New York City - Brooklyn

[LittleBit]

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an encyclopedic museum and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Its massive collections span 5,000 years and it is so extensive, the Metropolitan Museum of Art can only display a fraction of its treasures. Do not miss: Temple of Dendur (the Egyptian government GAVE the MMoA an entire dig for funding it). Also, there is a Frank Lloyd Wright house inside the Met reconstructed in its entirety.

 

Check with the Met before you go about exhibits - when I was there (this summer maybe, Can't remember...) the guard I talked to said they were eliminating the cafe and courtyard (a MAJOR shame as it is a beautiful area) and also the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit (again a shame) to make room for a larger reception(rentable for a large fee) area.

 

Also - if going to Ellis Island/statue of Liberty - get your tickets EARLY (especially if going in the summer) - been there before when it was sold out. Plan a lot of time and make sure you visit both islands. There is plenty to see at the statue of Liberty even if you don't go up the statue (been there, done that, didn't even bother with the t-shirt). There are free tours around the island and several displays with descriptive info. Ellis Island has a wonderful museum and information area. A great (short) movie that was interesting. It was fun to see some of the names of my relatives on the wall they have, but most of my folks came in before they kept records there.

 

Coney Island can be fun if not too crowded - love the Cyclone (wooden roller coaster), the aquarium is nice (although there are many better ones), eat at teh original Nathans, and maybe the Dodgers (ok, the Cyclones) will be playing that day!

[momthecruisedirector]

I feel like I should be paying you all a commission!

 

Can you prepurchase Ellis Island tickets? I got a video from the library on Ellis Island this past weekend but haven't had a chance to watch it yet. They have the names of the people that went through there??? Wow. My great grandparents came through in the late 1890's, do you think it goes that far back? I am so looking forward to this trip - could almost skip the cruise, well, not quite!

[Alex L]

 

Can you prepurchase Ellis Island tickets?

 

The timed passes are only for entrance into the Statue of Liberty - you should almost always be able to get on the next ferry to Ellis/Liberty Islands to see everything but the inside of the Statue.

 

A limited number of time passes are available at the ferry ticket offices for walk-ins on a first-come, first-served basis or reserved in advance by calling the ferry company at: 1-866-STATUE4(1-866-782-8834)U.S. calls only. Callers outside the U.S. can call the NY ticket office at: (212) 269-5755 or on-line at: http://WWW.STATUERESERVATIONS.COM http://www.nps.gov/stli/

[momthecruisedirector]

Thank you all for your ideas. I have copied ALL the information you have generously shared.

[TheNYPlateMan]

If you are in DC at night...Def. go the monuments at night. You get a different feeling looking at them lit up and they are all amazing at night, particulary WWII Memorial

I go to university in DC and have been to the national mall three times now, all at night