Need advice on itinerary of a day in NYC

I would appreciate any comments on my one day itinerary, in July:

7:55am Take PATH from Jersey City to 33rd street station and walk to 34th St-Herald Square. Take subway B or D to 42nd street and walk to Grand Central; sight see around the terminal.

9:23am Take Metro-Railroad to New York Botanical Gardens in Bronx for the Chihuly exhibit at 10:30am.

12:00 noon Walk to subway entrance at Boston Rd and W. Farms Rd. Take subway 2 from E. Tremont Ave (W. Farms Sq) downtown to 149th street-Grand Concourse. Transfer to the 4 train headed uptown, getting off at 161st street. Walk to Yankee stadium for 1:05pm game.

4:00pm? Walk to 161st street entrance and take the 4 train headed downtown. Get off at 149th street-Grand Concourse and transfer to the 2 train downtown. Get off at 96th street and walk south on Broadway to Carmine%26#39;s Restaurant for dinner.

7:00pm? Walk back to 96th street subway stop and take the 1 train downtown to 42nd street-Times Square. Get off and transfer to the N train headed downtown. Get off at 34th street-Herald Sq and walk to the PATH station on 33rd to return to Jersey City.

Does my timing seem reasonable? Transportation selections good? Route safe? ( I%26#39;m traveling with 3 adults in their 40%26#39;s and two boys ages 14 and 10; none of us have ever been to NYC.) I have five other days to plan but wanted to make sure this one was ok before continuing. Thanks!

Need advice on itinerary of a day in NYC

Each of you would do well to have his own $7 unlimited 1-day Metro Card.

You should be aware that the 33rd street station of the PATH (which is actually at 32bnnd street) connects directly underground with the whole Herald Square complex. You should also note that to get to 42nd Street and Sixth, you can take any Sixth Avenue train, including the F and the V.

Your plan for getting to Yankee Stadium is poor. West Farms is near the southern end of the zoo, not the botanical garden; you will be quite a distance away. Instead, take the #12 bus across Fordham Road (from the south end of the garden) or the #25 or #26 along Bedford Park Blvd (north end of the garden; the same place you entered) to the Grand Concourse At the Grand Concourse you should take the D train to the stadium (Both Fordham Rd and Bedford Pk Blvd have stations of the D; it is a free transfer bus to subway with a Metro card.)

Your route to 96th street works.

There is no need to take the #1 at 96th Street. 96th is an express stop, and taking the #2 or #3 to Times Square would be faster. Frankly, I think the change to the Broadway train is not worth the effort -- stay on the 1, 2, or 3 to Penn Station, and then just walk the one block from Seventh Avenue to Sixth, where the PATH train stops (Go straight out the main entrance of Penn station and walk down 32nd Street; enter PATH via the steps behind Horace Greeley%26#39;s statue at 32nd Street.)

Need advice on itinerary of a day in NYC

On another note, after dinner you could take the 1, 2, or 3 to Times Square, and (since you have never seen Times Square before) go up to the street and gape for a while. You could then walk down Broadway to 32nd Street (about a half mile), where you will enter PATH at Greeley Square -- which is the southern half of what most people think of as Herald Square.

Thanks you have been very helpful. We plan to get a 7 day unlimited ride metro card as we will be there for six days.

beancounter1244,

I%26#39;m really impressed with how thoroughly you have mapped and planned out the first day!

Sounds like good planning. Hopefully you have reservations for Carmine%26#39;s?

The bus routes and subway stops around the zoo/botanical gardens are not the prettiest by far, but fine and safe.

I was just at the zoo recently with spouse and visiting-teen-nephew in tow. Since I%26#39;m the ';expert'; (cough, cough), they relied on me to get us there from the Lower East Side. We were going to meet some of my coworkers for a special evening kids event at the zoo.

(note: this the reverse direction from your plan)

Forget it! We were supposed to get off the #2 train at 174th Street and take the Bx9 bus. Well, we mistakenly got off at the West Farms Road stop instead, and waited in vain for the Bx9, which doesn%26#39;t stop there, despite an old sign. I don%26#39;t know the Bronx at all, and I thought we%26#39;d would be lost for hours! Plus I didn%26#39;t have my usual cache of maps with me!! Argh! I was uncharacteristically unprepared.

There were plenty of other buses coming, and we finally asked a driver for help. He took us - for free!! - to the next place his bus connects with the Bx9. Then a little old lady asked us if we were lost, and told us we were in the right place. We waited about 5 minutes for theBx9.

But then, we got off at the wrong zoo entrance! We should have gotten off at the first one, with the parking lot. (I think if this were during the day, all entrances would have been open, but this was an evening ';after hours'; party. This should not effect you.)

Yes, I felt like an idiot, and was too proud to call my co-workers already at the party for help. But, it all worked out. By the way, one of my co-workers gave us a ride home.

You%26#39;ll be going through unexciting neighborhoods where real people live, not tourist areas, and the buses may be a bit slow, but be patient, get comfy and relax. Remember, if you get lost, someone will help you!

Bettina, how far in advance would you call and make reservations? We do have a party of six and I understand they will take them.

Queens, I%26#39;m glad to hear it isn%26#39;t just us tourists that get lost! Thanks for the encouragement.

I believe Carmine%26#39;s will book three months ahead.

www.carminesnyc.com

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