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NEW YORK CITY SIDE TRIP OPTIONS
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For those planning on extending their visit with a stay in New York City, we highly recommend that you join us on our “Sunday In the City” sightseeing tour!  It will provide you with a great flavor for New York City before setting out on your own.

Here are suggestions for lodging and things you might want to do:

NYC & Company, the official marketing and tourism organization for New York City, is the leading source for information on New York City travel and events, including deals, promotions and things to do in NYC. Everything you ever wanted to know about NYC is on the site, including a section called “Just Ask the Locals” for insider tips on NYC.

We’d like to share some of our own insider tips:

HOTELS:

Hotels in NYC are not cheap. Better hotels start at a minimum of $350 or more per night. To avoid the high prices of Manhattan hotels, you can stay in the surrounding areas and either drive into Manhattan or take public transportation.  Here are some suggestions:

  • Embassy Suites (Secaucus, NJ): Embassy Suites, Plaza Rd, Secaucus, NJ is located near the Lincoln Tunnel, which is about a ½ hour drive from Midtown Manhattan. There is a commuter bus from the area by the hotel which will also take you to Manhattan. Their website lists rooms starting at $209 per night. AAA rates are also available.  The Embassy Suites in downtown Manhattan near the Financial District has room rates beginning at $479 per night.
  • Crowne Plaza Hotel (Englewood, NJ): The Crown Plaza Hotel in Englewood, NJ is also a relatively short drive to Manhattan. Rates start, according to their website, at $143 per night. For further information about this hotel, and other Crown Plaza hotels in the NYC area.
  • Doubletree Hotel (Jersey City, NJ): This hotel is located right outside of Manhattan on the Jersey City, NJ waterfront. It is a short walk to the PATH train station, which is a commuter rail service, going directly into Manhattan in about 20 minutes. Rates start at $237.

AIRPORT HOTELS:

There are a number of large chain hotels located near either Newark Airport, Newark NJ or LaGuardia Airport, Queens NY.  These are about ½ hour – 1 hour to Midtown NYC. Their rates are substantially lower than staying in Manhattan. Some of these are:

FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO STAY IN MANHATTAN, HERE ARE SOME OPTIONS:

  • Hilton Garden Inn, 119 W 28 St, New York, NY – located in Chelsea, a very trendy section of Manhattan.  Chelsea offers lots of reasonable restaurants and funky shops. It’s just a short walk from there to Greenwich Village.  Rates start at $329.
  • Holiday Inn Downtown, 138 Lafayette St, New York, NY – located near Chinatown and Little Italy. These areas offer a large assortment of restaurants and are near several subway lines. Rates start at $377 per night. 
  • Holiday Inn Express, Madison Square Garden, 232 W 29 St, NY - rates start at $339 per night.
  • For other hotel options, check out www.nycvisit.com as well as www.newyork.citysearch.com.

SIGHTSEEING AND TRANSPORTATION:

To travel around Manhattan and see many of the best sights, the Gray Line offers deluxe double decker, hop-on, hop-off bus tours. These bus tours are the best way to see many of the most popular sites without the hassle of finding your way around town. Check out their website at www.buynewyorktours.com for the various routes and where to purchase tickets.

POPULAR ATTRACTIONS:

Here are just a few suggestions of popular attractions that you might not want to miss while in NYC:

  • Madame Tussauds Wax Museum is a fun stop in the heart of Times Square at 234 W. 42 Street. Have your photo taken with the hot celebs!!! Tickets can be purchased online; more information is available at www.nycwax.com.
  • Top of the Rock, located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (at Rockefeller Center) has some of the best views of the city. More info and tickets are available online at www.topoftherocknyc.com. While in the Rockefeller Plaza area, you may want to stroll past the skating rink, the NBC Today Show Studios or Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.  The shops on Fifth Avenue (e.g. Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord and Taylor, Bergdorf Goodman, to name a few) and Trump Tower are a short walk away. 
  • A trip to NYC necessitates seeing a Broadway show. Discounted tickets are available for same day performances at the TDF ticket booth at its temporary location at the Marriott Marquis Hotel during the renovation of Duffy Square: West 46th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue. For more information, check out www.tdf.org.

MUSEUMS, MUSEUMS, MUSEUMS!!!

The best are:

  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, located at 1000 Fifth Avenue, is a world unto itself. It is an amazing place where you can spend days exploring the entire museum.
  • Another NY museum not to be missed is the American Museum of Natural History located at Central Park West and 79th Street. The fossil halls, which feature two dinosaur halls, are spectacular.
  • For the modern art lover, a visit to NYC would not be complete without a visit to the Museum of Modern Art. The MOMA is always fascinating.

DINING:

New York is a city of many cultures and much diversity. That extends to the dining spots throughout the city. The prices vary from cheap to the downright pricey.  A few dining suggestions:

  • Check out www.opentable.com - an online reservation service that is used by hundreds of NYC restaurants. The advantages of using opentable.com are that it gives you the price ranges of restaurants as well as a links to restaurants’ websites if they have one. This way, you can see if the menu and prices meet your personal criteria. 
  • The Midtown area near Times Square has good restaurants, but prices can be higher because it does cater to tourists. Eat like a local – try the restaurants on 9th Avenue in the 40’s and 50’s. There are a wide variety of ethnic restaurants and the prices will be a cheaper than a few blocks east. One favorite is Uncle Nick’s at 747 9th Ave. between 50th and 51st Streets. It’s an unpretentious Greek restaurant that has been serving the neighborhood for years. 
  • Another way of stretching your dining dollar is to take advantage of pre-theatre menus at many Midtown restaurants near the theatre district. Complete dinners are available at discounted prices if you dine between 6 PM and 8 PM.  Restaurant Row is on 46th Street between 8th and 9th Aves.  A popular restaurant is Becco, at 355 W 46th St.  Lidia Bastianich of PBS cooking fame is one of the co-owners of this restaurant.  Reservations are recommended for Becco.
  • For a truly ethnic dining experience, try taking the subway down to lower Manhattan and dining in either Chinatown or Little Italy. Walk through the streets of these areas, which are located next to each other. You will find many interesting eating spots, no reservations needed. For a doubleheader, have dinner in Chinatown and then go for dessert in Little Italy. One of the most well known pastry shops is Ferrara’s Café located at 195 Grand St.

WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE TO DO IN NYC...JUST ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE!!!