I'm going to New York for the first tiime this week? What can I do there?

Question

1. I want to go to the New York where the ball drops in New year's eve. What's that place called? What the address to go there? Which subway should I take?

2. Statue of Liberty. Which subway should I take?

3. China Town. Which subway should i take?

4. How much is the subway ticket?

5. I'm looking for a reasonable hotel to stay like Days Inn. Do you know any Days Inn that is near the city but affordable? Do you have a hotel to recommend?

6. What else can i do in NY. I'm staying there for 2 days only with my wife.

Answer 1

Somebody here needs to take both remedial reading and remedial math - If someone is staying in New York for two days, why on earth should they pay for a subway pass for a week?

You can't go up into the Statue of Liberty any more and only a few people will be allowed to go inside the pedestal. There are long lines waiting for boat to Liberty Island and sometimes, you can't leave when you want to because of the line- don't waste your precious time here waiting in lines. I suggest that you take a ride on the Staten Island ferry instead - it's free and you will come close enough to get a good look at the Statue - you'll also get a great view of the Manhattan skyline and be able to take some great photos.

The tour bus costs $45 and there are long lines of people waiting to get on the next bus - with only two days here, I don't recommend them. For $7 a day, you can get an unlimited subway/bus pass. New York has a great public transportation system - buses and trains are all over and run frequently and all night. Don't do things that will eat into your very limited time (lines at the Empire State Building can be hours).
The price of hotels in New York are through the roof - you also didn't leave much time to book a room. Try these,

If you are willing to share a bathroom, try the Gershwin Hotel - very plain, but very clean and inexpensive
http://www.gershwinhotel.com/english/sit...

Also, check out The Pod Hotel
http://thepodhotel.com/

And the Chelsea Lodge
http://www.chelsealodge.com/

One thing you can do while you are here is eat very well on a budget - New York has great restaurants - avoid the tourist traps and be adventurous - See if any of these appeal to you:

If you like Spanish food (from Spain, not Mexico - it's an entirely different cuisine), Costa del Sol on 50th Street and Ninth Avenue is wonderful - for $25, you get a complete dinner with a ton of choices - AND IT's GOOD! You get a choice of soup or salad - (I never order salad when there's another choice, so I can't comment). My favorite soup is the Caldo Gallego - from Galecia Spain - a delicious hearty soup with bacon, chorizo sausage, white beans, kale and other vegetables; you can also order the cold gazpacho or a chicken soup with noodles. You have a choice of more than twenty entrees - at least six different shrimp dishes - my favorites are the very lightly floured shrimp with wine sauce and the garlic shrimp - HUGE portions. You can also order salmon, paella, a whole lobster with butter sauce, various chicken dishes, mixed seafoods, veal., pork chops. These come with saffron rice and string beans - large platters on the table for everyone. You also get dessert and coffee - the cheesecake is good, but you can have flan or rice pudding or icecream. As if all this food weren't enough of a bargain, if two of you order this three course dinner, you can get a bottle of red or white wine for only $6 more ($3 each)
http://members.aol.com/cdelsol/......

Inexpensive Italian restaurants:
Near Union Square: Via Emilia on East 21st Street and Park Avenue. Appetizers are unusual and outstanding - gnocco fritto - large platter of Italian coldcuts served with delicious little fritters; tigelle (not served in too many places) hot biscuits with proscuitto and melted cheese; wonderful soups, good pastas, fish is always fresh. Some desserts are outstanding.
http://www.viaemilianyc.net/dinner.html....

In the West Village: Da Andrea on Hudson Street and West 11th Street.
Excellent pastas - I especially love their clam sauce, they, too, make tigelle, can get very crowded on weekends.
http://www.biassanot.com/

In the Village: Sapore on Greenwich Avenue and Perry Street - Lunch here has to be the biggest bargain in New York - $6 for soup or salad, coffee and a main dish, including good pastas - $3.00 more and you can have excellent fried calamari or grilled salmon as an entree. This is a very small cramped restaurant, but, in warm weather, there's lots of pleasant outdoor seating.

RUB (Righteous Urban BBQ) on West 23rd Street in Chelsea
http://menupages.com/restaurantdetails.a...
Gray's Papaya - good hotdogs - $1 each; $2.99 buys 2 hotdogs and a delicious fresh tropical fruit drink. There are a few locations: in Greenwich Village on the corner of 8th Street and Sixth Avenue and on the Upper West Side on the corner of 72nd and Broadway; and, not far from Madison Square Garden, on the corner of 37th Street and Eighth Avenue. There are no seats; you eat at counters that face the street so you can people watch. Open all night - cash only.
http://search.cityguide.aol.com/newyork/...

If you are going with someone else, go to Katz's Deli on the Lower East Side - sandwiches are huge - big enough to share (again, sit in the self service section - the uptown delis will charge you for sharing.) Try a Cuban sandwich - roast pork, ham, cheese, pickles on pressed, toasted Cuban bread (Chelsea-Havana on Eighth Avenue and 20th Street makes a great Cuban - $4 for the small one and $5 for the big one). Try a Vietnamese hero sandwich called a bahn mi - Nicky's Sandwich Shop in the East Village on East 2nd Street and Avenue A -$4 or $5. The East Village has so many really inexpensive ethnic restaurants - you can eat lunch for $5 at one of the Philippine restaurants.
You can get a great burger for $5 at the Burger Place in Le Parker Meridian Hotel on 57th near Sixth Avenue (small, crowded self-service - all they have is burgers, fries, shakes). When you are in the East Village, get an order of fries (that's all they sell) at Pommes Frites on Second Avenue and 7th Street - you'll recognize it, by the giant paper cone of fries outside. These are really good - you can choose different toppings. Chinatown has many good restaurants, most of them are very inexpensive.

Buy a copy of TimeOut New York - you get a comprehensive view of what's happening in New York this week - what museums are showing what - what's happening in the theatre this week, sporting events, sales, and what's free - New York always has free concerts and inexpensive things to do. Also, go through the old questions here at Yahoo Answers - either look at Resolved Questions at both New York City Travel and New York City Dining - see what other posters have asked and answered - you'll get some great ideas. Or do a search at Yahoo Answers - for instance, enter "inexpensive New York hotels".

Have a great time and start planning your trip back!

Answer 2

I just came back from New York for the first time. I didn't take the subway there so I'm not going to say anything about the subway. Hotels in NYC are expensive as heck, you might want to stay in somewhere like Saddle Brook, NJ (that's where I stayed). It's a half hour drive at most from New York. Two days isn't nearly long enough to stay in New York. I loved the Cotten Club, but you have to reserve that a month and a half in advance. Central Park is a must, Times Square is DEFINATLY a must, have dinner and get some souvenirs (there is a place in Times Square where you can get 7 shirts for $10.) The Empire State Building was awesome (stay with your wife at all times, I got lost in the Empire State Building.) Broadway if you find a seat, you should go to one. Just walking around New York is a great experiance. It's an oasis and the city itself should be a wonder of the world.

Answer 3

If you're searching out the hotels, go online and set your price. I think orbitz, travelocity, and the others all do this. Define "affordable". I would just read reviews because places get renovated all the time.

Cheaper places to stay you can check out craigslist for short term stays, might be cheaper than a hotel but might be taking chances. A lot of people sublet and you might luck out at an in between time, so for a couple of days you might save money.

Subways, someone posted the mta link. They all run frequently.

Where the ball drops is Times Square. Go to the Marriott Marquis for a drink, or Bubba Gump and get a window seat if you can. You can also go to tkts (you'll see it in Times Square) for discount Broadway shows.

Do Statue of Liberty first thing in the morning. I thought Ellis Island was more interesting though.

It's great to walk around there during the week from Thanksgiving - Xmas. Spring's nice.

Pick 5 places you want to check out, because you'll prob have just enough time to do all 5.

Circle Line or bus tour will cover a lot. They have some bus tours that go out to Jersey or film locations if you're into "Sopranos" and "Sex and the City".

Answer 4

Can't tell you what subway to take unless I know where you are staying. Still all you need to do is go to the nearest subway station, get a day pass and look at the map on the wall. It's really easy to get around and hard to get lost. Just make sure you are headed in the right direction (so you don't waste time). Two days is a very short time to stay in NYC, I stayed for a full week once and didn't even come close to seeing everything I wanted too.

Answer 5

First of all, there are no really "affordable" hotels in New York City, so you'll have to prepare yourself for that.

The subway is $2.00, one-way. You have to buy something called a "Metro Card" that you swipe at the turnstiles. You can get a discount if you buy a day pass. I don't know what they cost, though. Taxis are quite expensive, and slow, due to traffic. Buses are a waste of time, and don't even think of driving yourself anywhere. You'll never find street parking and garage parking costs a fortune. Really.

For a subway map, visit this website: http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

If you can, try to see a Broadway show. "Les Miserables" is great, as is "The Lion King" and "Wicked." If plays are not your thing, there's always good live music to be found in the East Village. Pick up a free copy of "The Village Voice", which you can find pretty easily on many street corners. "The Voice" lists lots of live music. You can also check out Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in Times Square (where the ball drops - even if you don't see a play, you should see Times Square.)

See if you can get a copy of Zagat's for New York City. There are too many great places to eat for me to list here. Two of my personal favorites are Mary Ann's on 8th Avenue for Mexican and Brothers Bar-B-Que on Varick Street for, well, barbecue. You'll find decent bar food and a fun atmosphere at Jekyll & Hyde on 7th Avenue in Greenwich Village.

There's not much to accomplish in only two days. The Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Chinatown, and a show will occupy much of that time. Toss in a walk around Greenwich Village, a visit to the Met or the Whitney, and a stroll in Central Park, and you should have a pretty good NYC experience, albeit a somewhat superficial one. You'll probably want to come back or stay a little longer!

Answer 6

Rather than asking so many questions, check out the NYC website - they have a ton of info, especially about tourist attractions. If you're looking for an inexpensive hotel, try expedia or travelocity - you can find good deals on hotels through that.

NY is a big place to squeeze in in 2 days, so try and figure out what you want to do, then schedule around that. There are museums, zoos, shows, a squintillion restaurants, and a billions of shops. There are also numerous guides available, some with coupons. If you'd known about this trip beforehand, you could've called for a free guide including maps and a load of information.

Answer 7

1. Times Square
4. $2 / buy a week ticket , it's $21 (I think) and good for unlimited subway and bus rides.
6.Walk, walk and walk!!!! You picked a great time to go there! Check out Greenwich Village, SoHo, Tribeca, Chelsea, Kips Bay, Gramercy, Central Park, Grand Central Station. A good way to get familiar is to take a Tour Bus. It takes you around the City to all the highlights and to can get on and off easily. Try this website (just an example):
http://www.nytours.us/
Enjoiy!!!

Answer 8

1. times square, but the ball is only up for new years. almost all west side subways. www.mta.info
2. any line that goes to chambers st. www.mta.info
3. go to canal st. or east broadway. chinatown is big!
4. $2 each way. you can get an all day pass for $7
5. I reccommend Howard Johnson. Try not to stay anywhere in Times Square or Midtown. too expensive! www.hojo.com
6. www.dailycandy.com is a great resource for new and hip things to do.

have fun!!

Answer 9

Awesome Sex 3 to 4 times a week.

Answer 10

it's Times Square. Try and find a tour guide or tour group. I don't have a suggestion on a hotel, but once you find one ask them and they should tell you all you need to know.