Question for NY/NJ people

Uncleskinny

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Mrs F and I have decided to come to New York for our 20th anniversary. We wanted to come a couple of years ago, but it didn't happen.

Anyway, for a total newcomer, I have some questions - can any kind soul help?

I'm told it's cheaper and easier to fly to Newark rather than JFK. Is this true? What transport options are available to NY from Newark? What about LaGuardia?

There's so much to see and do. What would be the sights to see for someone with only three days to visit?

Mrs F wants to stay at the Algonquin. Anyone know what it's like?

Ta for your help,

Peter
 
Mrs F and I have decided to come to New York for our 20th anniversary. We wanted to come a couple of years ago, but it didn't happen.

Anyway, for a total newcomer, I have some questions - can any kind soul help?

I'm told it's cheaper and easier to fly to Newark rather than JFK. Is this true? What transport options are available to NY from Newark? What about LaGuardia?

There's so much to see and do. What would be the sights to see for someone with only three days to visit?

Mrs F wants to stay at the Algonquin. Anyone know what it's like?

Ta for your help,

Peter

I know that from LGA, the best way to get into Manhattan is via the bus. I don't even know what it's called, you just go outside and follow the signs. I think it's $27 roundtrip, and you can be dropped off at Grand Central Station, and from there you can get anywhere.

A couple of Soloists are New Yorkers, they'll be along, I'm sure.

I always go to The Strand bookstore, and at least one art museum, and I try to find a spot to sit in the Park for a while. You can walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, which is fun. Ground Zero is interesting, especially for the two very old churches filled with Colonial-era graves, which were miraculously undamaged.

When will you be there?
 
I know that from LGA, the best way to get into Manhattan is via the bus. I don't even know what it's called, you just go outside and follow the signs. I think it's $27 roundtrip, and you can be dropped off at Grand Central Station, and from there you can get anywhere.

A couple of Soloists are New Yorkers, they'll be along, I'm sure.

I always go to The Strand bookstore, and at least one art museum, and I try to find a spot to sit in the Park for a while. You can walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, which is fun. Ground Zero is interesting, especially for the two very old churches filled with Colonial-era graves, which were miraculously undamaged.

When will you be there?

Halloween this year or next year, but probably this year, because Mrs F's birthday is the 26th Oct, we were married on the 30th Oct, and my birthday is the 31st Oct, the same as Johnny Marr. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. I phoned my brother tonight, who's already been there, and he said that a good thing to do is take the bus tour on the first day, see everything, then decide what sights you want to see from the selection you have already seen in passing. Ta for the advice!

Peter
 
Mrs F and I have decided to come to New York for our 20th anniversary. We wanted to come a couple of years ago, but it didn't happen.

Anyway, for a total newcomer, I have some questions - can any kind soul help?

I'm told it's cheaper and easier to fly to Newark rather than JFK. Is this true? What transport options are available to NY from Newark? What about LaGuardia?

There's so much to see and do. What would be the sights to see for someone with only three days to visit?

Mrs F wants to stay at the Algonquin. Anyone know what it's like?

Ta for your help,

Peter

This article was in the NY Times just today. Perhaps you could check these out:

Affordable Boutique Hotels in New York City

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/travel/20hotels.html?src=me&ref=homepage
 
I think this sounds fantastic! (if the dates work with your schedule) The Guggenheim is a fantastic work of Architecture with a very unique gallery space.

March 26–September 6, 2010

Much of contemporary photography and video seems haunted by the past, by ghostly apparitions that are reanimated in reproductive media, as well as in live performance and the virtual world. By using dated, passé, or quasi-extinct stylistic devices, subject matter, and technologies, this art embodies a melancholic longing for an otherwise irrecuperable past. Haunted: Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance examines myriad ways photographic imagery is incorporated into recent practice and in the process underscores the unique power of reproductive media while documenting a widespread contemporary obsession, both collective and individual, with accessing the past. The works included in the exhibition range from individual photographs and photographic series, to sculptures and paintings that incorporate photographic elements, and to videos, both on monitors and projected, as well as film, performance, and site-specific installations.

http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/...ed-contemporary-photography-video-performance
 
MoMa

Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century

Rising Currents: Projects for New York’s Waterfront

Mind and Matter: Alternative Abstractions, 1940s to Now

http://www.moma.org/
 
Happy Anniversary, Peter!
I live about 20 minutes from JFK. There is a super shuttle type mini-bus that runs to Manhattan from JFK and Newark. It is a shared ride. You can get a fare quote on the site:
http://www.supershuttle.com/en/JFKAirportShuttleNewYork.html
A yellow taxi ride would be an easy option but more expensive. The JFK Airtrain you will probably see on the maps is pretty useless. It was an expensive project and it's been little help to most NY'ers or tourists.

I'm not sure if you are aware, but LaGuardia is a domestic airport and only flies around the U.S. and Canada.

I would suggest going on the boat ride around NY Harbor to the Statue of Liberty if it is a nice day to be on the water. The admission price also includes the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and entrance to the Statue where you can climb to the crown and have a wonderful view.

I have heard that flights to Newark are cheaper than to JFK many times coming from Europe. I would check both, as you never know what deal will come up.

You have chosen the best time of year to visit as the weather in October is usually perfect.

I use these excellent sites to find things to do:
http://newyork.timeout.com/
http://www.iloveny.com/home.aspx

Hope this helped.
 
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Happy Anniversary, Peter!
I live about 20 minutes from JFK. There is a super shuttle type mini-bus that runs to Manhattan from JFK and Newark. It is a shared ride. You can get a fare quote on the site:
http://www.supershuttle.com/en/JFKAirportShuttleNewYork.html
A yellow taxi ride would be an easy option but more expensive. The JFK Airtrain you will probably see on the maps is pretty useless. It was an expensive project and it's been little help to most NY'ers or tourists.

I'm not sure if you are aware, but LaGuardia is a domestic airport and only flies around the U.S. and Canada.

I would suggest going on the boat ride around NY Harbor to the Statue of Liberty if it is a nice day to be on the water. The admission price also includes the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and entrance to the Statue where you can climb to the crown and have a wonderful view.

I have heard that flights to Newark are cheaper than to JFK many times coming from Europe. I would check both, as you never know what deal will come up.

You have chosen the best time of year to visit as the weather in October is usually perfect.

I use these excellent sites to find things to do:
http://newyork.timeout.com/
http://www.iloveny.com/home.aspx

Hope this helped.

Excellent stuff - many thanks.

P.
 
Mrs F and I have decided to come to New York for our 20th anniversary. We wanted to come a couple of years ago, but it didn't happen.

Anyway, for a total newcomer, I have some questions - can any kind soul help?

I'm told it's cheaper and easier to fly to Newark rather than JFK. Is this true? What transport options are available to NY from Newark? What about LaGuardia?

There's so much to see and do. What would be the sights to see for someone with only three days to visit?

Mrs F wants to stay at the Algonquin. Anyone know what it's like?

Ta for your help,

Peter

If you haven't been to the States in a few years do your ESTA soon because I think they are going to start charging $10 for it. It's good for 2 years so you would be covered if you go next year instead. Go to the official Gov site because some sites charge you money for what you can do for free.
Newark is just across the river from New York and there is plenty of signs for transportation to NY.
I would do Central Park, The Circle Line, Empire State Building, and the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. If you leave from Newark you can go to the outlets.
You might get lucky and see some World Series baseball.
 
Oooooh Peter, you and the missus must come to visit my shop in the East Village!

The New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor train stops at Newark and runs straight into Penn Station, NYC - it couldn't be easier.

There is so much to do, it's a bit overwhelming. I would make my first stop the Metropolitan Museum of Art - it is one of the world's great museums. You could spend all three days just wandering the galleries there; seriously, don't miss it.

In addition to the Guggenheim already mentioned there's MOMA (if you're fond of 20th Century art, it's the place to be). The Whitney Museum of American Art also has a fantastic collection. The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is a wonderful little collection, and there's the Morgan Library and the Frick Collection as well - these are all incredibly well-curated collections housed in the great turn-of-the-century mansions of America's "royalty."

The American Museum of Natural History is always fun, and there's the Neue Galerie - a fantastic collection of early 20th Century German and Austrian Art that also houses a fantastic restaurant. There are so many more, like the Tenement Museum in the Lower East Side, which is a wonderful little museum that lets you step back in time to experience how many of New York's immigrants lived at the turn of the last century. The International Center of Photography is a wonderful, wonderful museum as well.

For the History of New York I wouldn't miss the New York Historical Society, just a stone's throw from the Natural History Museum.

Don't miss a stroll through Central Park, Fredrick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux's green masteriece in the heart of the city. It is a popular migratory stopping-place for birds of many species (being the largest swath of green in the area) - fantastic bird-watching. Autumn in Central Park is one of life's great pleasures. Many of the above museums are on 5th Avenue (museum mile) which borders the park, so it's a very pleasant day or two of wandering.

As for restaurants, there are just too many to mention. I know some wonderful local ones I would recommend.

Feel free to PM me - I've been directing visitors around the city for a long, long time. :)
 
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I agree what has been said regarding the shuttles from the airport. Should be fine.

I worked across the street from the Algonquin Hotel -- used to go their for drinks when times were good. Yes, it is a nice hotel but, then again, I didn't have to sleep there.

The Algonquin is a good choice strategicaly because it is located a block away from the heart of Times Square. It's also has an interesting history and of course, it has the cat however, whatever you choose, look it up on TripAdvisor.com. first. According to some people on there, they disliked the small, cramped rooms. Plus, Times Square is noisy day and night. New York hotels also have serious bed bug problems, so do the research! I think you guys can do better.

If you and Auntskinny are music fans or history buffs, definitely go on walking tours to Harlem, or any of the other historic parts of the city. Most are free and require no reservations, unless they are noshing tours (noshing is Yiddish for nibbling here and there.) http://nymag.com/guides/cheap/walkingtours/
 
I've been hearing good things from out-of-towners about the Ramada Hotel in Long Island City. Apparently it's new, it's relatively cheap, and it's just across the road from the Queens Borough Plaza subway station.

New York hotels can be pretty pricey, but this sounds like a good alternative for anyone who doesn't mind a short trip on the subway:

http://www.booking.com/hotel/us/ramada-long-island-city.en.html
Hell, I'd go to New York just for the pleasure of riding around on the subway. Red and Blue lines got nothin' on the R train.
 
phew, Halloween in the City. Unless things have changed, book early.
 
And Peter, be wary if for some reason you have to plan your trip a week before or after the end of October. The NY marathon is the following weekend, Sunday, Nov 7.
 
We found Newark the best rate (from Manchester), with Continental. Getting to Penn Station was easy enough using the coach service.

Also save yourself a few dollars by completing your compulsory ESTA forms now, as I hear that they are about to charge $10 each for them. They are valid for 2 years, so you might as well do it now?

http://www.usa-visa-services.com/ESTA/
 
There is a train that runs from Newark to NYC, it's fairly cheap. Last time there I stayed in Queens, didn't mind taking the subway. Our hotel picked us up from the airport. A week long subway/bus pass was $24. Have fun in NYC, love going there.
 
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