Any tips concerning NYC would be appreciated

I've been wanting to visit NYC for a long time and the raise of the canadian dollar VS the US dollar give me an occasion to it for cheaper than it would usually be...

I want to visit at least

Empire State Building
Statue of Liberty
The site where the WTC used to be
UNO headquarters
Chinatown
Central Park

Anything else I shouldnt miss?

According to my friend who's been they're before, sleeping in Manhattan is way too expensive so I should sleep outside of it, and he say than food is way expensive too. Is they're ways to get arround that?

Thanks in advance for your answers :)

That Covers Just About All of The Major Sites! I really can't think of anything else...

As a resident of NYC, I do have few tips for you:

1) Never Carry More than 50 Bucks on Your Person in Cash. It's Very Easy to get Robbed when You Do.

2) If you are used to Fresh/Clean Air, Practice Some Breathing Execrises before going out. 70% of NYC Air is Smog and/or Pollution!

3)DON'T. Trust. Anyone. On. The. Streets. Enough Said!

And Finally,

4) Watch Where You Step! The ground is very dirty and kinda nasty...

The ESB charges a $15 fee or something to get to the top. Unless you have a lot of time on your hand, I would actually suggest you to stay away from the Statue of Liberty. (Which is actually on Jersey side...) The wait for the ticket could go up to 2 hours or more if you do it on a weekend. The line to board the ferry is another 2 hours. The top of the statue is closed half the time, or it's another 1 to 2 hours wait. No, seriously. If you're looking for merchandises, they are alllllll over NYC.

Staying in NYC itself is very expensive. You could get away with that by going to Brooklyn, or going over Hudson River over to the Jersey side. The hotel prices are significantly cheaper.

It depends on what you want to see - what you expect to see - how much are you willing to spend. You could go to a Broadway show, matinee is usually much cheaper than the evening shows, and less crowded. The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Arts) is right by Central Park. There's also MOMA (Museum of Modern Arts) or if you're of age, the Sex Museum. There's also the Madame Tussel's (spelling?) wax museum, and I believe that's on 42nd street, very close to Time Square - if that's another NYC monument that you want to see.

If you're interested in looking at visiting another park, Prospect Park is also another beautiful park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same man who designed Central Park - but one that's very, very, very different from Central Park. (The Q MTA would get you there.)

Go visit the NY MTA website and look at their subway map, it's going to help you *a lot*. Another place for tourists to look at, Rockefellar Centre, the Nintendo Store is right around the corner from there.

Lastly - this is what they say in the city. When someone smiles and approaches you, run the other way. Always stay in groups - or with someone else. There *are* nicer people around, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Seriously, separate your monies so you don't end up flashing a passerby with the amount of cash you're going to have on you. Chinatown is all about cash, but almost all the other places will take credit cards.

Few more tips off the top of my head right now, regarding the subways.

42nd Street, major junction, Bryant Park is another park that's worth looking at. Grand Central is beautiful too - it has a lot of history. ACE, the blue line, runs through here. But you could also connect to various other ones, such as the Red, 123, Purple, 7 (Flushing), and Yellow, NRQW. The yellow will bring you over the Brooklyn, the Q train will take you to Prospect Park - but going uptown will take you to Rockefellar Centre and the Sex Museum.

Chinatown: You could take the ACE and get off at Canal Street, walk north toward the Brooklyn Bridge for about 6-8 blocks, I believe. And you'll get to the heart of Chinatown. NRQ, I believe those were the lines... Will take you to Canal Street also (but far less walking than ACE), and once you get out of the station, you'll see Chinatown.

WTC: Taking the ACE downtown, one stop will bring you to the PATH or the WTC station. NRQ used to do that, but the station had been under construction for forever. I don't know if they'll ever reopen it.

Various other parks and such to look at, I'd say the Hudson River Park, multi-million dollar project, you'll get the best views on the Hudson River. Walking along the Piers. Battery City Park.

Expect *a lot* of walking and map reading when you're in the city. The subway map is *very* handy to have with you all the time. If you're going to take the subway - look for this green globe by the entrance. When there's one, that means there's a vending machine that would dispense tickets - some stations don't have that and only have an attendance there during the day.

I'm not sure what else I could say... So good luck and feel free to ask any questions that you might have. Safety comes first. So good luck and have fun. I hope this helps.

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Thanks, Butz and Chikori. I just bought a little book called Top 10 NY that fits in my pocket and it includes a street/subway map XD

Canadian citizens dont need a passport to enter the US by land, right? I cant find mine :S

Actually, I believe you do need a passport. I never traveled outside the US but from what I been told by people how have, you need one.

They changed the rules recently, so you have to have a passport to cross the US-Canada border now.

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DOH this passport cant be that far away, it came in the mail and it never left the house.. dammit

chiko just about covered it really
tho if u like stage productions hit up broadway if u get the chance

butz was right about not carrying alot of money on hand.
try and see if u can ger AE Travellers Cheques

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ESB is very crowded, at least it was for me. I love New York! ...You ARE going to Times Square, aren't you? That is seriously the most incredible sight I have ever seen. *waves across the country to ButzPuff* I'm no expert, since I live in California... and no, I do not say "dude" all the time and go to the beach a lot. People are always asking me that. It drives me nuts.

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I've heard New York is beautiful.

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Last edited by Thorn on Sun Aug 05, 2007 8:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.

*waves to Phantom Phoenix* Ahaha, when I was on a school trip there, my friends ditched me to go in a store... yay for walking down Broadway alone! *laughs nervously*

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That's so sad.

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Last edited by Thorn on Sun Aug 05, 2007 8:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Well, New York isn't really that dangerous.
Am I the who only one who finds Times Square saddening?
You can't walk because tourists travel in groups and when one of them stops to look in the window they all stop and block the whole sidewalk.
And all there are if you're not going to see a show are bright lights and big signs.
One of the saddest sights you can see is someone videotaping an m&m sign.

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On the issue of Danger, The view of NY danger changes if you if you are just visiting and where you visit.

That is a sad sight now that you mention it. I would never go on a tourist group if interrupts other people's life that badly. That's one of the biggest reasons I hate traveling in Manhattan.

manhattan sucks the big one ick

the thru streets suck ass as well

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Eh, some of these rules can apply to any big city you go to. I live near Chicago, which I've heard is a bit nicer that new york, but the number one rule still stays. Don't trust anyone.

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