First off, let me state that this guide is geared towards friends and family members from around the southern part of Louisiana who wish to travel to New York City, specifically Manhattan. I am fortunate enough to have family in the Big Apple to visit and do so somewhat frequently – albeit, not as much recently as I have in the past. Each area is broken down below with generalities, some specifics, family favorites, and personal favorites. This is an ever growing and changing guide as new places open and old favorites close. This has been many years in the making and pieced together from personal notes, emails, texts, and memories from trips taken personally combined with others. The map included at the end can be saved to your devices through Google Maps, and other NYC specific apps will be shared in a separate blog post. Please let me know if there’s anything not included you would like me to add, or if there’s something I missed. Enjoy!
Airports
MSY > JFK (Kennedy)
- Flights
- JetBlue – nonstop
- Delta – nonstop
- Delta – 1 stop in ATL
- If you want a Delta stop in ATL, you could also fly out of BTR
- US Airways – 1 stop in CLT
- Getting into the city
- Cab/Car Service (~$54-70 flat rate for up to 3-5 people)
- Car service is essentially a taxi, but scheduled. Think seeing people’s names on boards (or iPads now) when they get off the plane. This could be you! To register, call (212-777-7777) or visit www.dial7.com
- Subway (~$10-15/person)
- Takes the longest, but cheapest option
- Uber/Lyft
MSY > LGA (LaGuardia)
Note: Undergoing major construction scheduled to end Summer 2020 – please make note of extra travel advisories, including taxi location
- Flights
- American Airlines – 1 stop in DFW
- US Airways – generally has 1 stop
- Getting into the city
- Cab/Car Service (~$39-60 for up to 3-6 people)
- Bus to Grand Central for ~$16/person
MSY > EWR (Newark)
Note: Not as tourist friendly as the other two airports, but if you get a better flight deal, worth trying it out!
- Flights
- United – nonstop
- US Airways – 1 stop in CLT
- American Airlines – 1 stop in DFW
- Delta – 1 stop in ATL
- Getting into the city
- Cab/Car Service (~$52-70 for up to 3-6 people)
- Subway/Train comes to the terminal – can make an easy trip
- Uber/Lyft
Travel in the City
- Subways/Buses
- Strongly advise getting a Subway and Bus map upon arrival. Mobile apps help (Google Maps tells you what bus/Subway to take), but looking at the island as a whole helps get a lay of the land.
- *MUST know if you’re going uptown or downtown before going into a subway stop
- North = Uptown
- South = Downtown
- READ THE SIGNS. Sorry, what I meant to say was - READ THE SIGNS! Catch that? They'll let you know where you are and where you're going.
- Upon exiting the Subway, you may have to find a corner or cross street to gain your bearings back. Totally normal.
- Most places in the city can be accessed through either a Subway Station or a Bus stop mixed with walking.
- Unlimited passes for a week can be purchased for around $30
- Passes must be purchased at specific subway stops
- Cash, debit or credit cards accepted (see more on debit/credit below)
- Cabs/Uber/Lyft
- Too expensive to use often (unless traveling with 3 or more people to share costs)
- Only worth taking to/from airports and/or if you've never taken one
- Use if running late, dressed nice for a Broadway show, raining, late at night (for safety reasons), etc.
- Walking
- New York is very much a walking city
- Don't think you have to walk everywhere, but be prepared to do some walking
- Wear comfortable closed-toe shoes!
Places to stay
- As mentioned above, I'm fortunate enough to have family in the city and have never had to get a hotel. On the other hand, when we travel with more than 2-3 people, we have had to look into other options.
- There’s no “best place” to stay unless you’re wanting a certain view or plan to tour mostly in a certain area (which is highly unlikely). Most attractions are spread out so much you can almost stay anywhere and be in a decent location (assuming lower Manhattan). You can’t have a hotel with great views of Central Park and Times Square for example. You also won’t be within walking distance of the 9/11 Memorial and the Empire State Building. Decide what view you want (a place to splurge if necessary) or if you’re ok not staying in a certain area of the city. Staying a little outside of the populated areas will save a bit on rooms and won’t take time away as you’ll have to travel just about anywhere you want to go. Just make sure it’s close to a Subway stop!
- If the price directly with the hotel is only a little bit more expensive, book directly to minimize issues or getting kicked because they were “over booked.” This also gives you a better chance at receiving a better view or possible upgrade – as the hotel will take care of an honor “true” guests first. Think of this as a version of “travel insurance” in some cases. I also have friends who’ve had good luck with the “surprise hotels” from Hotwire.
- Hotels
- Check Expedia, Hotels.com, Kayak, TripAdvisor, Hotwire, etc.
- The more research, the better of a deal you can find
- Where you stay will depend on what you want to do, where you will visit most frequently, or if you want a certain view (Central Park/Times Square for example, but will be pricier)
- It’s cheaper to stay in Queens or Brooklyn and take a train into the city, but at what point is your trip worth the extra time?
- Airbnb
- A site to rent a room, home, etc from the owners
- Be careful - has had issues of scams
- Read the fine print, some of these “rooms” are in fact that – a room in someone’s apartment
- In some cases, rooms may not have a private bathroom
- VRBO
- Vacation rentals by owner
- Good for bigger groups
- Home Away
- Another site to rent from owners
Generalities
- Streets mainly run N/S and E/W
- 5th Ave is a dividing line for East and West addresses
- Directions are generally given by intersections – “34th and 6th” OR “6th Ave between 34th and 35th”
- Important when speaking to taxi drivers – unless it’s a major landmark
- Tell them, “I’m going to Arturo’s at the corner of Thompson and Houston St south of Washington Square Park” (Pronounced HOW-stun, not HUGH-stun)
- Walking
- There are short blocks and long blocks, but they’re never referenced
- Generally, probably don’t want to walk more than 5 long blocks or 10 short blocks at a time… unless sight seeing. For example, if you have to travel from 3rd Ave to 7th Ave, but up 5 blocks, may want to look into a Subway/Bus option for at least part of the trip
- If you don’t like walking, you better plan on spending a lot for Taxis/Uber and have your days planned well – because you’ll miss tons of things if not walking
- The sample itineraries below give you an idea of how much walking you can expect to do – at least 5 miles/day, if not more. If you’ve ever been to Disney World, you’ll only be wishing you could walk that little.
- Cross body bags, or make sure to use both straps of a normal book sack
- No cameras dangling freely
- Darker Colors (won't completely stick out like an out-of-towner)
- Potentially no sports attire if wanting to appear more local
- Makes you more prone to mugging
- Also helps keep from people trying to sell you things – if you’re an obvious tourist, you’ll be bugged more often than not
- Careful with wallets and phones, too
- Easy for people to grab and run and get lost in the crowds
Using Debit/Credit Cards
In general, using a debit/credit card can be risky on account of them being hacked. There’s a few guidelines that may help from you being on the receiving end of a hacked account.
- First off, use cash whenever possible. Although it’s arguably not safe to bring a lot of cash with you on vacation, the more you plan, the easier this is. This is a 6 of one, half a dozen type scenario.
- Plan ahead by purchasing certain tickets online. And when purchasing online, use PayPal if possible. Even if you use your debit/credit card, going through PayPal adds one more layer of security.
- When available, use Apple Pay or Google Wallet in lieu of a physical card. This adds one more layer of security as this process is more secure than swiping or inserting a chip.
- Use credit over debit. Debit cards take money directly from your account rather than “charging” you. Banks can’t always get that money back, but can sometimes cancel credit card transactions.
- If your credit card gets hacked while on vacation and gets cancelled, you could still at least use your debit to get cash from an ATM.
- Watch your card and keep it safe. For someone to “copy” your card, all they literally have to do in some cases is just rub against you where your card is.
- With this in mind, try to keep an eye on your card if you have to hand it over to be scanned out of sight.
- Never use your card at a mom and pop store/restaurant/etc. while there are many who are very legitimate in their business, sometimes local (school/college/dropouts) are hired and will take advantage of tourists. Not saying this happens everywhere all the time and that you should never shop local, just that most credit card hacks I’ve heard of come from this demographic.
- Sometimes cards just get hacked. Whether you have a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc, all cards share similarities based on their numbers. If someone in your zip code gets hacked, the hackers now have the first 4, if not 8, numbers of cards in their area. Sometimes they test numbers out and simply just get lucky.
Food
- First off, if you're from the South, and specifically LA - DO NOT eat anything labeled Seafood/Cajun/Homestyle/etc anywhere. Bubba Gump's (in Time Square) is about as good as it gets, and still not as good as it gets and still not worth wasting precious NYC time. Speaking of… Popeye's in NYC just isn’t the same as in the South, so stay from them as well. Similarly - stay away from any chain restaurants, specifically any available within an hour or so drive of where you live. There are a few chains only available on the east coast or randomly throughout the US, but as best you can – try new things!
- Other than those noted below, a general rule of thumb is to avoid all restaurants in and around Times Square.
- There are a few Mexican Restaurants that are worthwhile, but after years of going, I always wish I would have skipped out on Mexican in favor of something not easily found in LA (or in TX for that matter) which is why I won't even list them. There's an argument for a couple of great Mexican restaurants, but I promise there's much more to find – as far as other cultural foods anyway.
- Pizza is huuuuge and is everywhere. I would definitely stay away from Domino's (which is my favorite by the way), Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, etc, and make sure to try hole-in-the-wall spots as well as a "$0.99/by the Slice" place or two. Most pizza that is sold on the street or in a “window shop” is sold by the slice, and you take it to go. I've heard from friends and family that some of their favorite pizza they've ever had was a pie by the slice in NYC. And many they couldn’t tell me how to get back to.
- Now that I've been enough to see most, if not all of the attractions, I always make the joke (with sincerity) that I would go to NYC at any time, just to eat. There are tons of restaurants that have amazing food and are not available in this quantity and quality anywhere else. A true melting pot. It's been said you could eat dinner somewhere different every night for over 30 years. So there's no way I can list everything. Here's a few of my favorites with some famous places listed as well (usually pricey, though).
- Pizza
- Arturo's Coal Oven Pizza
- By far my favorite Pizza Place in NYC
- Brick oven pizza with a thin burnt crust
- *Arugula / Antipasta and Pepperoni (original, but different with the crust)
- Posto
- *Shroom Pizza
- Multiple locations
- Artichoke
- Tons of specialties to try
- Multiple locations
- Johns Pizzeria in Time Square
- Worth stopping by for the view and atmosphere. If passing by and don’t plan on eating, still walk in to look around.
- Expect to wait
- Located inside of an old Church
- John’s on Bleeker Street
- Gramaldi's
- The Original, that is. Not the same Gramaldi’s as located in the Mall of LA and other locations in the south.
- Across the Brooklyn Bridge – but consider this as a lunch stop after you walk across – something else very much worth doing.
- If go here, consider going across the street for
- $1/slice - almost on any block. Try a few different ones, you'll find some you'll never eat again and one or two you may stop at multiple times
- Indian
- Haveliny Banjara
- *Lamb or Chicken Dumpakht – “A method of cooking by which the cooking vessel is sealed with pastry, resulting in a deliciously moist, flavored dish”
- Mediterranean
- Bite
- *Smoked turkey and pesto hot pressed panini
- Thai
- Desserts (pick one at minimum!)
- Juniors Cheescake
- Personal favorite
- 2 locations - Grand Central Terminal and Time Square
- Can also buy at some grocery stores. May be priced a little higher, but paying for convenience
- Veniro's Italian Bakery
- *Cheesecake is different from Juniors - may like more, may like less
- Have many other desserts
- Momofuku Milk Bar
- Amazing – cereal – ice cream and milkshakes
- Serendipity’s
- Jacques Torres
- All things chocolate
- Multiple locations – Brooklyn location is a must stop if crossing over
- Sandwiches/Burgers
- Shake Shack
- For burgers and a shake
- Multiple locations - try them all!
- A must stop if you visit the Museum of Natural History
- One location in the airport
- One location next to the Flat iron building in
- Num Pang
- Katz Delicatessen
- Hello Deli
- Bakeries
- Miscellaneous
- Eataly
- Jeckll and Hyde
- More of the experience than the food
- Luke's Lobster Rolls
- A bit pricey, but well worth it
- Falafel stand
- On any street corner almost - similar to $1/slice pizza - some may taste better than others
- If you’ve never tried one, no better time than now
- Chinese
- Cuban
- Havana Central
- Located right in Times Square
- *Platos Clasicos Cubanos (Carne - Beef)
- *Empanadas
- *Plaintains
- *Mojitos
- Asian
- Food Tours
Attractions
- By its nature, New York City is not a budget friendly tourist location. However, if you’re careful of how you manage your trip, NYC can most certainly be toured very frugally. My suggestion is to ALWAYS splurge on your must-dos. If there’s a Broadway show you definitely want to see, make sure to buy tickets early. As early as buying plane tickets early. If the top of your list is the Empire State Building, buy the fast pass and do that the first day or night that looks clear. Guarantee yourself to do your must-dos and plan the rest of the day around them.
- While you may save money in some places, it will cost you something else - whether by spending time in long lines or not getting the full experience some attractions have to offer. Most of the sightseeing aspects of the city can be seen for free in some way. For example, you can see The Statue of Liberty fairly close for free, but to visit the statue itself it will cost around $25 and take 3 hours (plus however long the lines are – upwards of 2-3 hours sometimes).
- The multiple passes shared below allow a more inexpensive way to see a wide mix of everything you may like. However, buying individual passes for each activity you want - including the “fast pass” tickets - will be the most efficient and best way to see what you want --- depending. Meaning that, they charge for passes you may not use. Buying directly from the attractions themselves also minimizes any issues you may have upon arrival. While the issues may be far and few between, think of it as a version of “travel insurance.”
- Big Bus Tour
- Double decker tour bus
- Worth taking to get a good ride around the city with good views (sit on the top deck)
- If you plan right, can use this as your mode of transportation to other attractions
- If you get the premium ticket, you can use it for 2 days and get a night tour – pretty cool to see the city at night if the weather’s nice
- Multiple “Tickets” including tons of activities
- Time square
- Multiple trips are never enough
- Many stores to hop in and out of, varies types of restaurants
- Make sure to see it at least once at night
- Broadway plays
- May want to buy tickets in advance for big groups or if there’s a play you MUST see
- Pay more/in advance for convenience, guarantee of tickets, or good seats
- TKTS
- Ticket Booth for 1/2 price day of tickets
- Limited plays/showings/seats
- Generally:
- Not any of the bigger name plays of the time
- Price can vary (35-75% off)
- Very good for 1-2 (maybe 4) seats in a row
- Have paid $20 for $115 ticket by myself. Sat in between 2 large families almost dead center about 6 rows up
- Need to be in line an hour or two before opening
- 3 locations
- Times Square (always very crowded)
- Lincoln Center (also very crowded)
- Southstreet Seaport
- Out of the way, but least crowded of all of the locations
- Statue of Liberty
- Tours start from Battery Park
- Long lines, long waits – not suggested unless you absolutely want to do this, and you may be under-impressed. However, you may love it.
- Can't tour the top of the Statue anymore, either.
- Some may include Ellis Island – very neat tour of the past immigration policies
- As a FREE alternative, take the Staten Island Ferry (more below)
- Goes close to the Statue of Liberty, but does not stop
- Runs every 20 minutes
- Central Park
- Must walk through at least part of the park
- Consider a bike rental or bike tour
- Also have horse and carriage tours available
- The corner of 5th Avenue and 59th Street always have some available
- Famous Sightings include:
- High Line
- Located on the West Side
- Great walking path with gorgeous views on an old raised subway track
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Worth the walk across. Takes anywhere from 30 minutes (continuous walking) to an hour while stopping to take in the views. In total it’s 1.3 miles across.
- When walking across, plan time to eat below the bridge or at Gramaldi’s and dessert at Jacques Torres (see above).
- Consider making a day trip into Brooklyn, visiting Ikea and taking their ferry back (see below), or take the train/taxi/Uber/rent a bike.
- Ferry to Ikea
- Even if you’ve been to Ikea before, this Ferry is free (only on weekends - $5 during the week) and has great views of the city – and decent views of the Statue of Liberty if you opt not to go on that tour
- If you chose to do this, check out the restaurant in Ikea
- Blocks away is the Brooklyn Lobster Pound
- Very famous authentic Key Lime Pie at “Steve’s Key Lime Pie” from Key West Florida
- Staten Island Ferry
- Free ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan with views of the city and Statue of Liberty
- China Town
- Multiple shops and great restaurants
- Be careful purchasing any non-genuine items
- Empire State Building
- If going to the roof, only do this or the Top of the Rock, not both.
- Top of the Rock
- If going to the roof, only do this or Empire State Building.
- Many have opted for this over Empire State Building after going to both.
- One World Observatory
- 9/11 Memorial
- MUST get tickets in advance
- Are given time stamps – can’t always choose when you want to go
- Shopping and Viewing
- Chelsea Market
- Macy’s
- Flagship store — shoes take up a whole floor
- NBC Tours
- Consignment and Thrift stores near the swanky residential areas have GREAT finds
- Fishes Eddy
- Street Fairs
- See Time Out New York below
- Lincoln Center
- Pearl River Mart
- “an eclectic emporium where you can find one-of-a-kind Asian-inspired home furnishings, fashion, and everything in between."
Time Out New York
- Magazine and Website to show:
- Special interests
- Concerts
- Food
- One off things
- Street fairs
- Holiday’s and other special times of the year
Museums
Note: Pay attention to prices. If anything is listed as “Suggested,” it does not require a full retail price for admission.
- Some offer free nights/evenings, but generally are crowded
- Make sure to check days open/closed
- Some days are free for students
- Check special exhibits
- Can purchase a headset for an electronic guided tour
- Consider carrying headphones to use your own
- Many offer guided tours
- Every guided tour will be different on each visit
- Tour guide will choose a handful of artifacts to share and will go in more depth on those specific pieces of art
- Suggested for return customers of those on a more time crunch
- Be prepared. Museums (and many other tourist attractions) usually have pretty healthy security and they WILL check bags and purses. Don't travel around with more than you need, especially larger bags. Some jackets and bags may have to be checked upon entering buildings - which can add to the time of your visit. Glass bottles are something to be aware of that may not be allowed in some places.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET)
- Make sure to visit the rooftop sculpture garden to get great views of Central Park
- Time/Cost
- Sunday–Thursday: 10 am–5:30 pm
- Friday and Saturday: 10 am–9 pm
- Guggenheim Museum
- Time/Cost
- Monday-Wednesday, Friday: 10 am-5:45 pm
- Thursday: Closed
- Saturday: 10 am-7:45 pm
- **Suggested Admission: Only Saturday 5-8
- Sunday: 10 am-5:45 pm
- Natural History Museum
- Featured in the movie A Night at the Museum.
- Pay close attention to the 81st Street Subway stop if this is how you travel to get here. There are fossils and beautiful “natural history” themed mosaics on the walls.
- Times/Cost
- Daily: 10 am-5:45 pm
- **Suggested Admission: All Hours/Days
- Will probably have a longer wait to pay rather than pay full price in advance
- Extra fee for Shows/Imax/Others
- Tenement Museum
- Focuses on America's urban immigrant history.
- Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
- Not sure why van Gogh is in the Modern Art Museum, but this is where you can see Starry Night
- Fashion Museum
- The Frick Collection
Special Times
New Year’s Eve (to be updated...)
- How it works…
- shutting down of many blocks in and around Times Square
- Hotel / Armbands / Pass
- Pay for convenience and location
- Subways
- Start to bypass Times Square and closer stops around noon
- Complete shutdown close to midnight (for safety reasons)
- Central park
- Great location to watch fireworks - personally worth going here and skipping Times Square unless you splurge for a hotel with a pass.
Thanksgiving
- Watch balloons being inflated near upper west side
- Can watch the parade from multiple locations
- May want to splurge and get a hotel on the route with a balcony
Summertime
- Union Square Famer's Market
- Street Fairs
- NYC Food and Wine Festival (Fall)
- Macy's Flower Show (Spring)
- Area under the Brooklyn Bridge for a Food fair every weekend in the Summer
- Make sure to walk and view the Brooklyn Promenade for great views of lower Manhattan
- Similar to the Riverfront in BR or Nola
Suggested Itineraries
Suggested itineraries (combining activities) – But plan days/trips by Areas. Not all is always possible, just a checklist to go by if first time to NYC. It’s very difficult to plan a trip “to-the-t.” Many things cause delays (long lines, travel times, etc), so be prepared to be flexible. Must prioritize certain activities (timed tours, plays, etc). Food is always up in the air based on where you find yourself, but breakfast and lunch are a bit easier to plan. Dinner is hard to specify for a given day unless it’s planned to be somewhere specific.
Example 1:
- Breakfast at Levain Bakery
- National History Museum until lunch
- Lunch at:
- Cart/stand on the street in/around Central Park
- Splurge for Tavern on the Green or the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park
- Central Park
- Museums on east side
- 5th Avenue shopping
- Dinner at Dim Sum Palace, Havana Central, or Johns Pizzeria
- Walk around Times Square at night with Junior’s Cheesecake
Example 2:
- Early walk around Wall Street (or sleep in)
- If wanting to get Broadway Tickets:
- Be at the South Street Seaport TKTS for ~9:30. Grab breakfast and stand in line until opening at 11.
- If not wanting Broadway tickets
- Possible time to visit/walk around 9/11 Memorial (not necessarily the tour, but possible)
- Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (around 11-12)
- Lunch at bottom of Brooklyn Bridge
- Taki/Uber to Ikea
- Can take a bus, but may be a little tricky
- Shop as little or as much as you want
- Ferry back to lower Manhattan
- Bus to Battery Park (south tip of Manhattan)
- Possibly take Staten Island Ferry to/back
- Subway to Canal Street
- 4/5 from Bowling Green and transfer to 6
- Finish the day up shopping around Chinatown, and Canal Street
- Dinner
- Peking Duck House in Chinatown
- Or anywhere off the beaten path for a one-off near East Village or Union Square
Example 3:
- Start the day with an early walk along the High Line
- Starting at the south end
- Grab breakfast at/around Chelsea Market (before or during the walk)
- Upon reaching the end, take the 34th street subway to Times Square
- Look around and shop (during the day)
- Lunch in/around
- Something else not local found in the South
- Back on the Subway to Grand Central Terminal
- Shop and look around, gorgeous building
- Head outside when finished and head west
- New York Library/Bryant Park
- South to Empire State Building OR north to Top of the Rock (preferred)
- Shops around Rockefeller Center
- Head north on 5th Avenue to hit Museums/Sights missed from past days in/around Central Park
- If wanting to head further north, must go east and find a Subway stop for the 4-5-6 or a bus
- Any missed above restaurants or a one-off for dinner
Example 4:
- Start the day off shopping:
- Lunch and continued shopping in Koreatown
- Head to Madison Square park (walk, subway – R-W, or bus)
- Dessert or snack at Eataly and/or Shake Shack
- Walk towards Union Square down Broadway
- Fishes Eddy is worth the stop in
- More shopping in/around Union Square
- Walk/subway/bus to Washington Square Park
- Dinner in/around wherever you end up (*cough* Arturo’s *cough*)
More to come…
Google Map of Points of Interest
Click here or see below:
Photo by Bethany Elaine Taylor
