Quote:
Originally Posted by rmx
Hey Gang
I'm planning a trip to NY in a couple of weeks, and I'll be doing it with a friend - the two of us really don't enjoy spending a lot of money on hotels, so we'd like some tips from frequent travellers / locals.
Could I get some of you to chime in on this?
Is it possible to stay somewhere central and close to the major attractions for roughly 60-70 dollars a night?
Are there such things as quaint bed and breakfasts run by kindly old folk around there? (here, in Vancouver, anywhere in the city you'll find signs for B&B's - usually its a mom and pop operation with a snazzed up extra room or two)
Any tips for getting around NY on a budget? Is it good to rent a car, or will I be wasting my time stuck in traffic a lot?
Thanks in advance!
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You should stay at the waldorf Astoria. If that's a bit too price, the W is really nice also.. There's a few of those.. Then you got your typical Ramada/Hilton/Hyatt type place chain hotels. I really think you'd dig the Waldorf ; )
Places to eat: Peter Lugers, Noboo, Gray's Papaya (great cheap lunch)
Ask bangpod about resteraunts, he's got really good (and expensive) taste, he
wrote some long thread about all the places he went, mostly in NYC, i defer to him and that thread. As far as cheapo places, i mean don't cheap out on food, probablly the best food in the world in NYC. Also worthy of mention that you can check out Little Italy and China town for a possible cheaper really good authentic type meal. Also, this really good dessert place called serendipity, like the best icecream stuff i ever had.
Things to see? umm: Well, do you wanna do broadway, musesums, shopping, nightlife, or what? This is a tough one to tackle.
For broadway, i defer to someone else, though i know the producers is very popular and people always talk it up.
Museums: The gugenheim, Metropolitan,Museum of Natural History, Statue of Liberty, The Intrepid. Gugenheim ithink has more contemporary stuff, i've never been there... Metropolitan has really awesome exhibits also in and out, and really old works. I haven't been there since i was like 10. I never even been to the statue of liberty, i guess i'm a bad new yorker... You can also check out the empire state building, that might be fun. If you like airplane stuff, checkout the intrepid, it's near where the world trade center used to be, you can take helicopter rides around there to around the water. Also, south street seaport. All in that locale. It's like a dock with all kinds of stores,
out in the water.
NightLife: Well, here goes, i'll give you a best of that i know of that i know about...
Scores, Club Exit, Spa, China Club, Centro Fly, The Tunnel, Limelight, Tikki Bar
That's all i can think of off the top of the head, some of those might not exist anymore, not too sure... Those are clubs, the first one is a primo strip club, you should check it out, where a really nice suit to go there ; )
If you like punk rock music, CBGB's is a very famous place you can checkout, it's got alot of history... You might need to check on dates for anything you may be interested in. Other then that, i like jazz lounges, you could checkout bird land, or the blue note (i think thats the name, not to sure).
If you want a really varied club experience, webster hall has like every kind of music, and it's also the oldest night club in NYC. It's pretty cool. I remember drinks are a ripoff there...
Great live jazz and you can sip some bourbon and pretend your in new orleans or something hehe.
For more fun bar/pub oriented stuff, i remember in flat iron district alot of quaint/normal type bars, actually very trendy, lots of hot chicks, more then you can deal with hehe.
Oh yea, another nice place if you want to check out a lounge type place is Lemon Bar, you can get booths there, it's also easier on the wallet then others. I think a long island iced tea there is only like 8 bucks. This whole area i think is right by NYU, there is alot of activity/fun to be had around there.
They got gambling/booze cruise boat thingies that drive around the harbor also, you can look into those. Atlantic City is a helicopter/ferry ride away i think, if you want to go gamble for real.
For shopping, Head down to the Village, plenty of thrift type shops, i'm not really an expert about it, but everything from head shops, to places like Antique Boutique where you pay like 200 dollars for someones old beat up carpentar jeans from the 60s or something. Then you got 5th avenue, and all the expensive stores you can imagine, wear you can buy belts that cost $2000 ; ).
Things to note i guess: If your looking for it, they got an IMAX in new york city. Times square sucks now, it's like disney land. Go there and see the most fiber optics you could imagine wrapping around buildings, it's really like something out of blade runner. There's actually a decent club around ther ei think, the one where pdiddy got in trouble is right over there...
Also, plan on paying to have fun, there is nothing really cheap to do, other then walk around and get lots of blisters. Nightlife especially, plan on spending atleast $50 or more, otherwise it's going to be kind of boring. When you walk around, probablly best to leave your wallet at the hotel, just carry your ID and some cash, getting pickpocketed in NYC is pretty easy, and if you look tourist, your a target.
Well i hope this is a good for a start.
Let me know if i can give u more tips.
