New york

I am really happy to know that you are finally going to New York. There are lots of places to visit there. You will miss the heart of New York if you do not see Wall Street, Federal Hall, Fort Niagara, Saratoga Battlefield etc. They upholds the signature of New York.

Touristy eatery spots:
1) Shake Shack - get a custard shake and the burger with the portabello mushroom and beef patty (original location in Madison Square Park)
2) Magnolia Bakery - Red Velvet cupcake, anything but straight chocolate or straight vanilla. (original location in West Village)
3) Junior's - Slice of original Cheesecake (original location in Brooklyn)
4) Chelsea Market - Just about everything is good here, swing by the Chelsea High Line to walk off the food
5) Lombardi's Pizza - If you want true good Italian style pizza, this is the place (the fewer the toppings, the better) Although it's a touristy hotspot, it is still widely appreciated by locals
6) Ray's Pizza - I have no idea which one is the TRUE original Ray's but they are all over if you want a stereotypical slice (not the best)
7) Ippudo - Ramen
Morimoto's - More for the experience than the food, if you want to try out that swanky NY high-end restaurant feel. (be sure to use their toilets and make reservations)
9) Katz Deli - Pastrami Sandwich (Where Sally from When Harry Met Sally had her fake O scene "I'll have what she's having")
10) Serendipity - Frozen Hot Chocolate
11) Babbo - Mario Batalli's restaurant, pasta tasting menu recommended, need reservations
12) Peter Luger's - New York Steak, make reservations
Local Eatery Spots:
1) Totto - Ramen
2) Sugar Sweet Sunshine - Banana Pudding, red velvet cupcake (better than Magnolia's)
3) Spotted Pig - Super good burger and beers
4) Halal Carts - Any of them will do for a gyro, but the best is The Halal Guys on 53rd and 6th Ave
5) Boka - Korean fried chicken
6) Shanghai Gourmet (Shanghai cafe)- Shanghai Dumplings (better than Joe Shanghai in my opinion)
7) Doughnut Plant - Creme Brulee Doughnut
Prosperity Dumpling - Beef Sesame Pancake, fresh potstickers and fresh boiled dumplings for SUPER cheap
9) Artichoke Pizza - If you want that stereotypical but good NY Style pizza, go here
10) Momofuku Milk Bar - cereal milk soft serve (without flakes) and crack pie, birthday cake truffles (original location in East Village)
11) Sarabeth's - BRUNCH!! Make reservations
12) Russ & Daughters - Get an nova lox and caviar cream cheese on an everything bagel with everything, also grab a half a pound of kookabera red licorice as a sweet treat
13) Pasticerria Bruno - Best canollis!!
Things to do touristy:
1) Central Park - If this is your first time, pay to have a bicycle tour
2) Timesquare - Best time to get the photo that you want is at 5am
3) Broadway - Stop by the TKTS booth at time square for discount tickets and watch a broadway show
4) Empire State Building - question to ask yourself is if you want to take pictures OF the building or if you want to take pictures FROM the building. If you want to take pics OF the building, go up to Top of the Rock (top of Rockefeller center). It's less crowded.
5) Statue of Liberty - If you want to just grab the photo, take the Staten Island ferry for free, it sails right by, grab your spot on the right side of the boat. If you want to go up to Liberty Island, book it online thru the state park's site. It will include taking you to ellis island. I don't know if the crown is open this time of year.
6) The Met (Metropolitan) - The best museum ever! I could spend days here. Entry is donation based, they have a suggested donation but you could pay a penny and still gain access
7) Brooklyn Bridge - Totally walkable
9/11 Memorial - I think you need a visitor pass
9) Grand Central Station - Great for pictures also, food court downstairs can take care of Magnolia's and Junior's for you
10) Rockefeller Center - Top of the Rock, great if you want a picture OF the Empire state building
It's not a true NY experience unless you:
1) Hop in a cab
2) Take the subway (buy a $20 card)
3) Have brunch
4) Shop at Uniqlo or Century 21

Wow, hzE really has you covered! I would suggest:
horse and buggy or bike taxi near central park
Saks Fifth Avenue
Mariott Marquis rotating bar in Times Square
walk through SoHo
Madame Teussad's wax museum
Ripley's Believe it or Not

Hotel recommendations in or near Times Square:
depends on your price, they can be very pricey.
There is a very nice Grand Hyatt that is right near Grand Central Station
In Times Square the W is very cool

check out Groupon and livingsocial, they have lot of hotel deals at very nice prices in Manhattan.

Hotel recommendation: Four points times square/hell's kitchen area. I've stayed there a couple of times. 5 minutes away from all the times square action. Relatively new hotel. Rooms are good size for NYC and clean. Right next to a subway station also.

We were just there in November and stayed at The Manhattan at Times Square Hotel: http://www.manhattanhoteltimessquare.com/ I think we paid about $270 per night which wasn't bad. It was within walking distance to Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Broadway, Central Park. The subway was close, Carnegie Deli was a couple blocks down. It's not the newest hotel but it was clean and centrally located, relatively inexpensive as far as NYC goes, the staff was helpful, etc. We were hardly in our room at all so it was pretty much just a place to sleep.

One of the things we did that I LOVED was Free Tours by Foot. I found out about it from another Slick Dealer and it was fantastic! We did a food tour of the Lower East Side and a shopping tour of SoHo/NoLiTa. I can't recommend this enough: http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/ne...efault.asp The food tour was especially cool- we went to Katz Deli, Yohah Schimmel's Knishes Bakery, Dounught Planet, The Pickle Guys, Russ and Daughters, Prosperity Dumpling (don't miss it!) and the tour guide (Courtney Shapiro) was fantastic! We took the subway from Rockefeller Center and it was super easy.

The 9/11 Memorial is really something to see- you'll need to get a visitor pass ahead of time. There is lots of security so plan on standing in line for a while: http://www.911memorial.org/visitor-passes

I'd suggest the Statue of Liberty but it is closed indefinitely due to hurricane Sandy. If it's open, you can get your tickets ahead of time: http://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/index.htm

We tried to get tickets to Jimmy Fallon and SNL but they were on hiatus the week we were there. There are a lot of shows that film- some you can request tickets and others (like SNL) you need to wait in line and then it's a gamble on if you get in: http://www.nytix.com/Links/TV/lis...shows.html

Lots of shows on Broadway- we saw Lion King and loved it: http://www.theatermania.com/new-y...t-tickets/

Lastly, we picked up a Frommer's Guide to NYC and carried it with us. It had great facts, ideas, suggestions, etc. After the SoHo/NoLiTa tour we found ourselves wandering around and were able to find a great hole-in-the-wall seafood shack for appetizers and drinks because we had that with.

Have fun and wear comfortable walking shoes!

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There isn't another like it.
No matter where you go.
And nobody can compare it.
It's win and place and show.
New York is special.
New York is diff'rent' cause there's no place else
on earth quite like New York and that's why
I LOVE NEW YORK.

Quote from USMCSGT : check out Groupon and livingsocial, they have lot of hotel deals at very nice prices in Manhattan.

I haven't used Groupon t find travel deals, where would I find this information? I too am trying to visit NYC this year with my 3 other friends.

Quote from pen360guin : I haven't used Groupon t find travel deals, where would I find this information? I too am trying to visit NYC this year with my 3 other friends.

Go to Groupon or Living Social app or website and go to the tab labled "Gataways"

There are some hotel deals also on Travelzoo, so you should check regularly and catch them. The list of things up by another SDer is pretty good. I love Katz Deli. You may also want to check out Luke's Lobster. It's my personal favorite. If you want a fancier place, I would also recommend Bobby Flay's restaurant. Of course, there's also a lot of celebrity chef restaurants to choose from in NYC. If you like some fancy french macaroons, then check out Lauderee. Also, don't forget to visit Chinatown and Little Italy!

If you like baseball, check out Yankees Stadium. They have stadium tours. I also agree that The Met is an awesome museum. I also like MOMA.

Whatever you do, you will have lots of fun!

Quote from pen360guin : I haven't used Groupon t find travel deals, where would I find this information? I too am trying to visit NYC this year with my 3 other friends.

Try yipit.com - it has all the groupon type sites in 1 place.

Must see list of New York:

1. Brooklyn Bridge
2. Rockefeller Center
3. Top of the Rock
4. Grand Central Terminal
5. The Flatiron Building
6. Statue of Liberty National Monument
7. National September 11 Memorial & Museum
8. Empire State Building
9. Bethesda Terrace
10. Bryant Park , etc