Im visiting the USA some time this year, can anyone who has been to new york throw some light on how long to stay there? Im thinking of between one whole day and 3, seeing as its more for the missus and i cant afford to stay there shopping! Rest of hols will be florida, so short visit to NY isnt as dumb as it sounds.

What is there to do in NY anyway?!

Magic place, I've been 3 times now and I still haven't seen everything. 3 days is a good lenght of time to visit for.

You have to do the usual stuff, Empire State Building, Central park, Times square, statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

I did a helicopter tour around the statue of liberty and the park and various other places inc the bridges and that was amazing, it cost about £85 but was well worth it.

Pubs and clubs are really good, not the easiest things to find though.

As for shopping not the cheapest place to shop, we drove out to Long Island retail park and saved a fortune. I bought a pair of timberland boots for £12.

Definitely woth the visit.

Went to NY and Florida on the same holiday a few years back, it was really nice to experience the hussle and bussle of NYC - (we stayed in manhatten) then we flew down to Miami and hired a car and drove to key west and stopped for a week.

The comparison was amazing!

3 days was plenty for us to be honest, see the sights and have a few beers and spend some cash then get the hell outta there!

You will enjoy it.

Three days is plenty IMHO. The usual sights to see are fine but others of interest are central station the woolworth building. we always go on a tour on day one whereever we are and then we have our barings quite well. Shopping is cheaper than the UK but in New York price wise it is still expensive. Wife will enjoy looking at the big shops but they are just like very big Debanhams. save your money to shop until Florida good deals to be had there and all theusual shops as well as the designer outlets.

the night cruise from pier 18 was good value too it takes you round most of manhatten and under the bridges, the pier is near the central bus station, three days is about right and if you like it you could always go back again!

My brother lives in Brooklyn and he says that the back roads (shopping areas) are much better than where all the tourists go. I can find out exactly where to go if you want.

3 days...

I worked there for 3 months in 1993 and 3 days will do you right - then chill in Florida for the rest of your holiday - NY is chuffing huge!

Pat...

I have been a few times and 3 to 4 days is great you wont see everything but a bit of planning and you can fill your time.
If you are after a camera or video equipment have a look at this place

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

There are lots of camera shops and many looking for unsuspecting tourists, BHP is one of the better ones.

Some things to do.
Helicopter flight day or night
Go on the subway
Have a meal in central station
Do the empire state building
Watch a Knicks game (Basketball)
American museum of Natural History (IMAX)
Watch a show
China Town
Central Park
Go Shopping almost everything is cheaper
Film tour (loads of sites used in TV & film)
Ground Zero (matter of choice)
Time Square
Staten island ferry
Flat iron building
Statue of liberty
South street seaport
Concorde (intrepid museum)
rockefeller centre

just thought id dredge this one up to say, thanks for the advice, im off in the morning!

bosche