Where should I go this weekend?

[stlouielady]

I am in the Baltimore area through the middle of next week, working, and found out I will have the weekend off. Since I'm this close, I am thinking of a day-trip somewhere. I've been to both places, 25+ years ago. All you locals, are there any special events going on in either one, that will help me make my decision?

Thanks for the input!

 

[RRUserious]

No suggestions from me. Just envy.

 

[gatelouse]

Crowded on the NEC this weekend owing to spring break crowds. If you go anywhere, go on Saturday. (Exception: for an Acela trip, go Sunday for better frequencies.)

By "both places" do you mean PHL vs NYP? You could do both with a multi-city itinerary if you don't mind rushing it or having a very long day.

 

[stlouielady]

Crowded on the NEC this weekend owing to spring break crowds. If you go anywhere, go on Saturday. (Exception: for an Acela trip, go Sunday for better frequencies.)

By "both places" do you mean PHL vs NYP? You could do both with a multi-city itinerary if you don't mind rushing it or having a very long day.

I'm not sure the added cost of the Acela is worth it for a short trip to Washington, but would definitely consider it if I headed to New York; thanks for the tip about traveling on Saturday. I was planning it for Saturday anyway, since Sunday is Easter.

By 'both places', I meant either Washington DC or New York City; however, I've also been to Philly...

 

[afigg]

I'm not sure the added cost of the Acela is worth it for a short trip to Washington, but would definitely consider it if I headed to New York; thanks for the tip about traveling on Saturday. I was planning it for Saturday anyway, since Sunday is Easter.

By 'both places', I meant either Washington DC or New York City; however, I've also been to Philly...

You will likely find higher bucket ticket prices for either destination because of the heavy traffic due to Easter weekend and spring break, although Saturday should be better than Sunday.

In DC, you would be there for the latter part of the Cherry Blossom festival, although the peak of the cherry tree blooms was 2+ weeks ago. DC is likely to be on the crowded side at the museums and memorials because it is the busy season for school and tour groups. The good news is that the aggravating weekend track work projects on the DC Metro system have been suspended to April 20 because of the Cherry Blossom festival and peak spring visitor period, so the DC Metro system should be running fairly smoothly. DC has numerous museums to see, if you are into that sort of thing. Not just the Smithsonian, but the Spy Museum, Newseum, National Building Museum to name a few.

As for NYC, well, its NYC. Got everything from Times Square to the Empire State Building to Central Park to countless restaurants & clubs with a subway system that can get you to many places.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

The good news is that the aggravating weekend track work projects on the DC Metro system have been suspended to April 20 because of the Cherry Blossom festival and peak spring visitor period, so the DC Metro system should be running fairly smoothly.

I'll check the Metro's website later, but was wondering which lines have track work. I'll be in DC the weekend of the 20th. We'll be on the Red Line.

 

[afigg]

I'll check the Metro's website later, but was wondering which lines have track work. I'll be in DC the weekend of the 20th. We'll be on the Red Line.

The weekend track resumes on the weekend of April 20 and unfortunately it does include a track closure from Rhode Island Ave to Silver Spring on the Red Line. WMATA track work webpage. If you are traveling on the Red Line pass Rhode Island Ave, then you will have to take the buses. However, the reports I've read state that the bus connections across the track gap work reasonably well as the Metro system gets a lot of buses and runs them from station to station every couple of minutes.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I'll check the Metro's website later, but was wondering which lines have track work. I'll be in DC the weekend of the 20th. We'll be on the Red Line.

The weekend track resumes on the weekend of April 20 and unfortunately it does include a track closure from Rhode Island Ave to Silver Spring on the Red Line. WMATA track work webpage. If you are traveling on the Red Line pass Rhode Island Ave, then you will have to take the buses. However, the reports I've read state that the bus connections across the track gap work reasonably well as the Metro system gets a lot of buses and runs them from station to station every couple of minutes.

Thanks for the info. Luckily we'll be on the "other side". We're staying at a hotel across from the zoo.

 

[stlouielady]

As for NYC, well, its NYC. Got everything from Times Square to the Empire State Building to Central Park to countless restaurants & clubs with a subway system that can get you to many places.

I was in NYC in 1985 for my high school Senior Class trip. As an 18-yr old, I paid absolutely no attention to where things were in relationship to each other; we just went where we were told to go! So, this may be a silly question to all of you natives out there, but where does Penn Station sit in relationship to Times Square, Broadway, The Empire State Building, the 911 mmemorial, etc? What is within walking distance; i.e. a mile or less? I'm sure I can figure out the subway system, but I may want to do a little walking to sites as well, if it's do-able. I'm not very versed in the geography of the area....

 

[AlanB]

So, this may be a silly question to all of you natives out there, but where does Penn Station sit in relationship to Times Square, Broadway, The Empire State Building, the 911 mmemorial, etc? What is within walking distance; i.e. a mile or less? I'm sure I can figure out the subway system, but I may want to do a little walking to sites as well, if it's do-able. I'm not very versed in the geography of the area....

The Empire State Building is two blocks east of Penn Station and certainly within the realm of walking. Broadway & Times Square are essentially 9 to 10 blocks north of Penn, depending on which exit you come out of. Just walk north up 7th Avenue.

The 9/11 memorial, which requires reservations, is not within what I would consider walking distance at 3 miles. You're going to want to take a bus or figure out the subway system to get down there. If leaving from and/or returning to Penn, the best train to take is the E train as it ends right at the World Trade Center.

 

[Tsuyoshi]

I was in NYC in 1985 for my high school Senior Class trip. As an 18-yr old, I paid absolutely no attention to where things were in relationship to each other; we just went where we were told to go! So, this may be a silly question to all of you natives out there, but where does Penn Station sit in relationship to Times Square, Broadway, The Empire State Building, the 911 mmemorial, etc? What is within walking distance; i.e. a mile or less? I'm sure I can figure out the subway system, but I may want to do a little walking to sites as well, if it's do-able. I'm not very versed in the geography of the area....

You can split most of the major tourist attractions into those in Midtown and those in the Financial District.

Penn Station is in Midtown, and within a 10 minute walk of Times Square (which is at the intersection of 42nd Street, 7th Avenue, and Broadway), and the Empire State Building. Other sights to see in the area would be Herald Square (with Macy's, which erroneously claims to be the world's biggest department store, directly across the street from Penn Station), Bryant Park, the Museum of Modern Art, the 5th Avenue shopping district, the Morgan Library, Grand Central Terminal, the Chrysler Building, and the United Nations. If you were to walk to all of the places I just listed, it's probably 3 or 4 miles total.

The 911 Memorial is in the Financial District, which is further away -- probably about 45 minutes if you walk, maybe 15 minutes by subway. That area also has the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the location of the first US Capital, where George Washington was sworn in as president, and is a short walk to the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

There is more stuff to see in both areas, and outside those areas (the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, is on the Upper East Side) as well.