NEW YORK - CHRISTMAS TIME

You have chosen the most expensive season to visit. New York City hotel rates routinely double or even triple between Thanksgiving (last Thursday in November) and New Years. Baaseball season runs from mid-April to early October.

We stayed <a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.chelseahostel.com/#">here</a> for a couple of weeks a few years ago - very basic with small double rooms, but a friendly vibe, and the website indicates it has been renovated (which was needed). The bonus is the location (W20th Street) - nice area to be based and many other areas were reachable on foot, and the subway was just around the corner. Take your woollens - it was pretty cold the November we were there.<BR><BR>We didn't take any organised tours - bought a Metro ticket (weekly) and caught the bus constantly for the first day or so, plus some ferries, to see the sights and get ourselves oriented. After that, we took the subway everywhere - and the locals are very friendly. Once they knew you were Australian tourists (in our case) you couldn't shut them up, they were so helpful. Even if you don't like museums in general, see the Metropolitan, and MOMA. Eat in Chinatown a couple of times.

ditto #1 -- this is the high season for NYC, so it'll be hard to find a deal. that said, if you're set on it and you can afford it, it's a great time to visit the city. but it'll be hard to do on a budget.

don't take a tour. the key sights are all within walking distance or are very quick and simple subway or cab rides away. NYC is very walkable, and in fact walking is the best way to really experience the city. also, there is more to "do" than to look at, here. a tour is not going to book you tickets to the Rockefeller Center ice rink or any of that -- they will just drive you around and point the way. which, to be perfectly honest, you probably will not need. if you really want a tour for information, you should look into something like Big Apple Greeters, or some other walking tour which specializes in something you're interested in. but in terms of jump on the bus, jump off the bus, NYC isn't set up for that, and it'll really diminish what you get out of the city.

december is not baseball season at all. there might be basketball or hockey games at Madison Square Garden, and it also will be the american football season (or post-season, depending on the dates) -- though to be honest unless you're a huge fan of the Giants or Jets you shouldn't bother, as the football stadium is in New Jersey.

as for broadway, if you're not a theatre conniseur, the best thing to do is hit the TKTS booth in times square on the day you want to see a show. they do half price tickets for a selection of shows that differ each day. usually it's the old standards that have been on broadway for ages, few new ones that aren't doing so hot, and the occasional really amazing deal on something off-broadway but actually just as good (off-broadway just means it's not in the broadway theater district) or better than the best broadway has to offer. as you'll be coming to new york several months from now, it's hard to tell which shows will be hot, which popular ones will have cooled off, or even what will still be open. there are also a lot of differences based on what you're into, the ages of the travellers, etc. in terms of tickets, full price tickets purchased through ticketmaster or at the box office will run in the range of $100 per ticket (or more). the TKTS booth will be half that. some shows (especially those geared at teenage and 20-something audiences) will have $20 student rush tickets, if you have a student ID, which will open up for sale at around 7pm before an 8pm show -- for this you have to go to the box office of the show you want to see and wait on line. sometimes the line is really long, and sometimes there are no tickets available; it depends on ticket sales, cancellations, and such.

if you're into the classic holiday thing (or just want to take in a bit of classic NYC), the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes will be running their Christmas Spectacular at that time of year. i've always hated that sort of thing, but people love it, and it's probably a must-see if you're doing the NYC christmas thing.

seriously, unless you are from some exotic foreign land where they don't have malls or american brands, don't bother with outlet shopping in NYC. it's all malls which are way out in the suburbs, and all in all it's just about the same stuff you can already get back home or online. if you want mark-down name brands and some low end designer brands (and the occasional spectacular find), try Century 21 across the street from ground zero.

public transit is incredibly efficient and quite affordable -- the nyc subway and bus system is $2 per ride, or you can buy an all-day pass for $7 per day, or a weekly unlimited pass for $24. it goes everywhere, and it's pretty easy to use (the subway, at least, i found the buses terribly confusing my first year or so living here). even if you stay somewhere in walking distance to everywhere you want to go, you should take the subway as an experience, because it's quintessential new york.

what's the sex in the city tour? is it locations from the show, a tour of the sound stage, or actual places that really are about that sort of lifestyle, or just about sex, new york, etc?

The teams that play at MSG are the Knicks (basketball) and Rangers (hockey). Their next season schedule is not made this far in advance but you should have no problem finding their schedule closer to when you leave......maybe September or so the schedule will get published.

If you want to get tickets for a sport event (or just about anything else), you should probably book it in advance, since you're going during the busiest period of the year. Try: www.ticketmaster.com and select "will call" when they ask you how you want your tckts to be delivered. All you need to do is to show up and get the tckts directly at the stadium. Thsi is what you're supposed to select:

Customers in Other Countries: by Will Call Fee: US $2.50 For International Orders Only - Tickets held at Will Call can only be retrieved by the cardholder with original credit card of purchase and a valid photo ID with signature such as a government issued ID, driver's license or passport.

Have fun!

Just remember if you want to get show tickets at TKTS that they only take cash or travelers checks NO CREDIT CARDS!

Was that irony, or do people really think it's called Rockafella?

It's opera season as well in the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center; the 2007-2008 calendar is already available. You can check prices and purchase tickets here

And BTW if you want to go to Woodbury Commons there are buses that leave every hour or so during the morning from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. You can buy a round-trip ticket at the Greyline or Coach offices in the lower level.