New York City tourism advice.

[GePap]

Honestly, I think the boat tours are boring. Not worth the time or money in my opinion.

You can always do Central Park early and walk to the Met, then do the Met, kill two birds with one stone.

I assume you are taking the PATH into the City.

[Dinner]

I'm still reading the guide book which I bought yesterday. What is the PATH?

[Imran Siddiqui]

A mass transit system, more specifically: rail .

[Dinner]

Yes, we will be using mass transit or hot footing it. Normally I rent cars when I travel but there's just not enough parking in NYC so it's easier to walk.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I'm still reading the guide book which I bought yesterday. What is the PATH?

PATH is a system which connects northern NJ to NYC. Its run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. There is a line that begins in Newark and goes into Manhattan. You can go from Newark to Penn Station in about 30 minutes.

Here is a link. Its $1.50 per ride and if your staying in Newark, its the way to go.

Link:

http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/path/html/

Once in NYC, you can easily switch to the Subway system.

[lord of the mark]

the PATH trains are (or at least were) cheap, clean, fast handy. They will take you to 33rd street. There are also stops along the way in Greenwich Village. Unfortanately the line from Newark to lower Manhattan is not yet back in operation, IIUC (*&# terrorists)


I second GE on Chinatown for food. Its cool to see in general. Its also close to downtown, City Hall, Little Italy (where the food is not so cheap) SoHo, and the Lower East Side.

If you want a cheaper alternative to the Circle Line, take the Staten Island Ferry for a good view of NY from the water. There are also ferries from NJ these days.


Some places I like - New York Public Library. The UN. A walk up Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side. The Amer Museum of Natural History. Central Park, for sure. The Plaza Hotel (which is going condo and wont be open to the public much longer) The Guggenheim museum. The Jewish Museum. Wall Street. Nassau Street. Battery Park.

Some offbeat places. Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for the Hasidim. Brookyn Botanical Garden. Juniors, for the cheesecake.

Ive always like Coney Island in winter. It has a certain je ne sais quoi, with the cold wind off the water, the deserted side shows, etc.

Oh, wait, youre gonna be there in spring, and are considering Brooklyn. Then I must again suggest the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. The forsythia, the cherry trees, the Japanese garden, etc. And its close to the Brooklyn Museum, which if you are into Assyrian art, or the Hudson River school of American painters, is a must.

Theres the Bronx Zoo, but youre from San Diego.

Greenwich Village is more commercial than it used to be, but is still kinda cool.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Oerdin


I believe Krazy Kitty got a place in Newark near the bridge for $60 per night. I actually still need to find a place for thursday night so I was thinking about hitting up a hostel for the second half of thursday then splitting a room with a few of the others for Friday-Sunday nights.

the bridge? there are a couple of bridges across the Passaic(?) river in dwntwn Newark, but theres no bridge to NYC. Are you sure where that is?

Hostel in NJ? IIRC there is a hostel in NYC, but I cant vouch for its quality.

[lord of the mark]

where we went last trip

Borough Park and Williamsburgh in Brooklyn, for the Hasidim.

In between - Park Slope - an elegant yet funky neighborhood of yuppies and brownstones, off the beaten track. Brooklyn Public Library.

Midtown - The American Girl Doll Store on 5th Avenue. Depends what youre into. Rockefeller Center. The walk up 5th avenue (it was december, so we looked at the windon displays)

Downtown. City Hall, Tribeca, Soho, Canal Street

In between - The original Barnes and Nobel (personal memories) a walk down to the Village, and around the Village.

[Kontiki]

You can stay at the YMCA in NY for a reasonable rate. I did that the first time I vistited about eight or nine years ago. Great location too - Upper West side, about a half a block in from Central Park and near Central Park South.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Kontiki
You can stay at the YMCA in NY for a reasonable rate. I did that the first time I vistited about eight or nine years ago. Great location too - Upper West side, about a half a block in from Central Park and near Central Park South.

Edit: Just looked it up. Located at 5 W63rd St. Like I said, unbeatable location. However, it looks like they've jacked their rates to $72-$140. Cheap for NY, but not exactly discount Jersey prices.

[GePap]

For Pastrami, the 2nd Avenue Deli has closed, so Katz on Houston is a good place to go. It is not cheap, but the pastrami is incredible, if you want it.

I still think a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge should be considered an essential NYC tourist act. Thought the Manhattan Bridge has better views of downtown due to its location. The park between the two bridges running alongside DUMBO also has incredible views. Best place for photos there is.

[Dinner]

I'll have to hit up a real NY deli like Katz plus walk the Brooklyn Bridge. I leave in just under 45 hours so I'd better start doing laundry and packing.

LotM: I likely do have the location mixed up.

[GePap]

If you are in NYC on sunday, a nice trip might be to take the PATH into the WTC site. From there, walk to City Hall and then over the Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn. Once in Brooklyn, you could walk along the riverside park over to the Manhattan Bridge. Cross the Manhattan bridge, which puts you right close to both Chinatown AND the Lower East side. Then you could have lunch at Katz, then either head north into the East Village, West to Soho, or south to Chinatown. Or just take a subway anywhere else in the City.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by GePap
For Pastrami, the 2nd Avenue Deli has closed,

Rattners on Delancey has also closed, Im afraid, IIUC. But I doubt Oerdin would find kosher dairy as appealing as kosher deli

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by GePap
If you are in NYC on sunday, a nice trip might be to take the PATH into the WTC site. .

The PATH to lower Manhattan is open? That makes Newark a much more convenient place for touring NY, if hes really in Newark.