This upcoming weekend will be the inaugural BrittCon Event, 2008 in none other than New York City.  Since BrittCon is in my hometown… I figured I would help prepare BrittCon attendees by giving them a little information about touristy stuff from a local perspective.  All of this is information will be broken down by borough area they want to see.

Downtown Manhattan

Downtown Manhattan is a pretty busy area.  Sadly, today most of it revolves around Ground Zero, but there are still plenty of other things to see… including public art displays and the glory of the Apple Store Soho @ 103 Prince Street.

Downtown Sights

•Charging Bull @ Bowling Green Park (Broadway/State Street/Whitehall Street) - The Charging Bull is the symbol of the NYSE
•The South Street Seaport @ Fulton Street and South Street - One word.  Mall.  Tons of shops, great views, and they have a few schooners for tourists to check out.  iPod walking tours are available for a price.
• Battery Park @ the southern tip of Manhattan - Home to a number of memorials and a great view of the harbor.  There is also a free iPod tour available about Monuments and Memories.
•Ground Zero Museum Workshop @ 420 W 14th Street - Advance ticketing is required for this, which is currently the largest local collection of 9/11 photos and information available.
•St. Paul’s Chapel @ Church Street bet. Fulton/Vesey - George Washington prayed here.  They also have an ongoing 9/11 Ministry with a number of artifacts

Downtown Food

•Wo Hop @ 17 Mott Street - This IS NYC Chinese food.  Not just an institution of fine greasy chopstick fare, but also one of the safest due to an extremely high patronage by on and off duty police.
•Ninja New York @ 25 Hudson Street - A themed Japanese cuisine restaurant, they look forward to feeding you soon!
•Pellegrino’s @ 138 Mulberry Street - In the heart of the “Little Italy District” (that has now been relegated to a street and a half), if you wanna da pasta, ya go to Pellegrino’s for the linguine.  Everything else, fugehdaboutit.
• Ear Inn @ 326 Spring Street - Notoriously nostalgic pub with drinks and fare that you can recognize and eat with your paws.  Some consider it the oldest pub in New York City… and the plumbing may very well back that claim up
• The South Street Seaport @ Fulton Street and South Street - Two words.  Food court.  Killer chain restaurants peppered with local cuisine dot the food court of this mall.  It’s a good option for those who are wary of New York fare.

Travel

Downtown travel is easiest done by subway, but keep in mind the subways run north to south… so however far you walk from the hole in the ground is how far you’ll have to walk back.  The further north you go, the wider the island is.