Quis, I'm in NYC every two weeks or so, so I'm there enough to know all the hot spots, but not live there (you know, once you live in a big city, you kinda forget about all the things around you).
My favorite things to do in NYC:
- Usually I take the train into Grand Central (is that what you're doing Quis?), which I love because Grand Central is such an energetic place to be. Then you can walk up 42nd to Fifth and cruise down Fifth avenue to see a couple of cool places (St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, etc.). Around that area I make my way up to 7th Avenue (turning down virtually any street) to check out Times Square.
You could also go the other way down to 3rd Avenue or Lexington, which has tons of cool restuarants, old buildings, classic hotels (where Joe Dimaggio lived, Marilyn Monroe lived for a short time, etc.). I think if I lived in Manhattan and could choose where I lived, it'd be 3rd Avenue.
- Soho - I agree with Jorg. Soho is a really cool place to visit. Right near there is Little Italy too, which is cool, and next to that is Chinatown. Both of the latter two are fun to stop by and see.
- Times Square - I always try to stop in at Times Square whenever I'm in NYC, because its just such a cool place to be. There's nowhere else like it really.
- Carnegie Deli (next to Times Square). I spend most of my time with rich reinsurance executives in NYC, so I go to the most expensive restaurants (i.e. Sparks, etc.), but this is my favorite restauarant in NYC by far. I love the food, and you might spot a famous person (I once ate lunch next to Frenchie Davis of American Idol fame--C List celebrity and A List Internet Celebrity enjoying some corned beef!). It has the best Corned Beef or Pastrami in the world. Even this completely Irish lad bows before the might of Hebrew Corned Beef
- Not sure how long you'd be staying, but one of my favorite things to do in the city is catch a broadway play, my favorite being Rent.
- Example of a trendy New York Restaurant - Its funny to see how shocking New York restaurants/bars/clubs can be in all their swankiest, but if you ever feel like trying one, here's some suggestions (not really sure if you'd be interested in this, but I figure I'll post it anyway): Duvet (55 West 21st St.) which has jelly fish in fish tanks around the walls and beds to use as seats instead of tables and chairs, and Tao (42 East 58th St.--right near Madison Ave.) which is a cool restaurant, but less swanky (which to me is better).
- Oh, and if you want to travel around the city, take a cab. The cabs in New York are waaaaay better than in Baltimore, Phili, Atlanta, etc. They're the best I've ever seen (but I've never been to London, where I hear they have the best in the world).
I'm actually planning a late night trip to NYC in two weeks or so with my brother to do some bar hopping until the early hours of morning...I just love the energy that New York produces (Boston too, but for some reason I feel like you're used to that
).