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Close-up of the Statue of Liberty holding a torch and tablet against a clear blue sky in New York City.
New York

New York City at a Slower Pace: The Best of the Big Apple

Program No. 23029RJ
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
11 meals ( 5B, 2L, 4D )
6 expert-led lectures
8 expert-led field trips
An experienced Group Leader
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
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Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 3:30 p.m.
Afternoon:
Program Registration: 4:00 p.m. Join us in the meeting room to register with the program staff and receive a final itinerary and any updated information. The location of our Road Scholar meeting room will be sent to you the week before in a welcome email from the program provider. Hotel security will also be able to direct you. Orientation: 4:30 p.m. In the same space, the Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will learn from local experts who will give lectures and lead field trips. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
In one of the hotel's restaurants. This program is able to offer vegetarian and gluten free meal alternatives. The gluten free meals are not guaranteed against cross contamination. While modifications to accommodate other dietary restrictions might be possible on a case by case basis, they cannot be guaranteed. Participants requiring other alternatives should discuss with the group leader upon arrival, be prepared to self-select from the included menu choices and discuss modifications with the serving staff at the restaurants.
Evening:
Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motor coach; city driving. Walking a few blocks in Times Square and Rockefeller Center, approximately an hour each; some standing and stairs in Radio City Music Hall.
Breakfast:
In the hotel's diner.
Morning:
We’ll be joined by an historian for an introductory lecture on New York City, a city with its own unique personality. We’ll then board our motor coach for a short ride up to Times Square where our Group Leader will walk us through this lively neighborhood known for the New Years Eve Ball and the Broadway Theater District.
Lunch:
At restaurant in Times Square.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we will re-board our coach and head over to explore St Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center and stop in at Radio City Music Hall for a private look behind the scenes. The visit to the Music Hall requires about an hour of standing and some use of stairs. We'll then return to the hotel for a short break before dinner.
Dinner:
We'll walk to a neighborhood restaurant near the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; city driving. Extended standing and slow museum walking.
Breakfast:
In the hotel's diner.
Morning:
We will head right out this morning for the Gold Coast of upper 5th Avenue and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Upon arrival, we will meet an art historian who will give us a guided in-gallery introduction after which we will have several hours to explore on our own.
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like. The Metropolitan offers both a cafeteria on the lower level of the Lehman Wing offering a wide range of choices and a café in the American Wing offering soups, sandwiches, coffee and pastries. Or you might take the opportunity to grab a famous New York City hot dog from one of the vendors out on Fifth Avenue. Our badges allow re-entry to the museum.
Afternoon:
The Met is vast and this visit will allow for just a taste. For some, this will be plenty of time, for others the surface won't even be scratched. We recommend looking at the museum website before visiting to determine one or two exhibits that appeal to you personally and visit those with some depth. Please consider our All Art Experience program if you would like a deeper dive into the museums of New York. During today's self-directed field trip, we’ll explore The Met each at our own pace. Bring your smart phone and ear buds. The Met’s audio guides are online for easy and free access in the galleries. The Met, founded in 1870, is one of the world’s greatest museums with a collection spanning more than 5,000 years of creativity. Its artistic treasury from every corner of the world includes paintings, arms and armor, costume, decorative arts, musical instruments, photography, works on paper, and much more. There are 26,000 objects from ancient Egypt, the largest collection outside Cairo; 2,500 European paintings, one of the most extensive collections anywhere; and the most comprehensive collection of American decorative arts, paintings, and sculpture in the American Wing. The Beaux-Arts façade and Great Hall of the flagship building — designed by architect and founding museum trustee Richard Morris Hunt — opened in 1902. Today, tens of thousands of objects are on view at any given time.
Dinner:
We'll walk to a neighborhood restaurant near the hotel.
Evening:
The evening is at leisure.
Activity Note
Extent of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
In the hotel's diner.
Morning:
This afternoon is yours to explore the city on your own so we will start by gathering in the hotel's meeting room for two talks. The first sets us up for tomorrow's visit to Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty. We'll meet a former National Park Service Ranger who will tell us about the immigrant history of these two beloved American icons. After a short break, we will turn our attention to one of New York's more enjoyable pastimes: The Broadway Theater. Broadway is a huge economic engine for the city, generating more income that all 10 of our major league sports teams, combined. Our speaker is a professional in the industry.
Lunch:
A bag lunch will be available. You may take it with you or relax with your fellow participants for an hour before heading out on your own.
Afternoon:
The rest of the day has been set aside for independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. You may choose to see a Broadway matinee, take in another of the city's museums or stroll Central Park. The possibilities are practically endless! Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration. If a show is on your agenda, we suggest using the TodayTix app for advance sale tickets with a much lower service fee than Ticketmaster or Telecharge includes. The app allows you to choose your seats and often features discounts. Be sure to check the websites for Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall if classical music, dance or opera is more appealing.
Dinner:
On your own to enjoy what you like. New York has thousands of restaurants of every ethnicity and price point. Perhaps try something exotic and new or check out that Michelin-starred chef you've heard so much about.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motor coach; city driving. Extensive walking and standing as you explore at your own pace.
Breakfast:
In the hotel's diner.
Morning:
We'll board our motor coach this morning and head downtown to the bottom tip of Manhattan Island. Our first stop will be a visit to the 9/11 Memorial with our group leader who will interpret the history and the various components of the site. Our visit includes only the outdoor memorial the surrounding area. It does not include the indoor museum which requires a time and emotional commitment that this survey program of NYC cannot accommodate. Should this be a priority for you, consider booking a visit during the free time on Day 4. We will then catch the ferry for our day on Liberty and Ellis Islands. We will explore both islands at our own pace to see and do what interests each of us most. Liberty Island features a wonderful state of the art museum dedicated to the statue. It is not to be missed. Additionally, you may choose to stroll around the island while listening to the included audio guide or join up with a NPS Ranger. The Statue of Liberty was an amazing gift to the people of America from the people of France — our oldest ally — celebrating freedom and democracy. We’ve seen this national monument in countless movies and TV shows and may even take it for granted, but at its unveiling on the Fourth of July 1884, it was the biggest event in the country. Years later, these words of poet Emma Lazarus were added: “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, / I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like at the park service cafe on either Liberty or Ellis Island.
Afternoon:
Next, it’s on to Ellis Island. From 1892 when the immigration station opened until it closed in 1954, more than 12 million people coming to America passed through Ellis Island. This was their “golden door” to new lives. Today, the descendants of these immigrants make up almost half of all Americans. The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration tells the story of where people came from and what their experience was like. Many went first from Ellis Island to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, at one time the most densely populated neighborhood on earth. The museum includes numerous exhibits, an included audio guide, NPS Ranger-led walks, a documentary film and the family research center where you may choose to look up the historical documents that pertain to your family’s history through Ellis Island. We’ll reconvene with our Group Leader late-afternoon for the return trip uptown to the hotel.
Dinner:
We will walk to a restaurant new the hotel. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
After dinner, we will visit one last New York icon: The Empire State Building. Depending on the time of year, this visit may be many things: a night view of the city's lights, a panoramic view of the city's five boroughs or maybe even a glorious sunset. However we experience it, this is a magical way to spend the last night in town. Stay as long as you like and return to the hotel on your own, it's only three blocks away! The remainder of the evening is at leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure after our closing session in the morning.
Activity Note
Hotel check-out 12:00 Noon.
Breakfast:
In the hotel's diner.
Morning:
We'll reconvene one final time in our meeting room for a closing discussion about NYC and how we experienced it this week. We expect the session to end by 10:30 a.m. Hotel check-out is 11:00 a.m. This concludes our program.
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