Stuff to see in New York?

[Prime32]

I'll be spending a few days in New York soon with family - there's already plans to visit standard landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, but I still have some spare time on my hands.

So to any Playgrounders who live around NY, or even those who've visited it, I ask... help me out. Sell me on places to see or things to do. If it's something geeky that wouldn't be in most guidebooks, better yet. It's my first time in the US, so feel free to suggest "generically American" things available in New York on top of New York things. :smalltongue:

[Ashtar]

When I went to NY, I really enjoyed the Queens Museum of Art ( http://www.queensmuseum.org/ ) both for the Panorama of NYC installation and for the huge adjoining area that hosted the 1964 NY World Fair (seen in Movies like Iron Man 2, Men in Black and many others).

For a great tea-time treat, I recommend checking out Alice's tea cup ( http://www.alicesteacup.com/ )

Go and see a musical if you can, it is an american art, after all and Broadway is the place to go :)

Food (a bit pricey places but yum! - book in advance)
Gotham bar & grill
Russian Tea room

Things to see (and places to buy from)
Allan & Suzi's - ( http://allanandsuzi.com/ ) Second hand fashion - Supplied the wardrobes for Sex and the City and The Soprano's, an real NY institution.

The International center of Photography for amazing exhibits: http://www.icp.org/museum/exhibitions

Museum of Math - http://momath.org/ Might be more kid oriented though.

[TaiLiu]

Do check out the many Chinatowns as well. There's the elder, centre Chinatown, which is in Manhattan. There's a bunch of younger ones in Brooklyn and Queens, too.

[Mictlan93]

New York Native here. I'm gonna assume you'll be staying somewhere in Manhattan for the majority, correct? Will you and your family be willing to venture out into the other boroughs? I mean, you could get a ton of enjoyment out of just staying in the Times Square/Broadway area. Let's see. Off the top of my head there's (oh, and here's the Times Square website (http://www.timessquarenyc.org/index.aspx) if you wanna do some research of your own):

- Madam Tussaud's (The world famous wax museum)
- The Ripley's Believe it or Not! Odditorium (a museum showcasing the very unique individuals of the world)
- Toys R' Us (Biggest one in New York; houses its own Ferris Wheel and life size T-Rex)
- The Hersey Store, M&Ms World (if you're a candy-minded individual)
- Dave & Busters (Like Chuck E. Cheese, but a bit more restaurant minded)
- Bubba Gump (Best shrimp and seafood on that side of New York, wait times are questionable, however)

Just outside of that area, there's:
- Sony Wonder Technology Lab (http://www.sonywondertechlab.com/node/1) (a free attraction where you could pal around on the latest technologies and watch free movies (with a reservation, of course))
- The Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum (http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/) (Home of the legendary Aircraft Carrier, the Intrepid, this museum is great even if you aren't a massive flyboy.)
- The Museum of Modern Art (http://www.moma.org) (somewhat self explanatory, home of unique art pieces from around the world)
- Obvious shoutout to the Museum of Natural History (http://www.amnh.org/) (an obvious choice, but this list wouldn't feel complete without it. Make sure to check out the Rose Center and Hayden Planetarium if you want your mind blown with SPAAAACE)

And some honorable mentions hailing out of my home-borough, Brooklyn:
- Junior's Resturant (http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/) (known for their iconic cheesecake)
- The Barcade (http://barcadebrooklyn.com/) (a simple-but-effective concept: Play games, get drunk!)

All in all, Explore! New York City's a massive place filled with tons on top of tons of things! There's a whole plethora of places that I haven't listed that I'd advise checking out, but it's up to you to find 'em! Oh, and make sure you take a whole buncha pictures too!

[AKA_Bait]

This might be too late for your trip, but I'd strongly suggest:

1. Seeing a play. You can get affordable tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square or if you are public servant or student through the Theater Development Fund (http://www.tdf.org/). Frankly, even stuff that's off-off Broadway can be really good.

2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, if you have time. The Met is my favorite museum in the city, maybe the world. The downside is that the Met is HUGE and its virtually impossible to see everything even if you devote the whole day to the place. If you do go, I'd suggest the Egyptian Wing.

3. The Cloisters. Technically, the Cloisters is part of the Met, but at a satellite location. It's a small, cool place.

4. The Rockwood Music Hall (http://rockwoodmusichall.com/). Small room music venue, with a pretty diverse selection of music and three different small stages that go at the same time. I've been to this venue many, many times and I can honestly say that I have never seen a bad performance. You can, literally, walk in off the street on any night of the week without an artist in mind and it will be awesome. Of course, if you decide to go, I'd be happy to recommend people as well.

[Scarlet Knight]

I never considered what was uniquely American in New York before. Alot may be similar to London, just with more people in half the space and with only 300 years of history. Be prepared; NY is pricey.

OK, if you are traveling later this year, I recommend a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. If by "soon" you meant before spring, may I suggest a basketball at Madison Square Garden? (The Barclays Center will do as an alternate). Ice hockey is also played there and probably not common in Ireland.

Depending on the ages of your family members, Jazz is uniquely American, and there are lots of clubs in the city. Just check with your hotel.

If you prefer something for children, the Broadway musical suggested earlier appeals to all ages.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Mictlan93
Obvious shoutout to the Museum of Natural History (an obvious choice, but this list wouldn't feel complete without it. Make sure to check out the Rose Center and Hayden Planetarium if you want your mind blown with SPAAAACE).

I'm seconding the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and especially the Rose Center and Hayden Planetarium, where I spent many afternoons when I was visiting some years ago.

The planetarium itself is excellent, and they've made it the centerpiece of a fantastic series of displays on the scale of the universe: the 90-foot sphere of the planetarium suspended in the midst of an airy glass atrium, with a mezzannine running all around it.

Starting on one side, the planetarium sphere represents the entire observable universe; a small display represents the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies. Continuing around, the planetarium sphere stands in for a whole suite of objects, from the Oort Cloud to the Sun--with a nine-foot Jupiter and the other giant planets close by--down to a droplet of water and finally a single atom.

It's inventive, mind-blowing, and very well done. The display is called Scales of the Universe (http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/rose-center-for-earth-and-space/scales-of-the-universe), appropriately enough, and it's well worth an afternoon to explore.

.

[ElenionAncalima]

Exploring Central Park is always fun.

[Dire Moose]

I'm seconding the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and especially the Rose Center and Hayden Planetarium, where I spent many afternoons when I was visiting some years ago.

The planetarium itself is excellent, and they've made it the centerpiece of a fantastic series of displays on the scale of the universe: the 90-foot sphere of the planetarium suspended in the midst of an airy glass atrium, with a mezzannine running all around it.

Starting on one side, the planetarium sphere represents the entire observable universe; a small display represents the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies. Continuing around, the planetarium sphere stands in for a whole suite of objects, from the Oort Cloud to the Sun--with a nine-foot Jupiter and the other giant planets close by--down to a droplet of water and finally a single atom.

It's inventive, mind-blowing, and very well done. The display is called Scales of the Universe (http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/rose-center-for-earth-and-space/scales-of-the-universe), appropriately enough, and it's well worth an afternoon to explore.

.

Another vote for the American Museum of Natural History here. They have an excellent fossil collection; any prehistoric animal you can think of is likely to be displayed there.