NycTours

My friend and I are taking our girls(12%26amp;15) to NYC the first week in Jan for our first time. We would like any info/recommendations/discounts on tours available. We have read about the hop on/hop off ticket, NBC studio tour, TV shows location tour etc. Which would be the best value and hold the most interest for the girls? Please advise as soon as possible,Thanks!

NycTours

The hop on/off tours cover a lot of ground but they%26#39;re really best if you sit upstairs which is open and gets freeeezing and windy at this time of year. I would recommend either the NY Party Shuttle or the Marvelous Manhattan tour. Both use smaller closed buses and cover a lot of ground for a general overview.

But there are also specialized tours and walking tours so it depends on whether the girls would prefer to see ';NYC'; or whether they%26#39;d rather discover NYC on their own and maybe do a specialized tour of tv/movie locations. The Tenement Museum on the lower east side has tours you can book ahead that people really like. Make sure to take them to Chinatown where teens like to buy stuff on Canal St.

While no tours are mentioned, here%26#39;s a link to frequent poster livetotravel%26#39;s report on what his 15 yr old daughter liked on her recent visit here.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k387332-鈥?/a>

NycTours

Use the search function on this forum for ';trip report'; and you%26#39;ll get a wealth of advice from visitors. The best general advice is to avoid strict itineraries. Try and pick one major thing each day and take time to explore. One of the nicest recent reports mentioned the best experience was walking through Central Park eating a pretzel. That is the real NY!

Check these walking tours:

Scene on TV

www.sceneontv.com

Escape reality with On Location Tours, New York City%26#39;s only TV and movie tour company! Take a tour past the doorsteps of your favorite television and movie characters and real-life celebrities. Straddle fiction and reality while you shop, eat, drink, and dance at the sites you%26#39;ve seen on both the big and small screens. Tour Manhattan TV and Movie sites. Tour $ ex and the City hotspots. Tour Sopranos sites. And tour Central Park movie sites! Tours of New York City are individually dedicated to locations featured in TV shows and movies filmed in Manhattan, hotspots from $ ex and the City, and sites from The

Marvelous Manhattan Tours

www.KingofNYC.com

website on the fritz right now...)

244 Madison Ave # 111

(718) 846-9308

(718) 441-3360 (Fax)

Marvelous Manhattan Tours is unlike any company you know, and our tours are unlike any you have ever experienced. Our mission is not just to show you the city, but to have you live it, breathe it, and understand it. Unlike other tour companies, we don%26#39;t cram you o large bus. We don%26#39;t force you to listen to an impersonal tour guide who tell%26#39;s you to ';look to the left, look to the right.'; The driving force behind Marvelous Manhattan%26#39;s philosophy is your guide, Stephen Duer. Stephen is passionate about New York City, and for the last fourteen years has dedicated himself to unveiling New York City%26#39;s most amazing sights and attractions. From the moment you meet Stephen, you will see, hear and feel a man who loves his work and who is dedicated to showing you a good time.

Big Onion Walking Tours

(212) 439-1090

www.bigonion.com

Provides walking tours through New York鈥檚 ethnic and historic districts. All guides hold advanced degrees in American History. The tours options are too many in number to list here. Visit their web site for a complete listing. Areas and topics of interest include: Immigrant New York, SoHo %26amp; NoLita, Multi-Ethnic Eating tour, Chinatown, Gramercy Park %26amp; Union Square, Historic Harlem, Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Jewish Lower East Side and more.

Harlem Heritage tours

(212) 280-7888

www.harlemheritage.com

A unique set of tours that serve to highlight the rich history of this New York neighborhood and its many contributions to American culture. You can choose from the Jazz nights in Harlem Bus tour, the Harlem Gospel Bus Tour, the Boys choir of Harlem walking experience, or from more than 15 other choices.

CM Tours

(917) 364-6047

Tour options include Chinatown, Little Italy, Times Square and the Theatre District, Central Park %26amp; Museum Mile, the Village, SoHo, the United Nations and Harlem. For your convenience CM Tours will arrange to pick you up at a location in the city that you designate.

Discover New York

(212) 935-3960

www.mas.org

Architectural and Historical Walking tours sponsored by the Municipal Art Society, a membership organization which champions excellence in urban design and planning and the preservation of the best of the city鈥檚 past. among the many tours offered are ';Art Deco Midtown,'; ';Irish Footsteps in Old New York,'; ';Blame it on the Bossa Nova: the Avenue of the Americas in the 鈥?0鈥檚 and 鈥?0鈥檚. Or, select from a series of Saturday afternoon walking tours given in conjunction with exhibitions being held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Some more:

harlemyourwaytours.com/Walking%20Tours.htm

http://www.beyondtimessquare.com

http://www.nytours.us/tours/