Any tips for New York tourists?

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Hallucination

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So in just over a month(October 5th) I'm heading to New York with a couple friends to see U2 at MSG on October 8th. We're gonna be there for 6 days. Any suggestions on what a few kids from small town western Canada might find amusing. Obviously the night of the 8th is booked for U2 and on the 6th we're going to see the Lion King but other than that we're gonna just wing it. Are there any 'Must See" attractions more so than others. See to us things like the Statue of Liberty seem too obvious but should we see it anyways? We just want to make the most out of our time there. Cheers!
 
Whatever you do, DON'T go see Kathy Lee Gifford on Broadway. Just heard on the news that SHE is making her Bwy debut soon...... Try Downtown, The Village. Then Wo Hops @17 Mott st. for Chinese food (downstairs, not up...DeNiro eats downstairs...so Does Matt Damon) :up:
 
Laird/Bono said:
Whatever you do, DON'T go see Kathy Lee Gifford on Broadway. Just heard on the news that SHE is making her Bwy debut soon...... Try Downtown, The Village. Then Wo Hops @17 Mott st. for Chinese food (downstairs, not up...DeNiro eats downstairs...so Does Matt Damon) :up:

:laugh: Thanks for the tip! I was almost thinking about going to see her.:hmm: OR NOT! Wo Hops eh? We'll do. We're staying at the Super 8 Times Square. We tried to book at the Salisbury but they were full.
 
Have you been to NYC before?

What types of things do you like doing? Do you enjoy going out to eat? Checking out local culture? Going to bars at night?
 
for an interesting mix of clientelle and cool bartenders, try my favorite spot....Bull McCabe's on St Mark's off of 3rd ave.

Always a good time. If the weather is comfortable, check out the crashed airplane in the backyard. You'll knowwhat I mean when you see it.
 
Whatever you do, DON'T drive through New York City! It is a perpetual roadblock, the World's Biggest Car Park. Wear a good pair of walking shoes and walk everywhere or take the subway. I kid you not. You could walk from one end of Manhattan to the other faster than you can drive it.

I'd suggest a good Broadway play if you can make it. Take in some of the museums, too; I really liked Ellis Island.

Oh, and hide your money carefully; no bulging wallets in the back pocket or big swinging purses off of the shoulder. Pickpockets are very clever and nearly impossible to catch. And no showy jewelry or expensive watches. But that's just plain common sense for any large city.
 
Sue DeNym said:
Whatever you do, DON'T drive through New York City! It is a perpetual roadblock, the World's Biggest Car Park. Wear a good pair of walking shoes and walk everywhere or take the subway. I kid you not. You could walk from one end of Manhattan to the other faster than you can drive it.

I'd suggest a good Broadway play if you can make it. Take in some of the museums, too; I really liked Ellis Island.

Oh, and hide your money carefully; no bulging wallets in the back pocket or big swinging purses off of the shoulder. Pickpockets are very clever and nearly impossible to catch. And no showy jewelry or expensive watches. But that's just plain common sense for any large city.

:eyebrow:

i keep my wallet in my front pocket when walking through penn station or times square or any other busy area... not that i think anything's gonna happen... just better safe than sorry. that's really the only precaution i ever take, and i'm in the city quite often.

no showy jewelry or expensive watches? come on now... i don't think there will be much tourist action going on in bed-sty. stay in manhattan... which is where all the touristy places are anyway, and feel free to wear all the bling-bling you'd like. you will not find a safer big city in american than manhattan. the cops are everywhere. purses? backpacks? fannypacks? the only worry you need for any of those items is that they may be searched when you go through the subways. besides that, you're perfectly fine.

driving in new york city is stupid because it's easy to get to places via mass transit. but if you think you're going to walk from say times square to the downtown area, you best be in tip-top shape. take a taxi or the subway... both of which are safe.

if you do have your car, feel free to drive durring non-rush hour times... if you're there on a sunday, driving in manhattan is cake. the biggest problem, though, and the main reason why you should just leave your car at the hotel is parking... parking on the streets is next to impossiable. there are plenty of garages to use, but they all come at a cost. cheeper and easier to just take mass transit.

new york city is huge. it can be very intimidating to someone who's never been there before. but relax... it's not that bad. and the crime levels have plummeted every year since way back when rudy first took office, to the point where it's in the top 5 safest major cities in america every year.

have fun, don't be scared of anything, and really... just be smart. don't go tooling around central park at 4 in the morning by yourself. probably not a good idea... but you can say that about any city/town/area in the country. odds are nothing will happen, but still... better safe than sorry. but feel free to walk through midtown, drunk off your ass, iPod in your ears, fancy watch on your arm, at 4 in the morning. you're perfectly safe. trust me... done it a million times :drunk::wink:
 
I third those notions.

There's a lot of misconceptions about how tourists should stay safe in Manhattan. The gritty image we have is not necessarily how Manhattan really is.

Wear what you like, how you like. Go where you please. There are very few "bad places" in Manhattan. But like the others have said - the best thing you can do for yourself is to Play It Smart. You don't have to walk around feeling like you are a target.

The only thing likely to happen as a tourist is when a gaggle of you take up an entire sidewalk and force the locals to move around you on the street...and you get a couple dirty looks or bad words in return. Or you piss off a cabbie b/c you don't know street and cross street. ;)
 
Thanks everyone. I've never been there before so I'm pretty excited to go. I wasn't worried about feeling like a "target" but the causcious tips are appreciated. Headache thanks for the map.
 
Whatever else you do... you MUST see the naked cowboy.
This dude in a cowboy hat and tidy whities strums and sings for tourists in Times Square one of our " little pleasures " here in NYC High Art in the big city... gotta love it! :eek:
 
Laird/Bono said:
Whatever else you do... you MUST see the naked cowboy.
This dude in a cowboy hat and tidy whities strums and sings for tourists in Times Square one of our " little pleasures " here in NYC High Art in the big city... gotta love it! :eek:



Oh god. When I was there for a week with my mom last fall she went nuts over him. I should post the pic of the two of them; it's hilarious. :lol:
 
Headache in a Suitcase said:
but feel free to walk through midtown, drunk off your ass, iPod in your ears, fancy watch on your arm, at 4 in the morning. you're perfectly safe. trust me... done it a million times :drunk::wink:

I can truly say that what this man says is entirely true.

To be honest, I've travelled all over the US and the world and I've never felt safer then in Manhattan. The only time I felt unsafe there was in Sept '04 when the place was crawling with ignorant Republicans. :wink: And even that was okay because they are all too dumb and fat to catch you.

Plus, I just became 3 Degrees Of Seperation with a lot of you. We've all met the same looney - the Naked Cowboy.
 
Sorry, should add that New York is fantastic and you don't actually need too many tips. You should save at the very least two days just for wandering without a plan.

I'll be going back for my 5th time in Feb/March (and I live on the other side of the world).
 
Doozer61 said:
exactly where and when??? :macdevil:

the naked cowboy is some wack-a-doo who stands in times square playing the guitar wearing just a cowboy hat and a pair of tightie whities.

it's highly disturbing.

naked_cowboy.jpg
 
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