Guides and Tips for Exploring NYC like a local

[Viva_la_Vida]

Hi All, this is a repeat of what I've also put on the Celebrity board as an extension of my Bermuda review. Hopefully people visiting NYC will find it helpful. I'll keep adding as I get more written.

 

A (former) local’s guide to Manhattan

 

I LOVE New York City. The way it puts every sense on overdrive is the best, so when visiting, I love to just soak it in as much as possible. There are too many things that I miss about living in NYC to name all of them here, but a few of them are; 1. Diverse foods 2. Happy hour and no DD needed 3. Museums and cultural activities. Hopefully you can take advantage of at least a couple of those while in for a visit. If you’ve been to NYC before, you’ve probably already hit a lot of the tourist places and there are ample guides that will help you figure that out. I do encourage you, whether it’s your first time or tenth, to get out of the touristy spots and experience the city as locals do. I lived in NYC for six years and lived/went to school in four different neighborhoods, so my perspective comes from that. While I did explore lots of other neighborhoods and other boroughs, I couldn’t see everything. The neighborhoods I lived in were the East Village, Financial District, and Hell’s Kitchen (midtown west). I went to undergrad at NYU, which is in Greenwich Village. That’s where most of my guide will focus. That being said, most of my friends moved to Brooklyn, so I’ll do a guide to that as well. I will also warn that I haven’t lived in NYC since 2010, but visited frequently while in grad school as NYC was just a cheap and (mostly) quick bus ride from Boston. I will check to make sure all of the places I recommend are still in business, but double check before going as things can change.

 

GENERAL TIPS

 

PHONE APPS: I use hopstop almost exclusively to plan my transportation while in the city. Urbanspoon is also great for meal-planning. I’m sure others have apps they can recommend, but those are the two I use most.

 

MUST HAVES:

1. either a transportation app like recommended above, or a good old fashioned folding map of the subway. http://www.mta.info

2. Comfortable shoes

3. Money, some small cash for food vendors but note that all NYC Taxis take credit/debit cards.

4. Navigational ability. Most neighborhoods above the village are easy to figure out as the streets/avenues are in number order, but a map is needed below the village as the streets are more confusing.

 

FOODS:

Here is a list of the top food items that I think New York does best. I try to get them every time I go

1. Hummus http://www.hummusplace.com/ or http://hummuskitchen.com/

2. Halal food otherwise known endearingly as “Chicken and Rice” Halal Guys food cart http://53rdand6th.com/

3. Pizza by the slice It’s everywhere and it’s all good, but I like to keep it simple with a small local shop. Typical cheese slices go from 99 cents to $2.50. DON’T YOU DARE GO TO SABARROS!! If you can get it in an airport, why waste your precious time and dollars on it in NYC?

4. Bagels I like to get them from a local place or deli, not a chain.

 

 

Guide to the Financial District and Brooklyn Bridge Walk

 

This will be my most traditionally tourist guide as many of the things to do in this neighborhood are historic in nature. This was my least favorite neighborhood to live when I was put in an NYU dorm across from South Street Seaport. It was a very nice dorm with a view of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, but the neighborhood was pretty dead on the weekends and after 8pm, hence my least favorite place to live neighborhood-wise.

 

My family did stay once at the Club Quarters on Wall Street. If you have access through a business or affiliation, it’s a very nice and affordable place to stay.

 

There are three main sites/stops that I think are great in this neighborhood. I’ve labeled them all on the map below with stars.

 

Three Sites by stancil.boehm, on Flickr

 

Start out at the World Trade Center 9/11 Museum/Memorial. I haven’t been able to go yet to the new museum, but I still think everyone should see it. This is easily accessed from the Cortlandt St. Station or the World Trade Center station. It’s also a little walk from the Fulton St. Station.

 

From there, I would take a stroll around Trinity Church. http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/

It is a beautiful gothic-style church that was once the highest point in New York. It’s a National Historic Landmark and really is worth a quick walk around. They have a full performance schedule as well, so I recommend timing it so you can relax and listen to some wonderful music.

 

A few blocks up from Trinity is Century 21 Department Store, a different kind of sanctuary, some might say! http://www.c21stores.com/ I used to love this store for getting my mom items around Christmas. It’s a good place for a nice souvenir.

 

If you’re not weighed down too much with shopping bags, a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to Grimaldi’s Pizza is a fantastic way to spend 2-3 hours. http://www.grimaldis.com/

 

Century 21 to Bkln by stancil.boehm, on Flickr

 

The walk itself is not bad. Everything in this area is totally flat, so even though it’s technically almost a 2 mile walk, it’s scenic, easy, and one you’ll never forget. I did this walk many times and it was never an issue. ***Just make sure you start well before dark.*** The area just over the bridge on the way to Grimaldis can be a bit deserted, so daytime is the best time to go if you’re unfamiliar with the area. Here’s a guide already written that will help you with the specifics if you choose to walk to Grimaldi’s Pizzeria. http://www.everytrail.com/guide/brooklyn-bridge-walk-new-york-city IT IS SO DELICIOUS.

 

A lot of people go to South Street Seaport. It’s really nothing that special, aside from:

1. the awesome fireworks show they do around the 4th of July.

2. Beautiful view of the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge

 

If you’ve done the Brooklyn Bridge walk, I would skip it. It’s essentially a mall with really expensive restaurants and a Pizzeria Uno. Again, why waste time and money on something you can get at home?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[funat55]

Thank you for your informative post. We are looking at a cruise on the Breakaway next March or April. What do you think about the hop on hop off bus for one day? If our cruise leaves on Sunday, we plan to arrive on Friday so that we will have Friday night to explore Times Square and Saturday to squeeze in everything else.

[jarand]

Thanks for a very helpful post!!!

[sebas030]

Thank you for your informative post. We are looking at a cruise on the Breakaway next March or April. What do you think about the hop on hop off bus for one day? If our cruise leaves on Sunday, we plan to arrive on Friday so that we will have Friday night to explore Times Square and Saturday to squeeze in everything else.

 

Hi,

 

If you have a little time, read this about the HoHo busses,

 

We had this discussion about a month ago : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2054471

 

To sum it up, I really recommend it for a first visit to NYC. Manhattan is huge and there are so many things to see...the HoHo bus is a great way to see a good part of it.

 

 

Have fun !

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Nice job...

[BermudaBound2014]

Pure Awesomeness :)

[CruisingCamper]

Looking forward to your guides.