NYC recommendations

Casadena

H and I are taking a last minute trip to NYC next weekend.  Neither of us have ever been there (I have for work a bunch of times, but never done anything fun).  We'll be there late Friday evening through Monday morning.

What are a few "have to" things to do or see while we are there for the first time??  Looking for restaurants, shows, landmarks, museums, really anything and everything is an option we just don't know where to start. 

Thanks!!!!!

sparklepants41

Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, (Times Square IMO is completely missable), Statue of Liberty, MoMA, The Met, Central Park, Fifth Avenue, Serendipity III (make a reservation in advance!!!) has really amazing hot chocolate... what genres of food do you like? 

climbingsingle

There are so many great restaurants in Soho/the village. 

Museum of Natural History is my favorite. 

Casadena

sparklepants41 said:

Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, (Times Square IMO is completely missable), Statue of Liberty, MoMA, The Met, Central Park, Fifth Avenue, Serendipity III (make a reservation in advance!!!) has really amazing hot chocolate... what genres of food do you like? 

Thanks!

Food-wise we're pretty open.  We would probably tend to stay away from super fancy (I don't want to pack fancy clothes) or a steakhouse-type place (just because we get the steakhouse thing regularly in the Midwest).

short+sassy

The first response that popped in my head was, "Yes, everything." Lol.

The favorite things my H and I did on our last trip was going to the top of Rockfeller Center and taking the Staten Island ferry across the bay and back.  It goes near the Statue of Liberty.

Katz Deli.  I'm usually suspect of famous places but, it was walking distance to our hotel, so we went.  Oh yeah!  It's famous for a reason, lol.  Though I wouldn't be surprised if there are awesome delis that are just as good, albeit not as famous.  I even bought one of their salamis to take back home with me.

I know it sounds cliché, but our other favorite meals were from two different pizza places near our hotel.  We found each of them with just random Google searches of something like "good pizza near me".  The reviews were good, so we picked up a pie from each one on different nights.  Both of them ranked for my H and I in the "one of the best pizzas I've ever had" category.  Which proved to me that apparently you can just throw a rock in NYC and find awesome pizza, lol.  

climbingsingle

Where are you staying? 

Casadena

climbingwife said:

Where are you staying? 

Midtown!

Ro041

H and I are going to NYC this weekend (my first time) to see Hamilton on Broadway (his anniversary gift to me).  We saw it last year when it traveled through town but he booked this too.  

All that to say, I don't know what is a must see but I will update once we are back and I will check back for recs from other Knotties.  

STARMOON44

The Met, the September 11 memorial

charlotte989875

If you have time (and the weather is relatively nice) walk the ring around Centeal Park; most people see the highlights but the northern part of the park is beautiful and the walk is lovely! 

ei34

Next weekend meaning the 9th-10th or 16-17th?  If the latter...the city will be a little crazy bc of St. Patrick’s Day. Although there will be some awesome drink specials in bars.  
Ditto PP the Museum of Natural History, MoMA and a ride on the SI ferry are all great.  Can’t beat a stroll through Central Park.  I also highly recommend the South Street Seaport.  It’s finally rebuilt post-Sandy, it has a terrific vibe, nice views, plenty of food choices.  
@short+sassy is right you really can’t strike out with the pizza.  Emilio’s Ballato, Estela, and Rio Grande are fun/delicious restaurants.  It’s only a weekend so I’ll spare outer-borough recs.  Enjoy!

OurWildKingdom

I’ve never been to NYC, but I second Katz’s Deli. We got MIL a gift card from them Hanukkah 2017 and she loved their food. She said it reminded her of growing up in Philadelphia and Miami.

ETA: Katz’s ships all over the country if you decide you like their food.

short+sassy

Oh!  They have these red on-off double decker tour buses.  The whole journey through Manhattan is (I think) 2 hours.  I really recommend doing one of those on your first day or morning.  They drive past various points of interest and tell you about them with fun factoids.  

I found the tour also really helped me get my bearings a bit.  I could visually see what was near what.  It helped me plan out the rest of my trip, so I was hitting things I wanted to see in "groups" that made sense geographically.

Other cities have them also and I always take one now, when I'm in a new city.  Though I haven't in my own because I already know where everything is and how it's laid out, lol.

downtondiva

If you've only got time for one museum, make it the Met.  If you're looking for more, the Whitney and the Brooklyn Museum are two that I also love.

Food-wise, in Midtown, look for restaurants on or west of 8th Avenue. You'll find pretty much every type of food imaginable and it'll be better than anything in Times Square. You'll also find wonderful restaurants in the Village (my personal favorite part of the city). 

If you like live music, NYC has some amazing jazz clubs. My favorite is the Village Vanguard, but I also like Birdland and Jazz Standard (which serves barbecue, by the way!). 

You can't go wrong with Central Park, but the High Line and Riverside Park are also wonderful options if you get a nice day for a walk. Best skyline views are in Brooklyn Bridge Park. 

InLoveInQueens

Also highly recommend walking the Highline or across the Brooklyn Bridge, if the weather is nice enough you get great views and a nice trip.

Top of the Rock is the place to be if you want the skyline view, shorter wait times and better view than Empire State Building. 

MoMA is nice, Met is great, AMNH is also a good choice. Check out Insider food NYC or whatever it's called for ~unique~ food ideas (a friend had some other friends in town who are tourists and we walked through Central Park and up to the AMNH and went to a dumpling place that has pickle soft serve ice cream, that kind of weird foods) 

If you haven't before, and end up near a bakery, grab a black and white cookie. They're a NY staple. 

climbingsingle

Yes, the High Line is a great walk, weather permitting. We always eat at Serafina before we do that. 

Casadena

Thank you so much!!  This definitely will give us some good options and it's always helpful going off recommendations from people who have actually done these things