Would appreciate some itinerary help :)

Having trawled through QB%26#39;s fantastic collection of trip reports we%26#39;ve nearly decided on everything that we%26#39;d like to see.

I%26#39;ve tried to group things that we HOPE to see by area %26amp; I haven%26#39;t decided on what day we%26#39;ll do anything.

Day 1

We should arrive at our hotel (radio city apartments) around 3pm. The plan is to get checked in, have a stroll around times sq area %26amp; maybe hit TOTR.

Day 2

MoMA - plan to buy the citypass here

Central Park

Museum of natural history

Day 3

Take ferry to Ellis Island - not planning to stop at liberty island

Ground Zero to pay respects

St. Pauls Church,

Battery Park

Day 4

Sth St Seaport, get show tickets at TKTS booth

Subway to Brooklyn, lunch at Grimaldis, walk over Brooklyn bridge (Have GWB%26#39;s directions for this!)

Tenement Museum - should I book tickets now?

Federal Reserve Tour

Day 5

Empire State,

St. Patricks Cathedral,

UN Building

Grand Central (%26amp; Juniors Cheesecake)

We%26#39;re in the city for a week for 1 wk. We have requested a BAG so fingers crossed that there will be someone available.

Where in the groups listed above would we best fit in Soho, the Village, Chinatown???

We%26#39;d also like to see the Intrepid Museum, do a circle line tour %26amp; the SATC tour is a must for me!

We don%26#39;t want a packed itinerary because we want time to do some shopping %26amp; time to enjoy anything unexpected that we come across that interests us.

I%26#39;d appreciate anyones comments. Am I being over/under ambitious? Do i even have things grouped correctly together?? Everything looks so close together in my lonely planet guide!!

Thanks in advance

Would appreciate some itinerary help :)

Sorry forgot to include that the only definite plans we have are a Yankees game on our last night (Fri 29th Jul)

Would appreciate some itinerary help :)

What day of the week are you arriving? Might impact some of your itinerary, but here are a few thoughts:

Tenement Museum - prebook. Do this one morning, explore the Lower East Side for a bit, then head over to Chinatown/Soho %26amp; The Village. Use this time to stroll %26amp; explore the city, you never know what adventures await you.

Federal Reserve - only during the week and you have to reserve.

www.ny.frb.org/aboutthefed/ny_tours.htm

This is downtown, I would do this maybe the morning of day 4, then head over to TKTS for tickets. You can then take the water taxi to Fulton Ferry, which leaves your off by Grimaldi%26#39;s, and then back over the bridge.

Do the Circle Line/Intrepid on the same day, they are close to each other.

Try to hit TOTR for daytime views, you won%26#39;t see Central Park when it is dark. Or,try for the day/dusk/night views, it is spectacular. You will have plenty of time to look around Rockefeller Central, stop in n St Patricks Cathedral, maybe even time for Grand Central Terminal. These things are closer than you think.

Times Square is much more impressive at night, in my opinion, and once is enough, it is so darn crowded!!!

I have not personally done this tour, but SATC gets excellent reviews from those who reported on it. You many want to do this prior to your exploration of the village, as you get to see lots of it and then can return to the places that interest you.

I think your itinerary is very doable, not jam packed but enough so that you can appreciate what you do, and if you get tired, so you skip something, or maybe something else will appeal to you.

By the way, the UN tour is worth it, I see the building is of interest to you, so if you head over there, check it out.

www.un.org/tours/pages/gi.htm

Since you do want to do Ellis Island without SOL, check out ellisislandtours.com. This is given by a former Ellis Island Park Ranger and covers a whole lot of ground. I%26#39;ve taken the tour and it is wonderful - and includes wonderful details. There%26#39;s more at the site.

Your itinerary sounds very well put together and doable. I%26#39;m not sure when you are coming to the city, if before the end of September, be prepared for hazy, hot and humid weather - bring or purchase as soon as you get here - sun screen, moist wipes and light hats with visors.

Also I highly recommend you get a couple of small (half liter) bottles of water to carry around with you. I freeze them and then have cold water almost all day long. Refill them with tap water. (And in NYC tap water is excellent.)

Since you%26#39;ll be at Radio City Apartments with a full fridge %26amp; freezer you can easily do this. I usually travel with one too since flights are so terribly dry and stewards don%26#39;t always have enough time to get water for all their passengers.

Hope you enjoy. Ta. MMM!

You%26#39;ve put together a very doable itinerary and have gotten excellent advice. I%26#39;ll just add that MOMA is closed on Tuesdays (can%26#39;t figure out what day you arrive). I%26#39;m not sure I%26#39;d do 2 museums on the same day, but that%26#39;s a personal preference. I find I can only absorb so much. While your day 5 is certainly doable, those buildings are not really near each other except they%26#39;re all in midtown. YOu could do St. Patrick%26#39;s on the same day as MOMA since it%26#39;s quite close (and both are very close to your hotel). Just a thought.

I%26#39;ll also mention on day 3, you will probably have some time and will be downtown. YOu could have a look in Soho on that day which would be on your way uptown.

I agree that your itinerary sounds good, and totally agree with the the person who commented that Times Square is much better seen at night. Since you seem to be museum fans (like me) consider the Metropolitan Museum which is nothing les than outstanding. It sits along central park, more or less opposite the Natural History museum (another outstanding museum). Walking across Central Park is very pleasant though if it%26#39;s hot you might have a problem.

Then there%26#39;s the Guggenheim, Cooper -Hewit, etc. but if you think you%26#39;ll like MoMA you should also consider the Met

The advice you have gotten already is very good.

One thing you might do is a little bit more clustering for sights that are close together.

MoMA, at 53rd and Fifth, might be done the same day you do St. Pat%26#39;s (51st and Fifth) and Rockefeller Center (across the street from St. Pat%26#39;s). This could also be combined with the southern end of Central Park.

MoMA and Natural History on the same day might be a bit much, although if you really wanted to Museum overload one day you could do the Metropolitan Museum of Art (which has a good modern collection on its own) at Fifth and 81st, and then walk across Central Park to Natural History, which is directly across the park at Central Park West and 81st Street.

The Tenement museum combines nicely with Chinatown or SoHo. You might also want to check out the usually forgotten Old Merchant%26#39;s House museum on East 4th Street to see how the other end of the spectrum lived at the same time.

I would try to do the Federal Reserve the same day I did the WTC, as they are just a couple of blocks apart. Indeed, you could combine all of your downtown things (including the South Street Seaport) into the same day; nothing there is more than a ten minute walk from anything else.

I haven%26#39;t been able to access the internet since I posted so aplogies for delay. Thanks for all your comments. Am gonna make a few changes %26amp; I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ll have some more questions! Am arriving on Saturday 22nd by the way.

We just returned from our first visit and we loved going to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island but there%26#39;s not really all that much at Ellis Island so I would do both.

Also, be prepared to get lost...we were all the time it seemed. Next time, we%26#39;ll definitely have a compass along. With no horizon, it%26#39;s very easy to get completely turned around.

Have a great time!