New York City - trip advice please!

Yes thats the one I use. V good value! Just remember to print the voucher before you go and collect it from Planet Holywood! Remember it starts from the day you 1st use it no matter what time. So I collect the night I arrive (but I think you get there very late) and start useing the next day.

I'd say its possible but it's not what I would do. It might look close on the map but in reality ...

Far better gettign the subway to the Brooklyn side and walking back !

When you say voucher to you mean for the NY pass itself? I've got the actual credit card "chipped" NY pass already, it was delivered so i understand I don't need to do any collection or anything?

Definitely not waking over to Brooklyn, will get the subway. I was curious to know if walking from the four points chelsea to ESB was reasonable - google maps shows it as 15 minutes, but wondered how much "obstruction" such as road crossing etc there is.

Thanks

Luke

sorry - got confused and just edited my comment re walking ! The walk to the ESB is not too bad. There will always be obstructions. The way I'd do it is walk up 7th Ave to 34th street then alont 34th Street rather than the back route - less likely to get lost !

I usually collect my card but if you have had it delivered thats all very good ! and will give you chance to study the booklet re opening hours etc

The walk from Chelsea to the ESB will take you no time at all.

If you you're going to do the Statue of Liberty I'd recommend the climb inside to the crown , but you will need to book a good way in advance as the daily numbers allowed are very limited (and the security checks are twice as thorough and lengthy to those any US airport has to offer and you have to go through two lots of them).
DL

Jump on the Staten Island Ferry around twilight beautiful views of the Statue of Liberty and Downtown Manhattan. Washington Square Garden is fun to hang out in. My highlight of my last trip was seeing West Side Story and bumping into Bill Clinton at the times square Marriot

For food I'd reccomend Buddakan near the Meatpacking District and the Strip House in Greenwich Village

[honey lamb]

When I went with friends we did the Night tour already mentioned and there was a stop at the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side where we all got off and had ice-cream regardless of the fact that it was January and -15C :0

Manhattan looked magical in the dark

Balthazars for brunch is pretty good!

http://www.balthazarny.com/

Balthazars for brunch is pretty good!

http://www.balthazarny.com/

Pastis also brilliant for Brunch and in a really nice area

Just to add if you want to see a Broadway show, please do not waste your time spending hours in that TKTS queue in Times Square.

Go to http://www.broadwaybox.com/ where they publish online discounts (usually the same ones that are discounted at TKTS). You can either then book them online using the code or print out the page and take it to the theatre box office which I have done many times.

Another way to get cheaper Broadway tickets is to go in for the lotteries that each show hold, Standing tickets or Rush tickets.

http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/a ... y-Policies

:X

there is also a TKTS booth at South street seaport which is a lot less crowded than Times Square also South Street is a great little area for breakfast or a walk around and near WTC if you are heading there

Me and my dear wife went to NY for our 40th on the 18th May last year,We pre booked the ESB on line for the 1st night we were there and walked in No waiting up to the top within 20 mins,we also booked our theatre tickets on line and got good discounts,The best night we had was we went on a 3 hour evening dinner cruise on the Hudson,which I strongly recomend this can also be pre booked, I always pre book if possible it saves time and allows you to cover more

Just remembered the Circle line 3 hr cruise which takes you round the island. V interesting to see the transition from the south of Manhatten to the north up the East river, up over the top and back down the Hudson. From a boat some of the island loosk positivly rural.

Just remembered the Circle line 3 hr cruise which takes you round the island. V interesting to see the transition from the south of Manhatten to the north up the East river, up over the top and back down the Hudson. From a boat some of the island loosk positivly rural.

I did the 3 hour cruise back in 2000 - very interesting!

Yes, we done the Circle line cruise around the island in 2008 and thought it was really good. Also recommended it to someone that went last year and they enjoyed it too.

thanks for this feed Luke

I am also going to NY for the first time in January.
I know it will be cold (or freezing) but any advice this way would be appreciated also.
I will be staying at the Days Inn Long Island City as this was the cheapest option so anyone who knows the hotel feel free to comment.

thanks

thanks for this feed Luke

I am also going to NY for the first time in January.
I know it will be cold (or freezing) but any advice this way would be appreciated also.
I will be staying at the Days Inn Long Island City as this was the cheapest option so anyone who knows the hotel feel free to comment.

thanks

Other than the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge I think everyting suggested to Luke still applies to your trip.

Wrap up warm for as you say it will be very cold. Take layers. Hat, scarf and gloves are a must, ear muffs too if you have them.

Walk on the sunny side of the street (if there is one) it will be marginally warmer. Plan on doing activities close together - will limit your time outside.

Given the bad weather they have had the last couple of years (though lucky me always seams to arrive between blizzards) check the VS status updates in case of any flight changes

Other than the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge I think everyting suggested to Luke still applies to your trip.

Wrap up warm for as you say it will be very cold. Take layers. Hat, scarf and gloves are a must, ear muffs too if you have them.

Walk on the sunny side of the street (if there is one) it will be marginally warmer. Plan on doing activities close together - will limit your time outside.

Given the bad weather they have had the last couple of years (though lucky me always seams to arrive between blizzards) check the VS status updates in case of any flight changes

Thanks that is pretty much what i expected and is why i am booked on to the first VS flight out and the last back.

Layers layers and more layers for ANY season in NY. In the winter it can be hot inside and on the Subway and the other way round in the summer. Also I went one winter and found the more I walked around the warmer I got so relied on having lots of layers.

o local on our flight in April recommended a speakeasy/bar called Please Dont Tell on ST marks place. One of the VS staff knew of it.
apparently its really cool- you go in via a crappy hot dog shop and enter a phone booth,call up to be let in and then a wall slides back.

its a modern day version of a speakeasy which was an illegal bar back in the days of prohibition, hence the fake wall etc

we never made it but I am told its worth the visit

Another great bar is Marie's Crisis Cafe on Grove Street in the West Village. It's a piano bar where everyone just stands around the piano singing Broadway showtunes - it's a good night out.

couldnt be as good as PJ Obriens in N'orleans -now that IS cool

Another great bar is Marie's Crisis Cafe on Grove Street in the West Village. It's a piano bar where everyone just stands around the piano singing Broadway showtunes - it's a good night out.

Another great bar for this kind of stuff is Duplex on Christopher St

CHill, doubtless your hotel is much cheaper than being on the island, and if this is an issue, no biggie, but you really do lose out being on the other side. I'm not going to be snobbish about it, just want to point out how really, truly walkable Manhattan is.

An hour's walk from Midtown/Grand Central going south will take you to Wall Street, 50 minutes and you're at the Guggenheim. We have friends in SoHo and the Upper East Side, so we've done both the walks many times, and I can really recommend seeing the place this way. It is just unbelievable how much is packed in two hours walk in this place, without the pain that comes from hiking up and down hills as you would have to deal with out here. If you enjoy seeing by walking, there are few places better than NY.

Manhattan is also unquestionably one of the most expensive locations for hotels on the planet. And what you get is (mostly) small. But the weather might get sucky, and you might be stuck at or close to your hotel, and if so being on the island is just going to make all the difference.



And, for all the love I have of the drinking holes in my town, and my local, Alembic, above all, I have to hand it to NY, it has a ridiculous, spectacular number of great bars. Too many to even start on. Not gonna bother to list a bunch of out of the way places, as especially when you have little time, you aren't too likely to hack it out of the way to find a watering hole except if that's your main reason for visiting. I'll mention the Campbell Apartment as it's "in" Grand Central, tucked away on a side near the Vanderbilt Avenue portico, and not accessible from the main station, so not really in the station. Used to be the offices of John Campbell. Since Grand Central is a place you might want to visit, make it so that you can stop by and have a cocktail. Popular with locals/commuters, so crowded on a weekday afternoon, very pleasant on the weekends.

Not the sort of place that is likely to have new and inventive drinks incorporating home made citrus extracts etc etc, but a grand space, very old school, the place you would really want to order a Manhattan in.

CHill, doubtless your hotel is much cheaper than being on the island, and if this is an issue, no biggie, but you really do lose out being on the other side. I'm not going to be snobbish about it, just want to point out how really, truly walkable Manhattan is.

the hotel was selected as a tight budget is in place for this trip however is one block from the 7 subway so we should be able to get around quite easily, the walking distances were taken in to consideration but that hotel saved me around £100 on the dates we are traveling after searching a lot of the internet which is why we are staying there.