New York Recommendations

6,295 Views | 52 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by jaggiemaggie
jbone3515
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AG
My wife and I are planning a trip to NYC in September. We will not have our children with us and will be there for 4 days. I've actually never been, so the plan is to see some of the main touristy sites the first two days and then just hang out and eat at some great places.

I'm looking at some of the guided day tours that take you to all the main sites. Any thoughts or recommendations for these? What about places to eat? Thanks!
OldAg92
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We are taking our first trip to New York in November. I researched quite a bit on Tripadvisor. The top-rated tour in New York, hands down, was the New York Media Boat Tour - over 1200 5 star reviews, 4 four-star reviews, and no reviews lower than four stars. We are doing this tour in the morning of our first full day in New York as an "overview".

https://www.nymediaboat.com

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d3975632-Reviews-New_York_Media_Boat_Adventure_Sightseeing_Tours-New_York_City_New_York.html#REVIEWS
Texmid
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I don't remember the name of the guy, but, my FIL hired a private driver to take us around to all the tourist sites. It was fantastic. We could spend as much or as little time at each place as we wanted. He also had lots of incredible insight about each stop.
TXTransplant
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Walks of New York is an excellent company to work with. We used them for the Statue if Liberty/Ellis Island/9-11 memorial tour. It was a long, exhausting day but definitely a wonderful experience. We also did the WoNY Broadway walking tour. At the time, it took you into the New Amsterdam Theater and we got to actually try on costumes from all the big Disney productions (Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Mary Poppins).
MAROON
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AG
do not stay anywhere near Times Square is rule #1

Learn to use the subway is rule #2.

Things we like - The Met, Museum of Natural History, take in a Broadway show of your choice, Rockefeller Center just to see it.

Spend a day just kicking around in the Village bar hopping, shopping, and eating.

Get up early grab a coffee and hit central park, then slowly walk your way down fifth avenue to Bryant Park is another nice thing to do.

Tons of things to do in NYC.
dcAg
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You can go to museums anywhere. Unless there is something you really want to see dont waste your time in museums.

Definitely learn how to use the subway!
Definitely go to the One World Observatory.
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge if you have the chance.
You can go to Little Italy which is nice but for a less touristy Little Italy go to Arthur Ave. in the Bronx.
Go to every Irish pub between 30th and 56th.
Walk the High Line.
SbisaVictim95
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Quote:

Go to every Irish pub between 30th and 56th.
They're only there for 4 days!
SA68AG
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AG
Several of the museums - specifically the Met and the Museum of Natural History aren't just museums you can go to anywhere. They're two of the best in the world.
dog
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AG
Artichokes for pizza
Bluecat_Aggie94
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AG
Biggest piece of advice on NYC is to go ahead and get comfortable with the idea that you can't do everything in one trip.

People who live there say they are still discovering new streets and things after living there for years.

When I travel to new places, I like a blend of the quintessential thing from that location, and unique things that I find on my own. NY is so crowded with things to see and do, it's easy to accomplish both.

I used to take people on 2 day, 1 night weekends there and it's pretty amazing what you can fit in. You'll get a pretty good feel of the place in 4 days, but even then, you'll have limits. Kind of depends on how much time you like to spend in places.

First trip to NY is pretty amazing. I was always struck by how familiar a place that you have never been can feel, because throughout most of Manhattan, just about everywhere you go you've seen in movies, TV, etc.



JayAggie
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AG
You have to see a play on Broadway. We saw Wicked and it was great. Got dressed up (you don't have to for broadway), dinner in Little Italy, back to the hotel...if..ya..know..what..i mean.

As for tours we used City Sight Seeing. I can't endorse them, but have nothing bad to say either. Basically you can get a multi day pass and can hop on and off where you want at all the tourist sites. Definitely not efficient, like the subway, but we didn't have a real plan and got to see everything we wanted that way. If you know what you want to see I would skip this company and use subway.

The 9/11 memorial wasn't complete yet, but we definitely went by there. Very humbling. Also checked out St. Patrick's.
ThunderCougarFalconBird
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AG
I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this suggestion but bear with me. If you're going to be in NYC in early September, get grounds passes one day for the US open (especially if you'll be there on a Saturday during the early rounds). Take the 7 train (an experience on its own) out to Flushing and enjoy strolling from court to court watching amazing tennis, eating solid (albeit overpriced) food, and imbibing some tasty beverages.

It's a really fun and very "New York" experience if you're willing to blow a solid half-day on it.
Ag_07
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AG
Take the subway into Brooklyn and walk the Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhattan. Great views, nice walk, and dumps you right next to the 9-11 Memorial
christina08
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AG
The original IL Mulino in Greenwich Village. Pricey but worth it. You'll need a reservation. And the 9/11 memorial.
SA68AG
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AG
blindey said:

I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this suggestion but bear with me. If you're going to be in NYC in early September, get grounds passes one day for the US open (especially if you'll be there on a Saturday during the early rounds). Take the 7 train (an experience on its own) out to Flushing and enjoy strolling from court to court watching amazing tennis, eating solid (albeit overpriced) food, and imbibing some tasty beverages.

It's a really fun and very "New York" experience if you're willing to blow a solid half-day on it.
Really good suggestion. You'll go through about 10 different countries while you're on the 7. Along the way you go through areas of different Central American, Eastern European, and Asian neighborhoods.
SA68AG
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AG
Maybe not for your first trip but take the Metro North and take in the New York Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo. Both are terrific and you'll be around plenty of real New Yorkers at the Zoo.

Another day trip would be to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Prospect Park and a local restaurant along or off Flatbush Avenue.

The Brooklyn Museum is a well kept secret. It's the 3rd largest museum in NYC and as far as art museums go I think it's the third largest in the country behind the Met and the Art Institute of Chicago.It has a great Egyptian collection. Prospect Park is every bit as impressive as Central Park and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens is in some ways better than the New York Botanical Garden. All of these are in close proximity. There some really good local restaurants in this area also.

Also consider the New York Symphony, one of the ballet companies or an opera at Lincoln Center.
Texmid
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blindey said:

I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this suggestion but bear with me. If you're going to be in NYC in early September, get grounds passes one day for the US open (especially if you'll be there on a Saturday during the early rounds). Take the 7 train (an experience on its own) out to Flushing and enjoy strolling from court to court watching amazing tennis, eating solid (albeit overpriced) food, and imbibing some tasty beverages.

It's a really fun and very "New York" experience if you're willing to blow a solid half-day on it.
Just don't get caught on TV eating an ice cream sundae.
AW96
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AG
I just finished typing and it ended up being really long, but I hope you can find something useful in my post. I got carried away with reliving our trip. Lol Please excuse any typos as I did this post from my phone.

We just got back from a 5 day trip there June 5th. It was my first time and my husband had only spent one day there 30+ years ago. We had a fantastic time and covered quite a bit, but still left plenty undone. Our days were long because we wanted to see so much, but it was worth it. We walked so much as our hotel was centralized to a lot of things and you'd be surprised how quickly you can walk those blocks. 20 blocks (walking north/south) is only about a mile so going from 54th to 34th isn't as bad as it sounds and you can really see the city when you walk it. Our hotel was just a few blocks south of Central Park between Broadway and 8th Avenue. (Around corner from Ed Sullivan Theater) We did use the subway some which ended up being fairly easy especially on the day we went downtown to the Financial District. I will tell you that we didn't put a big priority on eating in nice restaurants as we are more about seeing things than sitting in a restaurant. Plus we have great restaurants here. We frequented this great local 24 hour cafe/ deli by our hotel and got breakfast there everyday which held us over for hours. We often snacked through the day from local places and then shared dinner somewhere. It worked for us, but I know everyone is different and some consider the dining experience as an integral part of their vacation.

As far as activities, there's so much to do. We didn't end up doing any museums except the 9/11 museum as we just didn't have time and didn't want to spend all our time inside. Here's a summary of our days:

-Arrival night-set out around 8pm- stroll through Times Square, ate at local gourmet burger joint, and walked down to Bryant Park to explore which was quiet and beautiful on a weeknight late

-1st full day- explored Grand Central Station area- took a cool free 2 hour guided walking tour (we did tip) that covered Grand Central Station, Chrysler building, and the area. Did an additional hour with tour guide after main tour ended (us and and one other tourist) and got to see more private areas. It was so cool to learn the details and really understand what you were seeing. Also went to the NY Public Library (must see Rose Reading room), Bryant Park in the Daylight which was full and had a concert/ event going on, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick's Cathedral (breathtaking) which recently came out of restoration - walked everywhere

-2nd full day- I think this was my favorite day. We started with the subway downtown to the very tip of the island and walked along waterfront to Finanicial District. Explored Wall Street, Federal Hall, Trinity Church (Alexander Hamilton and a few other noteworthy people are buried here), Fraunces Tavern, Battery Park, rode Staten Island Ferry round trip to see SOL from boat (didn't do tour), 9/11 Memorial & Museum, caught subway from Occulus to Brooklyn around 10pm and walked back across the Brooklyn Bridge at night (breathtaking views and so much fun), and then finished with a late night visit to the Empire State building.
This was an amazing, long, emotional, and wonderful day. Our only regret was that we didn't leave ourselves enough time at the 9/11 museum. We spent about 40 minutes at the outside Park/ pools and then went into the museum at 5:30pm (Museum closed at 9:00pm) Since we are the types that want to see/ read almost everything, we only made it through about half of the museum. We missed one whole section completely and definitely want to go back someday to complete it. After it closed, we spent some more time outside at the memorial pools to just reflect on what we experienced and see them at night. They quickly closed the park for the night though and that's when we caught the subway to Brooklyn and did the bridge followed by ESB which were both wonderful.

-Day 3- slept in as we didn't get back until almost 2am. Walked to Lincoln Center to see outside and get same day Broadway tickets at the tkts booth there. Spent the next 5 hours exploring the southern half of Central Park. So beautiful and such a great NY experience. Went back to hotel to get ready for Broadway show. Saw School of Rock 3rd row center with tickets we bought that morning. Theater was full and the show was amazing! The kids and Jack Black character were so good. I highly recommend it and I'm so glad I waited to buy tickets as these 3rd row center same day tickets were the same price as back row balcony view in advance. We grabbed a late dinner and then headed back.

- Full day 4- walked down to 34th street near Macy's, spent about 20 minutes in area and inside exploring- saw old wooden escalators, etc; walked down to Penn Station / Madison Square Garden area and found entrance to High line. We walked entirety of High Line and exited in Chelsea and did a little exploring and ate at Chelsea Market (lots of variety- foodie place). Then we explored parts of Greenwich Village and went to Washington Square Park. From there we took a subway back to Rockefeller Center for our timed entrance to Top of the Rock. We timed it to stay long enough to get daylight views, sunset, and nighttime views. Stunning! We then walked down to the Upper East Side passing famous real estate like Park Ave, Bloomingdales, 5th Avenue, etc on our way to Serendipity for an appetizer and shared dessert . (Bucket list item for me) Another great day.

Departure Day was mostly just picking up a few gifts for the kids and walking back up to Columbus Circle and past a few areas we wanted to quickly revisit

For us, it was an amazing trip filled with things we could never do with our kids for that long- architecture, walking neighborhoods, etc... Of course we left so much untouched like many of the famous museums, but we feel like we got a wonderful taste of a great city and hope to someday return. I know you didn't ask for a play by play trip report, but it was my first time thinking it through/ typing it out and it just came out that way. I know I enjoy reading others itineraries and what they did so maybe it will be helpful to some. If you have any specific questions, let me know. I love planning trips and helping others if possible.
AW96
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AG
This is the walking tour we did. Peter was our guide. The main tour was closer to 2 hours and varied slightly from the description on the website. After the main tour finished Peter offered to take anyone who wanted to stay to a few other areas over the next 45 minutes and we joined him for that.There was another tour guide that seemed really nice, but they split the group in half at the beginning and went to different areas to begin. We never saw her again. The tour is only offered on Fridays.

http://www.grandcentralpartnership.nyc/things-to-do/tours
jbone3515
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AG
Wow, this is great! Thanks for sharing!
Ag_07
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AG
I also recommend stopping by The Campbell Apartment for drinks. It's a bar located on the second floor of Grand Central Station that was once the private apartment of some big shot banker back in the 1920s.

The space has been restored to it's original state and it's really cool. Great place to stop for after dinner drinks.

https://www.thecampbellnyc.com/

**Looks like it's under new ownership since we visited a couple years ago and is now called The Campbell Bar.
AW96
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Yes, it's beautiful. We went inside with Peter when we stayed after the main tour that I reference above. We didn't make it back there, but I'd recommend a stop if in the area. The woodwork detail is amazing.
jbone3515
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AG
Where is the best area to stay?
SbisaVictim95
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some will tell you Times Square but unless non-stop crowds of tourists are your thing I wouldn't. I prefer staying more midtown towards the park.On my trip in October we stayed at Park Central Hotel on 8th Ave which is a block and a half south of Central Park and an easy walk down to Times Square and the theater district.
malenurse
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AG
Thanks AW96. Definately bookmarking this thread. Planning on spending 4-5 days in NYC just before Christmas. Have always wanted to see the city during the holidays.
The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But, it's still on the list.
OldAg92
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We will be there Thanksgiving week and staying in a VRBO high rise near 42nd and 9th in Hell's Kitchen. This is the first trip to NYC for both me and my wife. Anyone that is very familiar with this part of town, please chime in regarding "don't miss" restaurants, etc. We hope to walk a lot and explore the area
DripAG08
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AG
Primola - upper east side, thank me later.
Charlie Conway
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Ag_07 said:

Take the subway into Brooklyn and walk the Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhattan. Great views, nice walk, and dumps you right next to the 9-11 Memorial
be advised this is a pretty long walk fighting through pedestrians and bikes

I'll add that if you plan on staying 4 days and are going to use the subway buy the week long unlimited metro card or whatever it is. You'll save money this way, unless you would rather spend more by ubering or taking a taxi everywhere and avoiding the subway.
AgGrad99
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I really like Park Lane Hotel. Get a Park View. It's pretty affordable, nice hotel, and in a great location.

It's right between The Plaza and Ritz Carlton, on the south side of Central Park. It's nice to step out of the hotel, and see some greenery, rather than just tall buildings.

http://parklanenewyork.com/
TXTransplant
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OldAg92 said:

We will be there Thanksgiving week and staying in a VRBO high rise near 42nd and 9th in Hell's Kitchen. This is the first trip to NYC for both me and my wife. Anyone that is very familiar with this part of town, please chime in regarding "don't miss" restaurants, etc. We hope to walk a lot and explore the area


VRBO? I'm surprised because short-term rentals (defined as anything <1 month, IIRC) were made illegal by the city shortly before our Thanksgiving 2016 visit. Our Airbnb hosts honored our reservation (and others that they had already booked), but now they only rent the place for a month at a time. Are you renting something like a timeshare?

Granted, there is no penalty for the vacationers who book a place in violation of the law - it's the owners who get fined if they get caught (which typically occurs because other residents turn them in).
AW96
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AG
We did the same thing after we finished at 9/11 Memorial. We took the subway over from the station in Occulus and walked across the bridge before catching a subway to Empire State. We had no problem with crowds, but it was fairly late- probably 10pm on a Saturday night when we were walking across. We had intermittent light showers that night and caught a sprinkle while walking over the bridge but it lasted less than 5 minutes. The views were amazing and it was one of our favorite things we did. We had hoped to go back during the daytime, but never made it back. I can imagine it gets crazy busy at certain times of the day though.

Subway- As far as the subway and the weekly pass, I think a lot depends on where you are staying and how much you plan to walk. Also, will you be using mass transit to/ from the airport? (We used cabs for that since we flew into LaGuardia and there's not a subway line from there and didn't want to do transfers with luggage.) I had read up on the weekly pass and that it took 10 rides to break even. (That's per person as you can't share a unlimited weekly pass.) We had planned to buy them but after realizing how easy it was to walk to so many places from our hotel the first night, we decided the only day that we'd use it a lot would be our downtown day. We ended up just putting $28 on a shared card (they give you a % bonus on preloaded cards so the value was about $30) and it was enough for us. We did 4 subway rides on the downtown/ Brooklyn Bridge day and only 1 another day. Otherwise, we walked so it worked for us. Some friends stayed much further south and did all the museums by Central Park so they lived on the subway. They didn't buy one, but should have.

Hotels- We liked our location a lot. We were on 54th between Broadway and 8th. It was close to Times Square without being in it and the crowds. It was also only 5 blocks south of Central Park so we could walk to both places easily in 10 minutes (or less). There were several local places to eat on our block that weren't crowded and touristy. It's around the corner from The Ed Sullivan Theater (where Letterman used to be and Colbert is now) and was across the street from what used to be Studio 54 and is now a quiet theater/ events venue. Of course, there are many other great areas too. We liked the area right around Bryant Park as well and would have enjoyed staying there. Our final decision was made on good reviews, price and a central location. It worked well for us as it was mainly a place to rest/ recharge. We weren't looking for spa, etc...

Have fun planning your trip everyone!
ATM9000
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AG
blindey said:

I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this suggestion but bear with me. If you're going to be in NYC in early September, get grounds passes one day for the US open (especially if you'll be there on a Saturday during the early rounds). Take the 7 train (an experience on its own) out to Flushing and enjoy strolling from court to court watching amazing tennis, eating solid (albeit overpriced) food, and imbibing some tasty beverages.

It's a really fun and very "New York" experience if you're willing to blow a solid half-day on it.

I'm moving back to Texas from up here in about a week. Lived here for 3 years and this is easily the best suggestion on the thread. I took my daughter and I'm not a tennis guy and we had an absolute blast... maybe my favorite day I ever had in the city. Good food, generally great weather and there's a lot of good tennis right there as already mentioned.

Funny somebody mentioned Il Mulino because I was at Il Mulino Prime last night. Expensive but great meal... Prime has a superior menu but service is better at Normal Il Mulino.

Also the museums and sights are cool and you should do those on your first visit... but cool NYC isn't Midtown. As somebody already mentioned... make a day going through East, West, Greenwich and Soho and Tribeca... lot of really cool bars and restaurants and shops and things to see and do in lower Manhattan. It's worth it just to walk the neighborhoods... who cares if you miss a big sight or 2 to make it work.
OldAg92
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AG
TXTransplant said:

OldAg92 said:

We will be there Thanksgiving week and staying in a VRBO high rise near 42nd and 9th in Hell's Kitchen. This is the first trip to NYC for both me and my wife. Anyone that is very familiar with this part of town, please chime in regarding "don't miss" restaurants, etc. We hope to walk a lot and explore the area


VRBO? I'm surprised because short-term rentals (defined as anything <1 month, IIRC) were made illegal by the city shortly before our Thanksgiving 2016 visit. Our Airbnb hosts honored our reservation (and others that they had already booked), but now they only rent the place for a month at a time. Are you renting something like a timeshare?

Granted, there is no penalty for the vacationers who book a place in violation of the law - it's the owners who get fined if they get caught (which typically occurs because other residents turn them in).


Ok, now I'm a little concerned. If you look on VRBO for the week of thanksgiving, there are over 3,000 units available. The one we booked has numerous 5-star reviews. Nothing anywhere on VRBO warned of it being a problem, and of course the apartment's owner has said nothing. I wonder how I can find out ahead of time if I'' going to have an issue
TXTransplant
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OldAg92 said:

TXTransplant said:

OldAg92 said:

We will be there Thanksgiving week and staying in a VRBO high rise near 42nd and 9th in Hell's Kitchen. This is the first trip to NYC for both me and my wife. Anyone that is very familiar with this part of town, please chime in regarding "don't miss" restaurants, etc. We hope to walk a lot and explore the area


VRBO? I'm surprised because short-term rentals (defined as anything <1 month, IIRC) were made illegal by the city shortly before our Thanksgiving 2016 visit. Our Airbnb hosts honored our reservation (and others that they had already booked), but now they only rent the place for a month at a time. Are you renting something like a timeshare?

Granted, there is no penalty for the vacationers who book a place in violation of the law - it's the owners who get fined if they get caught (which typically occurs because other residents turn them in).


Ok, now I'm a little concerned. If you look on VRBO for the week of thanksgiving, there are over 3,000 units available. The one we booked has numerous 5-star reviews. Nothing anywhere on VRBO warned of it being a problem, and of course the apartment's owner has said nothing. I wonder how I can find out ahead of time if I'' going to have an issue


Hmmm...maybe the law got repealed and I didn't hear about it? Or, more likely, those listings are just taking a chance that they won't get caught.

Like I said, you can't be fined or punished - that applies to the owners of the apartment. I have read stories that people doing a short term rental were "harassed" by other people who lived in the building - to the point that they felt uncomfortable and moved to a hotel. But who knows if that's really true or just people being drama queens.

You should be able to ask your VRBO host about it, though (and they should be honest about what they are doing).

Edited to add a link to a story that explains the law. Evidently, short term rentals have been illegal for a while - long before 2016. They just didn't have a good way to enforce it. So, the law in 2016 also made it illegal to advertise your rental on sites line Airbnb and VRBO. The exception is if the host is renting out a room in a home the host occupies.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/travel-trends/new-york-airbnb-law%3fsource=dam
Ag_07
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AG
Short term rentals are illegal but there are certain stipulations that qualify something as a short term rental.

It's something like in a building that has over a certain numbers of separate living spaces. It essentially makes it illegal to have a short term rental in a multi family building.

VRBOs in private homes like studio apartments or built out basements are legal. What's illegal is VRBOs in apartment buildings that take up rentable spaces for people to live.

Search the TripAdvisor forums for good info on it.
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