My friend is looking for something to do in NYC

Hey guys, my friend and her husband are in NYC today and tomorrow. He was supposed to have meetings all week but they got it all done in one day so they have some free time. They are planning on visiting the Intrepid, and I suggested the MET, but are there any other "secret" local favorite places to visit? He's a rocket engineer, and she likes cars. Thanks for any suggestions you can offer.

 

Where to start?

The Museum of Modern Art and Museum of Natural History, in addition to the Met (which can be a full day by itself.) If the they visit the Met, they might as well visit the Guggenheim, also.

In the evening, the music and dinng choices are limitless.

 

Cool, thanks for the suggestions!

 

The weather is pretty good, so they can walk/hike all over.

-- Cross the Brooklyn Bridge on foot, take in its structure, the views, and the area under the bridges on the Brooklyn side.

-- The waterfront from the Staten Island Ferry all the way to the World Financial Center is a pretty cool walk, with great views of the Lady, the harbor and whatever yachts have docked. They can then cross the West Side Hwy and walk around Tribeca. (The famous Wall Street bull is just up the block from the park adjacent to SIF landing on the Manhattan side. The ferry ride is a treat all on its own.)

-- Central Park is an amazing hike (remember: completely manmade, not nature is some sort of pristine state.)

-- The shops on upper Madison are fun for high-end window shopping. Some of the shops aren't franchised so they may find something unique there. A lot of galleries and some collectible book shops in that are as well. (Can be combined with a Museum Mile visit.)

-- Times Square at night is something everyone should take in at least once.

-- Madison Square Park has a great oldish NY flavor to it, with Eataly on its west (nice indoor facsimile of an Italian outdoor market, with a good wine bar and several restaurants sharing the "public" space.http://eatalyny.com/)

-- If they like artisan food fairs and they're in town Sunday, they can try http://www.newamsterdammarket.org/ , which can be combined with a walk around South Street Seaport.

-- A walk down Bleecker Street can be fun. Lots of shops and restaurants and, if they veer west of Bleecker, they can get a feel for the old Village, an area packed with architecture you wouldn't think belongs on Manhattan. (This is a hot restaurant in that area: http://limastaste.com/ They make very good ceviches.)

-- The http://www.thehighline.org/ is a well kept public space with nice views. It runs by the Meat Packing District, and area that's crammed with unique shops and see and be seen restaurants like Pastis, as well as my favorite Apple Store.

I hope this helps.