New York City has been on our dream list for a longgggg time. Without wanting to mention the dreaded C-word, it is the reason we decided to take the plunge and book the flights. It was a big trip for each of us and the build up was crazy. Thankfully, the city lived up to our expectations!
We had 5 days in the big apple and filled our time with lots to do and see. I think the best way of doing this, to avoid an overload of information, this is a summary of what we did and then I’ll do a deep dive into each of our day plans.
ESSENTIAL THINGS TO DO IN NYC
The first thing that we did when planning our trip, we compiled a list of everything we could possibly want to do. I’ve popped that below here:
- Times Square
- Hop On Hop Off Bus (essential!)
- Grand Central
- Empire State Building
- Top of The Rock
- Natural History Museum
- Broadway Show
- Central Park
- Shopping (!) – Bloomingdales, Macy’s
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Ground Zero & the Museum
- China Town
- Little Italy
- Statue of Liberty (Boat Tour)
- Highline Park
- Summit One
If you’re considering doing many tourist-y things, like we did (we wanted to be the ULTIMATE tourists haha) then you’ll definitely want to purchase a sightseeing pass. Theres a few options, and some of them have deals on so it’s good to keep in eye out on. But I 100% recommend getting one, there are queues specific for the passes, making life much easier and it does save you money!
We went with Sightseeing Pass. It cost $179 per person (in September 2022) for entrance into 6 attractions. We purchased on the website in advance, and received them via email and I downloaded them to my apple wallet to make it super easy to access.
Having a pass does not mean that you can enter timed attractions whenever (you’ll still have to queue for a slot) so do keep this in mind when planning.
FOOD MUST DO’S
Trying to find a good food spot was a litttttle overwhelming. The city is SO big and full of many tasty food spots with a huge variation of price, it felt a bit impossible to choose. Hopefully this summary below will offer a small selection to browse through.
- Liberty Bagels – The rainbow bagels of dreams
- Katz Deli – Salt beef, pastrami, gerkhins…need i say more?
- Jack’s Wife Frieda – Cute and perfect for brunch and a few location options across the city
- Joe’s Pizza – If you love Toby Maguire’s Spiderman, this spot has to be on your list. Plus the pizza is 10/10
- Time Out Market – Options for everyone, always delicious, fab location
- Rosa Mexicano – Guacamole made at your table, a whole experience
- Magnolia Bakery – Perfect spot for coffee and a sugary treat
- Hard Rock Cafe – Touristy? Yes. Overpriced and slightly average? Yes. But we loved it and it HAD to be done.
- Andrew’s Diner – Stumbled across this spot, it was full of locals and was delicious.
- Tick Tock Diner – Conveniently located in our hotel, but it was a great spot to grab breakfast or have a late dinner.
*just to make a little PSA – we added Ellen’s Stardust Diner to our must eat at list, as we were here for the touristy life but it was beyond disappointing and after a 2.5 hour queue *cough cough* yes, a 2.5 hour queue, it really was not worth it. We had heard mixed things, and wanted to go to experience anyway so you may feel the same as us, but just wanted to pass on this nugget of info!
HOTEL INFO
We stayed at a hotel that came recommended – The New Yorker. Now, it isn’t the jazziest, snazziest hotel of all but it’s extremely reasonably priced, with rooms to fit a smaller budget or for those looking to spend a little more. The location is fab, across from Maddison Square Gardens, a subway entrance right out side and a decent restaurant at ground level – Tick Tock Diner.
The night we arrived, we were put into a room that was ratherrr small, particularly for 3 people and 3 large suitcases and we were not keen. None of us slept well and it was a bit of stress, but the next day we spoke to reception and they were SO apologetic and moved us immediately to an alternative room. The second room was very spacious, plenty of room for three girlies with 3 suitcases and space to move about when we’re rushing to get ready in the morning!
We were also able to store all of our luggage for the final day for an additional fee, which was super secure and I felt comfortable leaving all our belongings there.
I would definitely stay here again!
THE HIGHLIGHTS
- Has to be seeing Chicago on Broadway. We pre-booked this, pretty much as soon as we sorted our flights and went for a little bit of a splurge on the seats as it was a real bucket-list activity. We had fabulous seats and it was INCREDIBLE. If you’re thinking about seeing a show, definitely do it. It is an amazing part of NYC and there are options for everyone. If you’re not sure what you want to see, or fancy booking tickets when you arrive, you can queue up daily to get reduced priced tickets and take a bit of a lottery approach to it!
- The city skyline at night. We wanted to go to the Top of The Rock for sunset, but we couldn’t get in for the sunset times. I was worried we wouldn’t get the best view at nighttime, but actual the lights just lit the city up and it was genuinely amazing. I was a little stunned at how good the view is at nighttime!
- Walking the Brooklyn Bridge. This is cool whatever the weather, but the sun came out just as we strolled across the bridge and it was just a 10/10 moment. Strolling across with my besties, core memory right there!
We had the most amazing 5 days and I’m craving a return trip already. It’s going to have to be somewhere that I go back to because there is just so much more to see and do, endless food spots, so many rooftop bars to spend summer evenings in and many more shows to see. NYC, you’ll always have a special place in my heart!
Have you been to New York City? What was your favourite part? Let me know below.
lots of love,
Han x
hannahshildrake.co.uk 