I'm travelling to New York and Washington DC for 3 weeks. What should I do and see?

I'm going over in October, Halloween - Yay - I'm 32, from Australia and have only ever seen 1 group of trick or treaters, but want to know the out of the way, must see, not included in guide books things to do, national parks to see and great bars and restaurants to go to that aren't touristy. What are other states to visit in the area that would be worth a quick trip.

Also should I fly into DC and travel to NY or vice versa.

Thanks.I'm travelling to New York and Washington DC for 3 weeks. What should I do and see?
My friend may I recommend, the Bear Mountain State Park, located in Bear Mountain, NY. Bear Mountain State Park is a 5,067 acres (2,050.5 hectare) state park about 50 to 60 miles (80 to 100 km) from New York City, and the perfect place to camp out for the day.



The park is accessible by train from Grand Central. Take the Metro-North Hudson Line from GCT to the town of Manitou and then take a cab or bus from there train station to the park. If you opt to rent a car, you can get there by car via the New York State Thruway.



Since you're coming in the fall, you will be able to see the best foliage in the region at Bear Mountain State Park.



I hope this information is very helpful.



Good luck and enjoy you trip.

Native New Yorker
might i recommend Ellis Island? It has a lot of tourists but its a great thing to see (NEW YORK)



for DC might i recommend the white house to take out our current president yeah that might be helpfulI'm travelling to New York and Washington DC for 3 weeks. What should I do and see?
For New York- go to the typical tourist spots and chill at the more posh neighborhoods where you'll meet great people.



For D.C.- Definitely go to the Historical Sites downtown, you can also chill at "The Mall". You wont have any time for Museums though.
here are some suggestions and tips from our personal experience:



we went to NY for a week and stayed at the Hilton Embassy Suites.

we had a blast!!!



you should visit Serendipity for dessert :)

http://jotan23.blogspot.com/2008/03/day-鈥?/a>



there's a book called Lonely Planet (NYC)

it is a really really helpful book for tourists like us because it includes walking tours, etc, and places to eat.



by the way, instead of waiting for hours in line to get to the statue of liberty, you may opt to have the NY waterway tour instead. This way, you will save enough time to tour other parts of the city :)

http://jotan23.blogspot.com/2008/03/tour鈥?/a>

there's also the famous BULL at the financial district :)

you should also try the yummiest Pizza Margherita at 'Lil Frankie in East Village ^,^



if you have more time, try walking the stretch of Brooklyn Bridge.

http://jotan23.blogspot.com/2008/03/trav鈥?/a>

this serves as an exercise too.. hihihi

also, do visit Saint Patricks's Cathedral at 5th avenue.

don't miss to go inside.

it's wonderful!!!

we also went to Top of the Rock instead of the Empire State Building to avoid the long line hihihi because we were afraid we won't have enough time to see other parts of NYC :)



for shopping, you may want to visit Century 21, just across the former WTC.

http://jotan23.blogspot.com/2008/03/livi鈥?/a>

you should have lunch/brunch at Cafe lalo!!! or at Sarabeth's :)

we chose Cafe Lalo hihihi because of the ambiance and because it's famous.



To relax, try having a picnic at Central Park.

http://jotan23.blogspot.com/2008/03/labo鈥?/a>

we chose to eat at the top of one huge rock there to have e good view of the whole central park :)

then, we went to MET (entrance is by donation only, you don't have to give 20 USD)

if you're a techie like my friends, you may want to visit the MAC store. it is now a tourist spot because of its unique architecture :p

DON'T MISS eating at PARADOU!!!

it's a MUST!!!

trust me on this!



you also gotta watch a broadway show! definitely!

there's WICKED and SPAMALOT :)

http://jotan23.blogspot.com/2008/03/good鈥?/a>