Going to New York, what to see?
 

I've gotten a serious case of traveling fever. I want to go somewhere.
I love the US, so I figured, if I had to splash some money on a travel, why not go all the way. (The exchange rate for one dollar is also very low, which would be foolish not to exploit...) And the place with most interesting things I could think of, is New York.

I think about going for about a week, but I'm not really sure what to see. Or rather, I want to see all the 'classics', like the Statue of Liberty, The New York Museum of Natural History, Ellis Island, Central Park and, uhm, Nintendo World.
But I'd also like to see some more unknown attractions, things that tourists might not know about, but Americans and the like comes to see.

Tips, suggestions and advice are welcome.

A week in NY is actually a pretty long time unless you're into doing a lot of shit. I'd recommend visiting another city or two along the eastern seaboard since they're all connected by a relatively decent rail system. You can go to Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington DC (I feel there's more exciting things to see here than NYC, personally).

I would not mind going to NY myself, the main thing I would want to do would see some stuff on Broadway. If you are into musicals you could go there.

Consider your personal interests first! What's most important to you on your experience? History, night life, culture, scenery, people? These sorts of things.

The US is a very large and diverse country. We're not all the same, and every region of the country offers something different.

Assess what you're looking for in your travel before you jump right into NYC. Like RR said, there are a lot of better, other cities - but it depends on what you're looking for.

Hmm... well I would personally try to attend a concert or two at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center then I would probably wander aimlessly around Julliard's campus for the rest of my stay...

NYC also has a fairly nice zoo if I remember correctly, but then again it has been like 15 years since I visited there last. You might as well try to catch a Broadway show or two as well, though it will probably end up being very expensive; I think I spent several hundred dollars per ticket for one last time I visited.

If all else fails, you can always take a short train ride over to Washington D.C., and there are plenty of enjoyable Bus tours to keep you busy if you grow bored of New York...

I dunno, pretty much everyone I know who's been to New York says that two weeks wasn't long enough. I guess it's a more interesting place if you're not American, in the same way that I can't think why anyone would ever bother coming over to visit London for a weekend, let alone longer. I mean, you don't have to fill your days on holiday completely with doing stuff. If you do a couple of things a day that's what, ten or so attractions in a week? Then you've got a day for shopping and a bit of time to just chill out and wander around. If you can't think of ten interesting things to do in New York then it's not much of a city frankly. I could think of ten interesting things to do in Brighton and it's no more than a glorified town (Although eight of those would probably involve getting drunk).

I've never even been to America but I would have thought that a trip to the statue of liberty, visiting the big hole in the ground where the WTC used to be, catching a Broadway show, watching some baseball or American football, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, Central Park Zoo, going up the Empire State Building, taking a helicopter tour and a bit of shopping would be more than enough to fill a week and that's just all the obvious touristy stuff without taking into account going out for dinner and a few nights getting pissed up.

That 'big hole' is more like a construction site these days. I mean, it already was by the time I last visited NY which was a while ago. By now construction could even be some way along. It's probably still worth a visit though. They have lots of displays about the attack up on nearby walls, and there's a church across the road which remained miraculously untouched. There's probably still a good reason to see it and pay your respects. It's just not quite a big hole anymore.

The rest of your list is made up of awesome things to see and do, and I agree you could fill more than just a week with those things. Plus if ya happen to know anyone through the internets from NY, that's always a good way to spend an afternoon.

I would expect this comment from someone from Beantown.

Anything and everything you can ever hope to find can be found in New York; outside of historical signifigance appointed to particular places, theres no reason to go to another city. I mean, where are you gonna go? Trenton? Hartford? Why bother?

I was going to make a comment about saxophones but I think that one's been done to death.

I live in NY. Tell me what you like and I'll tell you where to go.

My personal opinion though, is that you shouldn't be so worried about where to go or what to do. I've found I have the most fun just picking a direction and walking in it randomly. For you, it'd probably be a little harder to get home, but its amazing how many small niche shops you'll find just exploring, and they're much more fun than the big names. I personally have never been to many of the real tourist places here despite living here so I don't know much about that.

Some great neighborhoods you should visit, for tourist-y feel are definitely Chinatown, SoHo, and Times Square. Hell, even Union Square has a lot of culture that you might enjoy. There's a little neighborhood full of Japanese bookstores and restaurants too. Like I said, its easier if I know more about what you like to do.

Good luck getting in without an ID. Also campuses don't exist in NYC schools. They're just buildings that may or may not be even in the general vicinity of each other.

Second on the Chinatown reference, I really enjoyed it when I went. Also, there's this great BBQ place near Time's Square called Virgil's if you're in the area and like BBQ. At least, I remember it being fantastic. It's a fun city, if you want to see the sites maybe put a day or two aside but I would just explore around personally. Depends what kind of vacation you're looking for really.

There was a tiny bit of construction being started last time I went to ground zero about 9 months ago, so I'm sure there's been a little progress made since then. Either way, it's worth going to see.

Don't eat in Times Square unless you want to get your wallet raped. Some good BBQ can be found at this place called Dallas BBQ. They have a few locations (one in Times Square actually) and if you go for the early bird special, you can get some pretty cheap ass BBQ that tastes great. Another option is Brother Jimmy's BBQ. I think there are a few around town but the one I know of is on 31st and 8th by Penn Station.

I second all the recommendations to check out SoHo and Chinatown. There's a lot of really cool things to see and do, mostly in the form of weird and niche shops. Check out St. Marks place in the East Village for a lot of that stuff as well.

An oft-overlooked recommendation... If you need to use the bathroom, go into any Starbucks. They don't care if people use their toilets.

Another thing to do - Walk the Brooklyn Bridge. It's beautiful and a brisk walk. When you get to the other side in Brooklyn, you'll end up in the neighborhood called Brooklyn Heights. Right around the corner on Old Fulton St is Grimaldi's Pizza. If you haven't heard of it, it's the supposed best pizza in NYC. Having tried it, I must say it is pretty fucking fantastic, but know that there's always a line way out the door unless you get there around 10:30-11:00 AM before it opens. Also, you can only buy pizza by the pie. They don't do slices. Either way, it's worth it.

Make sure to go to the Strand bookstore at 12th and Broadway (just north of NYU's campus). It lays claim to fame as the world's biggest used bookstore, and I spend hours in there each time I go.

Well the only thing I might say is that "I always wanted to come to the US because I thing is cool insted of living in Romania which that is a shitty place" :|

im also going to NYC soon. unfortunately i dont even know many of the touristy places you speak of. what kind of general places are good stops?

The Blue Men group is always a good show if they're in town.

If you're coming this summer, good luck. The sun doesn't really like us these days. And its rainy at least 3 days out of every week.

Check out Alex Grey's 'Chapel of Sacred Mirrors' exhibit. If you can, score a date with Karen Orzolek.

I highly, highly recommend that you go see a Broadway show. It's something NYC is famous for! (I went to a few Broadway shows in Chicago--quite simply, they were not as good.) There's such a variety of Broadway shows, you should definitely be able to find one that interests you. If the tickets are too expensive, though, you can look for an off-Broadway show. (A show in a much smaller theater in the streets near Broadway.) Those are much cheaper and still quite good.

First time I went to NY it was terrible, honestly the worst trip I'd ever taken. Place smelled like old tampons and rotten carcasses, not to mention the huge headache I had. The second time it was actually pretty damn fun. Got to see the NBA store, shop at some "high fashion" stores, I would've never stepped in otherwise, and I even got to go on a skylift thingy. So what I'm trying to say is, if you don't have a pounding headache and your guide actually knows where to take you, you'll have a great time.