Looks like that City Pass includes only the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. To be expected, I guess. But surely can we pay a little extra when we’re there to go all the way to the 102nd?
It wasn’t open when this thread started, but if you want to visit the 9/11 Memorial, it’s free but you have to make reservations, which you can do online here.
Good to know. Thanks.
That’s what I recall from my visit there in December 2010, but you should double-check when you get the the ESB. I think there was a kiosk that accepted credit cards in the 86th floor observatory.
Wonderful. Thanks! It’s starting to feel like it’s close.
We’ll have to hope you’re correct. I e-mailed the ESB to ask, but their reply only told me how to go about ordering tickets on their website. :rolleyes:
It’s been a long time since I was in NYC, but one of things that I can’t see mentioned yet is a visit to the Intrepid. Of course it helps if you have at least a passing interest in military hardware and/or military history.
Thanks. That’s in Hudson River Park? Our guidebook says it recently had a two-year renovation.
Less than two months now before we leave.
About made all our plans, and thanks again to all. One more question though. We still need a hotel out by JFK Airport in Queens for our last night in the US. We’ll get in from Washington in late April and stay just the one night before flying back to Bangkok. So we just need a place to flop. A shuttle to the airport would be good but not required.
But we’d like it not to be too grotty, and reading some of the online reviews makes my skin crawl. Should be safe too; we’d hate to spend the last night filling out a police report for our burgled items. Are there any suggestions for a decent overnight hotel? The Ramada Queens is looking good so far.
It’s on 46th St and the West Side Highway. There’s a bike trail that runs along the west side of Manhattan and parts of it include park areas- not too much nature, mostly just places to sit down/grab a snack (There’s a little restaurant in the park by the Intrepid, it looks like a quick place to grab a burger or something).
How was your trip? Did you find anything to do?
PM me if you like
As we speak the 16yo is with her art club plus the book club seeing the big apple. Lookout for “marching redskins aka ladyskins” prowling the MMA, Grand Central, Empire, and Ellis, NYC pizzeria’s, deli’s, and central park. Overnight to NJ to sleep and transferred back to the city. home on SUnday. She’s having a blast! 
It’s been in the news here the past two days that bed bugs are down. Besides, you are at higher risk of picking them up in baggage or off a plane. If somebody started a bed bug thread I’d be all over it. It’s something I know A LOT about.
I actually moonlight as a Bed Bud Shrink.
Does it have to be April? When asked I tell people October is the best month to come for weather.
Skip “Little Italy”-- go the real deal Arthur Avenue in the Bronx which happens to be very close to the Bronx Zoo which I also recommend. (Or the Botanical Gardens there.)
Definitely go to China Town. Hit their supermarkets and see things you’ve never seen and if you’re lucky you’ll see an escaped eel. Then meander along Canal street and do your gift shopping. People will jump out of doorways and bring you to their 3rd back room where they sell excellent knock-offs of designer handbags.
Check out Brighton Beach – the Russian scene. The shops and the boardwalk.
There is a local paper where you can put an ad asking to rent a room as “visiting family.” Not uncommon and in a nice well-located area. (PM me.)
Personally, when I travel, if the tourists are heading right I turn left.
You might consider staying more than a week.
Oh and you can eat very cheaply here.
PM me any time.
I always like to visit a little dress shop on Thompson St. in the Soho called INA.
16yo reports the “natives” are anonymous and the street hawkers “friendly” the food carts are amazing with fresh choices, They hit every major must see then some. Last night on the town, taking in a broadway show, Phantom of the Opera - later will try to sleep on the charter bus, 12 hours to get back home. She’s hooked wants to go back soon.
We’re back home now. Arrived early this morning our time. But yes, amazingly we did find lots to do in NYC. No bedbugs either. We stayed at the Hotel Newton on the Upper West Side. On Broadway between 94th and 95th Streets and right at a station for the 1, 2 and 3 subway lines. We heartily recommend this hotel. When we were searching for a place, the manager of this hotel always responded promptly to my e-mails. And if you look up the Newton on Trip Advisor, you see that this same manager promptly responds on that website to all of the few complaints there are. Those complaints stem largely from mix-ups when booking through hotel-booking sites and not through the hotel itself. For example, some of those booking sites offer room types that the the hotel doesn’t even have! Best to book straight with them, as they already have some pretty good packages. I’m not kidding when I say if we ever return to NYC, we’ll stay there again.
We also saw the space shuttle Enterprise. It was too late to see it in the air when we got back to NYC on Friday, but when we went to JFK Airport for our flight the next morning, we passed by it, sitting at JFK Airport still piggybacked to the plane it came in on. Very nice indeed.
Thanks again for all the advice in this thread.