Ideas for New York at Christmas time

GATTACA!

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Hey fellas, me and the lady friend are going to be taking a trip to New York in mid December. We will be staying in Manhattan and be seeing Hamilton while we are there. She's been several times but I never have. There are some obvious things I want to see, but for people who are more experienced than me what would you recommend in general? Anything in particular you would recommend at Christmas time?

Don't worry about posting something obvious, I'm quickly discovering there is so much to do that I'm probably forgetting some obvious stuff.

Mr moneybags over here
 

IrishSteelhead

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Stay out of Coney Island, unless you want to run into some serious street toughs:

77768e23d8e1db5e9f3b5374deb99a61.jpg
 

Sherm Sticky

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Walk through Macy's (the department store). They will have cool decorations up and you will feel like you are in the movie A Miracle on 34th street.



Rockefeller plaza is a must. Wollman Rink in Central Park is a fun, couply thing to do. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is amazing and free (don't be fooled by the prices they are actually just a recommended donation price) and is adjacent to Central Park. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is also spectacular.



Before Hamilton, find a nice restaurant and do a prix fixe meal. A lot of restaurants in that area will do specials before shows. You will enjoy some good food and not break the bank.



Check out Grand Central Station considering you have never been to the city before. The main room is pretty amazing.



I would strongly encourage you to try and attend either a Knicks or Rangers game depending on who is home when you are there. The MSG is a wonderful place to watch a game and it's got a lot of history. There is not a bad seat in the house. I will leave it up to you to convince the lady.



I agree with this. And I would add as others mentioned to see the Radio City Christmas spectacular, right by rock center. If you see a matinee the price isn't bad. Been one of my favorites since I was a kid.

You have to hit up a Jewish deli, Katz is my personal favorite. And have to go to a non franchise pizza joint and pickup a few slices. Oh and get a NYC bagel at Zaros or A similar joint.

China town and little Italy I think is always cool to visit.

And don't forget to hit up your boy Sherm for some drinks.


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greyhammer90

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Thanks to everyone for their help. I'll be repping everyone it allows me to.
 

IrishSteelhead

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Ideas for New York at Christmas time

Got then for just 100 over face. Really really cheap compared with what I've been seeing online.



I heard today the average markup for $200 face value tickets was $1,200-$1,500. I'd say you got a deal in that regard.
 

GATTACA!

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Got then for just 100 over face. Really really cheap compared with what I've been seeing online.

Wow yeah that's a really good deal. I got my wife and I tickets for the book of mormon for our anniversary, but I was looking at Hamilton tickets first. The cheapest I saw was $700 a piece for a week night.
 

Jason Pham

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Drop me a line when the time comes near. I can get you into any of the major art museums for free if you let me know which ones you're interested in in advance (the Met has the best collections and the Whitney has a great view of the city and great architecture). My favorite thing to do in the has always been walking down the Brooklyn Bridge just before sunset from Manhattan into Brooklyn Heights, wandering the brownstone-lined, tree-shaded streets toward the Brooklyn Promenade for a view of the sun setting behind the Financial District, and settling in for brick oven pizza at Dellarocco's. My wife and I loved doing this so much that we ended up moving into the area recently.

In terms of restaurants and bars, there are so many good options that (unless you're going to a place like Eleven Madison Park or Blue Hill Stone or an icon like Katz) it really comes down to what you're schedule looks like. When you figure it out, feel free to let me know the areas you'll be in and I can point you in the right direction.
 

Irish#1

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I agree with this. And I would add as others mentioned to see the Radio City Christmas spectacular, right by rock center. If you see a matinee the price isn't bad. Been one of my favorites since I was a kid.

You have to hit up a Jewish deli, Katz is my personal favorite. And have to go to a non franchise pizza joint and pickup a few slices. Oh and get a NYC bagel at Zaros or A similar joint.

China town and little Italy I think is always cool to visit.

And don't forget to hit up your boy Sherm for some drinks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My sons and I hit NY for a Yankees game the last year the original stadium was open. We hit China town and I had some 4'10" Chinese lady who looked to be 70 wanting to sell me bootleg porn. lol
 

greyhammer90

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So I keep seeing a recommendation to walk over the Brooklyn bridge and that it's a great view/walk. Does that recommendation still hold for December? I'm a big NY noob but I know how much temperatures tend to drop over water and walking for a mile on a windy bridge over freezing water in a NY winter sounds like it would be miserable. Or is it not really that much more cold than the normal mile walk in December?
 
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gkIrish

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So I keep seeing a recommendation to walk over the Brooklyn bridge and that it's a great view/walk. Does that recommendation still hold for December? I'm a big NY noob but I know how much temperatures tend to drop over water and walking for a mile on a windy bridge over freezing water in a NY winter sounds like it would be miserable. Or is it not really that much more cold than the normal mile walk in December?

It really depends on the day. NYC generally isn't as cold as other places because the buildings isolate you a bit but once you get out on the water it can definitely get pretty cold. I would just layer up and if you feel it's too cold you can always just take pictures and skip the entire walk.

You have been getting a lot of food recommendations. I would encourage you not to go out of your way to make sure to go to a specific place as the priorities, IMO, should be the entertainment. Food in NYC is amazing almost anywhere you go. I would just use Yelp to find a place near wherever you are when you are hungry and find something rated well. Do pizza or delis for lunch to save money. The only dinner I would plan ahead for is the night you are seeing Hamilton. You will definitely want to get a reservation.

Rather than going to specific restaurants, I would encourage you to try and experience these four types of food that the city excels in:

Thai
Korean
Italian
Greek (if you find yourself in Queens)
 
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