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NYC Trip... Want a local experience, and tips on what to do!

tMac85

tMac85

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 15, 2007
1,144
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in a great place
So I am going to NYC for a week. Staying with a friend. I have been before, but want a locals opinion on what to do, eat, see. On a budget, so nothing extravagant. I can drink so great bars would be good too! Museums, restaurants, great areas to just walk around. All or any info is great. Thanks guys!

-tmac
 
There is a whole lot of stuff to do in NYC

To Eat:
The Stage Deli
Rays Pizza
Vergil's BBQ
Garrett's Popcorn
John's Pizza (the one from the iPhone picture on Apple's homepage)

If you want to splurge
Peter Luger or Wolfgang's (not Wolfgang Puck)
Nobu

To Do:
The wax museum (cant remember the name) is cool
Go to the 5th Ave Apple store it is cool
B&H Camera is quite an experience even if you don't plan on buying anything
Chelsea Market is really cool and if you are lucky you will see someone from Food network (the network is right above the market)
Dylan's Candy Bar
If you are brave you can take a ferry to see the Statue Of Liberty
Ground Zero is a humbling experience
If your feet get tired from walking there is an excellent day spa in Tribecca run by Korean's that give the best foot massage's

there so much more to do in NYC but this should get you started
 
Where are you staying? Since it's only a week, where you are will definitely affect what people recommend. Especially if you're looking for local-type stuff.
 
central park definitely. also, take the M5 bus all the way up to washinton heights. Its a great trip with views of beautiful riverside park all the way, and its only 2 dollars! an insiders gem in NYC. once up there walk around the heights, which is a cool dominican neighborhood with neet bodegas and plenty of people watching ie. hot chicks;)
 
I like running around downtown...the village, soho, chinatown & little italy, from there wandering to battery park isn't unreasonable and you can see ground zero. If you're downtown Stone Street is really cool for dinner (or maybe a $17.00 footlong from the nearby kosher Subway? :p). Times square is disgusting but worth a visit if just to have been there, central park is a nice contrast and walkable from Times Square. The upper east side is very nice as well...some of the most expensive real estate in the city...scrumptious burgers at JG Melon too, if you're up there. Great burgers at Burger Heaven in midtown, also.

Definitely take the subway around, you can get a 7 day unlimited ride pass for $25.00 (I think), which starts saving you money after about 12 rides. It's way cheaper than cabs and worth it for the city experience. Don't bother with the Statue of Liberty...it's a tourist trap and the lines are endless in the summer and the Brooklyn Bridge is highly overrated as a spot to visit.
 
Yes, a 7 day Metrocard is a must as you can get pretty much anywhere via the subway. I, as well, recommend going to John's Pizza... trust me, it's a great place to eat and is unlike any other pizza place out there. The 5th Avenue Apple store is a must, though it is always crowded. The others have some good suggestions and I recommend you take their advice. I specialize in the New York City subway, so if you want to see some hidden wonders underground, I'd be happy to tell you how to observe them.
 
John's pizza? That place is a total tourist trap with really awful pizza. If you like thin crust - go to Arturo's on Houston or Grimaldi's in Dumbo, Brooklyn. If you like regular pizza, go to Joe's. It's a little hole in the wall, with just counter space to sit, in the Village (6th or 7th Ave and Bleecker).

If you like to drink, check out the bars on the Lower East Side and Alphabet City - tends to be a younger crowd there. Stay away from the Upper East Side. There is absolutely nothing to do there, and everything is overpriced. (Trust me, I work there, I know the neighborhood well - it's my least favorite neighborhood in the city)

Chelsea is fun too - lots of great bars and restaurants (it's the gay neighborhood).

The meatpacking district is very trendy (read: expensive), but there's a lot going on there at night.

Definitely check out Chinatown - there's some great cheap food there, and it's just an interesting experience to see it. Also, Canal street, in Chinatown, has tons of little shops that sell knock-off Rolex's and designer bags and stuff like that for really cheap, if you're into that sort of thing.


One last thing, Avoid times square like the plague, and don't eat or hang out at all near your hotel. The area near Penn Station is just for tourists, and everything there, foodwise, is awful and overpriced.

Enjoy your trip!
 
iToaster said:
Yes, a 7 day Metrocard is a must as you can get pretty much anywhere via the subway. I, as well, recommend going to John's Pizza... trust me, it's a great place to eat and is unlike any other pizza place out there. The 5th Avenue Apple store is a must, though it is always crowded. The others have some good suggestions and I recommend you take their advice. I specialize in the New York City subway, so if you want to see some hidden wonders underground, I'd be happy to tell you how to observe them.
Click to expand...

That picture is awesome. Could you tell all of us about these hidden wonders? I've lived here for 7 years now, and I love that sort of stuff.
 
dauerhippo said:
That picture is awesome. Could you tell all of us about these hidden wonders? I've lived here for 7 years now, and I love that sort of stuff.
Click to expand...
Granted, I don't know anything more about other locations like that, but even I have heard of that one and I haven't ever set foot in NYC. Here is a link to a site with history about that old station along with some more pics, but none are as good as the one linked to above.

Site Link
 
anyone know anything about the italian district. (little italy)

i would love to know of a great affordable restaurant for one night.


also anyone know about some great bars near the harbor with a view. Nothing like a cold beer and a view at night!
 
tMac85 said:
anyone know anything about the italian district. (little italy)

i would love to know of a great affordable restaurant for one night.


also anyone know about some great bars near the harbor with a view. Nothing like a cold beer and a view at night!
Click to expand...

little italy has unfortunatley been almost completely annexed by chinatow. all that is really left of LI is Mulberry street. try Umberto's on Mulberry.

for a great view and some good times try the pier at 72nd street on the Hudson. Cant remember the exact name but just walk towards riverside park on 72nd.
 
I like Paesano's on Mulberry Street. Head over to Ferrara's for dessert.
 
tMac85 said:
anyone know anything about the italian district. (little italy)

i would love to know of a great affordable restaurant for one night.


also anyone know about some great bars near the harbor with a view. Nothing like a cold beer and a view at night!
Click to expand...

If you want to see a very Italian neighborhood with lots of stores and restaurants, another option is Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. It's not too far from the Bronx Zoo (a place my wife and I take many visiting friends to). Arthur Avenue is relatively far from where you'll be staying, so if you go, try to see it and the Bronx Zoo (and, if you have time, the Botanical Gardens) all on the same day.

And, yeah, avoid Times Square (major tourist trap, overpriced, crowded...) Whenever I have to go there—which is too often—I feel like wearing a shirt that says, "I ain't no f#@*ing tourist." The only reason to go to Times Square is to go to Virgil's BBQ (which someone has already mentioned). Lots of great food, beer... If you're a vegetarian, ummmmmm, eat elsewhere.
 
tMac85 said:
anyone know anything about the italian district. (little italy)

i would love to know of a great affordable restaurant for one night.


also anyone know about some great bars near the harbor with a view. Nothing like a cold beer and a view at night!
Click to expand...

As people said above Little Italy is pretty much one street now...you can walk down it and look at all the menus to find a place you like and that fits your budget. Grab some gelato, too, it's scrumptious. :D
 
iToaster said:
Yes, a 7 day Metrocard is a must as you can get pretty much anywhere via the subway. I, as well, recommend going to John's Pizza... trust me, it's a great place to eat and is unlike any other pizza place out there. The 5th Avenue Apple store is a must, though it is always crowded. The others have some good suggestions and I recommend you take their advice. I specialize in the New York City subway, so if you want to see some hidden wonders underground, I'd be happy to tell you how to observe them.
Click to expand...

oh wow i just seen this in the darkness game for xbox 360, it was abandoned in the game, pretty cool that its real
 
This is Manhattan focused. I haven't lived in Brooklyn for two years and aside from a few visits to Fette Sau and McCarren Pool shows, I really don't get down there that often. Again, it may be the last year for Coney Island so go down and catch a Cyclones game, hit the boardwalk and get some pizza at Tottonnos.

Una Pizza Napoletana (thought it may still be on summer holiday)
Jean Georges *lunch will run you less than $35 with the prix fixe*
Shake Shack (go to the short line and just get a custard)
Hill Country
The New Musuem
The Cooper Hewitt Museum
Otto's Gelato Cart in Washington Square Park

For the rest, I usually just hang around the Hell's Square area but the rash of bar seizures and closures have made even recommending a place dicey. Here today, closed tomorrow.
 
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