I searched through the board and found some other helpful threads but here goes. I am going to be visiting NYC with a few friends for about a week leaving tomorrow morning.

We are going to be in the Manhattan area and I am up for most anything ie clubs, bars,eating, cultural stuff, and even some touristy stuff.

Any recommendations/advice/cool things to do would be helpful.

eliceo
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Just standing there and taking everything in was enough for me. Although a few of my personal favorites were:-
Coming out of the subway at MSG and looking up at the Empire State building for the first time.
The smell of fresh bagels mixed in with fresh pretzels and subway smells.
Almost any restaurant in Little India. There is a prevelant rumour that all the restaurants there share the same kitchen anyway!
Bar hopping in the village.
The view from Liberty State park towards Manhatten.
Ditto for the view from the statue.
Great bagels, pizza etc etc
Realizing just how small Times Square is!!
Central Park.....
Tavern on the Green...
The Met, just all of it...

I could go on,

I know what you mean.
It puts many things into real perspective.

Get yourself a copy of "TimeOut" magazine (the same people do a magazine for London, among other cities) or the Village Voice (comes out, what, Wednesdays?). That will tell you what's going on and where. On one NY trip, I ended up seeing Eddie Izzard that way, completely at the last minute. The auditorium was already full and they had us sitting on the stage itself. Great show.

Another thought: if you're into that sort of thing, you could try getting into Letterman or Jon Stewart's show.

NYC is all about food, of course. Some of my favorites:

- Lombardi's Pizza (32 Spring St.) - one of the few pizzerias left in the city that has a coal-burning oven. Really, really good stuff.

- 2nd Avenue Deli (near 11th St.) - one of several authentic Jewish delis, this is my family's favorite destination.

- Ferrara's Bakery & Cafe (195 Grand St.) - awesome Italian desert / pastry case (and adjacent to Chinatown, so you can inhale that whole Chinese / Italian vibe)

I really wanted to see Conan I think one of my friends tried but was unable to get tickets. The daily show would be cool too though.

Actually, you have reminded me that the really cool part of that experience was....
whoa! thats the Empire State Building, whoa! thats MSG, closely following by, WHOA! I live here!!!!
Of course, with the contant flood of visitors just after that meant that the top of the Empire State / WTC / Statue of Liberty got reeeeaaally old

Still hard to beat the ride on the Staten Island ferry...unless you want to spring for the ride that goes clear around the island....One of my favorite restaurants (I'm blocking on the name, El something...) is at the corner of W. 4th and Charles Street in the village, near many of the jazz spots...I believe it's the oldest in the village, and reasonable by NY standards. Just walking the streets anywhere is a rush; it's not so much a city as a conglomeration of small neighborhoods.

I'd also consider a helycopter ride. Last time I did it, in the 90ies, there were two companies - one on the ease and the other on the west side.
It is expensive, ($100/30mins, if I recall correctly), but that's one of the most amazing things I remember doing, ever. At sunset, even better. It's worthed, at least once.

I concur with everything the people said (sadly, never having taken a helicopter ride myself). Take Jean's advice and take a boat tour or at least a ferry ride or two. Even 'tourist traps' like South Street Seaport are not to be missed. High on my list for the next visit is USS Interpid and its neighbour, a Concorde.

The best veal I ever had (and I had quite a lot of it) was in Tribeca Grill (celebrity-owned restaurants are not tipically my sort of spot, but local colleagues took us there and I am very glad they did). It was soon after opening; I don't know what it has developed into. Of course, you can't go wrong with numerous delis and their 'hero' sandwitches...

I am nuts for a view from a high vantage point; now this keeps reminding me of Twin Towers... The view was spectacular, doughnuts terrible, crowd most colourful. I often took my breakfast in an Italian fast food in the mall below the Towers (scrambled eggs with pancetta, fantastic cheesecake, coffee, unfortunatelly, entirely non-Italian) watching sharply dressed people hurrrying to their offices, wearing sneakers with dress shoes in a bag or sometimes hanging by laces around their necks.... Sigh, all gone now. The Ground Zero is also high on my next-visit list, with a flower or something....