Any comments / advice appreciated

four days in NY as of next wednesday (17th)

I am taking my 13 year old son (his xmas present) and plan to do the following much of which has been taken from advise on this site ....... we are both very excited!! we want to make the most of this visit but not be totaly exhausted. he also wants to visit MS Gardens were would this best fit with this itinerary.

afternoon 1 (wednesday)

arrive times Sq hotel 2.30pm - check in - walk around to local area - maybe get a big apple greeter ? - find somewhere fun to eat later.

how would you use this first afternoon ? don%26#39;t want to waste valuable time.

Day 1 (thursday)

breakfast on foot or at traditional diner.

head for statue of Liberty

visit ground zero

south street pier for shopping ? is this shopping for a teenager?

walk over brooklyn bridge

work our way back to T Square hotel

eat out at fun resturant (any thoughts)

day 2 (friday)

breakfast on foot .

empire state building inc top

big apple helicopter tour

shopping macys %26amp; rockerfella centre

TOTR

eat at hard rock cafe 8pm

day 3 (saturday)

breakfast at a really traditional diner, any reccomendations?

shopping 4 hrs

walk in central park 2 hrs

shopping 2 hrs

broadway show evening

day 4 (sunday) leave hotel 3pm

breakfast

A film set / TV set tour

how would this time be best spent or should i relax the itinerary of other days and roll some over into sunday.

thanks

zcars ........

Any comments / advice appreciated

Zcars,

A few thoughts,

One, You%26#39;ve set aside time a different points for shopping.

All good, It%26#39;s one of my favorite past times. But will your 13 year old son really appreciate it? The exchange is great for you and you should take advantage of it. But maybe a bit much for him?

I don%26#39;t see any museums listed. Now this is somthing that he might not want to do, but maybe you should take him.

There is the museum of Natural History, Not my personal favorite but he might like it. The Metropolitan Museum of Art ranks with the greatest museums in the world. It is much too big to see everything, but certainly you could spend a couple of hours. There is a beautiful exhibit ';Americans In Paris'; exhibit there now. It is an exhibit of paintings by American artists that were in Paris during the impressionist movement. There is also an exhibit of Nan Kempners clothes in the costume exhibit right now. I%26#39;m sure of no interest to your son, but you might like it. She was on the best dressed lists for years. You might also want to look into the Tenement Museum. It is on the Lower East Side and is an actual tenement that immigrants lived in. Apartments in the building have been restored to different periods. It is fascinating to see how people lived when they came to this country.

I would avoid eating in Hard Rock Cafe, unless your son has his heart set on it. These types of restaurants are never good.

Staying in Times Sqaure you can walk a west towards 9th ave. there are several restaurants there that arent%26#39; so touristy and the food will be better.

When you go to the Statue of Liberty you will be in Battery Park. Take time while there to find the sphere. I%26#39;ve writen about it many times here. It is a sculpture that sat in the plaza of the World Trade Center. It was found amoung the rubble after the attacks and moved to Batter Park on the 6 month anniversary. They lit an eternal flame at that time. For me it is much more moving to see that sculpture all bent and pierced then to look at the empty hole in the ground at GZ. It really gives me a sense of what went on that day.

Also, when at ground zero. Go across to West St. and go into the Winter Garden of the World Financial center. When you enter climb the steps and you will see an observation area. This was the entrance of a bridge that connected the North Tower to the WFC. The wall of window where the bridge was now overlooks the trade center site. For me it is much more serene and a better view then standing in the street looking through a chain link fence.( this is what you have to do when you view the TCS from the sidewalk in front of Century 21)

There is also a memorial in the WFC for the American Express employess that died 9/11. There is a poster here who writes about it(I%26#39;m sorry I can%26#39;t think of your name as I type this)

When you exit the Winter Garden take a walk out on the esplande of Battery Park City(this is different then Battery Park)

BPC was added onto Manhattan with the soil excavated when the foundations of the WTC was built. It is a beautiful view of the Hudson and on a nice day a great place to sit. You can even have lunch out there is the weather permits.

OK, so here is my 2 cents. I hope it helps.

Any comments / advice appreciated

Hi Zcars,

Hope you dont mind me saying,dont forget the 5 hr time difference between ourselves and NY. Us grown ups get wiped out by it and dont under estimate its effect on your son!!

My son who was 11 last time we went in March was wiped out at about 3 pm (8pm UK time!) so neededed time out back at the hotel. He tended to wake really early aswell,as did we !!

Just a couple hours of rest will make a big difference to you both.

We are there again in April and have worked it into our itinery,which by the way should only be a loose guide. Kids and plans dont always go together!!!

Have a fab time......

Annie

You%26#39;ve gotten great advice, zcars. I%26#39;ll add my 2 pence.

I%26#39;m afraid it may be too late to get a Big Apple greeter, but if you want to try, email them TODAY!

I wouldn%26#39;t do ESB and TOTR on the same day. You could actually do one or the other on that first afternoon when you arrive. You%26#39;ll have plenty of time to explore your immediate hotel area and it%26#39;s really more impressive at night with all the lights. I%26#39;d spend that first afternoon walking toward Fifth Ave. and pass the ice rink at Bryant Park (42 st b/%26#39;w 6th %26amp; 5th) and then head to Rockefeller Center (Fifth Ave. %26amp; 50th st.) and see the ice rink there and then head up to TOTR maybe at dusk. There%26#39;s also some shopping along Fifth Ave. (H %26amp; M, the NBA store, Abercrombie)

There%26#39;s an Abercrombie %26amp; Fitch at the Seaport that teens like, but the one on Fifth is bigger. Just as a practical matter, try shopping towards the end of your days otherwise you%26#39;ll be dragging around packages all day. You won%26#39;t want to walk back to your hotel from the Brooklyn Bridge. ;)

When you say head for the SOL, do you plan to actually go there or do the free Staten Island ferry pass by? I ask b/c actually going there is time consuming and you won%26#39;t be able to do all the other things on your list for that day.

The things you%26#39;re missing

GREENWICH VILLAGE is a teen%26#39;s delight. There%26#39;s also good teen shopping there at places like Yellow Rat Bast*ard.

Dining- the theme restaurants like Hard Rock are really not very good and pretty expensive. Go for

%26gt;great pizza (if you like it) at places like John%26#39;s (one near Times Square on west 44th st. in a converted church and the original John%26#39;s in Greenwich Village), Two Boots (inside the eating court at Grand Central Station that you should add to your itin. and also at Rockefeller Center) Angelo%26#39;s is another good pizza place with several locations, one inside the Ed Sullivan theater where the David Letterman show is taped.

%26gt;maybe try some ethnic food like Thai, Indian etc. Lots of places on 9th ave. in the 40%26#39;s %26amp; 50%26#39;s just west of your hotel.

%26gt;burgers? The Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien hotel (56 st. b/w 5th %26amp; 6th)

%26gt;deli food (Carnegie deli or Katz%26#39;s downtown for pastrami sandwich)

%26gt;for classic diner--the Cheyenne diner is evidently in a Tropicana commercial over there and pretty good for breakfast. It%26#39;s at 411 9th Ave (Cross Street: 33rd Street) not far from Macy%26#39;s.

%26gt;If you/he like peanut butter, Peanut Butter %26amp; Co. is a fun place in

Greenwich Village right near Washington Square park

ilovepeanutbutter.com/sandwich_shop.cfm

Do you know about menupages.com ?

%26gt;I agree you need at least one museum, but it doesn%26#39;t have to be art of nat. history. What about the tenement museum? It%26#39;s small and very interesting and you%26#39;d like the lower east side area. Book it in advance.

Hope this helps.