NYC honeymoon

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da

Our wedding is just 33 days away, EEK!
We decided that instead of Niagra Falls, we would spend a couple of nights in Jersey City and take the ferry or Subway to NYC for a few days for our honeymoon.  Believe it or not, this is my first trip to the City, and I have lived in New York State most of my adult life lol.

Any suggestions on where we should go and what we should do?  And, restaurant suggestions

Our Bucket list includes:
The Statue of Liberty
Central Park 
(Carriage ride)
(zoo)
Times Square
The Museum of Natural History and/or The Museum of Modern Art
a Broadway show

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da

PS-- and the Empire State Building!

charlotte989875

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da said:

Our wedding is just 33 days away, EEK!
We decided that instead of Niagra Falls, we would spend a couple of nights in Jersey City and take the ferry or Subway to NYC for a few days for our honeymoon.  Believe it or not, this is my first trip to the City, and I have lived in New York State most of my adult life lol.

Any suggestions on where we should go and what we should do?  And, restaurant suggestions

Our Bucket list includes:
The Statue of Liberty
Central Park 
(Carriage ride)
(zoo)
Times Square
The Museum of Natural History and/or The Museum of Modern Art
a Broadway show

So close, Congratulations!! 

I would skip the carriage ride in CP and just do a walk instead. There are lovely paths and IMO the carriage prices aren't worth it. 

If you guys are pretty active I'd recommend some of the walking tours, or the open air bus tours if you've never been to the city. The hop on/hop off bus tours are great and you can get off at the sites you want to see. IMO this is a better (and cheaper) way to see the main attractions.

If you want to catch a show (and you're not tied to something specific you want to see) check out tkts.com (or the in person stands) for cheap(er) day-of tickets. If you're at all into comedy shows check out the Upright Citizens Brigade; they have cheap tickets from up and coming comics (some are great, some not so much), but they're easy to get on short notice. 

What kinds of food are you in to? 

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da

@charlotte989875 Thank you for the tour and walk suggestions!
I told FI I definitely need to have an authentic slice of NY pizza and a hotdog from a hot dog cart.  Those a cheap lunch eats, but maybe we could go somewhere nicer for dinner.  FI is not fond of sushi or seafood but anything else goes
**edited for grammar**

InLoveInQueens

charlotte989875 said:

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da said:

Our wedding is just 33 days away, EEK!
We decided that instead of Niagra Falls, we would spend a couple of nights in Jersey City and take the ferry or Subway to NYC for a few days for our honeymoon.  Believe it or not, this is my first trip to the City, and I have lived in New York State most of my adult life lol.

Any suggestions on where we should go and what we should do?  And, restaurant suggestions

Our Bucket list includes:
The Statue of Liberty
Central Park 
(Carriage ride)
(zoo)
Times Square
The Museum of Natural History and/or The Museum of Modern Art
a Broadway show

So close, Congratulations!! 

I would skip the carriage ride in CP and just do a walk instead. There are lovely paths and IMO the carriage prices aren't worth it. 

If you guys are pretty active I'd recommend some of the walking tours, or the open air bus tours if you've never been to the city. The hop on/hop off bus tours are great and you can get off at the sites you want to see. IMO this is a better (and cheaper) way to see the main attractions.

If you want to catch a show (and you're not tied to something specific you want to see) check out tkts.com (or the in person stands) for cheap(er) day-of tickets. If you're at all into comedy shows check out the Upright Citizens Brigade; they have cheap tickets from up and coming comics (some are great, some not so much), but they're easy to get on short notice. 

What kinds of food are you in to? 

In addition to the prices not being worth it, I'd recommend against a carriage ride because of the treatment of the horses https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/nyregion/who-speaks-for-the-horses-in-battle-over-carriages.html

OP:
If you actually want to go up the Status of Liberty, you need to book that beforehand and you're better off getting there from the NJ side of things. If you just want to see it you can take the Staten Island ferry (it's a free transfer with your subway fare) and you get a nice view as you pass by.

If there's a Broadway show you absolutely must see, check Playbill.com for any discount codes and buy tickets in advance. You can go to TKTS but they're almost always the higher tier tickets at a 20-50% discount, but if you're ok with the cheap seats it's possibly still cheaper to buy ahead of time. That way you don't have to spend the time waiting in line to actually buy the tickets (depending on when you get there you could be waiting an hour in line, hoping the show you want to see still has tickets available).

ei34

Ditto the CP carriage ride and Broadway show advice...broadwaybox.com also has great discounts.  MoMA is free Friday’s from 4-8pm, and the History Museum is pay-what-you-wish but only in person (as opposed to buying tickets online in advance).  It’s been too long since I’ve been to the Statue of Liberty and top of the Empire State Building to offer helpful advice.

As far as restaurants, if you guys like Italian, Il Buco, Emilio’s Ballato and Del Posto are all nice.  Rio Grande is my favorite Mexican restaurant.  Delmonico’s and The Lamb’s Club both feel special.  If you’re at Central Park anyway, Tavern on the Green is a good dinner spot.  I love the pizza/hot dogs for lunch and special dinners idea enjoy!

Jen4948

Ditto on skipping the carriage.

Along 46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues is "Restaurant Row," which has some excellent restaurants. They are expensive, but some might be affordable.

You also might be interested in Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the 92nd Street Y, Chelsea Piers, Chinatown, Little Italy, Soho, the South Street Seaport, and the Esplanade on the Hudson River in lower Manhattan. Then there are the other boroughs too.

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da

Wow, I had no idea the horses were treated so badly  

Definitely going to check out the Italian and Mexican food suggestions, as well as the ferry, open-bus tours, Broadway ticket suggestions too

Has anyone used Groupon for City Passes or Restaurants there?

InLoveInQueens

@eileenrob I can't quote you properly, but a lot of museums have switched their suggested donation policy recently. They're suggested donation for nyc residents and students in the tri-state area but tourists need to pay the full suggested donation.

InLoveInQueens

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da said:

Wow, I had no idea the horses were treated so badly  

Definitely going to check out the Italian and Mexican food suggestions, as well as the ferry, open-bus tours, Broadway ticket suggestions too

Has anyone used Groupon for City Passes or Restaurants there?

Don't even look at City Pass or like passes, they're only worth it if you pay full price for everything and do most,  if not all, of the items on the list. You're better off picking a few things and looking for discount codes than buying a pass like City Pass.

Also, one of my favorite Italian restaurants is Becco in the Theatre district. It's a great before/after show place, they have a really reasonably priced all you can eat pasta special (they have 3 daily pastas and you pay 20something$ for as much of their 3 pastas as you want). For a Times Square restaurant you can't get much cheaper or better food.


If you wanna see a great skyline view, try Top of the Rock instead of the Empire State Building. With TotR you get to see the ESB, which is such a big part of the iconic view. If you go around sunset it's beautiful (so I've heard, I've still never gone and I'm ashamed!) 

ei34

Ooh good to know @InLoveInQueens I hadn’t realized!  (I just show the membership card and go in without paying attention I guess  )

OP if you guys are looking for an interactive date night idea...I forgot to mention Pizza a Casa Cooking School.  It’s so much fun, informative, and one of a kind.  Mia Chef Gelateria too.  I prefer Pizza a Casa but the gelateria is sometimes on Groupon.

ernursej

I love NYC and visit several times/year. H and I go to Park Avenue ______ (season) restaurant every single time. It is fabulous. Not cheap, but for a splurge meal is fantastic. www.parkavenyc.com Each season, the restaurant changes the name/décor and food. I think it is currently Park Ave Summer. Enjoyed a FAB Froze drink there last summer. I hope it is back on the menu.

We also enjoy S'Mac for mac and cheese and Butter for dessert and fancy drinks.

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da

@eileenrob That sounds like fun, how much do those classes cost?

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da

@InLoveInQueens Love pasta!  Great restaurant suggestions

ei34

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da said:

@eileenrob That sounds like fun, how much do those classes cost?

The gelato making class is $200 for two people, but it’s usually 50% off on Groupon.  Pizza a Casa (which when looking up the current price found out is now called Pizza School NYC) is $300 for the two of you.  If I had to pick one I’d go with the pizza making...i’ve been making pizza at home for years and I still learned new things.  And the gelato place each person goes home with four pints of gelato...not sure if they’d fit in your hotel room freezer 

InLoveInQueens

eileenrob said:

knottie6f05dc9f7907d7da said:

@eileenrob That sounds like fun, how much do those classes cost?

The gelato making class is $200 for two people, but it’s usually 50% off on Groupon.  Pizza a Casa (which when looking up the current price found out is now called Pizza School NYC) is $300 for the two of you.  If I had to pick one I’d go with the pizza making...i’ve been making pizza at home for years and I still learned new things.  And the gelato place each person goes home with four pints of gelato...not sure if they’d fit in your hotel room freezer 

Obviously not OP or honeymooning, but you've got me interested in both of those classes!

And for OP, there's also a couple class ~twice a month at DŌ. I did the Mother's Day class with my mom and we had a blast. It's not cheap but it's a lot of fun and you go home with enough cookie dough to last days if not weeks.

https://www.cookiedonyc.com/classes/