Something the Cub and I enjoyed was a trip to the USS Intrepid, now a floating museum. I had never appreciated the scale of an aircraft carrier; it’s big enough that the space shuttle Enterprise fits inside it. There was also a really fun flight simulator, with two person controls, where you get in, doors shut, and the two of you try to fly the thing, with a screen in front showing the terrain you’re flying over. I was always trying to fly it on the level, the Cub was trying to dipsy doodle. Great fun.
Intrepid was built and first used during WW-II. It was modernized a couple times over its long life and served to just past the end of the Viet Nam war. And is a darn impressively big thing for sure.
A modern USN carrier is 30% longer, over twice as wide, and weighs almost 3x as much. With over twice the crew.
I have nothing useful to add to the good suggestions already offered, but i did visit my brother in Manhattan a number of times and once basically lived in his apartment for a few weeks while he and the wife were in Europe, and one of the fun things was just going to some fantastic local restaurants – I particularly enjoyed Thai food. My son, who is a fanatical fan of sushi, was enthralled by Sushi Nakazawa in Manhattan (not cheap, though).
On a more whimsical note, as a childhood fan of Bugs Bunny cartoons and other Warner Brothers creations, I always had fun visiting the Warner Brothers store (57th St and 5th Avenue) and picking up cool and unique items. Manhattan is totally a shopping paradise. I hope your and your daughters have lots of fun!
I’d forgotten about that. I’ve added it to the list.
And this too!
Wow, this is just spot on, exactly what I had in mind! Unmistakably New York, but not obviously touristy. And some of the designs are precisely how I like them, discreet but classy.
I might get one of those too. Or one from the boat ride. Staten Island. I just love the way it sounds. Staten Island. Staten Island. Staten Island.
I was planning to do that. Can they be bought online and mailed to me? I’d prefer to have them as soon as we’re there.
It’s good to have the name of at least one store. Easier than just wander around hoping to stumble upon a nice one.
Yes, that’s something we might do in Central Park.
Good idea, I would take advantage of this to make a little detour to that bridge with Sonny Rollins in mind.
That sounds interesting too.
Ah, another area where we could go shopping, good!
Thanks, that’s what I hope too!
And thanks again to all of you. I couldn’t quote all of your suggestions, but I really appreciate them. In less than 24h, it looks like I already have enough great things to do and see for the week.
IMO no trip to Manhattan is complete without a visit to Harlem:
A a tour (or even better, see a show) at the historic Apollo Theater.
Visit the National Jazz museum and catch a jazz jam session while having brunch at Patrick’s Place.
Get a soul food dinner at Sylvia’s or try the more upscale fare at Red Rooster or Clay.
If you really want a deep dive into Old New York, stay at the Harlem Flophouse, which retains it’s Jazz Age decor and ambiance. You’ll have to share a bathroom with other guests though, it still functions like guesthouses did in the 1920s.
Harlem is easy to get to - there’s even a song with instructions
And the Intrepid is often dwarfed (little personed?) by the big cruise ships that dock next to it. Some of the bigger ones are like watching a city block of 20 story buildings float down the Hudson.
If you’re going to do a lot of attractions, you can save money by getting something like this CityPass. It covers 11 attractions and you can visit 3, 5 or all of them depending on which pass you get:
I would recommend planning to walk as much as you can. The city itself is a beautiful sight to enjoy all on its own.
If your credit card has touchless payment, you can use it to pay for the metro as you need. You won’t need to get a metro card. The touchpads are right at the turnstile to get in.
I’m not sure if you can pre-order, but you can get the pass from any of the machines. It is fast and easy.
Bloomingdale’s on 59th street and Third Ave. is another store, though not one I go to.
If you like books there is an immense Barnes & Noble in Union Square, and there is the Strand used book store. Lots of others also, though not as many as there used to be.
One other thing I’d recommend about the subway is to pick up an actual subway map. I found it much easier to plan my routes with a paper map compared to things like Google directions. One reason is that the train directions are marked by the subway endpoints. You may know you need the G train, but the platforms with the G train will be marked as either ending at “Church Ave” or “Court Square”. You’ll go in the wrong direction if you get on the wrong train. But if you have a paper map, it’s easy to see which which platform you need since you can follow the train line to either end. You can get a free map the manned ticket booths scattered around the subway system.
Another thing is to not rush to try and make a train. The trains arrive frequently and you rarely have to wait too long for the next train. The stations can sometimes be a bit confusing. If you’re rushing to make a train, it’s easy to make a mistake and end up on the wrong train.
Nothing wrong with paper subway maps (if nothing else they make great souvenirs) but Google maps does tell you which platform to take as part of its directions.
When I worked in the City, I was on a train that was waiting at the WTC terminus to start its trip uptown. A family came on the platform and the youngest son ran to the train, ahead of his parents, and got on just as the doors closed. I can still picture his mom banging on the window as the train pulled off. I calmed the kid down and got off with him at the next station and waited - the rest of the family had the sense to follow us there, so it was resolved pretty quickly, but this was before lots of cell phones, and could have ended up much worse.
Also if you’re not sure which subway to take, just ask someone. You’ll probably get several people telling you where to go. We may be stereotyped as being rude but we sure do love to give subway directions.
Depending on what time of year you’re going - think of Coney Island. Big sandy beach, Nathan’s hot dogs (I liked their clam chowder as well), and a long boardwalk passing by the tacky carnival attractions.
If it’s spring - visit Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and its cherry blossoms, The Brooklyn Museum is also worth a visit.
Take a guided tour of the NY Public Library - it’s free, but book online. 5th Ave & 42nd St.
The granddaddy of high rises is the Empire State Building. While it’s an impressive art deco building & worth seeing some of the details up close, if you go up to their observation deck you can’t see the whole building because you’re on it. Luckily, there are a number of other high-rises with observation decks that allow you an impressive view of ESB.
The Edge / Hudson Yards - due west of ESB
Rockefeller Center - due north
One Vanderbuilt - NE
1 World Trade Center - south, 3 miles
Macy’s is the largest dept store in the US, & one of the largest in the world. If you’re going there, make sure to take the escalator to/from The Cellar. They still have some of the original wooden escalators. Not worth a trip on their own, but if you’re going to be in the building anyway they’re cool. There are some others in the building, as well.
Whether you decide to go up 1WTC or not, the memorial / reflecting pools / footprint of the twin towers that fell in the 2001 terrorist attack are quite impressive to see & the Oculus is across the street. The building, both outside & in is quite impressive, & it’s a also a transportation hub with a lot of subway lines stopping there, as well as the PATH (subway to NJ) but meh, it’s a lot of the same mall stores that you’ll find elsewhere. All of that is a few short blocks from the Manhattan end of the Staten Island Ferry & Battery Park, including the Seaglass Carousel; even if you have no intention on riding it, it’s worth looking at if you’re there.
If you’re going to do the High Line (it’s just an old elevated rail line that they turned into a long, narrow walking path with plants/trees but can be hard to pass slower folks because it is so narrow. Get off & walk over to Little Island. Bonus, right next door is Pier 57 where you can both get a bite to eat & then go upstairs / to the end & get cool aerial views of Little Island…or don’t eat there but walk a block or two to Chelsea Market for tons of eating options.
Downtown Brooklyn isn’t too far from Manhattan, so that could be a compromise between cost and distance from the sights. (I’ll be staying in that area this Christmas, but admittedly that’s partly because my sister lives in Brooklyn, so it’s about halfway between her place and Manhattan). I don’t know if that area is that much cheaper than Manhattan, but it’s worth looking into.
The Subway can be confusing at first, but if you figure out the Express vs. Local trains, and can get an Express train to where you’re going, you can get to Manhattan from Downtown Brooklyn within 30 minutes.
There are things to see in Brooklyn, too. I really like the New York Transit Museum. The vintage subway cars from different eras are a lot of fun.
The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store has t-shirts. I don’t know if they’re instantly recognizable as “New York”, but it is just a fun store in general.
(I was initially going to suggest Brooklyn Industries, but it looks like they closed all their physical stores and are purely an online store now. Something from them probably would still satisfy the “New York but doesn’t scream ‘tourist’” criteria, except you won’t be able to actually get it in New York.)
Me” T-shirt but I can’t remember where I bought it.
