I took a UN tour (in 2002) and I found it only mildly interesting. The only things I remember are looking into the General Assembly chamber and the gift shop which had a big selection of postcards: I got one with a picture of U Thant and one with the flag of Turkmenistan.
We ate in the Delegates dining room, and sat for a few minutes to watch the general session. They explained how the translation process works, which is a whole logistical operation given the number of languages.
De gustibus, I suppose, but I was fascinated. I think it’s the sort of thing that gives kids a broader perspective on the world. There is something deeply horrible about traveling thousands of miles just to buy a different shirt.
To be fair, I don’t think there was a session on when I did the tour so we just poked our heads into an empty room (as far as I remember).
Which reminds me, the OP asked about NYC fashion, and hasn’t gotten too many answers. Here are two good places. I would say go to Vinnie’s if you’re out that way, otherwise Daily Paper. Daily Paper is more of a Women’s shop. Vinnie’s is where rappers go to get the clothing you see in music videos. Both will have true NYC street wear.
Daily Paper NYC Flagship Store
18 Delancey St, New York, NY 10002
https://us.dailypaperclothing.com/
Vinnie’s Styles- Brooklyn
239 Flatbush ave. Downtown Brooklyn , NY 11217
That would be on my list for sure if I had more time. The thing is, my father dragged me and my brother to countless castles, cloisters and churches when were kids. I still love doing this now, but it’s not my priority for a one-week trip to New York.
Great idea. I have about 6 months now to compare and choose a couple of these 753 entries.
Well, that’s what my younger daughter asked for, and since it’s first and foremost a trip for them, that’s what we’ll do. Of course, if I can find something for me, that’s a bonus. Thanks for the references.
I didn’t mean you. Sorry if it came across that way. There are people who travel here and that’s the ONLY thing they do. This is clearly not the trip you are planning. Nothing at all wrong with ALSO shopping.
No worries.
I did mention shopping quite a bit, and I agree it’s kind of sad to travel so far, and to such a culturally-rich place, just to do that.
I talked to my wife - she had a long-term assignment in New York, and was able to visit NYC dozens of time, along with myself, our daughters, and other female relatives.
Stay in a midtown Manhattan hotel. Especially if you are shopping - you will appreciate the quick return to your hotel to drop off bags and refresh yourself and go again.
Shopping is of course everywhere. I liked SoHo myself (architecture as well as stores), but Fifth Ave. and Madison Ave. have Fendi, Prada, Hermes, Sephora, etc and your girls will be in awe.
Avoid (sorry recommenders!) Cloisters, Library, U.N., Tenement Museum. Boring!
For museums, I liked the Museum of Natural History, but for the girls we would suggest Guggenheim (weird and quirky and interesting) and the MET. Check out packages like City Tour, and pre-booking these - if you do you will be inside within 5 minutes rather than waiting in line for up to an hour. In the MET we once signed up for the one-hour guided tour - our guide was excellent and she showed us 10 things in an hour that I would have never giving a second glance and made them all fascinating.
Statue of Liberty is a big time investment, and IMO isn’t worth it - just do the Staten Island Ferry cruise-by thing. If you do go to Liberty Island (and Ellis Island along with it) expect to get up at 6am, and be done by 1pm.
I would NOT skip the Empire State Bldg. - too iconic to miss. Again, pre-booking might help here. But I remember getting down there at 8am and the wait wasn’t too bad. In the morning, the air is clearer. Late afternoon it is quite hazy.
I loved Central Park, but it is huge so you need a tactical plan. On the south-east side there is The Pond, Gapstow Bridge, Zoo, Diary, and Carousel. Take a side trip to see Balto and the Literary walk. On the west side, there is Strawberry Fields, Bow Bridge, Hernshead, Bethesda Fountain. Don’t get me started!! I loved Central Park.
You must, must, must do a show (ahem, a “play” is a spoken work, a “musical” is, you guessed it, singing, but a “show” covers both). Anyway, you must. Anecdote - my wife wanted my son to see a show and he wasn’t having any part of it. Hated the idea. She dragged him into “Avenue Q” and he sat there miserable and sullen. Five minutes into the show he was snickering and giggling. At intermission he apologized since he thought Avenue Q was the funniest thing he had ever seen. He saw two more shows that week.
Oh God there’s so much! SNL Studio Tour, the Halel Guys on 6th and 53 st. Radio City. West Village. The Brooklyn Promenade and the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhattan. I love music, so I would find a small venue playing my kind of music.
You will be on your feet all week long, so hopefully you have the stamina and the proper shoes. You will be using the subway all the time - I found the maps and the signage in the stations very good but there are apps that will also help.
You will have an amazing time!
I understand. When my German son-in-law was a kid, his divorced father dragged him to every castle in southern Germany over the weekends. I don’t know if he ever visited the Cloisters when he and my daughter lived in Connecticut, but I doubt it.
Plenty of good art, though.
If no one has already mentioned this - watch out for “resort fees” (or however they disguise the extra nightly charge) - the feature has hit NYC! An extra charge (possibly $20 to $50 per night) - possibly not advertised nor paid for in your reservation - may have to be paid upon check-in. Check all the fine print in your hotel reservation.
Strongly disagree on the tenement museum. We’ve been 3 times and our girls loved it each time.
Hmmm, I’ll take this into account, thanks.
Ditto. I loved it when I visited pre-Covid, enough so that I joined at a high level when they were short of money from having to shut down. They streamed some very interesting tours of some rooms, with docents playing the roles of the tenants, during this time.
It helps that my father grew up down the street from it.
I also love the Tenement Museum. I’ve been twice in person and did one of their virtual Zoom tours during the pandemic. I found them all fascinating.
All right, we’re flying to New York in just over two months, and I’m now finalizing the day-to-day programme.
Here’s what I’ve got so far :
Day 1
I guess we’ll be arriving at the hotel in the late afternoon. That should leave us some time to go to :
Times Square ;
Broadway ;
Tiffany Landmark - 5th Avenue
and generally explore the areas within walking distance of these places.
Day 2
My younger daughter wants to go shopping. After checking pictures of various shopping centers, she’s decided that she’d like to go to the :
Fulton Center ;
(I found the Hudson Yards one more interesting architecturally, but it’s her choice). While there, it seems like its a very short walk to :
National Museum of the American Indian
which I want to see.
Day 3
Manhattan Bridge (for my older daughter) ;
Williamsburg Bridge ;
and perhaps hop to
Brooklyn (but see below)
We’ll be walking at a leisurely pace from our hotel in Hell’s Kitchen and back, so that will probably be a full day.
Day 4
Top of the Rock early in the morning (for my older daughter - got the tickets) ;
Grand Central Station ;
Flatiron Building ;
Macy’s.
Day 5
Statue of Liberty at 2pm (for my younger daughter - got the tickets) ;
We’d like to take a quick look at
The Village Vanguard ;
The Ghostbuster HQ ;
The Charging Bull
as they seem to be on the way, but catching the ferry to the statue is of course the absolute priority.
Day 6
There’s my dilemma.
I was planning to spend the day at the MET, but half of the departments I really wanted to see (Oceanic and Ancient American Cultures Art) are closed for renovation. The Asian Art collection will be open and so will the European paintings wing both of which are on my must-see list.
This is annoying and I’m now considering going to the :
Guggenheim
instead partly because they have a much better selection of 20th century painters that I love (Klee, Kandinsky, Rothko, Tanguy). But I would miss out on some of the best Monet and Van Gogh.
My daughters will not want to visit 3 museums during our short stay.
Day 7
Central Park ;
Upper East Side ;
and perhaps
Roosevelt Island Tramway.
Day 8
Perhaps a more in-depth exploration of
Brooklyn, starting at
Brooklyn Bridge
OR
Perhaps a walk along the
High Line
and a ferry trip to
Staten Island (I know there isn’t much to see there but I love the name, and a boat trip will be a nice break from all the walking).
First of all, I’d like to know whether what I have planned seems realistic in terms of time and distances.
If that’s the case, I’d love to add things that are not on the list as long as they are in the vicinity of what we have planned for each day.
More specifically :
Day 2 : is there anything that you recommend seeing around the Fulton center and the American Indian museum ?
Day 3 : same question, on the way from Hell’s kitchen to the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges ?
Day 4 : same question, Rockfeller Center and Grand Central Station area ?
Day 5 : will we have the time to see the three spots I have listed before getting the ferry to Liberty Island at 2pm ? We’ll be on foot, and the latter is the absolute priority for that day.
Day 6 : MET or Guggenheim ?
Day 8 : Brooklyn OR High Line + Staten Island ?
That itinerary sound like a lot to me, but I’m more of a take-my-time-wanderer kind of vacationer. Keep in mind that you’re going to pass by many interesting sights and shops along the way. Keep things flexible so you can enjoy what you find in the moment. It can be tiring doing all that walking. Make use of the subway and Ubers to keep everyone fresh and energetic.
If you’re in the area of Union Square (south of Flatiron building), they have a great farmer’s market several days of the week: Union Square Greenmarket Monday | GrowNYC
The Brooklyn Bridge is a must-do for me. I would do that one before the other bridges. If you only end up doing one bridge, make sure it’s the Brooklyn Bridge.
If you do the High Line, the Whitney Museum is along the way: https://whitney.org/
I might suggest scratching Brooklyn off your list. You have a lot already. I’m not sure adding Brooklyn would enhance your trip. You’ll have plenty to do. If you do go to Brooklyn, your daughters would probably like the Williamsburg area. It’s a hip, cool area with lots of funky shops. I would pick wandering the High Line and taking the ferry to Staten Island (and then turning around and taking the ferry back).
First, for days 3 & 5, take a subway downtown & start walking from there. It’s a couple of miles each way & city walking & concrete sidewalks are tougher on the body/legs than a comparable distance on an unpaved trail.
I disagree. Brooklyn gives you great views of Manhattan & plenty of places to stop, whether to eat or see stuff. I’ve been on the High Line a number of times & don’t really get it’s appeal. It’s an old elevated railroad; it’s not very wide - only two people at many places, & with some going north & some going south it’s can be hard to pass a slowpoke. There are benches to plop your butt down & people watch but there are better places to do that in the city if you really want to people watch. There are a lot of residential buildings along it, but as you can imagine, the people on the first few floors keep their shades/blinds closed so there isn’t all that much to see. The High Line is a green oasis in the city but if you have greenery where you live I’d say skip it.
The Staten Island ferry gives you good, free views of the Statue of Liberty but you’ll already get them one day on the ferry over to the SoL. If you want to do the ferry, combine it with either Day 3 or Day 5 when you’ll already be in the area (& have more time due to less walking because of taking the subway downtown. Also, if you’re going to be down there, at least check out the WTC memorial/footprint of the original towers & the Occulus across the street. As a mall the Occulus is meh, but as a structure it’s pretty cool looking, both inside & out. It’s also a major subway stop with a bunch of lines so you could end you day with the ferry & subway back uptown to your hotel.
Thanks !
I have changed my plan following your replies. Here’s how it stands now :
Day 1
Times Square ;
Broadway ;
Tiffany Landmark - 5th Avenue.
Day 2
Fulton Center ;
National Museum of the American Indian.
Day 3
Brooklyn Bridge ;
Manhattan Bridge ;
Williamsburg Bridge ;
Brooklyn, Williamsburg area .
Day 4
Top of the Rock ;
Grand Central Station ;
Flatiron Building ;
Union Square ;
Macy’s.
Day 5
Subway
WTC Memorial ;
Oculus ;
Statue of Liberty ;
On the way back (late afternoon) :
The Charging Bull ;
The Ghostbuster HQ ;
The Village Vanguard.
Day 6
MET ;
OR
Guggenheim.
Still undecided…
Day 7
Central Park ;
Upper East Side ;
and perhaps
Roosevelt Island Tramway.
Day 8
High Line ;
Staten Island.
No Broadway shows??
when I was in NYC previously I went on a couple of tours that I really enjoyed. they were a part of the City Pass thing I had purchased that aslo gave me entry into museums and 3 days of the hop on and hop off bus. I used that to travel around the city as one of the stops was a half a block from my hotel. The Cloisters was amazing as was the gardens fo Fort Tryon park, the Tenement museum was facinating as was the Morgan Library and the Met museum.
But the tours… I did a couple of food tours which took me to some interesting places to eat. I also did a shopping tour set in the lower Manhattan area which had some great places to shop. I highly recommend taking one of those if yolou are interestied in fashion.
As is always my luck the textile exhibits are always closed in any city I visit but i did get to see an exhibit at FIT whch was really cool.
And the Strand bookstore is a bibliophiles dream.