New York

Contact 'Big Apple Greeters' before you go. It's a volunteer group who organise individual tours of NY. They were set up after 9.11 to show the NY is a good place to go and with good people living there. A friend told me about them and we were so glad they had. When we went our volunteer guide was a nice older man, an ex Broadway singer, who asked what we were interested in and took us to Tribeca, the oldest Italian bakery, a Chinese supermarket and the area where people walk their dogs. It costs absolutely nothing and our guide wouldn't even let us buy his coffee. Please check them out!

NY is Amazing. Ive been lucky enough to go 3 times.
The best way to see NY is to hop on an Open Top bus then you can understand where everything is. the best part is you can just get on and off at what ever site interests you. Make an itinerary first for down town, mid town, and up town and stick to those areas as you could waste a lot of time travelling across the city. There is so much to see. Central Park is a must, also the Twin Towers Memorial area, Empire State Building , Moma Art Gallery, The Guggenheim Gallery it depends upon your interests. Shopping try Maceys,Bloomingdales etc. The little delis are amazing for fresh food. The subway is a great way to get around. Have super trip Im jealous already.

Thank you Jane and Izzy! Great advice!

I prefer Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Centre) to Empire State Building because from TotR you get the amazing views plus you can see the iconic ESB.

Part of it for me is standing on say Fifth Avenue, Central Park, wherever and saying to myself “I’m here, actually here, in New York”.

Also recommend the High Line, a quick search will explain more, basically the old goods railway which ran above street level and now converted to a garden walkway with views of the parts of the city and the Hudson as you walk along.

Worth dropping into Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s if only for the novelty of friendly staff who actually want to serve you. And will say “I love your accent”. We find everyone so welcoming.

We visit twice a year to see family who live just across the Hudson on the New Jersey shore, we love it there and are off on our next visit in less than two weeks. ✈️?

Enjoy your trip, you’ll have a ball.

NY is on my bucket list so I'm taking note. Thanks for some great ideas.

Agree with everyone. If you like the theatre if you go to Times Square at lunchtime you can often buy discounted tickets for a show as long as you don’t mind limited choice. A show on Broadway is amazing.

Just across the road from Wall Street there used to be a store called 21 which sold discounted designer clothes and Clinique makeup. It is a few years since I was last there so can’t guarantee it’s still there. If you have grandchildren even if you don’t like shopping you have to go in FAO Swartz for toys, 5 floors and brilliant staff it blew my mind. And do take the Staten Island ferry you go right past the Statue of Liberty.

Have breakfast in a traditional diner and lunch in Chinatown. Have a great time it’s a wonderful city

Have done the helicopter tour, Staten Island Ferry, Central Park is a must it is extremely peaceful in parts, also has a variety of "street performers".

We bought a "multi-journey subway ticket" it is the easiest way to get around, as the traffic is horrendous always felt safe.

We had been to the "Windows of the World" restaurant in the Trade Tower, before 9/11 so visiting the Ground Zero museum was on our list, it was so moving I shed tears at several of the exhibits.

There is also a "hop on hop off" bus which takes in all the different districts.

Maceys, Bloomingdales and all the other big stores will be decorated for Halloween when you are going.

Have a fabulous time.

I agree re the open top bus. It was fantastic when we went. We got on it in Times Square. It will take you everywhere and you get on and off as you please. They are very regular. It takes you out to where you can get the boat over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The little church at the site of the Twin Towers where the rescue workers rested and ate is very moving. Grand Central Station is worth seeing, they have restaurants there. We also took the carriage ride around Central Park. As a Beatles fan, I loved the Strawberry Fields memorial in the park to John Lennon and also the Dakota building. Enjoy.

You are brave mande, there's no way you'd get me up in a helicopter! I've never flown in to Newark, only JFK, but taxis were plentiful and I imagine it's the same wherever you fly into, just get in the taxi queue it moves quickly. I have been out on a train from Penn Station which stopped at Newark, I think it was half an hour away, so I guess the journey in by taxi would be something in the order of an hour, traffic can be pretty heavy as you can imagine.

I've been to New York twice, first time when the kids were young, we stayed in downtown Manhattan and did a lot on foot as well as a tour on one of those open top London buses. We got off at Greenwich Village and wandered around there, also their SoHo (stands for South of Houston Street) much nicer than ours, lovely shops. On other occasions we went up to Central Park, saw the John Lennon memorial and the Dakota Building. Took the lift up to the 84th floor, I think, in the Empire State and if I remember rightly there was some sort of virtual ride in the entrance of the building that we went on. Also went out to Ellis Island and up the Statue of Liberty. We all fell in love with NY, there's something about the city that resonates, possibly because it's in so many movies we've seen.

We went again about six year ago, just the two of us, stayed very near Ground Zero, which is in the midst of the Financial District, we were able to walk down to the Seaport area. The Staten Island Ferry is free so we did that got off at Staten Island, not much there, but it's a nice experience looking back at the iconic skyline. I remember hating Times Square that time, older and far more jaded, it's just so garish, like Piccadilly in London but times a 100. Not for me! Also thought on that second visit New York's parks paled into insignificance compared to London parks, Battery Park in particular it's nothing special. One place I did like was the Museum of Native American Culture, I think that's what it was called, could have stayed there all day, but alas time constraints. Grand Central Station is a must, it's a beautiful building with lots of cafes and restaurants in the forecourt. Also think the Chrysler Building as well as the Empire State is quite beautiful, wandered into the entrance, all lovely walnut wood and very art deco When we finished that stay we took a train from Penn Station down to Savannah, Georgia, left 3 pm arrived 6 am, that's why I remember Newark it stopped there. That was one great train ride.

I hope you have a great holiday, NY is undoubtedly a wonderful city.

Thank you all. Great information! I hope I am brave enough for the helicopter trip!

Also, if you get the chance pop into Katz's deli - another iconic place to visit. The food is delish ! Well worth a visit is Little Italy - again the food is fab !

Take a walk to Central Park on your way to Strawberry Fields via The East Side . We literally bumped into Diana Ross coming out of her house in front of us to get into a yellow cab . Like a pair of idiots we exclaimed ‘ ooh ? it’s Diana Ross ‘ and she flashed us the most beautiful genuine looking smile and got into the cab .

Grand Central Station has a wonderful history and architecture and for $12 you can hire an audio guide and earphones to inform you as you walk round.

No advice to give at all..... except to say how amazing for you, have a brilliant time in New York mande I am a little bit

Yes like Gillybob I am very envious of you, I would love to visit New York as well.
Hope you have a wonderful time mande, let us know what it was like when you get back.

My favourite city! Well done on flying to Newark, NJ. Saves a lot of time. You have some great info here. Have an amazing time and let us know how it goes!

Flying into Newark means you see the Statue of Liberty as you come in to the city. Only if you sit on the appropriate side of the plane (the left as I recall, although it's been a few years since we went).

Walk the High Line. It used to be an overhead railway going through Manhattan. It's now like a linear park, going from midtown to the lower area. When you come off it, get some refreshments from Chelsea Market- lots of different types of food. Make use of HoHo bus and go completely round the edges of Central Park then walk through it to the boating lake and have a glass of something chilled, overlooking the lake. Have a brill time, lots of great suggestions in post, wish I was going too.

Roosevelt Island Tram, The Cloisters, Green-Wood Cemetery, Staten Island Ferry, Central Park Zoo, Chinatown at dusk/evening - Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles or Jing Fong - herbal pharmacies - daytime: MOCA, do a church hop, my favorite is St John The Divine, eat a slice of pizza daily .. Or every other day .. And have fun

Here are options for getting from Newark to NYC

loving-newyork.com/transfer-newark-airport-manhattan/

There are around 9 or 10 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings/features around NYC

I haven't read the whole thread, so someone may have mentioned this before, but my husband came back from a trip there very impressed by the High Line Garden. He walked it. It was developed on a disused freight train line, famous garden designer Piet Oudolf.

www.thehighline.org/visit/

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