New York City

[quiet_riot]

There is some great advise on here , just to add my tuppence.

We stayed at Distrikt Hotel in Hells Kitchen last year .. small rooms , basic but clean and in a good location ( 5 minute walk to Times Sq.)
It won't break the bank.

If you fancy a look around Harlem , book into a restaurant called ' Red Rooster' ...great place.
We had dinner on the tables outside on the footpath and had a great night , never felt unsafe at all.

Hope it helps.

Also I can add Amy Ruth's to Harlem restaurants, sensational food.

 

[RACHACE]

Go up the Rockafella rather that the Empire State, the view is a thousand times better.
Id also give the statue of liberty tour a miss, get the free ferry to Staten Island and you'll see it from there anyway. Go a little later in the day so you can get the ferry back at night, the view of the NYC skyline lit up is great. If you do end up doing the tour though dont waste your money on going up to the crown, theres no view, the walk up is horrible and its about 200 degrees up there!

My favourite night there which i ended up at out of chance was the Comedy Cellar, its pretty small so you will need to book in advance but its a really good night. The area around it is good at night too

Cheers bud. A few have said that getting the Staten Island ferry is the best way to view the Statue of Liberty so we'll definitely be doing that rather than paying for a tour. Another shout for the comedy cellar too so that will also be in consideration for a night out. But like you say, that area as a whole looks decent for a night out with live music etc.

 

[ell]

Avoid Times square it is absolutely horrific.

Other than that New York is decent, so much to do. I definitely wish we had scheduled a day where we could just chill out in central park, instead we were always rushing about trying to do too much in too little time. Enjoy.

 

[blueparrot]

Cheers bud. A few have said that getting the Staten Island ferry is the best way to view the Statue of Liberty so we'll definitely be doing that rather than paying for a tour. .

It is ,but would mean missing Ellis island where the immigrants were processed and was much more interesting than the statue.

 

[unexpected item]

The main hall of Grand Central Station is a great place to visit. As seen on loads of films and TV. Also, the food hall downstairs is a good place to grab a bite to eat - has a huge variety of foods on offer.

As others have said, some of the other free attractions are the best. Central Park, Battery Park walk to Staten Island Ferry and Brooklyn Bridge (metro out, walk back).

 

[blueparrot]

Brooklyn Bridge (metro out, walk back).

Try and walk back at sunset, depending on weather the sun sets behind Manhattan and the city lights up.

 

[Always Ali]

Brilliant city, I'd go back tomorrow if I could. We stayed in The Yotel on Times Square last August. It's in a great spot and about 200 yards from the Hudson River. We walked along the river to Battery Park/9/11 etc and it was a fantastic stroll. I booked all of our tickets on line, including Matilda (amazing show), but we did buy tickets for Lion King on a walk up, about an hour before the show started, both tickets for $80 for an afternoon performance, so it might be worth a try. And for your breakfasts, try a place called the Rustic Table, it was fantastic.

 

[BimboBob]

The main hall of Grand Central Station is a great place to visit. As seen on loads of films and TV.

Don't forget to stand in one corner and whisper rude words. Anyone standing in the other corners will hear you clear as a bell.

 

[better dead than red]

Could do with some help on digs. We've provisionally booked a hotel for the 5 nights in the upper west side in Manhattan, doesn't look too far from Central Park but the cost is a bit more than I'm personally happy with but the wife seems happy with it. It's costing us just over £1000 with all the taxes and charges included. I'd like to save a few quid if I can as that saving could pay for a broadway show or something. Any help on this would be great. We'd like to maybe stay in the Hells Kitchen area of the City if possible.

Try hotwire.com. It is "blind booking site" but you pick the neighbourhood you want. They show you options tell you the amenities. Then you can look at the hotels in the area and pretty accurately guess which one you will be getting.

My wife and I used it the last time we stayed in NYC. We got a very nice 4 star hotel a block away from the U.N. for pretty good rate.

 

[Bozo]

Walk around as much as you can! There's also a City pub near Gramercy Park!