spot, but not really. One dumped us off in Grenwich Village late at night and we had to walk a few blocks with 3 little kids through and area that was definitely not kid friendly. The locals have the map memorized. They can be very helpful!
Have fun in Boston. We lived there for 10 months and 3 weeks. No way to see everything in that short of time. Our favorite was the Freedom Trail (which we only saw about 3/4 of) and Battle Road (Lexington to Concord) and Salem, NH, because that's where we lived LOL! If you want to go to an amusement park for some fun, Canobie Lake Park is great. Harvard is very cool to see. The buildings are beautiful.
The real question is not what to do in NY, it is what not to do. It would take a lifetime to see every nook and crany in the city. I recommend you concentrate on Manhattan and Brooklyn. Manhattan highlights (I was just there last week on a photography trip):
1. Central Park - it is huge and too much to see in one day. Don't miss Strawberry Fields, The Ramble and the Lake. It is feature-dense on the southern half of the park.
2. Midtown - concrete and steel canyons, there is much to do and see in Midtown. Go to MOMA, Paley Park, the New York Public Library, Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building. That is a good taste of Midtown.
3. Madison Square Park (photograph the Flatiron building), then south to Union Square Park, then further south to Washington Square Park.
4. Walk and photograph Greenwich Village (get a slice from Joe's Pizza, the best in NYC), Soho, Noho, Little Italy, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side. That should wear you out :)
5. See the 9/11 Memorial, the Oculus and One World Trade Center.
6. Downtown is full of historic buildings. I particularly love the Woolworth Building and see Wall Street while you are there.
7. Ride the Staten island Ferry round trip. It is free and gets close to the Statue of Liberty. Best deal in town.
8. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge to Dumbo and photograph the famous Washington Street.
9. Check out the urban hipster capital of the world: Williamsburg, Park Slope and Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Go to the street art district of Bushwick.
This is a good start, you can do all this in a week easy if you take the subway a lot and bring good walking shoes.
@homeschoolmom Thank you for the advice and tips for Boston. @soboy5 Thank you for all your tips and places to go..My... by the end of each day I'll certainly be worn out! So looking forward to it.
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Besides the obvious in NYC (Times Square, Statue of Liberty, 9-11 Memorial), we found these places photogenic, free, and with a variety of people, architecture, art, and nature: Walking the High Line, taking a water taxi beneath the Brooklyn Bridge (well $5/person), and Central Park (could spend days here). If you do the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center), get your tickets ahead of time on the Internet as the lines otherwise can be a two-hour wait.
I hope you find your trip to these wonderful cities as much fun as we did!
Not cheap as it used to be. Great shop B & H, not far from the High Line.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JtfZPgWxlMI
Activity 2: World Trade area, museum which is on the south end of Manhattan. Also near there is Soho, Washington Park, and other interesting spots.
Activity 3: Brooklyn -- botanical garden there is beautiful and would be wonderful this time of year. You can take the train there and one of the trains goes across the Bridge above ground with terrific views.
Activity 4: When in the south area, you can get the Staten Island Ferry which takes you by the Statue of Liberty and you have wonderful views of lower Manhattan skyline.
Activity 5: Theater -- the variety is endless. Join Telecharge Broadway Discounts (free, just google it) and sign up for the mailing list. You'll get offers for discount tickets to a range of shows and can plan ahead, or you can to to Hottix for 'day of' performances. Their booth is at Times Square (another activity).
It's handy to have a map (the ones I like are the laminated ones with the train and bus system on it. Trains are best as you don't have to deal with traffic, but cabs are plentiful and not that expensive if you think of the time they can save you -- just consider the timing as you don't want a cab if it's rush hour).
Activity 6: Bryant Park and Library (you can eat in Bryant Park and just hang out -- lovely outdoor setting)
Activity 7: Grand Central Station -- wonderful architectural photography, best with superwide angle, but also lots of details of interest.
Activity 8: Just wander around -- upper west side, upper east side, Hells Kitchen, Highline
Activity 9: Museums -- so many of them! There is a museum row on the east side of Central Park starting around 80th or so (not sure -- I just check map -- they are north and south of the Guggenheim, one of NYC is really interesting and small unique spots), plus the Met, the Modern.
Oh -- Chinatown and Little Italy -- great places to eat there.
Have a great time...you can't help but find interesting places to walk, photograph, eat, people watch, etc.
@30pics4jackiesdiamond Thank you for the idea of Harvard, I didn’t really cover that last time. So exciting loving planning this trip
@padlock Thank you for the ideas and tips,and a place to spend hubby’s money🤣
@joemuli Thank for the videos links really good enjoyed them, looking forward to a great holiday
@darylo Thank you for your tips and ideas, looks like it going to be a fabulous holiday
@taffy Thank you for your detailed ideas and tips, looks like I’m certainly going to have a fun filled holiday and hopefully a fabulous time taking photos.
1. Central Park - it is huge and too much to see in one day. Don't miss Strawberry Fields, The Ramble and the Lake. It is feature-dense on the southern half of the park.
2. Midtown - concrete and steel canyons, there is much to do and see in Midtown. Go to MOMA, Paley Park, the New York Public Library, Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building. That is a good taste of Midtown.
3. Madison Square Park (photograph the Flatiron building), then south to Union Square Park, then further south to Washington Square Park.
4. Walk and photograph Greenwich Village (get a slice from Joe's Pizza, the best in NYC), Soho, Noho, Little Italy, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side. That should wear you out :)
5. See the 9/11 Memorial, the Oculus and One World Trade Center.
6. Downtown is full of historic buildings. I particularly love the Woolworth Building and see Wall Street while you are there.
7. Ride the Staten island Ferry round trip. It is free and gets close to the Statue of Liberty. Best deal in town.
8. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge to Dumbo and photograph the famous Washington Street.
9. Check out the urban hipster capital of the world: Williamsburg, Park Slope and Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Go to the street art district of Bushwick.
This is a good start, you can do all this in a week easy if you take the subway a lot and bring good walking shoes.
No other city like it in the world. Enjoy.
@soboy5 Thank you for all your tips and places to go..My... by the end of each day I'll certainly be worn out! So looking forward to it.