hey there. so our family friends and my family are planning on going on a trip to new york for a couple days over the canada day weekend.

i was just wondering what some of you have found to be fun family friendly places to visit in or around the area. and what would u recommended seeing or doing. also would anyone know of any good beaches nearby that we could go to.

so far we have the typical tourist things lined up

empire state building
metropoliton musium of art
american museam of natural history
statue of liberty
rockefeelor center
central park
times square

id love to hear form you guys that have been to NY or know of good places to visit

thanks a bunch
~C

ahh this is useful to me too I'm planning a trip in august

EDIT:

You can check out columbia university and check out their campus

it takes about 2-3 hours to do the Empire State Building, seeing as it will also be 4th of July when you go, it's going to be a zoo, so you'll lose a good chunk of the day doing it (I say this from experience). i'd say explore the Village, there are a lot of really cool shops and stuff, there's a sushi place called Tomoe in the Village which I loved, if you're into sushi. it's an amazing city, and it's a lot of fun!

Originally Posted by Mohit

ahh this is useful to me too I'm planning a trip in august

EDIT:

You can check out columbia university and check out their campus

-_- umm ive had enough of uni for a while summer vacation = no uni's no school no no no haha thx for the sujjestion though

Originally Posted by jamescw1234

it takes about 2-3 hours to do the Empire State Building, seeing as it will also be 4th of July when you go, it's going to be a zoo, so you'll lose a good chunk of the day doing it (I say this from experience). i'd say explore the Village, there are a lot of really cool shops and stuff, there's a sushi place called Tomoe in the Village which I loved, if you're into sushi. it's an amazing city, and it's a lot of fun!

actually whats wierd is that our parents planned it so we leave canada day morning and return the evening of 4th of july, so we totally miss those 2 big celebrations. anyways whats the village and where is that it sounds interesting

Originally Posted by Chevalier

-_- umm ive had enough of uni for a while summer vacation = no uni's no school no no no haha thx for the sujjestion though



actually whats wierd is that our parents planned it so we leave canada day morning and return the evening of 4th of july, so we totally miss those 2 big celebrations. anyways whats the village and where is that it sounds interesting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Village my favourite place in NYC

This is helpful to me too. We're going in August.

I've been visiting NYC once every year for a while now and I absolutely love the city!

I've been to both museums and you could literally spend an entire day in one museum alone! If you visit the American Museum of Natural History, be sure to check out their IMAX -- it's pretty cool.

Be sure to get these special tickets online to go up to the upper area of Statue of Liberty -- I don't think it costs any extra.

Walking on the Brooklyn Bridge is a really good experience! Once you get to Brooklyn, check out the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, which is literally below the bridge. One of the best ice creams I've ever had! Plus you get a great view of Manhattan.

If you're by the East village, be sure to check out the pizza places there. I recommend Artichoke Basille's Pizza & Brewery at 328 E 14th St (between First and Second Ave). There's no place to sit down to eat, but definitely beats any pizza you've ever had.

It's also a great idea to just get a day Metro pass and just commute around the city through public transit. It's really convenient plus you get to compare how slow everything is in Toronto.

I can't think of anything else at the moment, but yeah...NYC is just awesome

If you're a Seinfeld fan, you gotta hit up Tom's Restaurant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%27s_Restaurant

If you have even the slightest interest in doughnuts, the Doughnut Plant is pretty awesome
http://www.doughnutplant.com /

And if you're looking to do some shopping, I'd recommend heading down to SoHo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoHo

I'm not sure why, but these were the first things that popped into my head. If I think of anything else I'll be sure to let ya know haha
But no matter what you guys do, I'm sure you'll have an awesome time

You should checkout the MOMA! And very close to the MOMA are the NBC studios! They offer tours of the NBC building. The time I went, I got to see the SNL studios, and ran into a few SNL cast members in the hall. No big deal.

I also highly recommend checking out the UN building! They have a few exhibitions going on in the lobby.. it's pretty neat.

And you absolutely MUST pay a visit to Soho! It's really busy but it looks so beautiful despite the fact that it's not that glamorous. You'll find all sorts of cool shops there! If you're into fashion, check out UNIQLO, which is basically the Japanese version of H&M... but much cooler and on the rise to becoming more mainstream in surrounding countries. I hear they have fashion shows go on inside the store sometimes...

Originally Posted by IbrahimH

And you absolutely MUST pay a visit to Soho! It's really busy but it looks so beautiful despite the fact that it's not that glamorous. You'll find all sorts of cool shops there! If you're into fashion, check out UNIQLO, which is basically the Japanese version of H&M... but much cooler and on the rise to becoming more mainstream in surrounding countries. I hear they have fashion shows go on inside the store sometimes...

UNIQLO! Freakin' awesome store
Reasonable prices too!

step 1: get this thing http://www.newyorkpass.com/ it gives you access to all the things you listed and a crap load more

step 2: go see a yankee game and a mets game (EDIT: lmao for pretty much the whole canada day weekend the yankees are playing the mets lololololo)

I love New York! I usually go once or twice a year.

Times Square will take up a good chunk of time. Also make sure you go to Macy's if you're a big shopper.

One of the things you absolutely have to do is got to the TKTS booth in Times Square and get cheap broadway tickets. Ask anyone (the concierge for example) about the times the booth opens. Go a half hour before it opens and stand in the long line ( it is a long line but it is worth it) Go in with 3 or 4 shows that you want to see, in the order you want to see them (in case your first choices are sold out). There are people standing near the lines that will help you decide what to see if you are unsure. There are things for all kinds of people. Big spectacular musicals, edgy contemporary musicals, dramatic plays with A-list actors, off-broadway intimate shows.

I'm an absolute broadway nut so whenever I go, all I do is see shows (I went in december last year, arrived on friday night, saw a show, woke up saturday morning, saw a show, saturday night, saw a show, sunday went home )

But they are really fun for people who just casually like the theatre too.

I reccommend going to the MOMA too, its great!

Also, if you want to see the Statue of Liberty but don't want to go to the island, becuase it probably will be super packed, I would suggest taking the Statin Island Ferry. It's free and you get a great view the entire way, good for taking lots of pictures.

And SoHo is great for shopping or just walking around! It stands for South of Houston street so if you go on Broadway and just keep going south of Houston then you can walk around that whole area. Also, over the summer I noticed that sometimes they would have a kind of street fair on the weekends. I THINK it was on Saturdays but don't take my word for it. You can always ask your hotel.

Make sure to check out Little Italy! It's one of my favourite places for some amazing pasta and its so nice to walk around especially at night. It's around Mulberry and Hester.

My #1 reccommendation would be to just walk around and explore. You dont have to worry about getting lost because (as long as your not in the village) streets run east to west and avenues run north to south. The avenues start on the east side with 1st ave and get bigger as you move west. The streets start on the south and the numbers get bigger as you move north.

Originally Posted by Sheikia

I love New York! I usually go once or twice a year.

Times Square will take up a good chunk of time. Also make sure you go to Macy's if you're a big shopper.

One of the things you absolutely have to do is got to the TKTS booth in Times Square and get cheap broadway tickets.

oh thats pretty cool, how much are the tickets at the booth, i know unusally if u buy them online through the broadway website the cheapest come at around 100 per person..


also...
for the person who mentioned that newyork pass thing were getting this one: http://www.citypass.com/new-york you get access to
empire state building
metropoliton musium of art
american museam of natural history
statue of liberty
rockefeelor center
MOMA
and some other options

its pretty cheap considering all the stuff u can get into..


anyways thx for the suggestions ill definitely look up SOHO it sounds pretty cool, and im not totally sure about MOMA, never been into that kind of art, but def the amrican museam of natural history (and ofcourse the imax i love those shows)

if anyone else has anything to add id love to hear form you

Originally Posted by Chevalier

oh thats pretty cool, how much are the tickets at the booth, i know unusally if u buy them online through the broadway website the cheapest come at around 100 per person..

Check your other thread "Cheap broadway tickets?"

I posted all the info in there