New York, New York
 

"... If you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere..."

Or at least so the song says, now question is what to do while staying there?

I am going there on holiday in the near future and was wondering what would be the best places to visit while staying there.

Probably I'll visit the normal tourist attractions (museums, famous buildings etc.) but what would be the "non normal tourist places" to see and experience?

Any suggestions would be welcome as although I have seen the southern parts (Texas mainly) and west coast I have never been to east coast side of US before.

I'd start with central park.

Large place but we'll probably take some sort of tour there by carriage possibly :)

I enjoy the trail-like atmosphere. There are a lot of multiple paths. It's pretty cool at night.

Have fun man, hope you enjoy your trip.

I may have some more ideas, just nothing coming to mind right now for some reason http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/wacko1.gif

Here is some insider information:

Take the ferry to Staten Island in order to see the Statue of Liberty. The Staten Island Ferry is FREE and brings you close enough to Lady Liberty to enjoy it.

Do not take the silly and expensive Liberty Island ferry or bother actually going to Liberty Island. It is pretty lame and since 9/11 the public can not go very far into the statue. It will blow half of your day.

Try a street vendor hot dog.
Try a hole in the wall pizza shop.
Visit Toys R' Us in Times Square. It is HUGE and a lot of fun... especially for children.

Try to catch a show at the Beacon Theater on Broadway. A year or two ago, I happened to be there when Chris Cornell had a concert, it was fantastic.

I will post more when I think about it

Don't do the carriage ride. They stink and are cruel to the horses.

Shakespeare in the Park performs throughout the summer. Google for ticket information.

Don't stay in an overpriced hotel in midtown. Look for hotels/hostels in UWS, the Village or Brooklyn.

Don't even bother visiting Times Square. It's not at all impressive in person and there's nothing to do. Ditto WTC/wall st.

Make sure you visit the Frick. Great collection and wonderful place to relax.

The best bookstore in the city is The Strand on Broadway and 12th. Virtually everything is used/discounted. Check the stalls outside for books selling for a buck.

If you need to use a restroom just po(o)p inside a Starbucks. There's one on every block and they don't seem to mind.

Also visit SoHo and go to Canal Street and check out the vendors. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING. It is ALL fake.

It is fun to watch the vendors and street performers and such.

SoHo is yuppie as hell.

I disagree.

Just the level of activity in Times Square is impressive. Stand on a corner and just people watch. This has to be one of the best people-watching places in the world.

If you enjoy watching fat-ass tourists maybe.

Better people watching can be had in Washington Square Park and they've finally finished the renovations.

Good ideas, I'll definitely keep these in mind :)

What is more American than that?

Still, the level of activity and night-time visuals are worth the travel to Times Square. Plus, he can bring the family to Toys R Us in the process.

Hey ristoc,
just a quick question.

Why would you want to go for a holiday in one of the biggest, overfilled, ugliest, dirties, most stressful cities in the world ??

I´ve been to NY once for approx 7 hours,..
I´d never want to go again.
I always thought most people want to relax during their holidays ?

So you admit you're pretty much talking out of your ass.

Actually my question was directed at ristoc, so how about stfu ?
And btw, the first impression is pretty much that what counts Frenchmen.

NYC is one of the most amazing cities I've been in . I spent a week and a half living in the Upper West Side with my ex-girlfriend's family, and got to experience the city from a non-tourist's perspective, which made the trip well worthwhile.

What exactly did you do in those 7 hours?

Well what did we do, not much really, we went to see the Statue of Liberty, checked out Times square, alot of stores, etc and a few other things i don´t really remember that well. (It´s a long time ago tbh) But the main feeling was dirty and chaotic.
Having that said i must admit that i´m not a fan of big cities anyways (maybe because of the experiences i´ve had in the past (NY, Dallas, Houston, Berlin, Amsterdam, etc)

Small trips to sections of a city aren't representative of the whole. When I was in washington DC I thought the place was worthless. I wasn't on the good side of town.

Big cities have areas you don't want to go, and then there's the areas where the tourists go. It's like Mexico. Cancun is awesome. Real Mexico is a 3rd world country.

Yeah i know, but i´m not a fan of big cities in general.
I just don´t like them and honestly i could never even imagine spending my vacation in one, let alone living there http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/wacko1.gif
It´s just not everyones deal.

Cancun is not a Mexican city. There are lots of places that ONLY take USD.

You should visit that big multi-religion church, central park, that big famous museum, then that modern art museum, and I would suggest taking a bus tour for a day. Its worth it.