New York travelling info

[Slayer]

Hi all, next May I'm travelling to New York for a week, and I was wondering if there are any New Yorkers here who could give me some tips on where to eat and shop, and maybe some offbeat attractions.

My hotel is in Manhattan, so it'd be nice if I could walk to all tips A short cabdrive is OK too, of course

For food I'm looking for:
- cheap
- vegetarian options (for the missus)

For shopping I'm looking for:
- movies (on DVD)
- music
- clothing (jeans especially)

For (tourist) attractions I know the famous stuff, but if someone could post about cool things to do which aren't that well known, I'd appreciate it.

And if you live in NY we could set up a meeting if you like

[Fuchs]

Think about area codes of DVD's when you buy them in the US, those are different than our zone.

[Nilsson]

I was in NYC about one and a half year ago,

Food: Try the street vendors! Unknown if there is any vegetarian option thus. You can basically find these around all the tourist attractions, but walking a street longer may half the price.

Take a walk along the high line! An old overground rail line, transferred into a 1,6 km long park.

Or take a bike ride in Central park. Bikes are rented out at Columbus Circle, and the companies that have nicer bikes are more expensive, and are on sight. For cheaper bikes, there are people at the same place that you can make deals with (we halved our price, and got the bikes for 45 minutes longer), but you'll have to pick up the bikes 1 street away.

[Korsakov829]

Some of the best restaurants are on Broadway! Difficult to get a reservation for the cheaper ones there, and the line is usually two hours long. So just avoid that street when looking for a place to eat. Actually, you might want to avoid all of lower Manhatten.

[sheikyerbouti]

 NYC has a billion options for vegetarian cuisine. The best way to approach the food culture there would be to explore your personal tastes and desires.

 Do you like Asian, Eurasian, Sub-continental, American, Delicatessen, etc.?  With better ideas in mind, you can then check out the neighbourhoods that are "home" to your personal preferences.

My advice would be to spend some time on the New York Times website and blast through a ton of the restaurant reviews as well as their blogs which are very current with developing trends, promotions and ideas to while away your time.   www.nytimes.com


 Definitely use the subways, go to the museums and check out a show on Broadway. The bars are open wicked late and you will have no shortage of things to do at any tme of day or night. Enjoy the trip...

[Slayer]

Thanks for the replies so far!

I'm definitely gonna check out the high line! Don't know about biking, my wife is a walker, not a biker But: neat idea anyway, maybe we'll follow up on it.

Broadway: we checked it out but even the cheapest spots in the theater are still quite expensive, so I think we'll just visit the street and go sightseeing there.

Region coding: no problem, I have several DVD players, for all regions I'm wondering about prices, though: I read about DVDs being $30 

Thanks for the nytimes link!

[[130.Pz]S.Lainer]

  New York!  Awesome!  Been there and through it many times.  My advise would be to get a rental car in Manhattan and find the closet exit to I95 north.  Drive for about 450 miles and begin your vacation.  Congrats!  You have just left one of the biggest shit holes in the USA for the nicest place on the planet.  Enjoy.

[sheikyerbouti]

 Drive a little further and Maine turns into CANADA!!!!

 Way better than the States and cheaper lobster.


 PS,  you did not look properly for cheap tickets. you can go see like Phantom of the opera for 20 bucks (like 16 euro's a person) or the Book of Mormon for around 40 bucks. that is dirt cheap for aplce like New York where one drink at a bar will run you 15 dollars.  Alternatively, you can go see a TV show like Colbert report or Saturday Night Live.

 just google "broadway free tickets" or variants.  Also look into the offerings on TKTS (cheap resource for all kinds of shows)


 Whoever told you that DVD's are 30 dollars was full of it,  go to Chinatown or some cheap Middle Eastern store and buy them pirated for pennies on the dollar.

[Slayer]

Thanks for the tickets tip, really helpful 

Rush tickets are for students only, or didn't I udnerstand that correctly?

I'll never buy pirated DVDs, as I'm a collector and I only want originals. The 30 dollar prices are for new DVDs, I read it in the NY Times. But if someone has tips on stores where films are sold cheaper, I'm all ears (I'm looking for older movies especially, underground stuff from the 70s and 80s mostly.)

[GooGeL]

Well, I'd visit Ground Zero at least to get some perspective on the scale of the event.

Never been to NY myself.

[Captain Pyjama Shark]

Shame you didn't go a little closer to Xmas, New York during holiday season is very spectacular.

[Slayer]

Hehe, I really don't like xmas very much.

[NTH]

  New York!  Awesome!  Been there and through it many times.  My advise would be to get a rental car in Manhattan and find the closet exit to I95 north.  Drive for about 450 miles and begin your vacation.  Congrats!  You have just left one of the biggest shit holes in the USA for the nicest place on the planet.  Enjoy.

Hahaha this kust made my day

[sheikyerbouti]

Thanks for the tickets tip, really helpful 

Rush tickets are for students only, or didn't I udnerstand that correctly?

I'll never buy pirated DVDs, as I'm a collector and I only want originals. The 30 dollar prices are for new DVDs, I read it in the NY Times. But if someone has tips on stores where films are sold cheaper, I'm all ears (I'm looking for older movies especially, underground stuff from the 70s and 80s mostly.)

 If you are true collector, then price is literally not a concern. To find good collections, you need to ask your hotel concierge or find a more appropriate forum than FHpubforum.

I must confess, it sounds to me like you are going on a trip of lifetime and you aren't even willing to enjoy it. If you can't afford your trip, postpone it until you actually can, otherwise you are just going to one of the most expensive places on earth in order to become a pan-handler for a week or two.

 TKTS booth sales do not require a membership. you just show up early enough to maybe get a shot at the shows you want to see. With an open mind and a decent theatre review you will definitely find something to love.
http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?Id=56&do=v

also check out  www.nycgo.com for some decent offers, which will become more numerous as your trip draws closer.

[Slayer]

If you are true collector, then price is literally not a concern. To find good collections, you need to ask your hotel concierge or find a more appropriate forum than FHpubforum.

Nah, I was only wondering if buying DVDs in shops in the US was worth the time/effort. I can easily order online, but if I can save by purchasing them overthere, then I can spend that money on doing fun stuff in NY

I must confess, it sounds to me like you are going on a trip of lifetime and you aren't even willing to enjoy it. If you can't afford your trip, postpone it until you actually can, otherwise you are just going to one of the most expensive places on earth in order to become a pan-handler for a week or two.

Well, then you misunderstood completely. I can afford it, otherwise I wouldn't go. I want to do a lot of fun stuff, but since that is quite expensive, I'm checking to see if I can save elsewhere. Not everything has to be superexpensive as I'm already noticing from this thread (renting bikes a few streets away from Central Park instead of in the park itself, for example). Also, this is of course not the only place where I'm gathering info If, by gathering this info, I can have the same fun for less money, then why wouldn't I go for it? Or even more fun, for example: I had scrapped the idea of seeing a Broadway show, but since I now know that I can see them for half the price, I think I will. So it's about options: my main purpose is to se the sights and have fun. If that is gonna cost me a few hundred bucks, then so be it. But if I can save a hundred bucks by checking out the different options, why not? And since I have never been there, and some of the people here have, I'm asking.

TKTS booth sales do not require a membership. you just show up early enough to maybe get a shot at the shows you want to see. With an open mind and a decent theatre review you will definitely find something to love.
http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?Id=56&do=v

also check out  www.nycgo.com for some decent offers, which will become more numerous as your trip draws closer.

Thanks, I'm looking into the possibility to pre-order the tickets, as I saw on one of the sites I found browsing for info on this subject. There was also a mentioning of "rush tickets" and I got the impression that you needed a student ID to buy those, hence my question.