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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
A weekend in NYC: what should we DEFINITELY do?
We're celebrating our 5th anniversary next weekend by taking a whirlwind tour of NYC. We're flying in on Sat. morning, hitting the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the WTC site. We're seeing a show that night.
But, we have absolutely nothing planned for Sunday. Our flight out isn't until 9 pm, so we've got all day--BUT, we'll have our bag (probably a camping backpack) with us.
So, what should we do?
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Re: A weekend in NYC: what should we DEFINITELY do?
Ditto this. Also if you had never been to Times Square that is worth seeing. You could be in NYC for over a week and never get bored.
If you've never been to NYC before, I definitely second walking up 5th avenue and ending up in Central Park. Start as far down on 5th as you have time to walk. I love the park. You can grab a hot dog or bratwurst from a street vendor for lunch.
Skip going up in the Empire State Building. Total tourist trap and waste of precious time, IMO. But walk through Grand Central Station if you have time.
Have fun!
ETA: Times Square is much more impressive if you go after dark.
I have to agree with Central Park, if the weather's nice. We went into the city a few Saturday's ago and just spent the day in the park (DS was with us). It was fun.
Or if you're downtown, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, then have lunch in Brooklyn. I agree with the others. Unless you have a connection, skip the WTC site. Ride the Staten Island Ferry, which gets you near the Statue of Liberty, but without all the tourists.
If the weather isn't so great (they are forecasting rain on Sunday, but I don't know if it's an all day or just part day thing), then I recommend the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is in the Park. Or MoMA or the Guggenheim if you're more into Modern stuff. If you aren't into art, then the Natural History Museum/Planetarium is great too.
Have fun!
i 3rd the central park idea! are you bringing the LO with you? there is a small zoo & fun carousel. also a boat basin or you can even rent bikes.
The MET is right near the park as well if you're into museums.
Thanks for all of the ideas ladies! We're actually staying in Times Square, so we'll see that for sure on Sat. night. I like the Central Park idea, and we love museums!
How close is the WTC site to where you catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island? DH seems to think that we can just walk from there to the ferry (he was up there a few years ago with his best friend), which is why we were planning on going.
I recommed MOMA for sure. DH and I are not particularly "arty", but we both loved the museum. As for the Empire State Building, I'm torn. The view from up there is amazing, but it is a complete tourist trap. They try to suck every bleeding dime out of you. They make it seem like you have to buy certain things (they really push the audio tour - don't fall for it) and they smoosh as many people into the elevators as they possibly can. It's probably at least a 60-90 minute experience, so I would only do it if you have nothing else planned.
Central Park is a must. And if you can do Times Square at night, you should.
You can definitely walk to the ferry from the WTC site, it's maybe 5 or 6 blocks. The ferry is a nice thing to do and free. There's also a free bus that drives around the bottom of Manhattan that can take you from the WTC to the ferry if you can find somewhere to catch it. It's called the "connection".
Yeah, I agree about the WTC site, although it is close to Battery Park so you can definitely walk there. And I totally agree about seeing Grand Central- it's incredibly beautiful.
If you're into taking a long walk, you could walk to Chinatown, Little Italy and Soho very easily.
I love art museums, so MoMa and the Guggenheim are great. MoMa has a really good cafe for lunch.
I kinda have to agree with skipping the WTC site, and the Empire State building. So many people, long hot waits in line... I forget the name of the bus tour that picks up and drops off at landmarks, but you can get on and off all over town to check things out.
If you like Mexican, try Dos Caminos, we like the one in SOHO. If you like tequila and margaritas-they have an awesome selection! I have heard Babbo in the West Vilage is great for Italian, we never made it there.
I can give you a bunch of restaurant reccs if you can tell me what you are looking for! PM me if you would like some more help!
"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for"
These are all great suggestions.
I always tell my out of town guests (who don't want to spend a lot of money or time in the city) to walk through Times Square. Have lunch at Ellen's Stardust Diner (on 5th & Broadway I think). It's a fun little diner where the wait staff sing & dance for you. So you get a little taste of Broadway that way.
Then continue up 5th ave to look in the shops. Walk past St. Patrick's cathedral (you can also go in). And keep going up to Central Park. You can stop in FAO Schwartz and get something for your little one on the way.
The zoo at Central Park is really nice but I also just like to go near the reservoir and just people watch and relax.
No matter what you do - you'll have fun! I love just lounging around in NYC!
I loved the combo of Brunch at Sarabeth's (West) (Amsterdam and 79th, I think) and American Museum of Natural History - such a cool museum!
Also, for fun, you could try Serendipity 3 for a frozen hot chocolate (share one, they're huge) and other treats (60th st between 2nd and 3rd) and shop at Bloomingdale's.