My mom and I (Im 19 she%26#39;s 50) are flying in October 1st and she%26#39;s leaving the planning part up to me. We%26#39;ll be staying at the Jolly hotel Madison Towers in Murray Hill (at Madison ave and 38th St.)and have 4 full days, 6 in total to do stuff. It is my first time in NYC and she was here 30 years ago so we want to see most of the usual tourist attractions, and we both love art and history. So here is my first draft of our trip, it is quite long so please bear with me!
DAY 1 - SATURDAY
鈥?Evening - arrive at La Guardia @ 5:30 pm, get settled into hotel, dinner and then maybe to the Empire State building.
DAY 2 - SUNDAY
鈥?A.M. - cont. breakfast at hotel, explore on foot- shopping on 5th ave, Macy%26#39;s, union square, flatiron building
鈥?Noon - Explore Chelsea, see Chelsea hotel, lunch in the area
鈥?Afternoon - ??
鈥?Evening - Times square, Madame Tussauds
DAY 3 - MONDAY
鈥?A. M. - grab quick breakfast, maybe do bus tour, see St. Patricks cathedral, FAO Schwarz
鈥?Noon - Central Park
鈥?Afternoon - Guggenheim %26amp; metropolitan museum (or is this too much museum at once)
鈥?Evening - maybe catch a play
DAY 4 - TUESDAY
鈥?A.M., afternoon - explore Chinatown, Little Italy, soho, greenwich
鈥?Evening - See Wicked @ 7, dinner after and then back to hotel
DAY 5 - Wednesday
鈥?A.M. -Sit down breakfast somewhere
鈥?Noon - Museum of Modern art, bus tour of Brooklyn
鈥?Afternoon, Evening - ??
DAY 6 - Thursday
鈥?A.M.- check out of hotel, breakfast, then pick up rental car around 1 pm and we%26#39;re on our way to Cape Cod!
Does this sound do-able? my mom wont be able to do too much walking due to a bad back, so we will probably opt for getting around by bus and subway, maybe cabs at night for long distances
Itinerary critique please?
Madam Tussauds is a tourist trap. Do a search on it and see what other people think. The Guggenheim is very small: they have a small permanent collection and one major exhibit 鈥?unless you are interested in the major exhibit it鈥檚 enough to see the building from the outside. The Met is just beautiful and there are lots of opportunities to sit down and take it easy as you explore. I鈥檇 think about taking mom to the Boat House for lunch on that Central Park day 鈥?at the hour the prices are reasonable and the view is very nice.
You are doing a lot of walking 鈥?much more then you realize. I鈥檇 suggest adding a Circle Line Cruse (I really like the full 3 hour circle). I usually hate tours but the Circle Line is really lots of fun and it鈥檚 relaxing. I鈥檇 go to their website, print out some schedules, and then you can play it by ear when you get a pretty afternoon.
Cape Cod is magic 鈥?I just got back and it was the best. Oct. is going to be great for oysters and seafood. Where did you decide to go out there? Is 1 the soonest you can pick up the rental car? It鈥檚 a long drive and I think you鈥檒l want to be there by dark. Speaking of that drive 鈥?make sure to take the Merritt and not I95 through most of CT 鈥?it鈥檚 much faster and much prettier.
Itinerary critique please?
A few things:
Metropolitan Museum if closed M0ndays -open late on Saturdays, might be a good time to visit and go to the ESB another evening.
MOMA is closed Tuesdays
Monday evening is not a good night for theatre, most shows are dark.
I agree that Madame Tussauds is a tourist trip, but it is fun anyway, especially, if you haven%26#39;t been before. Check www.destinationcoupons.com for a coupon.
Stores on Sunday generally open at 11AM, so plan accordingly.
I would add a visit to Central Park, a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and a look at Grand Central Station.
If you like art and history, and want something unique, I%26#39;d swap one of your museum stops (Guggy) for either the NY Historical Society or the Museum of the City of New York:
http://www.nyhistory.org/ (UWS)
http://www.mcny.org/ (UES)
When you%26#39;re in Chinatown and Little Italy, and if you%26#39;re not too tired, check out the Tenement Museum:
http://www.tenement.org/
Even if you do not see the Guggenheim, it%26#39;s worth stepping into their lobby to view the spiral from the inside. Their gift shop is very nice too.
Much better places to go than Madame Tussauds!
Just taking a walk around the city, Rockefeller Center area is always busy - go in the AM and see the TODAY show as it is being broadcast. They get quite a crowd for their outdoor segments. The diamond district on 47th between 5th and 6th is very unique - looking is very much allowed.
Most legitimate theater productions are dark (closed) on Mondays, as are some museums. Check museum websites for opening days and hours.
Make sure you have alternative plans due to weather or unforseen circumstances.
Enjoy.
thanks for all the helpful comments, i have a lot of revising to do!
I guess it looks like we should skip the wax museum, we%26#39;ve both been to one before and it is kinda pricey too.
My mom is dead set on seeing those 3 art museums. Monday and Tuesday we will probably be doing the Gray Line all loops bus tour, so we don%26#39;t have to walk all of the area.
eastcoastgirl - Yeah, I forgot to add that we were thinking about doing the 2 hour harbour cruise, maybe on Tuesday. We%26#39;re staying in Hyannis for 2 nights before heading to Salem Ma. We%26#39;re doing the whole New England foliage road trip, it should be great. We don%26#39;t HAVE to pick the rental up at 1, but the earlier we pick it up the earlier we have to drop it off at our final destination, in Boston. Anyways we were told its about a 5-6 hour drive from Manhattan to Cape cod, about what time in early October does it start to get dark?
Also, for the less popular off-broady theatre, will we be able to get tickets when we%26#39;re there, or should we buy them in advance like we did for Wicked?
Thanks so much guys!
You picked a great show (Wicked) to see. For the less popular ones, you can get them on the day of the show. Look at www.broadwaybox.com or www.theatermania.com for coupons to print out and bring to the box office. If you forget, while you%26#39;re at Grand Central Station, there%26#39;s a New York tourist info window where they have discount theatre coupons and other coupons as well. Have a great trip!
Being interested in history, you have left out the most historical part of Manhattan, the most southern part, where it all started. Below is a link for a walking tour of lower Manhattan. To do it all, you can take the number 6 train from the subway stop at Grand Central Station (which is a short distance from your hotel at 42 Street and Park Avenue) to the Brooklyn Bridge stop. BTW, you should also see the GCS itself. If you only want to do the lower part of the walking tour, take the number 4 or 5 train to Bowling Green stop and start from there.
www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/TOUR-LM.html
Re driving to Cape Cod - plan for 7 hours, just in case. (it%26#39;s usually 6 with no traffic, plus one hour meal/break.) Driving to Boston is shorter.
Re Guggenheim - take elevator to top and walk down.
On Wednesdays you can get rush tickets to many plays. My DD and I got to see Ave Q for $21 front row center (wow) but you have to enter a lottery at 12noon on the day of the show.
We planned to buy reg. price tickets if we didn%26#39;t win the rush lottery-- but we got lucky that day.
BTW I loved Wicked!! Enjoy.
The FIT Museum 28th and 7th is free and might be fun for you and your mom.
The Chelsea Hotel has had some famous visitors over the years-- it will probably be a quick (but fun) stop on your trip.
When you go to Chinatown try having dim sum. It%26#39;s inexpensive, and fun. The wait staff brings little dishes to you and you point to what you want. They charge by the plate. Two places I like are HSF and the Golden Unicorn.
Why don%26#39;t you and your mom REALLY see St. Patricks. Since you will be in NY on Sunday-- go to a Mass. Don%26#39;t just tour NY-participate! If you%26#39;re not Catholic, go to your own denomination.
Pamper yourself (and mom) a little. For around $10 you can get your nails done at one of the many nail places around the city. It%26#39;s a good way to rest for an hour or so after so much walking.
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