I'm going to be in New York the first full week of August; I've got plans each night, but need to find something to occupy myself during the day.
I'll be staying in a hotel on Broadway; other then the Metropolitan Museum of Art (which I already plan to spend a great deal of time in), and the general touristy-crap (which I plan to avoid) what else is there to do in New York?
http://www.maxbrenner.com
http://www.bbg.org/
One of my favorite spots. I’m local.
In NYC, you must walk everywhere and explore.
Some suggestions…
-Go to the Lower East side and walk around at 2am on any night of the week. It’s crazy. Have dinner at ‘inoteca. Great food, reasonably priced.
-Skip touristy stuff like going to the top of the empire state building. It’s totally over-rated. Instead, go to DUMBO in Brooklyn for fabulous views of Manhattan (DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).
-Take a bike ride up the West Side Highway for views of the Hudson (there’s lots of places to rent bikes, and it costs like $5 an hour).
-Have lunch at Cafe Habana in Soho (really trendy, awesome food).
-After you go to the Met, walk a few blocks up 5th Ave to 86th Street and go to the Neue gallery to see Gustav Klimt paintings.
(I’m local, also.)
Have an amazing trip.