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Contents at a Glance

Introduction...... 1 Part I: Introducing ...... 7 Chapter 1: Discovering the Best of New York City ...... 9 Chapter 2: Digging Deeper into New York City ...... 23 Chapter 3: Deciding When to Go ...... 30 Part II: Planning Your Trip to New York City...... 37 Chapter 4: Managing Your Money ...... 39 Chapter 5 Getting to New York City ...... 47 Chapter 6: Catering to Special Travel Needs or Interests ....56 Chapter 7: Taking Care of the Remaining Details ...... 64 Part III: Settling Into New York City ...... 73 Chapter 8: Arriving and Getting Oriented ...... 75 Chapter 9: Checking In at New York’s Best Hotels ...... 98 Chapter 10: Dining and Snacking in New York City...... 130 Part IV: Exploring New York City...... 175 Chapter 11: New York’s Top Sights ...... 177 Chapter 12: Shopping in New York City ...... 218 Chapter 13: Following an Itinerary: Five Great Options ...... 239 Part V: Living It Up After Dark: New York City Nightlife ...... 251 Chapter 14: Applauding the Cultural Scene ...... 253 Chapter 15: Hitting the Clubs and Bars ...... 268 Part VI: The Part of Tens...... 283 Chapter 16: The Top Ten Offbeat New York City Experiences ...... 285 ChapterCOPYRIGHTED 17: The Top Ten New York MATERIALCity Movie Locations ...... 290 Chapter 18: Ten New York City Experiences to Avoid ...... 294 Appendix: Quick Concierge ...... 298 Index...... 307 00b_569457_ftoc.qxd 9/30/04 9:53 AM Page viii

Maps at a Glance

Downtown Orientation ...... 10 Midtown Orientation ...... 12 Uptown Orientation...... 14 New York Metropolitan Area ...... 77 Manhattan Neighborhoods...... 84 Downtown Hotels...... 107 Midtown Hotels ...... 108 Uptown Hotels ...... 111 Downtown Dining...... 136 Midtown Dining ...... 138 Uptown Dining ...... 140 Dining ...... 142 Downtown Attractions ...... 178 Midtown Attractions ...... 180 Uptown Attractions ...... 182 ...... 186 & Upper Manhattan ...... 189 Downtown Shopping ...... 220 Midtown Shopping...... 222 Uptown Shopping ...... 224 57th Street Shopping ...... 230 Theater District Theaters ...... 255 Lincoln Center ...... 262 Downtown Arts & Nightlife...... 274 Midtown Arts & Nightlife ...... 276 Uptown Arts & Nightlife ...... 278 00b_569457_ftoc.qxd 9/30/04 9:53 AM Page ix

Table of Contents

Introduction...... 1 About This Book...... 1 Conventions Used in This Book ...... 2 Foolish Assumptions ...... 3 How This Book Is Organized...... 3 Part I: Introducing New York City ...... 4 Part II: Planning Your Trip to New York City ...... 4 Part III: Settling into New York City ...... 4 Part IV: Exploring New York City...... 4 Part V: Living It Up after Dark: New York City Nightlife...... 4 Part 6: The Part of Tens...... 4 Icons Used in This Book...... 5 Where to Go from Here...... 5 Part I: Introducing New York City ...... 7 Chapter 1: Discovering the Best of New York City ...... 9 Best Events...... 9 Best Hotels ...... 16 Best Restaurants ...... 17 Best Attractions...... 19 Best Shopping...... 21 Best Culture and Nightlife ...... 21 Chapter 2: Digging Deeper into New York City ...... 23 Hunting Down a Little History ...... 23 Looking at Local Architecture ...... 26 Lauding the Local Cuisine...... 27 Recommending Books and Movies...... 27 New York City on paper ...... 27 New York City on film...... 28 Chapter 3: Deciding When to Go ...... 30 Revealing the Secrets of the Seasons ...... 30 Marking Your Calendar: Year-round New York...... 31 January...... 31 February...... 31 00b_569457_ftoc.qxd 9/30/04 9:53 AM Page x

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March...... 32 April ...... 32 May ...... 32 June...... 32 July...... 33 August...... 33 September...... 34 October ...... 34 November...... 34 December...... 34 Part II: Planning Your Trip to New York City ...... 37 Chapter 4: Managing Your Money...... 39 Planning Your Budget ...... 39 Hotel ...... 39 Transportation ...... 39 Food...... 40 Sights ...... 40 Shopping ...... 41 Nightlife...... 41 Typical day-to-day purchases ...... 41 Taxes...... 42 Tips ...... 42 Cutting Costs, But Not the Fun...... 42 Handling Money...... 44 Using ATMs and carrying cash...... 44 Charging ahead with credit cards...... 45 Toting traveler’s checks ...... 45 Dealing with a lost or stolen wallet ...... 46 Chapter 5: Getting to New York City ...... 47 Choosing the Airport ...... 47 Flying to New York ...... 48 Finding out which airlines fly there...... 48 Getting the best deal on your airfare ...... 49 Booking your flight online...... 50 Driving to New York City...... 51 Arriving by Other Means...... 52 By train...... 52 By bus...... 52 Joining an Escorted Tour ...... 53 Choosing a Package Tour ...... 54 00b_569457_ftoc.qxd 9/30/04 9:53 AM Page xi

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Chapter 6: Catering to Special Travel Needs or Interests ...... 56 Traveling with the Brood: Advice for Families ...... 56 Finding a family-friendly hotel...... 57 Getting around...... 57 Finding baby-sitting services...... 57 Touring the town...... 57 Making Age Work for You: Advice for Seniors...... 58 Accessing New York City: Advice for Travelers with Disabilities ...... 59 Travel agencies and organizations ...... 59 Hotels...... 60 Transportation ...... 60 Following the Rainbow: Advice for Gay and Lesbian Travelers ...... 62 Chapter 7: Taking Care of the Remaining Details...... 64 Renting a Car: Not in New York! ...... 64 Playing It Safe: Travel and Medical Insurance...... 64 Staying Healthy When You Travel...... 66 Staying Connected by Cellphone or E-mail...... 66 Using a cellphone across the U.S...... 67 Accessing the Internet away from home...... 67 Keeping Up with Airline Security Measures ...... 69 Part III: Settling into New York City...... 73 Chapter 8: Arriving and Getting Oriented...... 75 Getting from the Airport to Your Hotel ...... 75 From JFK...... 76 From LaGuardia...... 78 From Newark ...... 79 From MacArthur Airport (Long Island)...... 81 Arriving by Train ...... 81 Arriving by Car ...... 82 Figuring Out the Neighborhoods...... 83 Downtown...... 83 Uptown ...... 88 Finding Information after You Arrive...... 89 Getting Around New York...... 90 Traveling by subway...... 90 Traveling by bus...... 92 00b_569457_ftoc.qxd 9/30/04 9:53 AM Page xii

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Understanding the MetroCard ...... 94 Traveling by taxi ...... 95 Seeing New York on Foot...... 96 Chapter 9: Checking In at New York’s Best Hotels ...... 98 Getting to Know Your Options...... 98 Independent hotels...... 98 Chain hotels...... 99 Bed & Breakfasts and inns ...... 99 Short-term apartment rentals ...... 99 Finding the Best Room at the Best Rate...... 100 Trying out a travel agent...... 100 Taking the do-it-yourself approach...... 100 Choosing your season carefully...... 101 Going uptown or downtown...... 101 Visiting over a weekend ...... 101 Buying a money-saving package deal...... 101 Investigating reservation services...... 102 Surfing the Web for hotel deals...... 102 Finding the Top-notch Room...... 103 Arriving without a Reservation (Not Recommended)...... 104 New York City’s Best Hotels...... 104 Getting what you pay for: Picking a price range ...... 104 Runner-Up Hotels ...... 126 Chapter 10: Dining and Snacking in New York City ...... 130 Getting the Dish on the Local Scene...... 130 Smoking...... 131 Other restaurant sources...... 131 Trimming the fat from your budget...... 132 New York’s Best Restaurants ...... 133 Dining and Snacking on the Go...... 163 Breakfast ...... 163 Bagels ...... 164 Pizza...... 165 Hamburgers and hot dogs ...... 166 New York delicatessens...... 167 Sweet Treats...... 168 Ice cream...... 168 Mmmm . . . hot chocolate ...... 168 Baked goods ...... 169 00b_569457_ftoc.qxd 9/30/04 9:53 AM Page xiii

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Index of Establishments by Neighborhood...... 169 Index of Establishments by Cuisine...... 171 Index of Establishments by Price...... 173 Part IV: Exploring New York City...... 175 Chapter 11: New York’s Top Sights...... 177 New York City’s Top Sights ...... 184 Finding More Cool Things to See and Do ...... 197 Other excellent museums ...... 197 For culture & history buffs ...... 200 Notable New York City architecture ...... 202 Beautiful places of worship ...... 203 Especially for kids...... 205 New York City for teens...... 207 Fun for TV fans ...... 209 The New York Sports Scene...... 210 Yankees & Mets: Major leaguers ...... 210 Down on the farm in New York: The minors...211 The city game: Basketball...... 211 You hockey puck: NHL action...... 212 Seeing New York by Guided Tour...... 212 Seeing the city by tour bus...... 212 Cruising around the island ...... 213 Flying high with helicopter tours...... 214 Broadening your mind with architectural and historical tours ...... 215 Seeing the city on special-interest tours...... 216 Faring well with free walking tours...... 216 Chapter 12: Shopping in New York City ...... 218 Surveying the Shopping Scene ...... 218 Knowing the Big Names...... 219 Shopping in Open-Air Markets ...... 226 Discovering the Best Shopping Neighborhoods ...... 228 Madison Avenue...... 228 Fifth Avenue and 57th Street ...... 229 SoHo, NoHo, and NoLiTa...... 230 Herald Square & The Garment District ...... 231 Chinatown & The Lower East Side...... 232 Other shopping areas...... 233 The Best of New York Shopping A to Z...... 234 Beauty...... 234 Books...... 234 Edibles...... 235 00b_569457_ftoc.qxd 9/30/04 9:53 AM Page xiv

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Electronics ...... 236 Museum Stores...... 236 Music ...... 237 Toys ...... 238 Chapter 13: Following an Itinerary: Five Great Options...... 239 New York in Three Days ...... 239 Day one...... 239 Day two...... 241 Day three...... 241 New York in Five Days ...... 242 Day one...... 242 Day two...... 243 Day three...... 243 Day four...... 243 Day five...... 244 New York for Museum Mavens...... 244 New York for Families with Kids...... 245 New York for History Buffs ...... 246 Part V: Living It Up After Dark: New York City Nightlife ...... 251 Chapter 14: Applauding the Cultural Scene ...... 253 Getting the Inside Scoop ...... 253 Taking in New York Theater...... 254 Figuring out the Broadway basics ...... 256 Getting theater tickets...... 258 Venues That Break the Mold...... 261 The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts...261 Carnegie Hall...... 263 Brooklyn Academy of Music...... 263 Other major concert spaces...... 264 Classical Music ...... 265 Opera ...... 266 Music Alfresco ...... 266 Dance ...... 267 Chapter 15: Hitting the Clubs and Bars...... 268 It’s About the Music ...... 268 All that jazz ...... 268 It’s only rock and roll...... 269 The best of the rest...... 270 Life is a cabaret ...... 271 00b_569457_ftoc.qxd 9/30/04 9:53 AM Page xv

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New York Comedy is No Joke ...... 271 Hanging Out in New York’s Best Bars ...... 272 For the scene ...... 272 For creative cocktails ...... 273 For old-world charm...... 273 For dive bar aficionados ...... 280 For drinks with a view ...... 280 For gay & lesbian nightlife ...... 281 Hitting the Dance Clubs and Getting Across the Velvet Rope...... 281 Part VI: The Part of Tens...... 283 Chapter 16: The Top Ten Offbeat New York City Experiences ...... 285 Ride the International Express ...... 285 Explore the Museum of Sex...... 286 Stroll Riverside Park ...... 286 Take a Radical Walking Tour ...... 286 Ride the Tram ...... 287 Head to Coney Island...... 287 Catch some real sports...... 288 Tour Little Italy in the Bronx...... 288 Bike Along the Hudson River...... 288 Wander the Streets on Sunday Morning...... 289 Chapter 17: The Top Ten New York City Movie Locations...... 290 Times Square ...... 290 Empire State Building ...... 290 Little Italy ...... 291 New York Delis...... 291 Central Park Reservoir ...... 291 Roosevelt Island Tram...... 292 New York Subways...... 292 ...... 292 Central Park West...... 292 New York City Apartments...... 293 Chapter 18: Ten New York City Experiences to Avoid ...... 294 New Year’s Eve in Times Square...... 294 Chain Restaurants...... 294 Three-Card Monte ...... 295 Waiting on Lines for Breakfast...... 295 00b_569457_ftoc.qxd 9/30/04 9:53 AM Page xvi

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Brunch ...... 295 The St. Patrick’s Day Parade...... 296 Electronics Stores ...... 296 Driving in the City ...... 296 Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides...... 297 The Feast of San Gennaro...... 297 Appendix: Quick Concierge...... 298 Fast Facts...... 298 Toll-Free Numbers and Web Sites ...... 302 Where to Get More Information ...... 304 Tourist information offices ...... 304 Newspapers and Magazines ...... 304 Index...... 307