Going to NYC, new to the city Options

[freeridefight]

I'm going to NYC March 10-17 for a Model UN convention and I have no idea what to do. How much money to bring for a week, where to eat, where to shop, what to wear, little tips and tricks, hot parts of thw town, what to do. I'm staying in the hilton hotel, and wanna have a great time. You New Yorkers, tell me some things.

[tokyo-rose]

Where are you from? You're going to need to dress warmly in March because it'll be windy. Bring a thick/down jacket. Um, visit the NYPL/Bryant Park, definitely Central Park, hit up at least one museum (the Museum of Modern Art is free if you're 16 or under), and maybe to go Serendipity (famous frozen hot chocolate).

[batman]

5th Ave, Columbus Circle, Soho, etc are great places to shop.
Some great hookah bars in East Village if you're into that (Hade Bade doesn't card).
Check out Chinatown (dim sum, knockoffs, etc), Little Italy (great food), Flushing has great korean food, etc.
The Cloisters!! I'm not sure if it's too cold to go to, but the Cloisters is beautifullll.
There are lots of museums too, like the Museum of Sex, Moma, Guggenheim, Met, etc.
South St. Seaport's great for tourists - there's a Body's Exhibit that I think is better than any of the other Body Worlds.
If you like midtown, Madame Toussand's (sp) is fun to visit.
By Penn Station (34th & Broadway) is a big cluster of shops: Macy's, H&M, etc.
Then there's always Broadway!!

have fun :)

[hi-C]

My favorite parts of town are Union Square, the East Village, and the LES (not to mention BROOKLYN! f*cking love Brooklyn). I begrudgingly began to like the West Village towards the end of my school career, specifically because of $3.50 margaritas. Damn, I sound like such an NYU kid.

If you're into H&M there's a gigantic one near Rockefeller Center. If you wanna go to Soho to shop, the cheaper places are all along Broadway. The pricier places are east and west of there.

Food's gonna get kinda expensive but if you ever find yourself near NYU, make a trip to Mamouns, a Middle Eastern hole-in-the-wall on MacDougal (there's one on St. Marks, but it's not the original). They have falafels, chicken kebabs, shawarma, etc, and most sandwiches are under $3 (a falafel is $2.50; they used to be $2, but the stupid economy made them go up). And if you like falafels there, go to Moaz Vegetarian (there's one on 8th st around University Place and another one on 17th st, near Union Square). Their falafels are more expensive than Mamouns but they have a toppings bar with a whole bunch of tasty items, like cucumbers and roasted cauliflower, and different sauces (there's a yogurt sauce and a few salsas).

OH! Speaking of St. Marks, just off of it, on 2nd Ave is a Belgian fries place called Pommes Frites. They serve awesomely thick cut fries and a myriad of sauces. My favorite is barbecue but they have crazier flavors like pomegranate teriyaki, and something with pineapple, and Irish curry, and blue cheese, and rosemary garlic. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

As for where to go, my favorite places to take visitors are the Toys R Us in Times Square (it has a ferris wheel!), FAO Schwartz, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, Washington Square, and the Empire State Building.

Also! If you want to take in a show, a lot of have (student) rush tickets where when you show up the day of when the theater's box office opens, you can get deeply discounted tickets. I was in the front row center for the Color Purple and only paid $25.50 or something like that. I think most rush tickets for Broadway shows are $25; I think they might be cheaper around Lincoln Center (if you wanted to see an opera, ballet, or an orchestra).

Hm. This post was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be.

[Ington]

Where are you from? You're going to need to dress warmly in March because it'll be windy. Bring a thick/down jacket. Um, visit the NYPL/Bryant Park, definitely Central Park, hit up at least one museum (the Museum of Modern Art is free if you're 16 or under), and maybe to go Serendipity (famous frozen hot chocolate).

Eh, Serendipity. In my opinion, it's really too much of a tourist spot and the line is much too long to be worth a frozen hot chocolate. You'd have a much better time at Max Brenner's down in Union Square, and the chocolate there is absolutely incredible.

There's this plain-looking Japanese restaurant called Sapporo on W 49th, between 6th and 7th avenue, that has amazing food for really low prices. Its one of NYC's little secrets.

[freeridefight]

Where are you from? You're going to need to dress warmly in March because it'll be windy. Bring a thick/down jacket. Um, visit the NYPL/Bryant Park, definitely Central Park, hit up at least one museum (the Museum of Modern Art is free if you're 16 or under), and maybe to go Serendipity (famous frozen hot chocolate).

WV

I know I was gonna hit up Central Park for sure. Our supervisors told us that it is SO COLD in march that I have no idea what cold is.

How much money do you think? What to wear? Where to shop? and lots of more NYC secrets.

[LoveToMySilas]

-Charmin building (they let you use the bathrooms with super soft toilet paper )
-Madame Tussuad's wax museum
-Museum of Natural History
-Museum of Moving Images
-MTV Studios (If you can get upstairs!)
-Chinatown for sure! You'll be able to bargain for things there.
-Heath Ledger's apartment, thats always something.
-Central Park
-Times Square
-Jackyl and Hyde (sp?)

My brain is feeling dead at the moment, its pretty sad that I can't name more considering the fact that I live in NYC.

Its good to bring a good amount of money with you, stuff in the city is outrageously expensive.

[carolannexbh]

Holy sh*t I'm going to that same convention.... Crazy! HOLY SH*T I'm staying in the hilton too. Woww crazy.

Edit: This is a site that my school has been checking out for when we go there
http://www.nmun.org/07%20downloads/about_nyc.pdf

[waccoon]

Union Square! It's THE place to be. There are performances going on there all the time, and there are great places to shop, but the real thing Union Square has to offer is the awesome people.

And after you're done raiding Virgin/Barnes & Noble, head to Cosi's for some seriously f*cking amazing sandwiches. And then catch a movie across the street.

Man, Union Square. <3

[Comptine]

Serendipity and Magnolia Bakery are awful tourist traps. To be fair, I've never been there. But for their prices and their hype, I think it's ridiculous that half the time, they are sub-par rated.

Money-wise... NYC gets a lot of hype for being an expensive city but I've survived a fun day out with only a few bucks in my pocket. Depending on what you do, you can spend anywhere from 10 to hundreds of dollars.

Food wise:
-Chinatown
-Ktown near Herald Square after some shopping. There's some Korean BBQ places that are good for group dinners.
-Ktown also as KTV places that are fun with a group of friends.
-I agree with Union Square!
-Shake Shack at Madison Square Park
-Say Chesse! near Time Square. I can't remember the address as of right now.
-Central Park. Their ice skating rink is actually decently priced for the location and the city. It's really fun to skate with such beautiful scenery. It should still be open then.

Shopping:
-Herald Square
-Union Square
-Soho
-5th Ave (if you really want to break the wallet)

I can't remember more right now. But you're going to love it here!

[hi-C]

Serendipity and Magnolia Bakery are awful tourist traps. To be fair, I've never been there. But for their prices and their hype, I think it's ridiculous that half the time, they are sub-par rated.

I agree, especially about Magnolia. Magnolia is sooooooooooo not worth it. The cake part of the cupcakes are good, but the icing is gross. For a wider food experience, I recommend Chelsea Market on 15th St and... 9th Ave, I think that is. Fat Witch Bakery and Sarabeth's ftw.

-Shake Shack at Madison Square Park

I've only ever seen that place ridiculously crowded although now that the cold has set in, it's probably not as bad. One day the line snaked around to 5th ave.

-Central Park. Their ice skating rink is actually decently priced for the location and the city. It's really fun to skate with such beautiful scenery. It should still be open then.

Great idea! There are at least two rinks and I think one is cheaper than the other. Can't remember right now. But they're both much cheaper than the rinks Chelsea Piers and Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller Center's is ridiculously expensive.

Edit: The Macy's at Herald Square is... an experience, to say the least. I don't make it a habit of going there because it's always crowded, but it's good for a short visit.

[waccoon]

As far as ice skating goes, Wollman and Rockefeller are subpar compared to Bryant Park. Granted, Bryant Park is crowded but it's so deliciously awesome. Wollman and Rockefeller lean on the expensive side, especially if you don't have your own skates. Plus, the skaters there are snooty and laugh if you fall.

Bryant Park has $12 skate rentals, and they have a bag check and lockers for a couple of bucks. Skating is free! So if you have your own skates and bring your own lock, everything is free! Just be prepared to contend with loads of people falling down and morons cutting you off and trying to impress their girlfriends.. but that's NYC life for ya. :]

Went on a date there a couple of weeks ago, was awesome. Except when she landed on her head and went to the EMT! Ouch. (Oh, they have an EMT present just in case anything happens. Some girl got her finger sliced open minutes after we went in.. yikes.)

EDIT: Just remembered, Bryant Park's skating is OUTDOORS, so by the time you come to New York the ice will have thawed and it'll be a pond instead. ): Sorry, head over to the Trump Rink for indoors skating!

[hi-C]

^ It closes the day after MLK, Jr. Day.

[Comptine]

^Shake Shack is good the first time. The Double Stack is the most amazing burger you'll try because it's so cheesy and yummy. But after awhile, you get use to it. Still, it's still veryyyy yummy. I definitely recommend it.

[tokyo-rose]

Eh, Serendipity. In my opinion, it's really too much of a tourist spot and the line is much too long to be worth a frozen hot chocolate. You'd have a much better time at Max Brenner's down in Union Square, and the chocolate there is absolutely incredible.

Haha, but freeridefight is a tourist. :P

-Madame Tussuad's wax museum
-Chinatown for sure! You'll be able to bargain for things there.
-Jackyl and Hyde (sp?)

Yes to Chinatown, but look beyond Canal Street! That'll be the one you see right after exiting the 6 subway station. There are a bunch of people hawking bootleg stuff to tourists. I don't think tourists know that there's much of a Chinatown beyond Canal.

Yesss, Jekyll and Hyde. That restaurant is so awesome.

I'd recommend bringing a few hundred dollars, $200 minimum. Then again, I don't do expensive tourist places, so I can't accurately say.

As for March cold, hm...yeah, just bring a down jacket like I said to before. Here's a chart of monthly average temps in NYC: http://www.ny.com/general/weather.html.

[freeridefight]

It's gonna be cold. brzzz


and don't give me the typical tourist attractions just for a little fun, give me good places