A few hours to spend in NYC Saturday - what to do and how to do it??

[BlondieK143]

I've never been to NYC before so I need help! I'll only have 4-5 hours at the most to spend. We're driving in from where we're staying so where's the best place to park and walk, etc? I know I want to fit in Times Square, but everything else is up in the air. Help please. :)

[LynneSin]

1. There's a really good Olive Garden at Time Square

:hide:

[BlondieK143]

2. Not so much

But thanks anyway. :)

[Gormy Cuss]

3. You have just enough time to wander around one area.

Can't help you with parking but I would recommend focusing on one area and spending nearly all of your time there. If I had half a day I'd go to a museum, get some food, and just walk around in the remaining time.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

4. if you are in a car, i would suggest just driving through times square

and not necessarily walking through it

do you want to do a museum? if so maybe museum while you look over central park?

or go down to the village area

[jumptheshadow]

5. Times Square and Rockefeller Center

Go up to Top of the Rock for an amazing view of the city. (About $20, I think.) Have drinks in the plaza if it is warm enough. Look at the cool Art Deco architecture in the Rockefeller Center and Radio City area.

[rug]

6. Poke around here for parking.

Won't be cheap tho.

http://www.timessquarenyc.org/map/map_map.html

[kath]

7. Driving a car into the heart of a big city (NYC, Chicago, Boston, DC, etc) is usually a BAD idea,

IMHO. Traffic is horrendous (and trying to negotiate your way around a strange city in strangling traffic is a nightmare) and parking costs a small fortune. Unless you have a physical disability that causes mobility issues, why not leave the car where you're staying (or somewhere on the outskirts of the city at a Park and Ride lot or some such place) and take public transit? Even if you had to add in a short cab ride or two to get to a place that wasn't real accessible to a subway or bus stop, I think you'd still come out ahead in terms of stress and/or $$. Big city transit systems usually have transit maps available online to help you plan your trip, then when you arrive at the transit stop, ask for a map of your own to help you navigate around.

Just my $.02.

(It's been many years since I've been to NYC, but places to go which come to mind would be the museums (pick one), Chinatown, Little Italy, the Village, Empire State Bldg. (cool because the observation deck is *outdoors*, so you get more of a sense of how high up you are), Central Park)

[Sanity Claws]

8. First, find a good parking spot and then take the subway

Are you coming from the north, across the Hudson, in from Long Island?

Let me know where you are coming from and if I'm familiar with the area, I'll tell you where to park and get on the subway.

What are your interests? Art? Architecture? People watching?

[Orsino]

9. Hayden Planetarium

The museum, not the actress.

http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/

[lazyriver]

11. Some of my fuzziest memories are of Pink Floyd Laser Light Shows

at the Hayden in the early and mid 90's.

Turns out it's also a cool place for astronomy related stuff.

[HERVEPA]

10. MOMA (Museum of Modern Art)

[BlondieK143]

12. Thanks so much!

in search of sanity - We're coming from White Plains airport. I'm all about public transportation and not driving in the mess! Drove through Boston last weekend and that was interesting! If you could point the way from there as to where to park/get on the subway or something, I'd be eternally grateful!

Thanks so much for everyone's suggestions! We're mainly just going to walk around and take pictures and be total cheesy tourists. Obviously a lot of things will not be doable since we're so short on time, but a nice dinner (American or Italian, ventured too much last weekend!) is a definite as well. Neither one of us have been before so I know it's going to be so overwhelming!