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I am planning to come to the city on a Saturday in late August with two friends. We will be taking the train from Princeton in the morning and going back to Princeton that night.
We are all girls in our mid twenties. While one friend and I have been to the city before, this will be the first trip for our other friend, but she is not interested in doing the typical "touristy" things (and I won't argue with that )
So far, we've tossed around a few ideas, including walking the length of the High Line, meandering the West Village, and getting fruit and bread from a farmers' market somewhere for a picnic (potentially in Central Park or in a park in Brooklyn or LIC along the East River).
We don't want to try to do too many things and feel rushed, but we are also looking for suggestions of places we should try to go / see / eat / drink. Any tips are much appreciated!
EDIT: Also, I apologize if a similar question has been answered in another thread ... I did a quick search and didn't see anything, but if there is one, feel free to redirect me!
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. On the Brooklyn side, take a walk along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade for a great view of Lower Manhattan. At the end the promenade stroll along Montague Street and have a nice meal at one of the restaurants with outdoor seating (or indoor if the weather isn't suitable).
I'm always suggesting guidebooks, and even if you don't want to buy one for a day-trip, you could peek at one in a bookstore (although I suppose you might like to have one for future trips). What exactly does your friend mean by "touristy"? I can understand not wanting to go see the Statue of Liberty, but is she also turning up her nose at the Metropolitan Museum?
To just buy food and have a picnic in a park seems like something you could do in any city. Hey, if it's Saturday, have you considered brunch, followed by a matinee?
I'd seen this website a long time ago, but totally forgot about it ... I'll definitely look through it for some ideas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chava61
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. On the Brooklyn side, take a walk along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade for a great view of Lower Manhattan. At the end the promenade stroll along Montague Street and have a nice meal at one of the restaurants with outdoor seating (or indoor if the weather isn't suitable).
That's a great idea! I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge once years ago, and it was really cool. Do you have any suggestions for specific restaurants in the area?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigjake54
Wear sensible shoes!
Very good advice - I did not follow it the first time I visited, but definitely learned my lesson
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cida
I'm always suggesting guidebooks, and even if you don't want to buy one for a day-trip, you could peek at one in a bookstore (although I suppose you might like to have one for future trips). What exactly does your friend mean by "touristy"? I can understand not wanting to go see the Statue of Liberty, but is she also turning up her nose at the Metropolitan Museum?
To just buy food and have a picnic in a park seems like something you could do in any city. Hey, if it's Saturday, have you considered brunch, followed by a matinee?
I do have a guidebook (Moon Metro, which I've used in the past and would highly recommend) as a fallback, but I think it's good to get a true local's point of view as well. By "touristy" we are trying to avoid things like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square, etc.
We would like to go to a museum. Initially, we ruled it out because it seems like to make it worth the while, and the admission cost, we would have to spend the whole day there, and we would like to see the city as well. I then discovered that through my employer, I get free admission to most museums in the city, and free or deeply discounted admission for guests, so we thought if it is rainy / extremely hot and we need a break from the elements, we may drop in.
I've been to the Met twice, and it is incredible, but we were leaning towards spending most of our time in midtown / downtown, simply because there is so much ground to cover, it'd be impossible to see everything we'd like to see in one day. For that reason, we thought about going to MoMA - or would you say it is worth the trip uptown to go to the Met if we are only able to visit one museum?
Again, thanks everyone for all of your tips - I really appreciate it!!
Hi everyone - thanks for your suggestions! They're all great!
That's a great idea! I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge once years ago, and it was really cool. Do you have any suggestions for specific restaurants in the area?
We would like to go to a museum. Initially, we ruled it out because it seems like to make it worth the while, and the admission cost, we would have to spend the whole day there, and we would like to see the city as well. I then discovered that through my employer, I get free admission to most museums in the city, and free or deeply discounted admission for guests, so we thought if it is rainy / extremely hot and we need a break from the elements, we may drop in.
I've been to the Met twice, and it is incredible, but we were leaning towards spending most of our time in midtown / downtown, simply because there is so much ground to cover, it'd be impossible to see everything we'd like to see in one day. For that reason, we thought about going to MoMA - or would you say it is worth the trip uptown to go to the Met if we are only able to visit one museum?
Again, thanks everyone for all of your tips - I really appreciate it!!
There are several good restaurants on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. I haven't been there recently so I don't remember the names of the restaurants that I have eaten at there.
Although you have free admission to most museums, the Met., the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of the City of NY and the Brooklyn Museum all have suggested contributions rather than fixed admission prices. So your guests can pay whatever they wish. I believe the MOMA has a suggested contribution (instead of its regular admission price) on Fridays after 4PM.
I do have a guidebook (Moon Metro, which I've used in the past and would highly recommend) as a fallback, but I think it's good to get a true local's point of view as well. By "touristy" we are trying to avoid things like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square, etc.
We would like to go to a museum. Initially, we ruled it out because it seems like to make it worth the while, and the admission cost, we would have to spend the whole day there, and we would like to see the city as well. I then discovered that through my employer, I get free admission to most museums in the city, and free or deeply discounted admission for guests, so we thought if it is rainy / extremely hot and we need a break from the elements, we may drop in.
I've been to the Met twice, and it is incredible, but we were leaning towards spending most of our time in midtown / downtown, simply because there is so much ground to cover, it'd be impossible to see everything we'd like to see in one day. For that reason, we thought about going to MoMA - or would you say it is worth the trip uptown to go to the Met if we are only able to visit one museum?
Again, thanks everyone for all of your tips - I really appreciate it!!
You're right, it's impossible to see everything in one day. So don't even try. Just have a good time, and dangle the possibility of future additional trips.
MoMA is certainly a good option for midtown, but maybe you should also consider something smaller. Have you ever been to the Frick? It's in the 70s, and one of the finest small museums in the country, in what used to be the Frick mansion. It's a magnificent place, and you won't feel as if it's using up your whole day.
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