quote:

Originally posted by Keppie:
The subway is pretty safe. And the rude New Yorker concept is largely a myth.

Keppie, Shhhhhhhhhhh. We have a reputation to uphold.

quote:

Originally posted by Spanky:
Thank you to christina-in-brooklyn for the link to The Lower East Side Tenement Museum. I think I will visit there on my next trip to New York.

My pleasure Spanky. It's a great place.

I just remembered a pretty cool place to go. The Transit Museum, just over the bridge from Manhattan is a nice break and an interesting perspective on NYC. They've even got real subway cars, complete with ads, from a number of different periods in the city's history.

WALK! WALK! WALK!

And the subway too!

I found walking and the subway to be the best policy. The bus seems like a good idea, but then every time it stops, which is every block, you bang yourself on the head for not taking the subway. There are a few exceptions. YOu pretty much need a bus to get from the west side of central park to the East side, and its a short hop. WHY_ Well, the upper east side is hopping full of sites, and the West side has a few things as well.

The Art musuem comes to mind. I do hope your 13 year old likes art...

Btw' near rockefeller center is the Firefighters gift shop with a genuine fire engine to play with. The inner child in me was quite delighted.

Other hints:

Get in line EARLY for tickets to the stature of liberty, ellis island. There is a security line, and they confiscated any weapons such as small pen knives and who knows what else. Leave your pen knives or boot knives at home, or risk losing them.

YOu can sign up for the time pass a day, or several days before. I'd recommend this. I arrived around 12pm and barely made the last boat in. There were no time passes avaliable for the statue of liberty. We walked around the island instead. Ellis Island is incredible, and every time I go there I learn something new. Besides, the view of new york from the island is incredible. Ellis island is free, by the way, and does not require a time pass. Only the ferry costs money.

Yes, you CAN take the staten Island ferry for almost nothing,but it doesn't stop at liberty island or ellis island, it just goes past them.

Its still a great almost free ride!!!!

Other hints:

The art museum is by DONATION. The amounts on the board are SUGGESTED except for the special exhibitions.

Its the same for the Natural history museum, both great places, and the Natural history museum has some incredible exhibits for a curious 13 year old.

The hot dogs by the art museum are overpriced. They have more reasonable food prices in the Central park area only a few blocks away.

The MOMA is fantastic, but 22 bucks seems like an awful lot unless you really love modern art. Its free on fridays from 4-6. Get there early, the line can extend for more than a block.

The brooklyn bridge is free, and the best views of it, also free, is from the 'fish market', which has very few fish there now.

See christinas nyc cheap and almost free area.

quote:

Originally posted by Tortuga_traveller:
I found walking and the subway to be the best policy. The bus seems like a good idea, but then every time it stops, which is every block, you bang yourself on the head for not taking the subway. There are a few exceptions. YOu pretty much need a bus to get from the west side of central park to the East side, and its a short hop. WHY_ Well, the upper east side is hopping full of sites, and the West side has a few things as well.

True. Though simply riding the bus and staring out the windows is a nice break from a morning or afternoon of walking. Cheap, too, if you have a Metrocard. The OP is probably back now, but I couldn't suggest more strongly that anybody visiting NY for more than 3 or 4 days buy a 7-day Metrocard for $24 or so. Best deal in NY.

The buses can be slow, though. I took one from the Upper West Side (81st? By the subway station) across the Central Park to the Met, and I probably could have arrived at W Central Park from Broadway faster walking than by riding the bus.

So we are back and the trip went well. Thank you for all of your input. We did a little of everything. the empire state building outside observatory was closed due to ice so we payed the extra to go to the very top. (was worth it) (we were told before hand not to do the virtual ride) My step daughter had a melt down so when we got down we decided to take the double decker bus tour. it was actually a pretty good idea. we were able to see alot that we probably never would have seen, and got alot of information. it was nice to be able to go by a place-see it and if we wanted to check it out some more we just got off walked back saw whatever then hopped back on. while on the bus we saw a billboard for the Bodies exhibit which we had no idea was there(and was the coolest thing ever-real bodies preserved and on display). we ice skated in central park, saw all the main tourist things. but best of all my brother-in-law took us to all of his favorite places to eat. the food was so good! people were very friendly, city was pretty clean, transportation was great(taxis, subway, tour bus). overall it was a great trip and I greatly appreciate all of your input.

I love it when people repost after the experience to say how it went. I always wonder about people's end experiences.

Glad you had a good time in the Big Ugly, wendywo.