Help w/ itinerary-- Only 3 full days for 1st timers. =(

My boyfriend and I are heading to NYC for the first time EVER in a little over a week! The only drawback we%26#39;re both poor college students, so we could only afford a few days in the city. We%26#39;re taking the red-eye from LA into Newark on Thursday evening (1/5/06). Our flight arrives at 6:30am (Friday 1/6/06) and we%26#39;re taking the Super Shuttle (I know, bad choice after reading everyone%26#39;s posts, but we Priceline-d everything, so there%26#39;s no going back now) to our hotel (The Grand Hyatt). Hopefully we can register early + store our bags. After that, anything%26#39;s fair game! Our to-do list includes...

Things to see:

--Empire State Building

--Statue of Liberty

--Ellis Island

--Times Square

--Rockefeller Center

--Chinatown

--Little Italy

--WTC/Ground Zero

--Broadway

--St. Patrick%26#39;s Cathedral

--Cathedral of St. John the Divine

--Radio City Music Hall

--UN Headquarters

--New York Public Library

--Flatiron Building

--Chrysler Building

--NYSE

--Wall Street

--Yankee Stadium

--Madison Square Garden

--Grand Central Terminal (next to our hotel, so we%26#39;ll see it for sure)

The only shopping/stores/restuarants I have in mind are (neither of us are big shoppers):

--FAO Schwartz

--Toys R Us Times Square

--Serendipity 3

--Pommes Frites

--H+M (WHY DON%26#39;T THESE EXIST ON THE WEST COAST??!)

--Soup Kitchen/ Tom%26#39;s Restaurant (he%26#39;s a big Seinfeld fan, boo)

And ';things to do'; before our trip is through:

--Carriage ride (I%26#39;m making him do it) and ice skating in Central Park

--Staten Island Ferry

--Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan right before dusk

--Top of the Rock (2-for-1 coupon, wee!)

--Spelling Bee or Avenue Q or another fun musical

We%26#39;re not ';sightseeing tour'; material. I%26#39;d rather navigate the subway system myself and do everything set to our own pace.

We depart from Newark on Monday the 9th at 3:30pm. So we have all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Would it be reasonable to accomplish everything on this list... and ENJOY it all? I don%26#39;t want to do things just to cross them off my list-- I want to truly experience and savor it. I see a lot of people where I work (at Disneyland) and they just wanna get on rides to say that they%26#39;ve done it; I don%26#39;t want my trip to be rushed in that way.

So that%26#39;s it... any help would be greatly appreciated. We don%26#39;t have any tickets or reservations or ANYTHING set in stone... so we%26#39;re open for any and all ideas/feedback. I think since I help people plan their vacations at work that by the end of the day, I%26#39;m already planned-out.

Also, any recommendations for fun, cheap, and yummy places to eat + drink? We%26#39;re fun-loving 20somethings, so we%26#39;re up for anything.

Thanks in advance! And I%26#39;ll help you out when it comes time for Disneyland =)

Help w/ itinerary-- Only 3 full days for 1st timers. =(

One thing you need to do is to get yourselves a good map, and to start to ';cluster'; the things you want to see on it, so you will not waste time running back and forth needlessly.

On your list there are two significant ';outliers'; that are not near anything else; they are St. John the Divine and Yankee Stadium. While I have always found St. John%26#39;s a vast, cold, unfriendly pile of stone, it is indeed an impressive bit of architecture and might be worth the jaunt uptown, You may want to look in on other things up there while you are in the neighborhood -- Columbia U., for example. Yankee Stadium, on the other hand, is really out of the way, it is the longest subway ride on your plan, and there is not much to see at this time of year -- you may want to skip it.

The Grand Hyatt is at 42nd and Lexington, directly across the street from the Chrysler building and adjacent to Grand Central Terminal. The UN is at 42nd and First, and the Library is at 42nd and Fifth. These all can be seen anytime you are on your way back and forth from your room.

Staten Island Ferry/Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty/Wall Street/Ground Zero (and City Hall, the Woolworth Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge, too, for that matter) are all relatively near each other downtown in what was the colonial part of the city.

Chinatown and the fragment of Little Italy are also not too far away, and can be done on a ';downtown'; day.

The Flatiron building is on the south edge of Madison Square, at 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue. Madison Square Garden, oddly enough, is not at Madison Square these days, but is found on Seventh Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets. The Empire State Building is at 33rd and Fifth - and that is another cluster.

Radio City Music Hall is actually in Rockefeller Center (Sixth at 49th), and St. Patrick%26#39;s (at Fifth Avenue and 50th) is across the street from the northern half of Rockefeller Center -- another cluster for you. Continue north on Fifth and you will find Central Park at 59th Street.

Help w/ itinerary-- Only 3 full days for 1st timers. =(

Thanks for the advice! I%26#39;ve been avoiding stores like the plague these past few days (insane holiday shoppers), but I think it%26#39;s time I head to Border%26#39;s for a nice map. I%26#39;ve tried to find one online that I can print out and highlight/scribble on, but I haven%26#39;t had any luck finding one with the right amount of detail.

Yankee Stadium is a must for our trip, unfortunately. The BF is a big baseball fan and would die if he couldn%26#39;t see it ';in person.';

I agree with GWB: group things by neighborhood, and use a good map. I highly recommend investing in a Not For Tourist guide book. Worth every penny.

http://www.notfortourists.com/newyork.aspx

Sign up for free on their website and all maps are printable! However, carrying one around is indispensable. This little black book doesn%26#39;t scream ';TOURIST!!!';, and it lists sights, plus ATMs, hardware stores, transporation, etc. (I just got the gargantuan one for LA!! Yikes!)

The nabes I notice you are missing are:

Greenwich Village/East Village

Lower East Side/Rivington Street

Meatpacking District

Chelsea and Chelsea Market

Soho

These are essential for fun-loving 20somethings!!!

Since you%26#39;re on a tight budget, see these websites;

www.cheapotravel.com/ny (my personal fave)

www.nymetro.com/cheap

Here%26#39;s my humble opinion of what to see, what you can skip, etc.:

--Empire State Building - Love this! Keep it.

--Statue of Liberty - Use the FREE Staten Island Ferry to see Lady Liberty from the water. If you still want to go hang out under her dress hem, then buy the tickets for the island.

--Ellis Island - same with S.O.L. comment above.

--Times Square - walk through it. Don%26#39;t buy anything. Especially electronics. Hold onto your camera and wallet.

--Rockefeller Center - nice strolling and people watching. Note art deco style.

--Chinatown - Great cheapo shopping! Go to Pearl River Mart on Grand St and Broadway.

--Little Italy - don%26#39;t eat here. 98% of restaurants are touristy, overpriced and not that good.

--WTC/Ground Zero - keep this. Take time to explore downtown. http://www.downtownny.com

--Broadway - use TKTS booth for 2-4-1 tix. http://www.tdf.org

--St. Patrick%26#39;s Cathedral -

--Cathedral of St. John the Divine - yes. beautiful. gorgeous.

--Radio City Music Hall - Try to get a backstage tour.

--UN Headquarters - tour is popular

--New York Public Library - try to get a tour.

--Flatiron Building - Famous exterior. Currrently, covered in scaffolding.

--Chrysler Building - nice lobby, but limited access. You%26#39;ll get great views of it from Top of the Rock or ESB.

--NYSE - closed to visitors since 9/11/01. Not the beehive it once was anyway, since many trasactions are now computerized.

--Wall Street - go on a Tuesday at 1:00 pm. Woah! Go see where George Washington was sworn in as 1st President of USA at Sub-Treasury Building, across from NYSE.

--Yankee Stadium - Let%26#39;s Go Mets!!

--Madison Square Garden - cheap nosebleed seats at center court still provide good view.

--Grand Central Terminal - speaks for itself. Go to ';Whispering Hall'; outside the Oyster Bar in lower level. Whisper sweet nothings to each other!

--Serendipity 3 - not worth it, in my opinion, but that%26#39;s just me.

--Pommes Frites - good cheap snack.

--Carriage ride - Not worth it!! Expensive for a 20 minute ride with smelly, sad-looking horse! Go for it only if you really love horses.

--Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan right before dusk - Excellent idea!

--Spelling Bee or Avenue Q or another fun musical - Great shows!

Check these websites for more info on these excellent NYC neighborhoods. Walking around is free and best way to see them all (not in one day, of course...):

Downtown/Financial District (Free maps, guides and walking tours!)

http://www.downtownny.com/?flash=1

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/

Soho:

http://www.artseensoho.com/map.html

Lower East Side:

http://lowereastsideny.com/

Greenwich Village (aka ';The Village';)

http://www.gvshp.org/hdmaps.htm

The East Village (home to CBGB%26#39;s, but not for much longer!)

http://www.east-village.com/

Walk the whole length of Bleecker Street from west to east to see overview of entire Village.

Meatpacking District

newyorkmetro.com/visitorsguide/neighborhoods鈥?/a>

West Chelsea Galleries (all Free!)

http://westchelseaarts.com/

Hell%26#39;s Kitchen (forgot to mention: very hip!)

http://www.hellskitchen.net/eating/toeat.html

Bring comfortable shoes and have a great time!

aneedrummergirl,

When are you going? We are also a young couple from Orange County going for 8 days with my bf in January... if you need help with ideas, i%26#39;ve been researching for months - leaving next week. Just let me know!

Get the Not for tourist guide that was recommended!!! I just received mine and i love it! I got it off amazon but im pretty sure yuo can get it at a major bookstore. Also go to NYMAG.com and then go to their visitors section - i like the reviews and pics on that site. For discounted broadway shows, try Broadwaybox.com I think it beats standing in the TKTS line.

Its funny cuz your list is really similar to ours! REALLY SIMILAR! I will let you know how I grouped them if you want.

Good luck planning, hopefully will hear from you soon :)

angelsgurl949 (you%26#39;re from South OC, huh? I can tell by the ';949';, haha),

We%26#39;re taking the red-eye from LAX on Thursday, January 5 and coming back on Monday the 9th. If you could let me know how you grouped things, I would love to see your plans! I tink I%26#39;ll stop by the bookstore today or tomorrow to pick up one of those ';Not For Tourist'; guides.

Lucky you... I wish we could go for 8 days! It%26#39;s hard getting time off from the Mouse, though.

I%26#39;m looking forward to reading your plans. Have you made any reservations for dinner yet?

If you want to exchange emails, I can send you some of the plans I%26#39;ve put together! Hey, I used to work for Disney too! Well, when they owned the Angels.

Email me vrvalenciano@yahoo.com

:)

Great itinerary, think I might just borrow it! Got my tickets for Avenue Q using a discount code from www.broadwaybox.com, $66.25 for the $110 tickets!