When you say New York to people most immediately think of New York City in general, and Manhattan specifically. New York City is a unique city not only in the world, but in the United States as well. There is a lot of good information out there on NYC so I will not spend a lot of space on it since it is so diverse, complex and changes often.
New York State has a lot to offer besides NYC even though I’m sure most visitors would like to see Manhattan.

Money:
US Dollars

Language:
English

New York City:
The largest city in the United States, most populous and probably the most famous. NYC compromises of five boroughs – The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the most famous – the island of Manhattan. All the boroughs are accessible through the subway system.

The Bronx:
The northernmost borough which used to be very upscale in the 1920’s and has suffered severe setbacks – however a revitalization movement is currently occurring and The Bronx is actually a nice place to visit. You can go see the famous Bronx Zoo, which I recommend highly, the Edgar Allen Poe cottage, NY Botanical Garden, the Woodlawn Cemetery where many of the rich & famous are buried, take a tour of Yankee Stadium – or just walk around The Bronx feasting your eyes on incredible architecture.
By the way – the name is “The Bronx” not “Bronx”.

Brooklyn:
One of the best things to do is to walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the Brooklyn Bridge. You’ll get to see wonderful views of both boroughs and meet great people. Once in Brooklyn you can go to Coney Island, Green-Wood Cemetery or the NY Transit Museum.

Queens:
If you arrive in NY by plane, you will probably arrive in Queens where the two major airports are located (JFK & LaGuardia). Once here you can go to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (home of the annual U.S. Open), Shea Stadium (where your humble servant saw Eric Clapton & Elton John perform together), Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silvercup Studios (“Highlander” anyone?), Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and Queens Center (the most profitable per-square-foot mall in America).

Staten Island:
There are several wonderful museums in Staten Island such as the Alice Austen House Museum or take a tour of the Staten Island Zoo.

Manhattan:
There is nothing to do in Manhattan.

Yeah, right!
I’ve lived in the area for over 20 years and haven’t scratched the surface of Manhattan yet – so have a game plan.
I’m sure you are familiar with all the famous sites, and they are famous for a reason – they’re great but here are a few other options which we took and enjoyed:
- Walking food tourshttp://www.foodsofny.com/] http://www.foodsofny.com/[/url]
- FREE Central Park walking tours http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageNav...ms_walkingtours
- On Location Tours - http://www.screentours.com/ (Never done those but they seem like a lot of fun)
Manhattan has events year round – and almost everyday.
If you are on a budget, it might be hard to find a place to stay in Manhattan, there are several hostel and inns in other boroughs which are much more affordable.

The “other” New York:
New York City is a small part of New York – if you venture north (“upstate”) you’d find lakes, rolling meadows, farmlands (I kid you not) and other large cities.
Some of the most popular are:
- Lake George
- The artisan village of Sugar Loaf
- Tour the Finger Lakes region (with a wonderful 120 mile wine trail)
- Go to the American side of Niagara Falls (a lot less touristy and kitschy then the Canadian side).
- Take a tour of the United States Military Academy (West Point)
- Go to the famous village of Sleepy Hollow
- Take a cruise down the Hudson River
- Visit the “National Baseball Hall of Fame” in Cooperstown
- Cruise the Great Lakes

And many more – the options are almost endless. Give me a shout if you intend to be in the area and what you are interested in, and I’ll try to help (also give you my contact info in case of emergency).

Cool, there's lots of great tips here. I have been to the Finger Lakes and it was just beautiful, I'm glad it's on your list!

if you go there try to fly on jetblue

Why's that?

They have great service

What kind of service are you referring to exactly?

Nice and clean planes.

Great job laorfamily!! awesome tips there too

Can you describe this service? Because I've never been on Jet Blue and I can't justify paying the higher price...

Wha? Baseball is easy to understand. Hit the ball run to the bases...

Two t'ings youse can't miss in Nu Yawk: a Grimaldi's pizza & an' a Nathan's hot duog. Pizza an' hot duogs -- Dat's Nu Yawk right der.

I've been lots and never had either of them! I'll have to make sure I do that someday.

If anyone needs help on NYC nightlife, just ask. Probably one of the only things I can do to help out around here. I'm the wikipedia of NYC nightlife so let me know.

I've never been to either of those places, what's Woodstock like?

lol I just noticed this.
Was never a fan of Nathan's. It's not as fun going there since everything nearby is basically closed down. Just chill at the beach. And the train ride is pretty long from Manhattan to just eat a hotdog. If your going to Nathan's, just make sure it's during the day. It gets pretty ghetto there.

Grimaldi's pizza...oh my...looks delicious

http://www.grimaldis.com/

I know this place in hoboken.. Although I've never tried it, it gets packed on weekends. Looks amazing too.

Does anyone have ideas of websites where I can book a broadway show?

Ha! I need one too!
I found this one, it tells you where you can get super discounts on the tickets if you don't really care which one you see.

www.tdf.org

What are you thinking of seeing? I'm thinking about Avenue Q

I'm not sure whats on there at the mo, I just know that I want to go and see a show on Broadway - I'm gonna take a look later and see what I can find.

Also, does anyone know of a Blues bar/club where we can go and listen to some live music?

If you do that just wait until you are in NYC and go to Times Square to theTKTS Discount Booths. TKTS Discount Booths offer tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and plays at up to 50% off ON THE SAME DAY!!!!

For hours and locations:
http://www.tdf.org/tdf_servicepage.aspx?id=56

One piece of advice: GET THERE EARLY!!!!

Thanks for the info - too late for me though as I booked a show last night.





We're going to see Chicago - really looking forward to it.

Zohar, can you usually get tickets to a specific play (such as Avenue Q), do you know? Or is it mostly a crapshoot?

It's a carpshoot, whatever is available.
That's why if there is a specific show you want to see you need to get there early.

Hm, and then, theoretically, if they don't have it, you can usually get regular price at the box office right?

Yeah I guess in theory you could just go to the theatre and buy tickets, we've done that in London before when we were walking past a theatre and realised a show was going to start in 20 minutes.

We'd made our minds up on which show in New York we definitely wanted to see and also wanted specific seats, so I booked.

That reminds me, when I was looking I didn't realise the seating areas were named differently - in the UK - The Orchestra is literally where the Orchestra sit and play!! I was quite confused at first and thought - blimey thats a large area for the Orchestra

Our seating areas are called Stalls = America Orchestra, Circle = America Front Mezzanine and Upper Circle = America Rear Mezzanine.

Didn't see this thread when I posted here, I realize its quite old too.

The Yankee Stadium is gone BTW ofc everybody knows that though.