One day in NYC

redharedsunshine

I'm going to be visiting my FI in Philadelphia next month and we're going to spend 1 or 2 days in NYC. It's my first time being there. My FI left the planning up to me. There's so much I would like to see but I can't really decide what would be the best thing to do for my first visit. I really want to go to Fifth avenue and Times Square but I don't really know what else to do that would be a good intro to the city. Any ideas? 

npasquale16

Definitely go up to the Empire State Building.  You can see the entire city from the top and it's totally worth it.  There's an insane amount of things to do in the city, so I advise you to get a map and map out your "must sees."  Most of the things you'll want to see are in Midtown--Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, etc. 

Things like the Statue of Liberty and such will take a chunk of time out of your day, but are worth it if you want to see it.  You can also just go on a water taxi that will take you out around the Statue, but not actually go on the island.

Don't forget to try the pizza and cheesecake!

lisalou402

Walk around Times Square!  Try to see a show!  Empire State Building!

JadziaDax

Take the Staten Island Ferry ride. It's free and you will get a great view of the Statue of Liberty.

tldh

The line for the empire state building is going to take a chunk out of your day and honestly, you don't see anything you don't see from a plane. 

If you don't mind standing on line for a couple hours though, I'd do it at Times Square to get cheap tickets to a Broadway or off-Broadway show.  It's the TKTS booth and they sell day of tickets only so get there early (check the website).  If you want to go to the hottest shows like The Addams Family or American Idiot, and be guaranteed a ticket, I'd get the tickets on line now - that way you will have more time for sight seeing.

If you decide to see a Broadway show, make reservations for afterwards.  The first time we saw a show and decided to just wing it with eating, we found most places couldn't even seat us until 1:30 a.m.  Thankfully we stumbled onto DB Bistro Moderne that had it's soft opening that night (btw - loved their food).

Enjoy New York and Philadelphia.  I'm a native Cincinnatian and my first trip to NYC is what made me start thinking about moving to the east coast - I was crying as the plane was taxiing down the runway back to Cleveland.  I am just outside Philadelphia now and love that city also.

jcbender0

Are you interested in museums?  The ones in NY are fantastic! My favorite is the Natural History.

barbbhoww

I met DH there for only 2 days when he was there for work. We did one of those "bus top tours" where they take you ALL around the city and show you everything.  Best part you learn more about the city and you can get off at all the major spots and get back on because they have busses that go through every 10 minutes.  We saw the WHOLE city in 4 hours!

stephdonjon

I went to NYC 2 years ago and we only got to stay for a day and a 1/2, and part of that was dedicated to a conference. But the first thing we did after getting off our train from Jersey was to stroll through Central Park. It was awesome to walk through the legendary park, but of course if you're limited on time, not the thing you probably have to do most.

Definitely go to Times Square. It's probably my most memorable part of the trip. Just walking through the streets that I had seen so many times in movies was amazing. Plus, the Rockefeller plaza is right there, and that's worth seeing. Another famous NYC icon.

Catch a broadway show if you can. We saw Aaron Sorkin's The Famsworth Invention, and it was fantastic! There's nothing like a broadway show.

Lisa8888

The bus tours are good. You get to see a real lot in a short time.

redharedsunshine

Thanks for all the good info so far ladies! I would love to see a broadway show but the only problem being is that me and my FI are both on a tight budget. I know NYC is pretty expensive city to even visit. I would love to see one eventually maybe when me and my FI can afford it. We are going to take the ferry in from Staten Island. I do like museums, I'll have to look up some stuff and see what prices are. Thanks again for all the ideas!!! 

Jennasourus

hey!

I live in NYC so i just thought id chime in. Honestly skip times sq. its tacky and awful and nothing really cool at all. If you really want to see real NY go to the village or the Lower East Side. Walk across the brooklyn bridge and then go get ice cream at the brooklyn bride park! that you would really love! i can also give you some good restaurants to go to too if you want!