Exploring New York: Top Activities in Manhattan and West Point, New York

Things to do for West Point, New York area and New York City

Small towns/villages surrounding West Point, NY

Garrison:      

·       Best Fish Sandwich: Dolly’s in Garrison

Cold Springs:

·       Best Ice Cream: Moo Moo’s Creamery fantastic view/park/river too

Best Expensive “Date night” restaurant: Hudson House River Inn restaurant

Highland Falls:

  Best bar Highland Falls Social Club

Best close restaurant and bar with good prices and a lake view, when they don’t charge $10 for parking (off seasons): Bear Mountain Inn

Best Spicey Fried Chicken and corn bread: The grocery store Market in

Beacon:

·       Best chicken sandwich: on a cheese biscuit The Daily Beacon

·       Best place to live: The lofts at Beacon, in Beacon with close access to bigger

Fishkill:

·       Costco in Connecticut, Sam’s club in Fishkill

Best BBQ: The Beast, AMAZING!! Only open on weekends

Poughkeepsy:

• Culinary Institute of America: CIA, 4 restaurants run by the students, excellent, reservations are made weeks in advance, tips go to scholarship fund

Almost to Peekskill:

Large Restaurant called 9, inexpensive drinks and standard American menu, good burgers, feels like a Chilis

 Best Mexican restaurant: El Coyote Garrison

Newburgh:

  Best Clam chowder and oysters: Captain Jake’s by the river

  Best Happy Hour: Blue Point in Newburg, $1 Oysters, $3 prime beef sliders, $6 very good wine; very upscale surf and turf restaurant, white tablecloths, good steaks too

·       Best car wash: Foam & Wash in Vail’s Gait for unlimited car washes $30/month also in Fishkill & Newburgh

Best place to get gas: Vail’s Gate Citco (near car wash)

On West Point Base

      WP Gates that are open 24/7

1.     Thayer Gate

2.     Stoney Lonesome Gate

      Best restaurants on campus:

a.     The Bowling Ally, beer and great pizza, homemade BBQ, homemade chili

b.     Grant Hall: sandwich, sushi, fried food, chips, soups, burritos, smoothy, coffee shop

c.      The ski lift restaurant outside Washington gate: hamburgers, hot sandwiches, beer

d.     Keller hospital very very cheap and good buffet 2 entrees/day and sandwiches

e.     West Point Club across from library: grab and go or separate room sit down $14 all you can eat buffet one entre/day with 2-3 sides and dessert/tea included.

Shopping

·       Swag: Thayer Hall 4th floor gift shop: biggest with best prices also has logo office supplies and drug store goods.

·       Swag: West Point Association of Graduates builder: high end, expensive with sales, good quality shop

·       Woodbury Common Premium Outlets: best designer outlet mall ever 20 min away. People drive from NYC to go to this mall.

Must See:

West Point Museum

Cemetery

Manhattan, New York City from West Point, NY

How to get to NYC from West Point and layout of the city.

·       Take the train from Garrison, Cold Springs, or Beacon train stations (MTA train time app) : Free Parking at Cold Springs and Beacon only on the weekends, $17 each way on the MTA train time  app (QR code at the station) or pay on the train $5 more. Ends at Grand Central Station. you can walk most places from there without using the subway or taxis. Metro North Railroad.

·       Driving: There is one way that has NO TOLLs. Put your no tolls toggle on no tolls in goggle maps and it will give you that option.

·       Parking: prepay and reserve parking garages on apps or park on the street. Pay close attention to parking signs and hydrants on the streets to avoid being towed. Always free street parking available free on the street at 50th STREET and 10th Avenue. Upper east side has a lot of free street parking, too.

·       The city is set up on a grid:  The STREETS run east/west and are numbered sequentially. Every 20 blocks is a mile. (If you are on 42nd STREET and want to walk to 62nd STREET, it is a mile north.) The AVENUES run north/south. They are long and cut through all the numbered streets. The confusing part is that the AVENUES are also mostly numbers too, but the numbers are low: 5th Ave, 6th Ave, 7th Ave, and 8th Ave 9-10th Ave + other named avenues like Broadway, Columbus, Madison, and Park avenues. Times Square and Mid-Town are in the 40s and 50s STREETS. Uptown is around central park: the high 50s through the 90s streets.

Upper West Side Manhattan, NYC

Upper West Side is the best place to hang out (safe, not congested, near central Park & Times Square)

Food

·       Best Korean food: Chick Chick (kimchi rice, chicken sandwich)

·       Jacob’s Pickle: breakfast/brunch southern cooking

·       Maison Pickle: brunch/lunch amazing

·       Bread’s Bakery: breads A+

·       Lavain Bakery: Cookies A+

·       Best Bar: Tavern on the Green in central park: great bar and bar food (rib sandwich) reasonable prices at the bar, very expensive for sit down dinner.

·       Pizza: Patsy’s Pizza

Things to do

·       Best Museum: Museum of Natural History, The Hadden Planetarium (must see)

·       Lincoln Center Events

·       Best Catholic Church: Blessed Sacrament (opera singers)

·       Central Park (upper east side and upper west side)

·       Best Yoga Studio: Pure Yoga owned by Equinox Upper West Side Free lockers. Spa environment with showers and free Kohler products with free towel and yoga mat service. All equipment provided.

Best fitness facility: Equinox every area

Upper East Side, Manhattan

·       Best Restaurant: 7th floor of Bergdorf Goodman’s east side Central Park, closes as 4p, they serve high tea too.

·       Best Restaurant and bar: The Carlyle Hotel

·       Best Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mid-Town, Manhattan

Best Broadway Shows, Times Square Area

Classics musical

1.     Wicked

2.     Hamilton

3.     Lion King

Great Comedies musical

4.     Book of Mormon

5.     Spamalot

Tear-jerker musical

6.     The Notebook

Must See

·       Times Square

·       5th avenue, Rockefeller center

·       Best Catholic Church: St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Go behind the alter/pulpit for Mary’s chapel behind glass doors, no phone, no talking, security present.

·       Museum of Modern Art: MOMA, very inexpensive bar across the street

·       Harry Potter Store (monogramed wands), & Harry Potter: The Exhibition

·       New Car show in the Spring, Flower show in Spring in Philadelphia

·       Swingers Crazy Golf: amazing putt putt golf with bar

Best not so known Parades on 5th Avenue

·       St. Patrick’s Day parade (large professional bagpipe groups)

·       Easter Hat parade

Food

·       Best bar by Grand Central Station: The Monkey Bar in the Hotel Elysee. Great place to wait for the next train.  Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe used to go there. Very old school.

·       Best Pizza EVER! Prince Street pizza in SoHo, and John’s Pizza on Bleeker street

·       Best Lasagna: Lasagna Ristorante in Chelsea, Saturday brunch bottomless mimosas.