A few notes on New York City
This is a good walk that will hit a lot of major sites in a short period of time:
Start in the heart of Times Square (42nd and 7th – where the building is with the New Year’s Eve ball).
Walk east along 42nd St. You’ll hit Bryant Park (42nd and 5th) and the New York Public Library, and then keep walking to see the inside of Grand Central Station (go into the main terminal) and the Chrysler Building.
Walk back to 5th and then walk north up 5th Ave. You’ll pass Rockefeller Center on the left (around 50th) and then you’ll hit the entrance of Central Park (by 59th St.) by the Plaza Hotel.
If you walk the other way on 5th (south), you’ll hit the Empire State Building at 34th (but Top of the Rock or the World Trade is probably better for view, less lines, etc.)
Free Tours by Foot – check out the tour schedule; tons of different walking tours of the city including some good food tours; you have to register online but they’re all free you just tip at the end.
Staten Island Ferry – probably the best to see the city (and it’s free!) – you’ll also see the statue of liberty on the way there. The ferry leaves from southern tip of Manhattan by Battery Park every 30 mins. Just get off the ferry at Staten Island and get right back on since there’s not really a point in staying in Staten Island. Ideally leave about 30 mins before sunset so you’ll get day views on the way there and sunset/night on the way back.
Chelsea Market has some great food options and then you can walk along the High Line right from there too.
Also in Lower Manhattan, the 9/11 Memorial is worth visiting. Also check out the Oculus (the World Trade Centre transportation hub) – really cool inside – it’s the building near the World Trade the looks like dinosaur bones. Wall Street/Financial District is also nearby with the famous charging bull statue etc.
Broadway tips: You can sometimes have luck with standing room tickets or last-minute tickets showing up at the box office about 30 mins before it opens (typically $30-40). TKTS is nearby for discounted same-day tickets. Also check online, some shows have same-day lotteries you can enter to win cheap tickets—for some of the very popular ones (e.g. Hamilton) you’re highly unlikely to win but in the worlds of A.Ham don’t ‘throw away your shot’.
If you’re on the Upper West Side, go to Levain Bakery for a great cookie.
Comedy Cellar is good if you want to see stand-up show (Greenwich Village)
Brooklyn Bridge – the best way to do this is to subway to Brooklyn and walk back into Manhattan so you get the city views on your walk. Also in BK, check out the schedule for Smorgasburg which features a huge variety of food stands. There are different locations on Saturday and Sunday but both are in Brooklyn.
For some 5 star street food, go to the Halal Guys on 53rd and 6th – just look for the line; they’re legendary and the white sauce is particularly delish.
Chinatown is fun to walk around; focus on Canal St. and the side streets around there. You’ll find some great dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai and Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for ice cream.
Other interesting neighborhoods in lower Manhattan include Greenwich Village (taim is my fave falafel place and you can check out my Pizza tour here), East Village, Soho, and the Lower East Side. Lower East has some of the classic NY food spots -you can check out my LES food tour here.
For a unique NY experience, go to a Harlem Sunday morning church service.
Biking in Central Park: you can do CitiBike or rent a bike at one of the many shops around there.
Via is another ride share app that’s usually the cheapest (they are shared vans though so don’t use if you’re in the rush). The 7-day unlimited subway card is usually worth it depending on how much you use it – the subway is often the fastest way to get around because of traffic
