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If you have one day, I'd walk from midtown to Battery Park, and either walk or take the subway back up. Maybe someone more familiar with the city can tell you the best avenue/s to take? You can see the Statue of Liberty from Battery, and actually taking a boat ride to it would eat up a lot of time. Then hit up Empire or 30 Rockefeller Center after that trip
Yes, good call Bluedog. I took the Circle Line last week and it is a great experience. Also great place to take pictures if you have a steady hand. The 2 hour cruise is enough and gets you a good idea of Manhattan and the buildings you see.
And definitely the Rockefeller is a good call. I saw Chava saying he/she did not had problems visiting the Empire, but my visit on 9/5 was like hell, I was ready to turn back and leave. And with the little time Woozie has, I wouldn't risk a long, unnerving wait to get on top of the Empire. I would do it with a few days available.
I assume the line to the Empire State Building varies depending on the time of day, day of the week & the season.
If you have one day, I'd walk from midtown to Battery Park, and either walk or take the subway back up. Maybe someone more familiar with the city can tell you the best avenue/s to take? You can see the Statue of Liberty from Battery, and actually taking a boat ride to it would eat up a lot of time. Then hit up Empire or 30 Rockefeller Center after that trip
I agree with the other people who say it is not a good idea to go to the Statue of Liberty if you only have day. I would suggest instead taking the Staten Island Ferry (which is free) if you want a good view of the Statue especially for picture-taking.
Wow you guys - thanks SO MUCH for all these great suggestions!! I love the top-of-the-rock idea, and the cruise around manhattan. How awesome!! And the metrocard, too (can we just purchase that at Penn station upon arrival, do you know?)
I think I'm going to priceline a hotel. What area do you think would be good to look at, considering we're arriving at penn station and leaving via la guardia? Any advantage to just waiting til we get there and seeing where we collapse?
Wow you guys - thanks SO MUCH for all these great suggestions!! I love the top-of-the-rock idea, and the cruise around manhattan. How awesome!! And the metrocard, too (can we just purchase that at Penn station upon arrival, do you know?)
I think I'm going to priceline a hotel. What area do you think would be good to look at, considering we're arriving at penn station and leaving via la guardia? Any advantage to just waiting til we get there and seeing where we collapse?
there's a lot of great deals to be had on that site if you're willing to wait til a couple days before you make it to NYC, which it seems that you are willing to do.
you can get the day passes at penn station, yes.
and as far as a place for a hotel, i don't think anywhere in manhattan will be much of an issue. if you go down, you'll be closer to the visitor attractions, but if you stay north, you'll be closer to the M60 bus, which takes you to LGA.
The SI Ferry is ok for a quick look at the Statue of Liberty and for a view of the lower Manhattan skyline and the lower harbor. But to have your mind blown away by the scale and majesty of NYC nothing compares to the circle line.You circle the whole Island,see all the waterfront activity,the heliports,the other ferry terminals and the passenger ship terminal.You go under all the bridges while automobiles and subway trains are going overhead.You go past midtown East Side and midtown West Side,past the UN,see great parks,some of Brooklyn,Queens and The Bronx,Yankee Stadium,etc.You go around Harlem to upper Manhattan and get to see the palisades,The GW Bridge and the cloisters.
The topography of the island changes dramatically at the northern end and is really quite impressive.
You actually see more things and cover more ground than you possibly could any other way.
Hate to admit it but I ride the circle once a year and have been doing so for 35 years.It still amazes me every time.It gives you a perspective of the city that cannot be duplicated.
The SI Ferry is ok for a quick look at the Statue of Liberty and for a view of the lower Manhattan skyline and the lower harbor. But to have your mind blown away by the scale and majesty of NYC nothing compares to the circle line.You circle the whole Island,see all the waterfront activity,the heliports,the other ferry terminals and the passenger ship terminal.You go under all the bridges while automobiles and subway trains are going overhead.You go past midtown East Side and midtown West Side,past the UN,see great parks,some of Brooklyn,Queens and The Bronx,Yankee Stadium,etc.You go around Harlem to upper Manhattan and get to see the palisades,The GW Bridge and the cloisters.
The topography of the island changes dramatically at the northern end and is really quite impressive.
You actually see more things and cover more ground than you possibly could any other way.
Hate to admit it but I ride the circle once a year and have been doing so for 35 years.It still amazes me every time.
Agree that the Circle Line is far superior. And a lot of fun!
We're arriving into NYC via amtrak at around lunchtime, then flying out of laguardia the next morning at 1130am. Where should we spend our one nite in the city? Times Square area? And what should we prioritize doing in our short time there???
In regards to just accommodations, if you're only spending a night, I'd go with a hostel. A bed and locker for as cheap as $30 a night, and you have wi-fi, a small cafe, and a rec area with a TV, and laundry.
I have a number of friends who have come to NY recently and gotten really great deals by waiting until the last minute to book and seeing what deals there are.
Some friends from Italy booked from the airport in Rome as they were waiting to depart using their
I Phone and hotwire.com. They got a great room at Morgan's for $150.00/night that is usually $350.00!
Great location at Madison and 38th too.
Do it through hotwire or travelocity or someplace like that though.... don't just show up at a hotel looking for a room.You will get nailed that way.
With hotwire you don't know the name of the hotel until after you book which scares some people but you book by location and stars.They have good deals.
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