Things to see in NYC in one day? Options

[xoxo_proud]

I'm driving up to Smith College next week with some of my family and we've decided to stop in NYC for a day. It will be a Sunday so I don't know if many tourist attractions will be open. We don't plan on spending tons of money (minus any food). We just want to walk around and see the city. What are some places to stop at?

[kryogenix]

ahahahaha yeah, the only thing is my legs hit the limit after several dozen blocks and start cramping up

I mean, if you can't go to NYC often, then I suppose just wandering around is not a good idea since you might end up walking through, say, Harlem at night, but if you can visit more than once a year, you really open yourself up to new experiences by walking through the various neighborhoods and discovering attractions on your own, rather than having a "canned" vacation on a tour bus or something.

[mipadi]

I mean, if you can't go to NYC often, then I suppose just wandering around is not a good idea since you might end up walking through, say, Harlem at night, but if you can visit more than once a year, you really open yourself up to new experiences by walking through the various neighborhoods and discovering attractions on your own, rather than having a "canned" vacation on a tour bus or something.

A few weeks ago, I was coming home from Long Island, and I got lost in Jamaica at around 2 am (long story). Spent a while wandering around trying to find a working pay phone, since my cell phone was dead. I had picked up a map of New York City when I'd become lost, but since I had no clue where I was I couldn't even figure out how to navigate via the map.

I learned a lot about Jamaica. Too much, really.