Asking for advice - NYC

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amtc

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I'm planning a trip to New York with my mam for 8 Feb, coming back 11 Feb.

We've been before so done all the usual tourist attractions. She knows she's going somewhere but not where (it's a gift for her 65th and retirement). We got a suite in Fitzpatricks, and they've laid on a reception. I just wanted ideas as to what we could do.

My thoughts at the moment are:

- Arrive Friday Feb 8 - do Central Park (disgusted to find out Tavern on the Green is closed as I always wanted to go there) - so tea in the Plaza and then Central Park in a carriage (I know it's twee but she couldn't walk that far), then dinner in Little Italy

- Saturday - 9 Feb Pop down to the Freedom Tower, have lunch at Grand Central Station, Mass at St Patrick's, then I have tickets for Annie that evening.

- Sunday - 10 Feb - do the outlets. Maybe Top of the Rock that evening

- Monday - 11 Feb - potter round Bloomingdales, as near to the hotel.

My mother says she just wants to be directed, neither of us are big shoppers. Is there anything else I'm leaving out?
 
I enjoyed getting the ferry and seeing the Statue of Liberty but could be very cold at this time of year.

Are you sure that she will be able to do Central Park on the same day as arrival?

Even though we did go on the bus tours it was far too cold.
 
Thanks - but we've done the Statue of Liberty and the bus tours twice already - so I wanted something different.

And yeah, she'll be fine - had the hip done last year and I can't keep up with her down Henry Street! It's just because it looks like it'll be cold that I thought about the carriage ride. Mind you, the prices for tea at the Plaza - it may have to be tap water!

The outlets are because I did that with my aunts two years ago - got the best leather jacket for 90 euro- also, and my cousin lives in upstate NY so as a surprise we'll meet her there.
 
Something really unusual but interesting to do is to have lunch in the delegates dining room in the UN. Do the tour first, it's a good one. You need to book by phone first, all the info is here [broken link removed]
 
why not do a walking tour. My mum and sister did that in December. Google colman o'reillys walking tour. It was brillant they said, best thing they ever did. Colman is Irish and you can email him and tell him what you want to see and work out a timetable.

PS. am no relation/association to colman.
 
If you're into walking there's no need to do a tour. Get these instead http://www.amazon.co.uk/City-Walks-...4125/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359585349&sr=8-1 it's a box of walks. Each one starts and ends at a subway station and should take no longer than an hour. You only need to take out whichever cards are for the area you want to visit, they are about twice the size of a playing card. We used them to visit areas we wouldn't have gone exploring normally like Little Italy, Chinatown and SoHo.
 
I was there good few years ago and visited the tenement museum, it was an old house that had never been boarded up for years without being changed and was then opened to the public to show how the immigrants mainly lived, huge families in one room, different nationalities, they were just in the process of reproducing an Irish family room. It was absolutely fascinating, small tours only dozen or so people allowed in at a time.

http://www.tenement.org/about.html
 
Botanic gardens in Brooklyn? There is a shuttle that you can take around them so you don't have to walk too much.

Do you go to Ellis Island on previous trips? Well worth it.

Ground zero - and even more than the monument itself, St Paul's Chapel beside it has an exhibition around the relief effort - very inspiring.

I think the outlets are might be a waste of time if you're not big shoppers. They do take a long time to get to.
 
Been to Ellis Island twice (wasn't that impressed - computers down each time there), and Ground Zero a couple of times. I hated the way that tourists were queuing up to take photos in front of it, smiling. I will go however, I#m comfortable enough on the subway, so that's ok.

I've been to the outlets before, but my mother hasn't. She's just retired and wants a new style rather than uniform. As I said my cousin lives near by and we haven't seen her children so it kills two birds with the one stone.

I emailed the walking tours, so that's all set up! (we're not big walkers, but wanted a guide - working out fine)

Can't get an answer from the UN...mind you?! One of the first times I went to NEw York was with my parents and my mother announced on the way home that she felt like Kofi Annan, so it has a bit of a laugh in it. Ill keep trying.

Does anyone know if you clear immigration with Delta here or in the US? Last time, we did it in the US, but my aunts were travelling on Australian passports and hadn't got their ESTA sorted. Both on this trip travelling on Irish passports and I did the ESTA last week.

One thing I know nothing about and I've love to do is the trip along the overhead train line in Manhattan - the one that runs along the tenements and now has parks in it, but googling not giving me any answers!

Thanks for all help.
 
The park that was created on the elevated train line is called the High Line. It is near Chelsea Market which is a converted biscuit factory and now has lots of restaurants, shops and bakeries. The farmers market on Union square is also nice to go to.
 
AMTC, found this in The Independent

Three lines run out of Grand Central. One serves the Hudson Valley; the Harlem Line winds north into Westchester County; and the third takes passengers out to coastal Connecticut. Today I'm taking the train to the end of the scenic Hudson Line. Tickets can be bought at machines and booths on the concourse; my return fare is $31.50. The tracks run directly below glitzy Park Avenue and the train emerges from the darkness at 97th Street, rising on to the elevated tracks for its first stop at Harlem 125th Street.

From there, the route continues north before crossing the Harlem River and into the Bronx. The tracks follow the Harlem River, which joins the Hudson River within a few minutes, after the splendidly named Spuyten Duyvil station. Make sure that you are sitting on the left-hand side seats for the best views of the river. At times the track hugs the waterside. You feel as if you could almost jump into the Hudson from the platforms of small riverside stations such as Riverdale and Ludlow, just 15 minutes from Manhattan. Sailboats bob in the breeze, and there's the impressive high bluff of the Hudson's west bank.

My favourite stop on the way to Poughkeepsie is Beacon, one of the jewels of the Hudson River Valley, just over an hour's train ride from Manhattan. The small town is awash with bohemian cafés, art galleries and boutiques and has attracted artists such as identical twin brothers Mike and Doug Starn. More importantly, Beacon is the home of the Dia Art Foundation. The Dia Beacon occupies a former Nabisco factory, which means it can exhibit some colossal works. There are some stunning sculptures here by Richard Serra, a Louise Bourgeois spider and large-scale works by Andy Warhol and Gerhard Richter.

The train continues north along the east riverbank. The reason Poughkeepsie is so popular is its proximity to the fascinating Franklin D Roosevelt Home and Library at nearby Hyde Park. Time your visit to coincide with the National Park service tour, which picks visitors up at the station (arriving on the 10.35am train) and includes a guided tour of all the Roosevelt sites as well as one of the Vanderbilt's suitably extravagant mansions.

I make my return as the sun sets over the Hudson. By the time the train crosses the Harlem River, the sparkling Manhattan skyline has started its evening light show. Back at Grand Central, I make my way across the grand concourse. Here secret lovers steal one last kiss before their suburban commute home; rugged movie heroes make their escape from their devious pursuers. Grand Central is the most romantic of all railway cathedrals. - The Independent
 
best laid plans - no flights, 2 feet of snow and pictures on thew news of people buying shovels amongst 65m winds! Waiting for phone lines to open.

I don't have travel insurance, but all paid for....
 
I just cancelled the whole thing -

what was supposed to be a relaxing trip was going to be outward routing tomorrow of Dublin - Paris - Amsterdam - New York, and back via London. Hotel only had availability for first and last night, so would've been on the streets for the middle two!

Sticking to tea at the Westbury as Plan B!
 
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