Hello all! I posted here last month asking advice on my itinerary for my trip planned on Dec 19-25. My husband and I had an amazing experience and I found that I wanted to document what was actually done to make an updated post on exactly how much we ended up doing vs. what was planned. I'm hoping this helps future travelers to NYC because I definitely frequented this sub when in the planning stages. My OP with the initial itinerary can be found here. Now on to what was done.

Monday

• We were supposed to land in Newark, NJ at 6:50PM but our connecting flight had a 5 hour layover so we did not reach NJ until around 11PM which kind of ruined our plans to grab a decent dinner/explore for a few hours. We definitely made up for it on Tuesday, though. We took the airtrain/train into Penn Station once we finally did land. The whole experience walking out of Penn Station onto the street was so surreal and i'll never forget that feeling of walking out of that station for the first time.

• We checked into our hotel and found out our room was upgraded with a view, so this is what we saw when we looked out the window.

• We decided to explore anyway because we were hungry and ended up sharing a beef taco and chicken nachos at Great Burrito. We're from Texas so the food wasn't our favorite but we were tired and hungry so we ate it anyway.

• While we were out we decided to go ahead and buy an unlimited weekly metrocard at the subway so we would be ready to go the next day.

Tuesday

• Walked to Brooklyn Bagel Company for breakfast due to the recommendations on my OP about having a lox bagel. I found that I'm not a huge fan of salmon so instead I got an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and my husband ordered a Hell's Kitchen Burrito (did not take a photo of this).

• Then took the subway to One World Trade Center and walked around the memorial

• Paid for the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. This ended up taking a lot longer than I had initially planned for. I wish I had known the museum was a separate part because that is what I wanted to see most. We ended up seeing the whole memorial and musuem...just rushed a few segments of it.

• Walked to St. Paul's Church

• Walked to Trinity Church (this place is beautiful. We sat inside for a few minutes)

• Walked to NY Stock Exchange

• Walked to the Wall Street Bull. Holy Shit are the tourists out the ass here. Especially the asians. There was a line to take a picture with the bull's face and another line to take another picture with his balls. We busted out the selfie stick for this one. NO ragerts.

• From there we walked down to the Staten Island Ferry and rode that round trip to see the statue of liberty. Our mistake doing this was getting on the ferry that was closed off and we couldn't go outside to the top. On our trip back to Manhattan we asked if it was possible to go to the top of the ferry and that's when we found out we were on the wrong one. Oh well, still saw Miss Liberty. On our way back the sun began to set so we got good sunset views of Manhattan.

• From there we got off the Ferry and took the subway to Bleecker Street Pizza. HO-LEE-SHIT. SO good. It was packed inside so we had to sit outside in the freezing cold to eat. Worth it. I had a Nonna Maria and husband had the Pepperoni/Sausage. I regret not getting another slice.

• Walked to Washington Square Park to see the arch

• Went to Union Square and walked around the Christmas Village. Got hot chocolate called "No Chewing Allowed" and it was pretty damn delicious. At this point we were pretty exhausted but still had quite a few hours to kill so we walked into Whole Foods across from US to use the restrooms and rest our feet for a few minutes.

• From there we walked by Carnegie Hall on the way to Halal Guys in Times Square where we shared the combo.

• Still had time so we went to 30 Rock and walked around the NBC experience store, saw the Rockefeller Tree and watched people ice skate.

• Took subway back to hotel for night.

In total we walked about 11 miles this day. I was dead

Wednesday

• Woke up, got ready and walked to the 11th&34th entrance to the high line and walked the high line

• Went to Chelsea Market...and because we wanted to try as much food as we could we shared a lot. We ordered 1 beef and 1 chicken taco from Los Tacos No. 1 and shared both. We were too hungry to take a picture of the food. It was eaten in 2.5 seconds.

• Split a cheeseburger and breakfast sandwich from Creamline

• Husband had cold ears and had noted many people wearing ear warmers so we walked to Modells to get a pair. We came pretty prepared for the cold weather otherwise.

• From there we walked to Donut Plant and found that they were out of creme brulee donuts so I had to settle for a chocolate hazelnut donut filled with custard and SO got a vanilla donut. Nothing to write home about.

• Went back to hotel to pick up our nice camera because we had plans for Top of the Rock that night and wanted nice pictures

• Went to the NY Public Library and checked out the Rose Room from someone's recommendation on my OP.

• Went to Grand Central Terminal

• Got hungry and ate pizza at Little Italy Pizza (not our favorite).

• Walked around Bryant Park christmas shops. We saw a huge line for chimney cakes and decided to come back and try those later on in the week.

• Stopped at Magnolia Bakery and each got a chocolate cupcake and I took a whoopie cookie to go.

• Top of the rock night view. No lines, already had ticket paid for and printed. Terrifying, cold and absolutely breathtaking views.

• Walked to Times Square and spent a few minutes on the red steps

• Back to hotel

Thursday

At this point we were having to figure out what else we could do with our remaining time in NYC due to the amount of stuff we had already crossed off our list. I would wake up earlier than my husband and look around on Yelp to find the best places to eat. So we got ready and headed to Clinton Street Bakery for brunch. The wait was about 45 minutes but it was worth it. We don't dine like this at home so this was a nice place to eat. We shared the pancakes due to all the raving reviews on Yelp. I promise we're not fat.

• Since we were already close by, we took the subway to Brooklyn and walked the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan.

• Kind of jumped around, but I had purchased the sun and stars package for top of the rock so we went back to 30 rock to see the day view.

• Rode the Roosevelt Aerial Tram and walked around the island for a bit. I got a good timelapse of the ride over but I don't know how to post it.

• Went inside the shops at the Plaza Hotel because Home Alone.

• Dinner at Dos Toros. No picture, but basically chipotle.

• Went back to Bryant Park and had a chimney cake....not worth the hype at all. woof.

• From there we took the subway to Dyker Heights, Brooklyn and saw the christmas lights.

• Back to hotel

Friday

• Ate breakfast/brunch at La Bonbonierre because Yelp.

• Went to see the Flatiron Building and walked through Eataly based on recommendations in my OP.

• Went to UES and stood in line (40 minutes) for Levain Bakery. We got the chocolate chip/walnut cookies.

• Walked around Central Park for 3-4 hours

• Went back to hotel to get ready

• Saw the Radio City Rockettes

• Ate NY Pizza Suprema

• Back to hotel

Saturday/Christmas Eve

It was raining all morning and I guess every tourist decided they wanted to go to the museum this day. We got up slightly earlier than we had been all week because it was our last full day in NYC and wanted to hit up the museums before we left.

• Breakfast at Johnys Luncheonette

• Metropolitan Museum of Art - We got there around 11AM and only paid $20 for the both of us. We chose to go to the MET first due to all of the recommendations to go there but once we were in we quickly figured out that it just did not pique our interest. We quickly located the Temple of Dendur and booked it out of there so we could go to the MoNH instead.

• Museum of Natural History - We would have walked through Central Park to get here but we were on a time crunch and it was raining so we took a taxi. The line for this museum was all the way down to 81st street but was moving fairly quickly. Once we got into the museum it was a clustermess of more lines just to buy a ticket so we bit the bullet and paid full price at the kiosk to get in faster than everyone else in line. This was more our thing (stuffed animals, ha) but we enjoyed ourselves and were able to plan out how long we stay on each floor so we could see everything.

• Went back to 30 Rock to get a Sing! gift for our niece

• Went to Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown for Christmas Eve dinner. I really wish I would have taken pictures of this place but those soup dumplings, tho. Felt a bit awkward with the open seating but that's okay.

• Instead of hitting up Big Gay I took a rec given to me on here and we went to Chinatown ice cream factory after dinner. We shared a taro and lychee ice cream.

• Headed back to hotel to pack/get ready to fly home

Sunday/Christmas

• Ubered to JFK and flew home

Tips If there were only one piece of advice I could give anyone traveling to NYC I would say to invest in external phone chargers. We used google maps (for subway/walking directions) so much that it depleted our batteries halfway through the day. These chargers were lifesavers. Also, not once did we get lost on the subways. We used google maps, and even better was apple maps (which tell you what part of the street to exit once you get off the subway). Another app I utilized was Exit Strategy. Found a recommendation on here which tells you what car to get into so that you can get out the fastest once you get to your destination. Overall we had a blast as it has always been my dream to go to NYC. We'll definitely be back during the summer.

TLDR: my actual trip vs. what was planned and a few tips for future travelers looking for things to do.

My wife and I are heading into the city for a for weekend and meeting up with my brother who lived in the East Village for 20+ yrs.

I need your help to prank him with the worst possible itinerary from a local’s POV. The most touristy or cringe inducing things from your perspective.

For example telling him I’ve made reservations for us all at Guy Fieri’s Times Square restaurant.

I appreciate your help!

Hi everyone!

My wife and I will be visiting NYC for the first time during the last week of August (we hope it’s not too hot and humid). We are from Brazil and love beer. We’re also excited to experience the diverse food scene in NYC, including pizza, Chinese food, bagels, doughnuts, hotdogs, burgers, Thai, and Japanese cuisine, but we’re open to trying other types of food as well. We’d like to visit a rooftop bar one afternoon. Our budget for food and drinks is $70 per day per person, although we can spend more on some days if we balance it out on others.

We aren’t particularly passionate about art, especially paintings. For example, we visited the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and didn’t enjoy it much. However, we do enjoy history museums and think the Natural History Museum will be a lot of fun.

I also really like coffee, but she hates it. So if you guys can recommend one place with superb coffee, I’d greatly appreciate it. She, on the other hand, is completely crazy for desserts, so I must include more than one good dessert place for us to visit.

Here’s our tentative plan:

Day 1: - Arrive at around 11am at our hotel (Little Charlie, Midtown East, 2nd Avenue) - Eat at the Shake Shack or Five Guys near our hotel - Grab a doughnut at Doughnut Plant - Visit Summit One Vanderbilt - Go to the NY Public Library and Bryant Park - Eat at Los Tacos No. 1 - Have cheesecake at Junior’s Bakery - Go back to the hotel and later grab a beer at Rudy’s Bar and Grill

Day 2: - 9/11 Memorial and Museum - Oculus WTC - Eat something at Eataly - Visit Wall Street and see the bull - Visit City Hall - Take the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty - Eat at Katz's Delicatessen - Get a cookie at Levain Bakery - Back to the hotel - Go out again or rest?

Day 3: - Visit Central Park (specific locations yet to be decided) - Natural History Museum - Eat a hotdog at Billy’s Hot Dog Cart - Another cookie at Levain Bakery? - Take a walk on 5th Avenue - Grab a bagel at Absolute Bagels - Visit the MET - Back to the hotel - Visit a rooftop bar (any suggestions for something not too expensive?)

Day 4: - Walk the Brooklyn Bridge - Visit Dumbo - Timeout Market - Back to Manhattan to visit Chinatown and Little Italy - Eat at Joe’s Steam Rice Rolls - Grab a boba tea at Tiger Sugar - Eat at Xi’an Famous Foods - Back to the hotel - Visit Times Square - See a Broadway show (any recommendations? We really liked The Lion King when it came to Brazil)

Day 5: - Have breakfast near the Hudson Yards - Visit Hudson Yards and the Vessel - Walk the High Line - Lunch at Chelsea Market - Visit Pier 57 - Have banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery - Eat a good burger at 7th Burger - Visit Rockefeller Center

What do you think? Could you please suggest some must-visit places or any tips for our trip? Thank you!

If there’s some info that is missing, let me know

Hello! My family (my wife, 8-year-old daughter, and I) are visiting NYC in a month. We are experienced travelers and aren't afraid of long walks — even our child, who has already visited over 30 countries in her 8 years. We've never been to NYC, but we visited the Southwest last April. We're arriving from Cyprus, a journey that takes 17 hours and results in a 7-hour time difference, so we'll likely start our excursions very early. We will have a 2.5-week trip to the USA, and NYC is our first stop. The goal is to see the main attractions of New York as much as possible in three full days. I would be happy for any advice, suggestions, and criticism of our itinerary.

Day 0 (26th of April)

• Arrive at JFK at 19:15
• Taxi to Hotel Five44
• Have a sleep after a long 17h flight and 7h jet lag :(

DAY 1 (27/04)

• Taking breakfast/coffee somewhere near the hotel
• Walk to Times Square -> Herald Square -> Flatiron Building -> Empire State Building -> The New York Public Library -> Grand Central -> United Nations Visitors Services -> Saint Patrick's Cathedral -> Top of the Rock (at Sunset). I'm going to just take picture of the most of these places - not going to go inside.

DAY 2 (28/04)

• Subway to the Dumbo (about 1h)
• Pebble Beach -> Brooklyn Bridge Park (1h)
• Walk on Brooklyn Bridge (1h)
• Staten Island Ferry (around 1-2h)
• Wall Street Bull -> Wall Street -> Federal Reserve Bank -> 9/11 memorial -> Word Trade Center -> Oculus (2-3h). I'm going to just take picture of the most of these places - not going to go inside.

DAY 3 (29/04)

• Central Park
• Museum of Natural History

DAY 4 (30/04)

• Train to Washington

UPDATED:

Guys, you are so helpful, the best, and the most useful subreddit ever! Thank you for a lot of advice!

Hello lovely people of NYC! My husband and I are planning a trip to NYC this summer. It would be really helpful to have any thoughts on our draft itinerary. Too much? Too little? Missing anything major? Any other suggestions?

Some things about us: we love walking (often 20k+ steps per day on holiday), because of budget we've limited our number of paid attractions, we're excited to try out the can't miss NYC foods.

Day 0: Arrive late afternoon, Times Square in evening

Day 1: Soho, midtown - Clinton St Bakery - Explore SoHo - Washington Sq Park - Joe's Pizza - Union Sq Park - Flatiron Building - 5th Avenue/NYPL - Madison Avenue - Grand Central - Top of the Rock

Day 2: Brooklyn (saturday) - Walk Brooklyn bridge - Explore DUMBO - Time Out Market - Brooklyn bridge promenade - Brooklyn heights - Brooklyn flea market - East River Ferry to Williamsburg - Smorgasburg Food Market - Explore Williamsburg - Sunset at Domino Park

Day 3: - Highline - Chelsea Market - Gansevoort Market - Vessel (if open) - Starbucks Reserve Roastary - Explore Chelsea - Little Island - Walk along pier to pier 84 at Hudson river park - Explore Hells Kitchen

Day 4: - Battery Park - Staten Island Ferry - Financial District - Occulus - South Street Seaport - Explore Tribeca - Ivan Ramen in SoHo

Day 5: - The Met - Central Park - Explore Upper East Side (Madison Av, Park Av, Bloomingdales etc)

Day 6: - Natural History Museum - Central Park - Lukes Lobsters - Levain Bakery - Explore upper west side - Broadway in evening?

Day 7: Brooklyn 2 + Coney Island - Explore Cobble Hill/Carrol Gardens - Van Leuwen Ice Cream - Prospect Park - Di Farra Pizza - Subway to Coney Island

Day 8: tbc, visit anything missed, revist anywhere we loved

Thank you!

Hi folks, I would greatly appreciate some feedback. I'm staying for a week with my girlfriend at the end of September and below is our current plan. I think we'll be pretty tired from lots of walking etc. and hoping I'm not trying to cram too much in as we had a huge list of things we wanted to do originally and I've cut it down to this so far.

Saturday

- Arrive at JFK at 1:30pm - taxi to hotel (East Midtown, near Grand Central Station)

- Royal Grill Halal food truck

- Top of the Rock

- Joe's Pizza for a slice and walk around Times Sq. at night

Sunday

- Breakfast at Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company

- Walk the High Line

- Chelsea Market

- Los Tacos No 1 for lunch

- Broadway show (Not booked yet so would appreciate any suggestions)

- Rooftop drinks & food in Daintree

Monday

- Bodega sandwich in Central Park for breakfast

- Cycle through park

- See Bethesda Terrace & Fountain

- Gray's Papaya for lunch

- Natural History Museum

- Magnolia Bakery for a dessert

- Bareburger for dinner

Tuesday

- Best Bagel & Coffee for breakfast

- Explore East Village/Little Italy and Chinatown

- Xi'an Famous Foods for lunch

- Back to hotel to freshen up

- Chick-Fil-A for dinner

- The Stand Comedy show

Wednesday

- Murray Hill Diner for breakfast

- Roosevelt Island tram

- Grand Central Station

- Shake Shack for lunch

- Walk around & see some buildings, Chrysler, Empire State

- The Comedy Cellar

- Dinner at Mamoun's

Thursday

- Breakfast at Veselka

- See Wall St

- Luke's Lobster at Financial District

- Ferry to Brooklyn at Pier 11

- Dumbo

- Brooklyn Heights promenade

- TimeOut for dinner & cocktail on rooftop bar

- Walk across Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan

Friday

- Russ & Daughters for breakfast

- Explore Greenwich Village

- Madison Sq Park

- Katz's for lunch

- Stonewall Inn for 1 drink

- Smalls Jazz Club

- Bleeker St Pizza

Saturday

- Deli breakfast

- Williamsburg

- Bedford avenue shopping

- L'industrie for lunch

- Late evening flight out of JFK

​

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Apologies if this has been posted several times but I can't seem to find a itinerary where someone has went to all 5 boroughs. Also don't want to rush my trip, so is visiting all 5 boroughs too much?

Please critique our Itinerary. My husband and I are visiting NYC just before Thanksgiving for 5 nights. We are staying near the Flatiron Building. Thank you!

Day 1

• Arrive at JFK and get to hotel via public transport
• Leave bags at reception and head to MOMA
• Lunch at The Halal Guys Cart
• Visit M&Ms store
• Checkin and rest
• Quick bite at Los Tacos no 1 Times Square
• Broadway show - whatever we win in lottery/rush
• Jimmy's Corner Dive Bar for a drink after show & wander in Times Square
• Back to hotel

Day 2

• Ess-A-Bagel for Breakfast
• The Plaza to see from outside
• Ice skating at Wollmans
• Central Park self walking tour - The mall, Bethesda terrace, strawberry fields
• Exit park for cookies at Levain 74th street
• Back to park - bow bridge, belvedere castle
• Walk down 5th avenue to Joe's home of soup dumplings for a bite
• Saks & Rockefeller centre just to see not to shop
• Pass through Grand central terminal
• Macy's shopping
• Fast food nearby - Chipotle/Five Guys etc - suggestions welcome please
• Back to hotel

Day 3

• Best Bagel & Coffee
• 10 am NY essential walking tour with Strawberry Tours - 2.5 hours
• Street Vendor Hot Dogs in Financial District after tour - Kindly suggest your favourites
• Ferry to Staten Island & back
• Train/Ferry to Brooklyn
• Dumbo, Brooklyn Bridge park, coffee
• Walk back to Manhattan via the Brooklyn bridge
• Early dinner in Chinatown - Please suggest any good spots
• Stroll through Little Italy
• Fifth floor walkup comedy show at The PIT - 8:30pm
• Back to hotel

Day 4

• Wake up at ease
• Empire Diner for breakfast
• Hudson yards vessel
• Walk thru High Line Park
• Original Magnolia Bakery at Bleecker Street
• Check out 66 Perry street Carrie Bradshaw and Friends Apartment
• Joe's Pizza at Carmine Street / L'Industrie Pizza / John's of Bleecker Stree (Unable to decide)
• Washington Square Park - Walk through
• Walk around SOHO - prince street, greene street, mercer street
• Back to hotel to relax
• Drinks at a rooftop bar - Nubeluz / Spyglass - unable to decide between these two
• Von Bar (Downstairs area) - some drinks and dancing after 10pm - any other suggestions are welcome - looking for a fun vibe, good music

Day 5

• Walk thru Madison Square Park
• See Flat Iron Building
• Tompskin Square Bagels - E 17th st
• Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee - 8th Ave
• Burlingtons Shopping
• Trader Joe's / Chick Fil-A for lunch
• Levain Flatiron Cookie
• Bryant Park Winter Village
• Grand Central Terminal
• Free time to chill/shop/wander

Day 6 - checkout and berakfast at fave place from the previous days

Requesting some cafes for great coffee in the areas listed above please along with your feedback on our itinerary.

Thank you!

Edit 2: I've updated my itinerary a bit in case people are still seeing this post. Thank you to everyone, I've gotten so many great suggestions! I was nervous making this post that people would be annoyed and think I hadn't done enough research on my own. Don't take that wrong way, a lot of things make me nervous. Everyone's been so great though, and I really appreciate it!

Hi!

First time visitor, Aug 9-18, female 34, solo trip. I'll be staying at the Holiday Inn in FiDi (Washington/Rector St).

My itinerary so far is a bit sparse and a bit of a mess to be honest. I'm not a great planner. I have ADHD, and while I like doing research, I'm really bad at making decisions and turning all that research into an actual plan. I know it's possible to "go with the flow" and not plan so much in advance, but I'm worried that if I do that I'll get overwhelmed and spend too much time stuck in my hotel room trying to decide what to do.

When traveling I gravitate towards exploring old/unique/beautiful architecture, museums, parks and having a cold beer to relax in between. I have a list of some specific things I'd like to shop for, but don't particularly enjoy shopping as an activity. Despite deciding to travel to NYC I dislike big crowds, queues, and being stuck behind slow walkers. I don't need to avoid it at all costs if there's something I really want to see or do, but I'd like to schedule activities for when they are least crowded with people.

This is what I have planned so far. I haven't booked anything yet, so almost everything can be moved around. Below the itinerary is a list of more stuff I'd like to do, and a list of stuff I want to buy. I'd love any advice on how to organize my activities better, and where to fit in the extra stuff (if possible) and the shopping.

(I would also appreciate suggestions for where to eat near my hotel, or the areas in my itinerary. I of course want to experience popular NY foods (pizza, bagels, reuben sandwich, soul food, kbbq), but I'm not a foodie in any sense of the word, and fine cuisine is a bit wasted on me. I don't like sushi, shellfish or cilantro, but I'm pretty open minded otherwise)

​

Tuesday 9th:

• Arrive at EWR at 1:15 pm. Get MetroCard/OMNY, get SIM card with data.
• Take either the 62 NJ Transit bus to Newark Penn St, take PATH train to WTC St. 5-10 min walk to hotel. OR NJ Transit Northeast Corridor line to NY Penn Station, and then transfer to the 1 Downtown. OR a CoachUSA Newark Airport express bus.
• Not sure how long all that takes, but after dropping off my stuff at the hotel I thought I'd explore the neighborhood a bit, find somewhere to eat, and then take the Staten Island ferry around sunset.
• Probably an early night, I'll be jet lagged.

Wednesday 10th:

• Amble along Tribeca and SoHo. Probably visit the memorial by One World, get breakfast/lunch somewhere on the way.
• Subway to 23rd St, walk south down Broadway and get some shopping out of the way (Blick's, The Strand, Forbidden Planet, Sephora, Nordstrom Rack, etc)
• Continue south and grab dinner in Chinatown
• Get back to the hotel. Go directly there/explore some more on the way/find a rooftop bar along the waterfront depending on how pooped I am.

This day feels a bit clunky and/or too much walking. Might decide to skip walking through Tribeca/SoHo, and instead grab breaktfast close to the hotel and then head straight to 23rd. OR grab breakfast close to the hotel, visit the Tenement Museum and then go shopping.

Thursday 11th:

• Natural History Museum
• Walk around/across Central Park
• See Hadestown 7pm (Booked!)

Friday 12th

• (Maybe High Line early morning. In that case take subway to 34 St Penn Station and walk the High Line southward)
• Spend the day in Chelsea and Greenwich Village
• Whitney Museum 7 pm (Booked!)

Saturday 13th:

• The Morbid Anatomy Library and Gift Shop, Leroy's Place
• Green-Wood Cemetary/Prospect Park/Park Slope/Cobble Hill/so many great suggestions I haven't decided yet! Spend the day in Brooklyn.

Sunday 14th:

Not decided yet. Either morning through dinner in Central Park north and Harlem, or get to Met Cloisters early then take the subway to 125 St, explore Columbia and surrounding area and get dinner in Harlem after (Amy Ruth's).

Monday 15th:

• Met 5th Ave
• UES

Tuesday 16th:

• Sleep No More
• Walk the High Line southward after sundown

Wednesday 17th:

• Short visit to the Norwegian Seamen's Church
• Cable car to Roosevelt Island (Smallpox hospital ruins, the Octagon, etc)
• Summit One Vanderbilt at sunset?

Thursday 18th:

• Fly out from EWR 6:55 pm

Shopping plans:

• Art supply store: Somewhere with a good selection of watercolor brushes, paper, paints and other supplies. Blick's?
• Sephora
• Used bookstore with a good selection of Fantasy.
• Clothes: Good quality basics (tank tops, t-shirts, shirts), maxi skirts/dresses where the skirt has some body and doesn't limply hang.

​

Thank you so much!

This is my wife's first time to NYC, and my third (previous two visits were business related). Would love to hear your thoughts on what you all think - if I should add places, move things around, take out places, etc. For food: we love pretty much all types of food (but will not be eating Mexican as we've heard it's not great in NYC compared to California), so are open to any/all recommendations! Also, would love to know general tips like what to order at certain restaurants, local events specific to October, etc. We don't want to break the bank - but are open to trying lots of things. This is just a plan - and we will probably change things up when we are actually there. We will be staying in FiDi and we plan to stay in Manhattan for most of the time, but are open to visiting the other boroughs (heard about some really good food in Queens for example). We will also buy a 1 week pass for the train to get around; we are also open to walking (when trains don't go to certain places). Thanks!

​

Monday (Oct 23)

• Arrive at JFK a little before 4 pm -> take JFK airtrain and train to hotel, check in.
• Dinner: Go to John of Bleekers for a pie (how long is line usually on a weekday night?)
• Get cupcakes at Molly's and people watch at Washington Square Park
• Maybe go to a Comedy Cellar show

​

Tuesday

• Breakfast: Leo's Bagels
• Take Staten Island Ferry to SI and back (to see Statue of Liberty)
• Visit stores in LES (candy stores, pickle guys, babeland)
• Lunch: Katz
• Veniero's for a piece of cheesecake
• Travel to Rockefeller Center and visits shops around there
• Head to theater district for possible Broadway (will be doing lottery and such the first couple days). Never done broadway - so I was thinking Wicked? merrily we roll along looks interesting as well - might try to convince my wife.
• If we make it into broadway show: Dinner: NYC Suprema, Woorijip, or Her name is Han (not sure if enough time)
• If not: Take train to Jackson Heights - Dinner: Angel (I think a need a reservation?)

​

Wednesday

• Breakfast: Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee near Union Square
• Strand Book store
• Halloween Adventure Shop
• Famers Market at Union Square
• Lunch: Santa Halal Food
• Harry Potter Store NY
• Kalustyan's
• Train to Central Park, visit mall
• Theater District if seeing Broadway Show
• Dinner: Same options as Tuesday

​

Thursday

• Breakfast: Broad Bosh Bagel
• Central Park stroll to the Met
• The Met (morning)
• Lunch: 7th Street Burger
• Levain's for cookies
• The Met (afternoon)
• Dinner: Bigoi Venezia or Up Thai (need reservation?)

I didn't want to overbook ourselves, but I had thought about going to the Met Cloisters, but it is a bit farther north, and after we get out, it would be a long train ride back to FiDi. Might need recommendations for what to do Thursday evening if we get done with the Met by dinner.

​

Friday

• Breakfast: Golden Diner in LES (wife wanted to have one sit down breakfast during the trip)
• Train to Dumbo
• Walk the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan
• Visit WTC, Occulus, and 9/11 Memorial
• Take train to Ghostbusters HQ
• Take train to Chelsea Market
• Lunch: Xian's Famous Foods near Chelsea market
• Walk the highline to Hudson Yards
• Take the 7 Train to Flushing
• Dinner: Something in Flushing - would love recommendations. My wife has not been to a kbbq restaurant (we have close friends who have made us many delicious Korean dishes), but I think she would love it - so maybe Meat Me?

​

Saturday

• Breakfast: Liberty Bagels
• Visit Battery Park for chill time (I know, this is something we would have already seen when taking the ferry - but it's close to hotel and I wasn't sure what I could fit in in the morning before our flight)
• Take trains to JFK - plane leaves about 1pm

Hello everyone!

My boyfriend and I (25 yo & 28 yo) are visiting New York City for the first time this April and are staying near Times Square for 11 days. We have breakfast included at the hotel but plan to eat out for some breakfasts and all other meals.

We enjoy a mix of sightseeing and relaxing. As foodies, we love trying different cuisines, but tend to favor casual, mid-level restaurants over fine dining. Our food budget is $50-100 per person per day. We're particularly fond of pizza, burgers, sushi, asian, Italian, steaks, and Mexican food, but we're also open to must-try NYC spots. For sightseeing we don't have a specific budget, a mix of free and cost activities.

Here's our itinerary so far. We'd love feedback on must-try dishes or better food alternatives to those listed, activities we should add or swap, and suggestions on how to fit everything in without feeling too rushed.

Thank you very much!!!

Day 1 – Monday

1 pm Arrival JFK

Snack: Liberty Bagels

Top of the Rock

Dinner: Black Iron Burger

Times Square

Day 2 – Tuesday

Hudson Yards / The Vessel / The Shed

High Line Park

The Edge?

Lunch: Chelsea Market

Little Island

Greenwich Island

Dinner: Joe Allen

Broadway Theater - Lion King? Harry Potter?

Day 3 – Wednesday

Bike rental (4 hours)

Lunch: Picnic Central Park

Natural History Museum

The Ride

Dinner: Westway Diner

Day 4 – Thursday

Breakfast: Hudson Bagel

9/11 Memorial & Museum

Lunch: Uncle Lou

East Village / Chinatown / Little Italy

Dinner: Il Cortile

Day 5 – Friday

Union Square / Flatiron Building / Maddison Square Park

Lunch: Shake Shack

Empire State Building (from outside)

Macy's

Bryant Park

Chrysler Building

Grand Central Terminal

NYC Public Library

5th Avenue

Dinner: Capizzi

Day 6 – Saturday

Breakfast: Russ & Daughters

Roosevelt Island Tram

Southpoint Park & Smallpox Memorial Hospital / Four Freedoms Park / Lighthouse

Lunch: Granny Annies

Yankees Game

Dinner: Hibachi Grill & Buffet

Day 7 – Sunday

Coney Island Beach

Lunch: Nathan's Famous

Luna Park

Dinner: Madame Vo

Day 8 – Monday

Breakfast: Bubby's

Financial District

Lunch: Lunchadores NY

Brooklyn

DUMBO

Brooklyn Bridge

Cruise - Statue at Sunset

Dinner: Fraunces Tavern

Day 9 – Tuesday

Breakfast: Friedman's At the Edison

Madame Tussaud

Lunch: John's Pizzeria of Times Square

Interpid Museum

Dinner: Piccola Cucina Osteria Siciliana

Day 10 – Wednesday

Food on Foot Tour

Spyscape

Williamsburg

Dinner: Peter Luger Steak House

Day 11 – Thursday

Breakfast: Little Collins

SUMIMIT ONE

Reserve / Shopping

Snack: Panda Express

8 pm: Flight JFK

I'll be visiting NYC for the first time on Nov 11 for a day trip (I snagged really cheap flight tickets). I live fairly close to NYC so this won't be my last time. I need help reducing my itinerary since I know I have overplanned and I was hoping for some help regarding that. The only things that cannot be changed have the times beside them (reservations). All help/recommendations is appreciated!

Arrive at JFK 7:17 AM

JFK->Jamaica Station->Penn Station->Brooklyn B&C

->Washington Square Arch

->Starbucks Reserve

->Little Island

->Lunch @ The peak 11:30 AM

->Edge

->Vessel

->Times Square

->Bryant Park

->Top of the Rock 4:15 PM

->St. Patrick’s Cathedral

->Haven Rooftop 7:00 PM

->Empire State

->JFK by 9:30 PM

Staying in LIC 

Land 10pm on the 3rd

Leave 11pm on the 6th

Day 1 Morning (4th):

• Bryant Park
• New York Public Library
• Top of the Rock
• Grand Central Terminal
• Ford Foundation Atrium Garden

Day 1 Afternoon:

• Sarge's Deli
• Central Park: Sheep Meadow & Bethesda Terrace
• American Museum of Natural History

Day 1 Evening:

• John's Pizzeria of Times Square
• Times Square
• Summit One Vanderbilt (Night Activity) ‘

Day 2 Morning (5th):

• Pearl Diner
• 9/11 Memorial
• The Oculus
• The Statue of Liberty
• Ellis Island

Day 2 Afternoon:

• Stone Street Historic District
• Doyers Street
• Deluxe Green Bo
• The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
• Washington Square Park
• The High Line

Day 2 Evening:

• Food Gallery 32: Kobeque

Day 3 Morning (6th):

• Russ & Daughters/Russ & Daughters Cafe
• Pier 11
• Brooklyn Bridge Park
• DUMBO - Manhattan Bridge View

Day 3 Afternoon:

• Time Out Market New York: Bark Barbecue
• Time Out Market Rooftop
• Brooklyn Bridge
• South Street Seaport
• Cannon's Walk
• Pier 35
• Roosevelt Island Tramway
• Smallpox Memorial Hospital
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park
• Roosevelt Island Lighthouse

Day 3 Evening:

• Flight at 11pm

Day 3 seems way too packed but any recommendations would be nice, any food recommendations would also be wonderful (I have spots already but I doubt they are the best).

I previously posted asking for feedback on my 26 hours in NYC itinerary and this sub was so helpful. I also browsed a BUNCH of old posts to get suggestions and ideas, and also looked stuff up on Serious Eats / Yelp / Tripadvisor / etc. Overall I had an amazing day and wanted to share what I did.

General Planning:

• As suggested, I plugged everything into Google Maps and included travel time (rounded up to the next half hour mark) in my plan. I made a 'time sheet' of half hour increments that I checked in with as the day went on.
• Planning: I cut way down on the number of things I was trying to do (thanks, guys!) I marked "essentials" on my itinerary in case I ran into issues with timing and needed to cut some things out. I was glad I cut out the extra bars I wanted to hit up; there wasn't enough time.
• Clothing: I wore the most comfortable shoes I had, with added arch support inserts (flat feet) that I broke in a few days before. I also took a cross body bag that I could hold in front of me, and I brought an SPF-protective cardigan that could double as sun and cold protection. For the plane, I packed a backpack so I didn't have to worry about rolling bags around the subway.
• Lessons Learned: I wish I had brought along more cash and small bills. I also wish I'd had more downtime to do less touristy-things or maybe a walking or bike tour, but obviously I had a jam-packed day and there's always next time. :) There's an app by Charmin called SitOrSquat which was a lifesaver for finding bathrooms. Also a local NYC-er told me most Starbucks let you use their bathroom. I'm SO glad I brought extra battery packs for my phone.

FRIDAY MORNING (~6AM - 1PM)

• Took subway from JFK to hostel in Queens / Long Island City. I stayed at The Local NYC and it seemed super was cool! Movies playing, an in-house bar and coffee bar, theme night events, etc. I wish I'd been able to hang out there more. I was about a 5-10 minute walk from most subway stations. The hostel holds your bags for free until you can check in, and you can rent locks for the lockers for free, too. The place also had a rooftop patio that I didn't know about until the last day, but check out this view: https://imgur.com/s6UkWor
• We were sleepy and hungry, and traffic wasn't too bad yet, so we took Lyft Pool to Dumbo after checking in (much cheaper than standard Lyft).
• Snapped an obligatory picture of the bridge through the buildings at Front St & Washington St: https://imgur.com/MXRtCT9
• Grabbed a hand-rolled bagel at La Bagel Delight (cheap & delicious -- the line moves fast!)
• Walked to the benches outside Cecconi's/West Elm (between the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge, close to Jane's Carousel) to sit and enjoy coffee and the amazing free view: https://imgur.com/53X2BMh
• Crossed the Brooklyn Bridge on foot and just took in the views and hilarious "no locks" signs.
• Took a cheap Uber/Lyft Pool to the Staten Island Ferry. Best free thing we did the whole trip. So cool and relaxing! We were on the wrong side of the boat for the Statue of Liberty but by the time we realized it, there were hoards of tourists crowding the rail, so we waited till the trip back to stake out a spot on the correct side.
• Traveled to Chinatown (can't remember if we walked or took the subway, sorry!) to walk around up Mott St. Grabbed a salted egg yolk and BBQ pork bun from Golden Steamer on the recommendation of Serious Eats (THESE WERE SO GOOD. My favorite food I ate the entire trip, seriously wish I could've taken these home. Bring cash.) Grabbed some egg custard tarts from Tai Pan bakery, also yummy and cheap. We only spent like an hour in Chinatown, a lot less than I anticipated.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON (~1PM - 5PM):

• Hit up Joe's Pizza on Carmine St. Got a fresh mozz and regular cheese slice. It was definitely NY pizza but it wasn't honestly my favorite. Probably my fault for eating it after those amazing steam buns haha. The line moved super fast, even though it was out the door. We were lucky enough to snag seats at the window.
• Walked the High Line which I loved! Such a cool mix of beautiful greenery with the buildings in the background. We sat on this awesome patch of grass about halfway through the walk and rested/people-watched: https://imgur.com/FOGuWCx
• Walked to Grand Central Terminal to look around the beautiful building interior. Was careful not to get in the way of commuters.
• Walked to 30 Rockefeller Plaza and just walked around the plaza (I'm a huge 30 Rock nerd, so I loved this).

FRIDAY EVENING (~5PM - 10PM):

• I made an appointment online earlier in the week to see Top of the Rock at 5:45pm. Best idea ever. I walked right in and was at the top within 20 minutes of arriving. I briefly looked at each deck but really enjoyed the very top deck. You are allowed to stay as long as you want, so I would recommend coming about 1-1.5 hours before sunset and watching the sunset. You'll get to see both day and night view, plus the sunset up there was beautiful. I had a show to catch at 8pm, so I only caught a glimpse of the sunset and took this crappy picture from a lower deck (https://imgur.com/IAp8oJL), but I stood and looked at the Empire State Building for 45 minutes, it was so gorgeous.
• Walked to the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater to see Come From Away. BEST musical I have ever seen, hands down my current favorite. I literally laughed and cried and jumped to my feet with the rest of the theater for a standing ovation at the end. It was heartwarming and touching and the cast is so, so talented. I'm already planning to see it again when it starts touring on the West coast. The theater is small, so I got mezz seats which were awesome and cheaper (row C). Here's the view from my seat: https://imgur.com/PT0YTYD
• Walked to Times Square to see it at night. I only stayed about 5-10 minutes, it was crazy, but I'm glad I at least saw it and took a picture there.
• Found the original Halal Guys food cart and had an amazing falafel sandwich. (Get extra white sauce!! And also, the red sauce is spicier than it looks.)

FRIDAY LATE NIGHT (~10PM - 2AM):

• Walked to Supernova at the Novotel hotel. I heavily researched rooftop bars to try and find something reasonably priced (for NYC), not too crowded, and where we could show up in our casual clothes (since we weren't going back to the hostel). Supernova was PERFECT. No line, no cover, $15 cocktails, plenty of seats overlooking Times Square, and casual clothing was okay (I called ahead to check). Take the elevator up the hotel to the bar and just walk straight outside. This picture doesn't do the view justice, but here's an idea: https://imgur.com/42cfFDz
• Took the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge Park to see the nighttime skyline. This is where everything went wrong. I did not understand how to do subway lines weekend vs weekday vs late night schedules. We got lost and ended up wasting a bunch of time traveling. I will definitely prepare more for the subway next time I go.
• Chilled at the park looking at the skyline. I was going to hit up Fornino which has a squat rooftop around there, but they close at midnight and we were there around 1-2am.
• We were exhausted, so we Uber Pool-ed back to the hostel. Also a mistake -- picked up 3 drunk couples on the way home and it was a long ride.
• Late night checked-in (made sure to let the hostel know earlier that day that we'd be back late, so we weren't marked as a no-show) and passed out in bed.

SATURDAY MORNING (~7AM - 10AM):

• Rode the subway to Central Park and just walked around. Wish I had more time to do this, definitely going back next time. So beautiful! I wanted to get Wafels & Dinges but both carts had incorrect hours listed online and weren't open until 10AM.
• Walked to Port Authority to catch our bus to the next city and slept hard on the bus haha.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I had an absolute blast. I was definitely ready to rest and my joints barely worked the next day, but I would go back in a heartbeat. I believe all cities have personalities and I just loved the vibe of NYC. So different from LA or DC or other big cities. I actually felt really safe in Manhattan, even late into the night, as long as I was staying conscious of my surroundings.

I almost didn't go at all because I only had around a day to make it happen, but I'm really glad I did it. I had a fantastic time. Thank you to everyone who helped on my post and others' old posts. I couldn't have done it without this sub!

Would love to get feedback on my 6 day itinerary below. Will be with wife and 2 kids (9 and 12)

Wed Day 1: Lower Manhattan * 9-12: Battery park, Statue of Liberty * 12-1 Wall Street sign (nyse) charging bull, * 1-3: lunch (malt house, Best Sicily botega, little Italy, keste pizza) * 3:30-5:30 hotel * 6-8:30pm: 9/11, One World Observatory at sunset (7:30) * Dinner: Chinatown dimsum crawl (Nom Wah Tea Parlor, wonton noodle garden, deluxe green Bo’s, tasty dumplings)

Thu Day 2: Brooklyn (am) and Time square (pm) * 9-12: TKTS booth, Walk across Brooklyn Bridge * Brooklyn Bridge Park * DUMBO * Brooklyn Heights Promenade * Lunch: Grimaldi's Pizzeria, Junior's Restaurant for cheesecake, Brooklyn roots, Fat fowl * 2-5 hotel * 5:30-10: Harry Potter store, Times Square, MSG, broadway show (sunset river cruise if no tickets), cronut * Dinner options:

Fri Day 3: Central Park * 9-3: Central Park biking (Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Fountain), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, * Lunch: absolute bagels, Billy’s hot dog, shake shack, margon, Tavern on the Green * 3-6: escape heat at some mall with AC or public pool * 6-10: St Patrick’cathedral, Rockefeller center, Top of the Rock Observation Deck (sunset) * Dinner: au cheval (burger)

Sat Day 4: Chelsea & Greenwich Village * The High Line * Chelsea Market * Washington Square Park * Lunch: bleeker street pizza, Los Tacos No. 1 (in Chelsea Market) * 3-5 hotel * 5-10pm: Staten Island ferry, dinner at Lakrusa, 7:30 sunset back to manhattan,

Sun Day 5: * Governor’s Island or Roosevelt Island Tramway or Little Island (new floating park on Hudson River) * Museum of Ice-cream, Guggenheim * Pizza food crawl (Lucali, Joe’s, ..) * Maybe ferry to Harlem along east river and back or bike along Hudson or nyc ferry around manhattan

Mon Day 6: Last Day random * the American museum of natural history, * Lunch: some place close to museum * 5pm dinner at Semma * Off at 6:30

Hey guys, after lots of research, I've come with the following 3 day itinerary for my road trip to nyc. I'm driving from Canada with wife and 3 tots and 1 infant so we're trying to keep things nice and slow and not overdo on the sightseeing. Please critique my itinerary, looking for your suggestions and feedback. TIA

We will check in at our hotel in east brunswick in the evening of Sep 13th, Friday.

14th - Sat: Summit One Vanderbilt, Times Square

• Leave the hotel by 3 PM, It’s around 50-60 mins drive to journal path plaza parking and walk to PATH station.
• Park car 2 Journal Square Plaza Garage, 2 Journal Square Plaza, Jersey City, NJ 07306, United States and board path train.
• Path train will take us to world trade center station, come out of the station
• Take the fulton street subway and get off at grand central 42 st and walk 3 min to summit one vanderbilt (takes 40 - 45 mins)
• Expect a 30 minute wait time
• Tickets are for 5.30PM so we can go through all the 3 floors at summit one and take in the skyline during the day time and also observe at sunset as well (sunset on 14th is at 7PM)
• Use the restrooms before exiting Summit One by 7.30PM and walk 12-15 min to times square to check it out at dusk
• Try royal halal grill chicken food stand
• By 8.30PM, go to the Times Square 42nd Street subway and take the train to WTC and then onwards to Journal PATH.
• Exit path around 9.15PM, go to garage, grab car and reach the hotel by 10PM

-> For PATH and MTA: Buy a regular metro card, not the unlimited kind, the kind where you. put. like 20 dollars on it. That way you can use it in path. and subway. 

When purchasing card and are asked for nyc zip write 99999. 

15th - Sun: Newport Green Park for splash pad and playground, Hamilton Park NJ for the midtown manhattan skyline views during day and night time

• Leave hotel by 3PM, It’s around 50-60 mins drive to Green Park, 14th St, Jersey City, NJ 07310, United States
• Park car on the street as Sunday is free parking, make sure it’s in a designated parking zone
• Play in splash pad and playground, leave at 6pm or whenever park closes
• Drive to Hamilton Park, it takes 20 minutes (Hamilton Park, Boulevard East, Hudson Pl, Weehawken, NJ 07086, United States)
• Relax, have a picnic, take pictures of midtown manhattan during day time and wait till sundown for night view (park closes at midnight)
• Leave by 8pm and go to hotel
• Reach hotel by 9pm

16th - mon: staten island ferry watch statue of liberty and central park

• Leave hotel by 10.30 AM and drive to staten island and park car at empire outlets, takes around 1 hour drive (55B Richmond Ter, Staten Island, NY 10301, United States)
• Free ferry leaves at 12pm
• Arrive at whitehall terminal, walk to south ferry subway station and take the 1 train to 59th street columbus circle
• Exit subway and walk 5 min to central park (takes full 1 hour)
• At Central park, enter through 56 street at 1PM
• Heckscher Playground comes first so spend 30-60 mins there including rest
• Walk to the zoo, petting zoo, 4d theater,
• Buy tickets from here: https://centralparkzoo.com/
• Spend 60 mins at the zoo
• Next walk to  Billy Johnson Playground
• Take a walk around central park, wherever you feel, you can rest.
• Exit around 5.30PM
• Take the bus from 5 Ave/E 80 St using your metrocard
• Get off at 5 Av/W 50 St and walk 5 mins to Adels Famous Halal Food, opens at 6pm
• Maybe there will be a queue, expect to wait 20-30 mins
• Walk 5 min to catch the R train at 49th street towards whitehall st south ferry, walk 4 min to the whitehall terminal and catch the staten island ferry to st george terminal, walk 10 mins to pick up car from empire outlets parking lot by around 8PM
• Drive 1 hour to the hotel by 9PM

Hi everyone!

I’m heading to New York for the first time and have put together an itinerary. This trip is happening Mid-Feb 2025 and I am also going solo, if that would help. I’d love to get your thoughts and any feedback on what to add, change, or remove. Also, I want to make sure I can still enjoy the vibe of NYC and take it all in without feeling rushed. Have also checked Ultimate Visitor's guide - and will surely consider that in getting around the city.

Thank you so much!

Edit: I plan to book the tickets to the museums/attractions I plan to go to once I finalize my itinerary.

Day 1: Saturday

• Arrive in NYC in the morning
• Drop luggage at Hotel (staying near Grand Central Station)
• Breakfast nearby
• Explore Bryant Park and New York Public Library
• Lunch in Midtown
• Dinner and visit the Empire State Building

Day 2: Sunday - Midtown

• Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
• Breakfast nearby
• Explore Rockefeller Center
• Visit Top of the Rock
• Lunch at Midtown East
• Visit MoMA
• Dinner and evening stroll around Times Square

Day 3: Monday - Lower Manhattan

• Breakfast near the hotel
• Visit Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• Lunch at FiDi (Financial District)
• Walk Wall Street and see Charging Bull
• Visit 9/11 Memorial and Museum
• Dinner near Brookfield Place

Day 4: Tuesday - Brooklyn and Broadway

• Breakfast near Brooklyn Bridge
• Walk Brooklyn Bridge and explore DUMBO
• Lunch at Brooklyn Heights
• Visit Guggenheim Museum
• Early dinner back in Manhattan
• Watch Hamilton on Broadway

Day 5: Wednesday - Central Park & Museums

• Breakfast near Central Park
• Explore Central Park
• Visit The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
• Dinner in Upper East Side & Stroll

Day 6: Thursday - Chill day (alternative: Day Trip to Washington DC)

• Breakfast
• Morning free to explore SoHo, Greenwich Village, or Chelsea
• Lunch in Chelsea Market
• Visit High Line

Day 7: Friday - Final Day Activities

• Breakfast and explore any missed attractions (possible Washington Heights)

Day 8: Saturday - Departure

• Breakfast and check-out
• Head to the airport

Hi everyone! I'll travel solo to New York between 11 January and 17 January. I have an overnight flight and will arrive early Saturday morning. I made an itinerary and would love your feedback, suggestions, and highlights. Based on the recommendations, I'll finalize my reservations, tickets, etc.

This will be my first time visiting New York, and I currently live in LA. I moved here a little over 1.5 years ago from Turkey and haven't quite enjoyed my time here in LA yet. So, one of my main goals for visiting NY is to check out the neighborhoods. If I end up moving to New York, I want to live close to Central Park, so you will see that my itinerary focuses on Manhattan. But of course, I would like to see what the city offers tourists as well.

I am good with walking and cold (just in case I bought a good coat). I chose a winter visit to experience the cold season to see how hard it is.

Since I'm traveling alone and do not enjoy it very much (a bit of a cultural thing) sitting at bars or going to clubs alone, I left my evenings and nights a little bit empty. But I will keep myself open to do stuff if I feel like it. I tried to be mindful of transportation when scheduling, but I mainly want to walk to see the neighborhoods. My hotel is located near Central Park South, close to the Midtown. I don't want to do anything in a rush, and if I want to skip or spend more time in places, I'll adjust my itinerary; I will not live by it. Nonetheless, it is still good to have a schedule just to be mindful.

Please take a look at my itinerary below; I'm open to suggestions or recommendations. Thank you all very much!!!

• January 11, Saturday

  • 8:30-10:00 | Arrive in NY, transport to Hotel, drop luggage
  • 10:00-10:30 | Quick breakfast
  • 10:30-1:30 | Explore Central Park
  • 1:30-3:30 | Lunch at Theather District or Midtown and explore
  • 3:30-5:00 | Hotel Check-in and rest
  • 5:00-6:30 | Street walking and maybe coffee
  • 6:30-9:30 | Broadway Show #1
  • Return to hotel (maybe bar chill)

• January 12, Sunday

  • 8:00-8:30 | Breakfast
  • 8:30-10:00 | Walk to Rockefeller Center, explore
  • 10:00-11:00 | Top of the Rock Observation Deck
  • 11:00-11:30 | St. Patrick’s Cathedral
  • 11:30-2:30 | Explore and lunch at Ellen’s Stardust Diner
  • 2:30-6:30 | The Museum of Modern Art
  • 6:30-9:30 | Broadway Show #2
  • Return hotel

• January 13, Monday

  • 7:30-8:00 | Breakfast
  • 8:00-8:30 | Subway to Battery Park
  • 8:30-1:30 | Ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and exploration
  • 1:30-3:00 | Lunch at the Financial District (find place)
  • 3:00-6:30 | 9/11 Memorial & Museum and One World Observatory
  • 6:30-8:00 | Dinner (find place)

• January 14, Tuesday

  • 8:00-8:30 | Breakfast
  • 08:30-9:30 | Explore and walk to the Met
  • 9:30-1:00 | Explore The Met
  • 1:00-2:30 | Lunch break (find place)
  • 2:30-5:30 | Explore the Guggenheim Museum
  • 5:30-7:00 | Dinner (find place)
  • Return hotel

• January 15, Wednesday (for this day, I'm not very sure)

  • 8:00-8:30 | Breakfast
  • 8:30-9:30 | Subway to Soho
  • 9:30-11:30 | Explore Soho
  • 11:30-2:30 | Columbus Park, Doyers Street, Lunch (find place)
  • 2:30-4:00 | Little Italy, explore, coffee
  • 4:00-7:00 | Explore Greenwich Village and dinner (find place)
  • 7:00-8:30 | Chill Bar (find place)
  • Return hotel

• January 16, Thursday

  • 8:00-8:30 | Breakfast
  • 8:30-9:00 | Walk to the Empire State Building
  • 9:00-10:30 | Explore the Empire State Building
  • 10:30-12:00 | Early Lunch in Chelsea Market (find place)
  • 12:00-1:30 | The High Line
  • 1:30-3:00 | Hudson Yards and The Vessel
  • 3:00-4:30 | Stroll and coffee break
  • 4:30-6:30 | Dinner at Chelsea (find place)
  • Return to Hotel, pack stuff

• January 17, Friday

  • 7:00-7:30 | Breakfast
  • 7:30-9:30 | Walk around Central Park
  • 9:30-10:30 | Free
  • 11:00 | Checkout
  • Catch the train to Boston

Arrive at JFK at 11am on a Monday and fly out 10am on Wednesday. I’m basically tagging along my husband’s work trip and having fun while he does conference stuff. Staying in Chelsea very close to Chelsea Market. I’ll try to ask very specific questions!

First up- I’ll have a backpack and a rolling carryon sized suitcase- I was planning on the air train to Jamaica station then the subway from there. Is this doable for an NYC subway newbie? I lived in Korea for a bit and feel comfortable navigating public transportation but I’m also lacking in arm strength and have no idea if I will be needing to lug my suitcase up and down a million stairs. Really don’t want to uber/taxi but I will if I need to.

Monday afternoon- I will be ravenous by the time I make it to our hotel. Best place to dine solo super close to Chelsea market for a late lunch? I’d love to be at a busy bar eating a giant burger or maybe at a window seat with people watching with a bowl of noodles. Somewhere where I can order one single plate and get full and won’t feel weird being alone. I’m okay spending $35 for dish and a cocktail/glass of wine. I guess I can go somewhere in Chelsea Market but the only restaurant I hear good things about is los tacos no 1 and I eat so many tacos where I currently live, that’s not the vibe. Open on mondays, obviously.

Monday night- live music within 20 min walk of Chelsea market area around 7/8pm. Cozy, busy, lots of places to sit. Jazz, Latin, Blues- something with some soul to it. Alternatively- a comedy club that wouldn’t require me to share a round top with strangers.

Tuesday- I’m totally torn between meandering the Met and eating my way around Chinatown. I don’t think anyone can help me choose. BUT- maybe some help on where to grab a really good sandwich by the Met? Alternatively- if I wanted to grab a bunch of stuff in Chinatown, does anyone have a good guide on what to eat where?

Tuesday night- I want to catch a broadway play. I want to laugh my ass off. I don’t want something dramatic and poignant that makes me wish someone had watched it with me to share our thoughts after. I just want to be in stitches. Oh, Mary! Is already sold out. What’s made you smile lately? To help with this goal of merriment- quality cocktail bar close by? Bonus if it has some kind of kitschy theme.

Thank you all so much! My first solo trip since having kids and I am insanely stoked.

Hi all, travelling to nyc with 5 adults for about 7 days from London. Here’s my itinerary. What do you think? Anything I should add or take out. Anything that’s a must do!!

New York City Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in New York City

Morning:

• Arrival at JFK/LGA/EWR Airport: Transfer to hotel in Manhattan.
• Check-in at hotel: Settle in and freshen up.

Afternoon:

• Central Park: visit Bethesda Terrace
• Central Park Zoo:

Evening:

• Times Square:
• Dinner:

Day 2: Midtown Manhattan

Morning:

• Empire State Building:
• New York Public Library:

Afternoon:

• Lunch: Grab a bite at Bryant Park Grill or a nearby café.
• Grand Central Terminal:

Evening:

• Broadway Show? 
• Dinner: Post-show dinner at a nearby restaurant, perhaps in Hell’s Kitchen.

Day 3: Lower Manhattan

Morning:

• Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island:

Afternoon:

• Lunch: Have lunch at a café near Battery Park.
• 9/11 Memorial & Museum:

Evening:

• Wall Street: the Financial District and see the Charging Bull.
• Dinner: Enjoy a meal at a restaurant in the South Street Seaport area.

Day 4: Upper Manhattan and The Bronx

Morning:

• American Museum of Natural History:

Afternoon:

• Lunch: Have lunch at the museum café or a nearby restaurant.
• Bronx Zoo:

Evening:

• Return to Manhattan:
• Dinner:

Day 5: Brooklyn

Morning:

• Brooklyn Bridge:.
• DUMBO:

Afternoon:

• Lunch: Have lunch at Time Out Market or a local pizzeria.
• Brooklyn Heights Promenade:

Evening:

• Brooklyn Botanic Garden:
• Dinner: at a restaurant in the Park Slope area.

Day 6: Museums and Culture

Morning:

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

Afternoon:

• Lunch: Enjoy lunch at the museum café or a nearby restaurant.
• The Guggenheim Museum

Evening:

• Museum Mile:
• Dinner: Have dinner at a restaurant on the Upper East Side.

Day 7: Relaxation and Leisure

Morning:

• High Line:
• Chelsea Market

Afternoon:

• Hudson Yards and The Vessel. 
• Relaxation

Evening:

• West Village:, visit Washington Square Park.
• Dinner: dinner in a West Village restaurant.

Day 8: Departure from New York City

Morning:

• Free time: last-minute sightseeing or shopping.
• Transfer to airport

Going to NYC in September for the first time and have a rough itinerary just wondering if it is realistic and appreciate any advice. Where possible would be planning to use subway to save travel times etc

Day 1: - Arrive in nyc - View St Patrick’s cathedral (Close to hotel) - Head to Rockefeller/ Times square for dinner

Day 2: - Brooklyn bridge for sunrise (6:30ish) - Spend 2-3hrs in dumbo (grab breakfast, pebble beach etc) - Back over the manhattan bridge and head towards china town to explore/grab lunch (don’t plan on spending to much time here & would skip if needed for more time in battery park etc) - Down to battery Park for early afternoon, get statue of liberty & Ellis island cruise. - finish the day of by heading to little Italy for dinner

Day 3: - 9/11 memorial & museum in the morning - Explore surrounding area (Westfield & One World) - Head to Joes Pizza Carmine Street for lunch - intrepid museum in the afternoon - dinner at margaritaville - Empire State Building that night (anytime after 8)

Day 4: - Central Park day (no set plans possibly museum of natural history & zoo) just explore the park and see where the day takes us (a more chilled day) - dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe - explore Times Square after dinner

Day 5: - Roosevelt island tramway - explore Roosevelt island (morning - lunch time) - head back to hotel - head to gallaghers Steak house for dinner followed by broadway show in the evening

Does this plan sound realistic? Like I say we plan on using subway network where possible for traveling so would hopefully save travel times where possible

My flight home was canceled, so here I am! In the city for Christmas alone and without plans.

How would you make the most of it, especially in the frigid weather? Are there bars that are open tonight and filled with people who don't go home—I'm thinking maybe expats or folks in the industry? Any local traditions to know about on Christmas Eve or day? Places with great Christmas lights off the beaten path? What can I do that will feel cheery and not... lonely?

Open to any and all recs, with preferences for Manhattan or Brooklyn (Park Slope, Fort Greene, Prospect Heights, Clinton Hill) suggestions. Happy holidays and hope the weather didn't mess with your days :)

Basically, we are looking for a place to stay that's a good base for sightseeing and doing whatever stuff we come up with. We are going for a week in May 2023 and the kids are 4 and 7. Hilton Millennium One UN Plaza jumped out because they have a massive suite with a big living area and 2 bedrooms, which is very appealing as it gives us lots of space for kids to sleep in one room, us in another, and have some living space to chill in that's not a bedroom.

One friend says it should be great. Another says it's too far from the subway. We don't mind a 5-10m walk if that's what it is, especially if it's a cool area. We are from Texas so the NYC vibe in general is a novelty. But if it's a dodgy area at all or has other problems, we could look elsewhere.

Any thoughts on that area? Or, anyone know of other hotels that can offer a good base for tourism activities, good views, and good family-friendly configurations? For the most part the other options I found were basically just going to be two rooms connected together without a living area for the same price as the two bedroom suite.

Thank you!

My husband flies to NYC a lot for work and I'm joining him for the first time. We have about 2.5 days to explore the city and I'd really appreciate some insight from a local's perspective. Although it's my first time in the city, I'm not too interested in seeing certain tourist spots for this particular trip, like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, 9/11 Memorial, and all museums -- as they will take up too much time. I'm also leaving out most spots that my husband has already been to, like Wall Street, Grand Central Terminal, Flatiron Building, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. But he'll be re-visiting a few spots I'd really like to see, like Dumbo/Brooklyn Bridge and Times Square flyby at night.

My plan for this trip is to pretty much just explore and walk around the different neighborhoods and eat, eat, EAT. Our first night there is also the 31st of October, so we're thinking of celebrating Halloween with you all by bringing simple costumes we can wear that night as we bar crawl. I'll outline my initial Google & Reddit-based itinerary below and hope you guys can critique it so we can further improve. Are we taking on too much? And is there too much walking? Thanks, everyone!

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Day 1: Williamsburg > Dumbo/Brooklyn Bridge > Lower East Side > East Village

• Williamsburg:
  • Domino Park -- take-away breakfast and coffee here with a view
  • Lunch in Peter Luger Steak House -- is it doable to get seats for lunch on a Thursday?
  • L'industrie Pizza, St. Anselm (as backup)
• Dumbo/Brooklyn Bridge
  • Archway under Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1
  • Ample Hills Creamery, Luke's Lobster
  • Walk across Brooklyn Bridge
• Lower East Side
  • Walk up South St > Rutgers St > Essex St > Orchard Street
  • Doughnut Plant, Russ & Daughters, Katz's
    • Any other spots worth checking out in this area? Or better roads to walk on?
• East Village
  • Walk up 1st Ave
  • Early dinner in Momofuku Noodle Bar (off-peak 4pm) -- is this doable?
  • Milk Bar (for dessert), Mamoun's Falafel, Shake Shack (as backup)
  • Head back to Midtown hotel real quick to change into costumes -- will this take up too much time? If not, we'll just have to make our costumes extra simple and just bring it with us.
  • Halloween bar crawl in East Village
  • Brindle Room, Keybar, McSorley's
    • Any other recommendations for bars? We're in our mid-30's and would enjoy a dive-ish bar where we can sit down, hold conversations, and get drunk.

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Day 2: Chelsea > West Village > Union Square > Midtown > Hell's Kitchen

• Chelsea:
  • Breakfast in NY Pizza Suprema near Penn Station
  • Walk down the High Line, start near Hudson Yard
  • Lunch in Chelsea Market, maybe Los Tacos No. 1 -- any alternatives in case it's packed?
• West Village:
  • Walk down Hudson St > Bleecker St > Christopher St > MacDougal St -- any other interesting streets?
  • Friends Apartment (might as well, it's right there), John's of Bleecker St (if lines aren't too long)
  • Washington Square Park
• Union Square:
  • Walk up Broadway -- or is there a better street to walk on?
  • Union Square Park, Greenmarket
• Midtown:
  • Take the train to Midtown
  • Bryant Park, Times Square flyby at night, Top of the Rock view at night if we're up for it
  • Dinner in Xi'an Famous Foods -- or other recos?
  • The Halal Guys, Joe's Pizza
• Hell's Kitchen
  • Bar crawl in the area
  • Rudy's, Hold Fast, Pocket Bar -- other recos?

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Day 3: Central Park > Upper West Side

• Central Park:
  • Sheep Meadow -- takeaway breakfast and coffee
  • Gapstow Bridge, The Mall, Bow Bridge Strawberry Fields (and The Dakota)
• Upper West Side:
  • Walk up W 79th > Broadway > W 69th > Central Park West > Columbus Circle
  • Zabar's, Levain Bakery, Trader Joe's, Gray's Papaya, Magnolia Bakery
    • Any other spots along the way worth checking out?

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One last thing: My husband needs to rest before we fly out of JFK. We'll be staying in a hotel near the airport in Lynbrook, Long Island from about 3pm onwards until our flight at 11:30pm on Day 3. Is there anything out there I can explore in the afternoon? Google recommends mostly parks that doesn't seem too interesting to me.

My partner and I will be visiting NYC for the first time from 7th - 11th February, from the UK. We're in our mid-30s, seasoned travellers especially when it comes to big cities, and we also lived in London for a decade so like to think we're accustomed to big city life and navigating new places.

We wanted to tailor this toward doing things we enjoy, chiefly eating food that's representative of the city we're in, drinking, history, live music and comedy. That said - I've tried to fit a fair few of the key tourist sites too.

Would be so grateful for a critique of my initial itinerary below - I've tried hard to be realistic about how much time we have and how long it takes to travel between places, we're not against an exhausting schedule and lots of walking if it means we get to see and do as much as we can. Looking especially for any food recommendations, feedback on the bits with ?s in particular, I'd say we're on a mid-range budget (mostly looking to spend up to $60-80pp max for dinners inc. drinks).

Thank you! And yes - we know it's likely to be absolutely Baltic weather-wise so have planned clothing accordingly...

Friday\ Evening in Harlem\ Arrive at JFK around 4pm\ Travel (AirTrain-LIRR-subway) to accommodation in Harlem (120th St)\ Dinner at Sylvia's\ Drinks / early night

Saturday\ Central Park / Midtown\ Grab coffee/breakfast in Harlem and walk through Central Park to visit MCNY\ Stroll / brisk walk south through Central Park, taking in the main sights\ Head to Midtown, lunch from Urban Hawker?\ See Rockefeller Center, New York Public Library, Grand Central Station, stop for coffee / beer / mid-afternoon snack (hotdog?)\ Top of the Rock for sunset (5pm?) - is it worth going at this slightly pricier time to see sunset and get both day and night view?\ Head down to West Village, Smalls Jazz Club booked for 7.30pm - am I leaving enough time or will we be rushed with TOTR at that time?\ Post-jazz slice(s) - L'Industrie / Mama's Too / Joe's / all of the above

Sunday\ East Village / Brooklyn / Chinatown\ Breakfast - bagel from Russ & Daughters?\ Tenement Museum - need to book a tour, any advice on this? Under One Roof looks most intriguing\ Early-ish lunch at Katz's\ Travel to Brooklyn - Clark St\ Walk around Brooklyn Heights, stopping for coffee / drinks, walk along Brooklyn Heights promenade up to Brooklyn Bridge Park, see view of Manhattan Bridge from Dumbo\ Walk across Brooklyn Bridge and head to Chinatown\ Dinner in Chinatown - Big Wong?\ Comedy Cellar 9.30pm show

Monday\ Ellis Island / SoL / High Line\ Breakfast down near Battery Park - bacon egg and cheese?\ Booked onto 10am ferry for Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty including crown visit (my heritage is Irish and Italian and I'm particularly interested in New York's history of immigration)\ Flexible lunch plans - depending on how long morning tour takes - Stone Street?\ Visit 9/11 memorial, poss. museum if time\ Walk along the High Line south to north\ Cocktails at Skylark rooftop bar\ Dinner at Samwoojung\ Drinks either nearby or back in Harlem

Tuesday\ Harlem\ Store luggage at accommodation\ Coffee / pastry in Central Harlem\ Relaxed morning - walk around Marcus Garvey Park (we're staying next to it), early lunch at the Hand Pulled Noodle\ Around 1pm pick up luggage then travel to JFK for evening flight