Does anyone know of any unusual places in New York?

Question

Any unusual places to eat, sight-see, shop etc.

I'm basically looking for the alternatives to the main attractions in New York. Many Thanks!

Answer 1

I think MoMa and DUMBO as the yuppie art crowds call it sounds pretty typical not to mention offensive to those of us who've seen our neighborhoods turned into promenades for college kids all wanting to be the next Andy Warhol or whoever else. You want to see what we used to have, what's left, go to Greenpoint and look for the McCarren park pool. Brighton is very useful, it serves many uses. You get your scenic tour of the city from the safety of the Q train, you got the beach, and you get good food and entertainment. Try the Tatiana Nightclub or Rasputin for good Russian food. If you get off at Ave J you can find the best Jewish bakery in the city, Ostravitzky just a few blocks from the train. Ground Zero as an attraction is just sick. You can also see what's left of battery park as they are gutting it to make it more pleasing to tourists. On Staten Isl (by way of the ferry at Battery Park) you can go to the Alice Austen house. Not sure what there is to do in Manhattan that is neither typical nor worth doing but the Tenement museum on the lower east side is great. It's on Orchard street and it gets crowded but is more enjoyable in winter since there is less heat. You can also check out the Transit museum at Boerum place in Brooklyn, most of the trains run thru there at the borough hall area.

Answer 2

The Bronx - City Island.

Take the "6" train all the way to the last stop (Pelham Bay Park) and change for the BX29 bus to City Island.

What makes City Island unique is that once you cross the bridge, you feel like you've entered somewhere in New England (along the Cape) since you have TONS of restaurants (mainly seafood but others as well), many yachts and just the general local feel (there is only one main street there...City Island Avenue). Take the bus to the end of the island and you can see the Long Island Sound, Throgs Neck Bridge and plenty of water around you.

If it wasn't for the city bus going up and down the island, you wouldn't think you were in New York City,

Answer 3

Well, My name is Megan and I live in Upstate New York. I dont exactly know what your planning on visiting but here. If you have enough time may I make a suggestion to go to the Thousand Islands up in Alexandria Bay. Its a chain of islands more than a thousand which you can go on boat rides to see. Its great for seeing the beautiful St. Lawrence River. It has some history to it such as the Boldt Castle on Heart Island. It has a little bit of history related to the good old UK. George Boldt had the castle built for his wife Louise in the early 1900s. As the started to complete the inside she died of an illness in about 4 years. George being so depressed stopped all the processes of everything and left the island. He never went back since. You can still see where they left the rooms undone. Well how this relates to the UK is like this George co-owned a Hotel down in NYC with John Jacob Astor and his brother. What is so significant about this is that he was over in the UK around the year 1912 which as you may know is the same year as something famous. Well John Jacob Astor was in Egypt with his wife Madeline. Astor was about 30 years her senior and she was expecting their first child. The along with Molly Brown known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" both there together. Returned to Belfast to hitch a ride on the Titanic. Well John Jacob Astor was the richest man on the ship and was unfortunately along with his brother. A victim of the 1,500 others who went down with the ship. So....its really something interesting. Also you should stop in Corning New York and visit the Corning Museum of Glass it is one stop that you will never forget all the way from Egyptian Glass to your modern LCD TV screens can be found. There are so many places to visit in New York. You may want to make it mandatory to visit the Fingerlakes region. Wine trails, and 5 gorgeous lakes right within miles of each other. Campgrounds such as Watkins Glen which was once known as one of the 7 wonders of the world.
Just a few suggestions to take into consideration. I hope you love NEW YORK!

Answer 4

Here are some very off-the-beaten path places to visit:
--Roosevelt Island, (between Manhattan and Queens, take the F train there). It feels very suburban, and it does not feel like New York, but this island which used to house several of NYC's mental hospitals is now a quiet neighborhood. It offers great views of Midtown and has some small shops. Check it out!
--Lower East Side (by Williamsburg Bridge)An interesting mix of races usually sees few outsiders but it has a lot of rich immigrant history and ethnic shopping.
--The Bowery/Chinatown--if you need restaurant supplies this is the way to go. Store after store of shops selling any possible utensil/cooking/restaurant need in this corner of Chinatown.
--Brighton Beach, Brooklyn--HUGE Russian population with Russian shops, bakeries and restaurants, plus the Beach, and Coney Island is a stone's throw away!

There are many more areas like this in NYC--just do some research. NYC is a lot more than Times Square, Ground Zero, and 5th Avenue, so happy travels!

Answer 5

Check out SoHo- and then go down to Brooklyn and visit DUMBO (stands for down under Brooklyn Bridge) also to visit smaller galleries and eating places, fun bars etc. For art you must check the the newly re-modeled MOMA and afterwards eat at The Modern (attached to museum). Take a walk through Central Park west, stating on the upper WEst side, and while there go to the musuem of natural history. While on the the Upper West Side, go to Zabars (81st and Broadway) for food shopping delights! Have fun!

Answer 6

If you're a group, book ACCOMPLICE: NY (Great fun!)
Go to the BODIES Exhibit at the seaport. See Blue-man Group.
Go to Times Square. See a show. Go to Theatermania.com for discounts.
Take the double decker bus.
See "Night at the Museum" at the movies, then go to the Museum of Natural History. Go to the MET(good deck for meeting people), MOMA (great restaurant too), WHITNEY, GUGENHEIM (Spanish master exhibit), & MUSEUM OF SEX.
Eat at Le BERNADIN (IF you can afford it. You will never have a better meal ANYWHERE) TAO to be seen, BED or DUVET to eat in bed, SPICE MARKET for exotic flavor, ANGELO & MAXIES to get picked up.
Go to Grand Central Station, The Staue of Liberty, Cenrtral Park,St Patricks, 5th Avenue and the Empire State Building, (there is a ride on top) Iceskate at Rockafeller Center

Shop in Chinatown, SOHO, relax in Grenwich Village, Party in Chelsea, check out the East Village, Williamsburg,

If you want to check out the Scottish Festival, the lecture on Animal Sexual Behavior for Valentine's Day, or the Elegant Tightwad Shopping Excursions, chose a date and click on the link below:
http://www.nycvisit.com/calendar/index.cfm?pagePkey=9&eventTypeFkey=1

Answer 7

I really liked Chinatown. It was huge, bustling and intriguing. Plus, the food there is amazingly cheap, to the point where when I went there my friends refused to eat at the restaurant we visited because they thought there must be something wrong with food so cheap. I had a two course meal for less than five dollars, and though I've had better chinese food, it was OK, and brilliant for the price. It's a little cultural island in the centre of one of the biggest cities in the world.

Answer 8

Somewhere haunted I guess but I forgot the pub but it is somewhere in New York. But that is a unusual place to eat.

Answer 9

The Heckle and Hyde is pretty unusual, sort of a haunted restaurant, it's in midtown, on fifth, I think.

Answer 10

china town!!!