Travel itinerary: 8 days in New York City (for the first-timer)

New York City: gritty, cultured and delicious.

The Big Apple is a lot to take in that first visit. With all those museums, boroughs, bagels and parks, you need at least eight days to properly explore, and here’s how I recommend you spend them (based on our recent US holiday) – strap yourself in:

Where to stay in New York City

If you’re after…

• Intense big city, tourist madness – stay in Midtown.
• Plenty of shopping and eating possibilities – stay in SoHo.
• A more quiet, museum-filled New York experience – stay in the Upper East Side.
• The real, gritty New York City – stay in the Lower East Side or East Village.
• A bohemian, fun, pretty neighbourhood – stay in Greenwich Village.
• Something different that’s not on Manhattan Island – stay in Brooklyn.

The husband Jude and I found an Airbnb in the Lower East Side. It was perfection, right near the Delancey Street/Essex Street subway station. Small but cute, right in the heart of lots of delicious stuff and cheap (in relative terms) – AUD$2890 for nine nights.

How to get around New York City

New York City is a piece of Black Forest Cake to travel around, providing you get yourself a seven-day unlimited ride card for the New York subway system. The cherry on top is some good walking shoes. Manhattan is quite compact and flat, so it’s easy to walk everywhere. Just don’t drive, Uber or taxi – the island is traffic-choked as all buggery.

Day 1: Bus tour, Empire State Building and Lower East Side

Take a hop on hop off bus tour

A good friend of mine, Bel (regular EPLT readers will know her better as my wine sister), recommended we spend that first day in New York City aboard a hop on hop off bus, insisting it would help us get our bearings. Such a tourist thing to do, but it’s a marvellous idea. You work out where all the landmarks are and get some good travel tips from your tour guide.

There’s lots of bus companies that offer hop on hop off tours, but we packaged it up with The New York Pass, doing the Downtown and Midtown loops.

Head to the top of the Empire State Building 

You have to do it! The Art Deco skyscraper is a real beauty and the views from atop even more so. Pick a clear day and you can see the city’s five boroughs, as well as five neighbouring states. Holy heck!

The Empire State Building has two observation decks: the 86^th and 102^nd floors. The first being open-air, the second being enclosed. Factor in about 45 minutes to navigate the line and security.

Walk around the East Village and Lower East Side 

One of the things I enjoyed the most about New York City was just walking around its different neighbourhoods and taking in the streetscapes – the East Village and Lower East Side was a favourite. This lower pocket of Manhattan Island is quintessential New York City, with rusty fire escapes, street-art adorned alleyways, crimson brick and a gritty edge.

Walk St Marks Place, Tompkins Square Park and Alphabet City, then finish with a pastrami rye sandwich with a dill pickle from the legendary Katz’s Delicatessen.

Day 2: Midtown

Visit New York City’s top tourist attractions

It’s time to tick off some NYC icons:

• Grand Central Terminal – yeah, you might not have a train to catch, but it’s still worth a walk through this grand ol’ dame.

• Chrysler Building – you can’t go any higher than ground level of this historic skyscraper, but the Art Deco lobby is still a treat.
• Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) – with 150,000 works of modern and contemporary art – and names like Van Gogh, Picasso and Warhol – MoMA’s collection is just ridiculous. 
• Times Square – the hyperactive heart of New York City. This luminous intersection has to be seen to be believed. The electricity bill will make your eyes water.

Watch the sunset from Top of the Rock

My tip: Empire State Building during the day, Top of the Rock at night, or vice-versa. If you’re only going to do one, make it the Rockefeller Plaza’s observation deck because the New York City skyline isn’t really the New York City skyline without the Empire State Building piercing the clouds. It’s like admiring the Paris skyline from the Eiffel Tower, not the same.

Next tip: if you want to watch the sunset from Top of the Rock (i.e. hit the jackpot), pre-purchase tickets. Otherwise, you’ve got no chance. If you’re buying tickets on the day, there’s a several-hour delay. For example, we arrived at 6pm, were given tickets for 8:45pm and then it took 45 minutes to get through security, so weren’t on the platform until 9:30pm.

Final tip: once you arrive at the 70th floor, head straight on up to the third viewing deck, which has no finger-print smeared glass and therefore is better for photos.

Day 3: Upper East Side

Be amazed by The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)

Prepare to be utterly overwhelmed, because The Met, my golly, is something else. You could spend an entire year getting lost among this sprawling museum. It’s filled to the rafters with everything from famous European paintings to armoury, antiques, Egyptian art and absolutely everything in between.

Don’t leave without taking the elevator to the rooftop bar. The Met’s sky garden offers a pretty incredible view of Central Park and New York City, as well as sunset drinks and snacks.

… and wowed by the Guggenheim Museum

Continue along NYC’s Museum Mile, and make for the museum that’s a sculptural work of art itself. Walk the spiral ramp of the Guggenheim Museum and admire rotating modern art exhibitions. Be warned, the queue can be quite savage.

Day 4: Central Park

Feel the hayfever burn in Central Park

The lungs of New York City. We spent a good six hours getting lost in Central Park and it was glorious. Starting at the north-west corner, zig-zag your way south, taking in the Conservatory Garden, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Fountain, Strawberry Fields and Central Park Zoo.

Of course, you must be all Ryan Gosling/Rachel McAdams, and hire a rowboat from The Loeb Boathouse ($15 for an hour – cash only) and get out on The Lake.

Dinner somewhere delicious

New York is a garden of culinary delights, with actual so much choice when it comes to incredible restaurant experiences. A visit to New York City isn’t complete without at least one swanky meal.

We chose Buddakan in the Meatpacking District and didn’t look back, having some of the best dumplings, fried rice and pork buns of our lives. The opulent Chinese restaurant is also where Carrie and Big held their rehearsal dinner in the first Sex and the City movie – gotta love NYC.

Day 5: Lower Manhattan and Financial District

Take a Statue of Liberty Express Cruise

Of course, you have to see the statue of Liberty because, well, it’s your job as a first-time visitor to New York City. Although, Jude and I couldn’t be arsed spending a whole day dealing with the lines and crowds of Liberty Island itself, so went with the lazy option – a Statue of Liberty cruise.

Departing from Pier 16, the one-hour cruise gets you up close and quite personal with Lady Liberty. Plus, you also get to scoot under the Brooklyn Bridge, see the skyscrapers of Downtown NYC (including the One World Trade Center) and experience New York Harbour in the process – so efficient.

National September 11 Memorial & Museum

Jude was hesitant about visiting the 9/11 memorial and museum, feeling it too morbid and crass. Yet, I don’t think you can visit New York without visiting the museum, given 9/11 is such a significant moment in the city’s history.

And, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum does a thorough job of documenting the day’s events and providing a glimpse into the personal experiences of loss.

We’re both glad we went and wished we had more time there (two hours wasn’t enough). Just don’t plan much afterwards, as you’ll be in a reflective mood.

Day 6: Brooklyn and Williamsburg 

Walk across Brooklyn Bridge

Time to get out of Manhattan. It takes about 30 minutes to walk across the Gothic Revival masterpiece that is Brooklyn Bridge, and ideally you want to forgo sleep and time this for sunrise.

Spend some time in Brooklyn

New York’s most populous borough, Brooklyn is a hive of creativity and eating. It’s also huge – you need a solid plan of attack. We mostly mooched around Brooklyn Bridge Park, admiring some cracking views of the Manhattan skyline. Then naturally went to taste-test NYC’s famous Grimaldi’s pizza.

Check out Williamsburg

Brooklyn’s hipster-chic neighbour is full of trendy coffee jaunts, vegan cafes, vintage shops, street art and just an overall arty feel. It’s also a great place for a beverage. The problem is just deciding where: Maison Premiere (for cocktails and oysters), The Ides Bar (a rooftop bar with elaborate cocktails and city views) or Honey’s (the tasting room and cocktail bar for Enlightenment Wines – NYC’s first meadery).

 

Day 7: SoHo, Chinatown and the Flatiron District

A stroll through SoHo and Chinatown

A new day, a new neighbourhood. This time the mission at hand is to explore the contrasting crowded streets of Chinatown and the polished cobblestone thoroughfares of SoHo, with Little Italy tucked somewhere in the middle. Of course, when in SoHo, you’re gonna wanna follow in the well-heeled footsteps of Carrie Bradshaw, with some of New York City’s best shopping found in this elegant neighbourhood. You’re also gonna wanna hope you brought an extra suitcase.

Lunch at Eataly

Italian is my favourite cuisine, so the prospect of Eataly and its Italian food-filled marketplace, six Italian restaurants and rooftop beer garden (Birreria) had me beyond excited. That excitement reached some pretty embarrassing levels when I discovered at one of the restaurants a 10-course tasting menu of pasta, with wine pairings, for $50pp. Shut up!

The first three courses, I was pretty happy with life, pretty happy with my ravioli, cacio e pepe, agnolotti and matching wines. By course four, I realised I was in America and Americans don’t do food portions for the weak. By course six, I wasn’t having fun anymore and by course eight, we’d tapped out.

Lesson learnt: never do a food challenge in America and think you can win. Despite still feeling a little sick at the thought of it, Eataly was one of my favourite New York experiences.

Day 8: Greenwich Village, Chelsea and the Meatpacking District

Last day in New York City and, aside from eating as many hot dogs and bagels as you can, there’s a few final things to tick off:

• Chelsea Market – pick up lunch from this 800-foot-long urban food court that housed inside a very cute historic building (the National Biscuit Company factory – where the Oreo was invented).
• The High Line – we all know the story: disused elevated train tracks converted into a two-kilometre park in the sky. The High Line is certainly popular. Try and jag a park bench to enjoy your haul from Chelsea Market.

• Washington Square Park – one more NYC green space to see. This one has outdoor chess, buskers, fire twirling street performers and a grand white arch.
• Murrays Cheese Bar – I quite appreciate a cheese and wine flight, so of course I found a place in New York City that does a good pairing. Murray’s Cheese is one of New York City’s best cheese shops – the cheese bar is a few doors down.

Gosh! What a jam-packed eight days and we didn’t even get to a baseball game, Broadway show or basketball game. Next time – because, of course, there will be a next time.

In the meantime, the next city on our US travel tour is San Francisco.