1 Day In Manhattan

I would definitely do the 9/11 memorial, without a doubt. Then i'd pick either the top of the Rock, or Empire, or One World Trade centre. I wouldnt do all of them, just one. If i had to pick, maybe the Rock.

I would also suggest Central Park. So beautiful.
 
You've received some great ideas and itineraries above:cool:.

Should you be in the mood for something a little different consider visiting Fort Tyron and the Cloisters which is currently hosting an exhibit that includes items from the Costume Institute, also another part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and on loan from the Vatican:

https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2018/heavenly-bodies

Should you decide to do the Hi-Line from 14th Street down Battery Park to you have a choice on two great places to eat: Chelsea Market near 14th or the Brookfield/Eatly stop across from the WTC. Like a pp I suggest visitors bypass the Statue of Liberty ferry for the Staten Island ferry especially if time is short since the SI ferry runs constantly and is free while the SL ferry costs substantially more and runs less frequently.

@bcla I haven't done the Soundview ferry yet but am considering using it for the next time I decide to hit Greenpoint's Polish markets.
 
Where do you get on this ferry? I’ve never heard of it but I’d like to do it next time I’m up there.

OP, do you have any Manhattan bucket list items? Personally I’d probably choose walking around Central Park and then walking through the city- go down 5th Ave, see Rockefeller Center.. or I’d explore The Met or the Museum of Natural History. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money, the Roosevelt Island Tram has some great views and is the same fare as the subway/bus.
https://www.ferry.nyc/routes-and-schedules/route/east-river/
 
With limited time, I’d focus on one area. If you go to the 9/11 memorial and/or Freedom tower, I’d stay downtown and explore the financial district and nearby neighborhoods. You can find self-guided walking tours of lower Manhattan online, that cover some of the historical and other sites of interest, eg: Battery Park, Castle Clinton, Bowling Green, the Wall St. bull, the stock exchange, Federal Hall, Trinity Church cemetery, Fraunces Tavern, City Hall, Brooklyn Bridge, etc.

Staten Island ferry is also a good choice. Maybe go for lunch in Chinatown, Little Italy or at South St. Seaport.

FYI— NY Comic Con is that weekend, so the city will be packed (mostly midtown). You’ll see people in all sorts of crazy costumes, though most of the crowds will be gone (or heading home like you) on Monday.
 


I think it's this one:

https://www.ferry.nyc/routes-and-schedules/

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Sounds like it's operated by Hornblower, but subsidized by NYC. But it's $2.75.
Yep, good map.
My son lives right next to the Long Island City, next to Gantry Plaza State Park, (big Pepsi Sign) Roosevelt and Astoria, just opened this summer.
 
Yep, good map.
My son lives right next to the Long Island City, next to Gantry Plaza State Park, (big Pepsi Sign) Roosevelt and Astoria, just opened this summer.

When I read that it was operated by Hornblower, I was kind of surprised. I've know of them as a company that did speciality dining cruises on the West Coast. They kind of went into the point to point business when they won the contract from the National Park Service for the cruises to Alcatraz. It looks like they also service Niagara Falls now. I guess a regular passenger ferry was just the next step.
 


So what is a decent/fair price to pay for common souvenirs, like hats and t-shirts? I know I would think, oh $30 for a shirt, well it’s NY so it’s gonna be high and buy it. And then 2 blocks down it would $20 haha.
 
If you take a subway to West 4th street station. Thats the famous Grenich Village. Lots of very cool restaurants, bars, shops and Washington Square Park.
 
So what is a decent/fair price to pay for common souvenirs, like hats and t-shirts? I know I would think, oh $30 for a shirt, well it’s NY so it’s gonna be high and buy it. And then 2 blocks down it would $20 haha.

There’s so many competing souvenir shops near Times Square I know I’ve seen signs saying like 3 shirts for $10.
 
With limited time, I’d focus on one area. If you go to the 9/11 memorial and/or Freedom tower, I’d stay downtown and explore the financial district and nearby neighborhoods. You can find self-guided walking tours of lower Manhattan online, that cover some of the historical and other sites of interest, eg: Battery Park, Castle Clinton, Bowling Green, the Wall St. bull, the stock exchange, Federal Hall, Trinity Church cemetery, Fraunces Tavern, City Hall, Brooklyn Bridge, etc.

Staten Island ferry is also a good choice. Maybe go for lunch in Chinatown, Little Italy or at South St. Seaport.

FYI— NY Comic Con is that weekend, so the city will be packed (mostly midtown). You’ll see people in all sorts of crazy costumes, though most of the crowds will be gone (or heading home like you) on Monday.

I think these are great suggestions. There is a lot to see in lower Manhattan and it is a good place to go when you are short on time. Go to the 9/11 Memorial and then head to the top of the Freedom Tower for a great view. See the Oculus at Fulton Street which connects NYC subways and PATH to NJ with the World Trade complex. It is a fantastic structure that I walked through everyday until I retired last month. Take t walk from the World Trade complex through Battery Park and then ride the free Staten Island Ferry. The ferry goes past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
 
There’s so many competing souvenir shops near Times Square I know I’ve seen signs saying like 3 shirts for $10.

Another area with similar pricing is Chinatown. I would not buy any souvenirs at Macy's except a Christmas ornament. There are several different NY Macy's styles and starting sometime in October they can be purchased at half price. I used to buy them all the time for another forum's annual ornament swap.
 
Pick one thing and stick to it. If you’re in the WTC area, explore that area.

Might I also suggest a bus tour if you kind of want to see everything? You won’t see anything in detail but you’ll get a glimpse of a lot of the city.

Souvenirs can be expensive. One thing I always buy there are the pashminas. $5. Make great gifts too!
 
Okay so we just got back on Monday and oh my what a trip it was!! New York is nuts!!

I got to spend a lot more time wandering around than I thought which was awesome.

Thursday 10/4: We flew into LaGuardia and got to the hotel at around 3:30. Our hotel was in the same building where the Stephen Colbert show is taped. (Broadway & 54th) We had a late lunch at Angelo's.

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Angelo's Pizza
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The bridal party was meeting at the New York Friars club as the bride to be is an inducted member. We took the 10 minute walk soaking up the sights. BTW the Friars club is a really cool place. I'm not allowed to mention who we met there, but let's say I was quite star struck more than once!! We left the club and headed back to the hotel around 11:30.

All Gussied up

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Friday 10/05: My wife and I are early risers so we were up by 7:30 Friday morning. We took a nice walk to Central Park and had breakfast at Sarahbeth's where I learned how expensive New York can be....lol It was a great breakfast. From there we went to Central park, dodging all the guys trying to get us on a horse carriage. My wife got one of the guys laughing when she said no thanks, I already stare at a horses @$$ every night. (Love this woman) We wandered around a bit, played a few games of checkers, and considered but ultimately passed on going to the zoo. After leaving the park we kind of zigged zagged the streets taking in all the architecture, got a picture of Trump Tower, and really got a feel for how massive some of these buildings are.

Wife feeding a horse

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Trump Tower

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Checkers In Central Park

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That night we had our first New York subway experience and met up with the bridal party again and went bar hopping through the east village. Yes I went bar hopping with my pregnant wife. LOL She had a great time. My favorite bar by far was Otto's Shrunken Head tiki bar!!

We took the Staten Island Ferry and saw the Statue of Liberty...sort of....awful pic....

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But We got an incredible view of the new York Sky line (I'm terrible at pictures)....

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Saturday 10/6: We decided to order in Saturday morning as we were out pretty late Friday night. After breakfast we headed down to Times Square for a bit. A friend had given us free passes to both Ripley's Believe It Or Not and Madame Tussauds which we spent a little time at while exploring.

I had a rehearsal at 4 (yes, a rehearsal as this wedding was being put on by off Broadway performers and was one of the most unique weddings I've ever been to) and rehersal dinner at Supper, an incredible Italian place in the East Village!!

Dinner was over about 9 so we headed back towards the hotel and went to times Square to see it at night!! What a sight!!

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Sunday 10/7: Wedding Day. But first, pizza with my guys at Artichoke....

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Oh my goodness. They were married at the House of Yes, which is actually an insane night club in Brooklyn. The amount of talent involved in this wedding was insane. Multiple Broadway performers were part of this show. Singers, dancers, even a rope dancer!!


Monday 10/8: We got up fairly early and checked out of the hotel. Our flight didn't leave until 7:30, so we had all day. This was what I though was going to be my only day.

We decided we were going to the 9/11 memorial first. It was a tough visit. Very emotional. I'm not going to post pictures out of respect.

I wanted to visit the One World observatory, but this day was extremely foggy and visibility was zero.

Which stinks because after spending a few hours in the area, we headed to the Empire State building. I didn't bother with the observatory again. Oh well. We spent the rest of the day wandering the area, shopping, eating, and really just enjoying the last day in the city.

Wow that went longer than I expected!! Hop you enjoyed!!
 

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