NYC – What to Do list

New York Ciy has possibly always been my number one location on my travel bucket list and 2023 was the year for it.  I couldn’t wait any longer to book and explore New York and all of my research was done through travel blogs, so I hope mine can help someone too!  Here’s my ‘What to do list’ for The Big Apple…

Lets start off with our first stop of the trip, a Hudson River Cruise, the perfect way to get your first look at the Manhattan skyline as well as the Statue Of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge.  There are a few different companies that will offer different trips on the river, some let you get off at the Statue of Liberty, some just do one round trip and others have numerous stops at Brooklyn, Wall Street and more so it all depends on what you’re looking for.  Personally we just wanted to see it all so enjoyed just taking the ferry tour past the statue and then around the Manhattan coast, it felt so surreal but the reality that we were in New York really started to kick in!

After that we went to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum which is only a short walk from the ferry ports.  Seeing the 9/11 memorial was another bucket list moment and was even more breath-taking than I ever imagined.  I could never have envisioned the scale of ground zero until I was stood amongst it and the memorials themselves are so incredible to see in person. If you’re planning to do the museum I definitely recommend booking in advance and also picking up a pair of guided tour headphones when you get inside.  I think they were about $10 to hire but they make a massive difference to your experience and explained each picture and artifact to really put you back in NYC in 2001.

Onto a happier note, this ones for my musical lovers!  Ellen’s Stardust diner was one of my favourite stops of the trip (so good that we went twice).  It’s an all-American diner where the waiters and waitresses are aspiring Broadway stars and sing while you eat.  There were songs from every musical imaginable plus some current pop songs and the talent in there was through the roof.  Only downside is there’s no booking so there is always a queue.  We got super lucky in the evening and only queued for about 15 minutes but queued for about half an hour for breakfast, it’s just pot luck, but I can assure you, it’s so worth it!  And to top it off the food was great too, one thousand percent recommend.

Of course you can’t do New York without visiting Times Square, the lights, the crowds, the billboards, it’s exactly how you imagine it but better (and probably busier).  We stayed pretty close to Times Square so walked through it at all times of the day and it was pretty packed none stop but that’s the fun of it, there’s street dancers and hot dog carts, which are a must for the full experience, and there’s plenty of restaurants and bars to visit in the evenings too.

Another must-do is Central Park, it is packed with acres of things to do and see which I talk about in more detail in my Central Park post.  But it was so surreal to be in real life and so naturally beautiful, a real contrast to the rightly named concrete jungle.  The size of Central Park is 10x bigger than we imagined so give yourself time over a couple of days to see various parts of it.

A Broadway musical may not be top of everyone’s list (although in my opinion it should be) but I think it’s a must-do in some way, shape or form.  There are so many to choose from that something out there will tickle your fancy and I guarantee it will be extraordinary!  We chose the Book Of Mormon and god was it the right choice, possibly the funniest show I’ve ever seen with an incredible cast to match.  Tickets for Broadway shows are expensive though so if you’re willing to risk it, you can get tickets from local box offices on the day of or before the performance.  These are usually on a discounted rate and the best seating isn’t guaranteed but if you’re happy to just see a Broadway musical, this may save you a bit of money!

If you’re not afraid of heights and want to see the concrete jungle from above, there are quite a few options!  We chose to visit ‘The Edge’ in Hudson yards which takes you 100 floors above NYC to an outdoor glass overlook with a bar and restaurant too.  The Edge is closer to lower Manhattan but if you’re looking for one a bit higher up that looks onto Central Park, ‘Top of the Rock’ is perfect.  The Rockefeller centre is in the heart of Manhattan and has a great 360view of all angles of the city.  Next.. The View, a revolving restaurant located in a Marriot hotel near Time Square.  This gives a great 360 view at the same time of some great food, there’s either a classic buffet or a set menu restaurant that will both give you an evening to remember.  Finally, the Empire State Building is slightly south of Manhattan and arguably gives the best view of both ends of the City, from an indoor and outdoor observation deck.  If you book, there is no given time slot so you can enter at any time of the day that suits you.  For all of the above I recommend booking in advance to guarantee a slot on the day that suits your trip.  This is definitely a city that you have to plan your days in advance!

Last but not least, if you’re nearing the end of your trip and realise there’s still so much you haven’t seen, I definitely recommend doing a Hop on-Hop off bus tour of the city.  There’s two loops that you can take, one will do upper Manhattan and the other will do lower Manhattan and Brooklyn so either will cover a massive area of tourist sites.  Even if you’ve seen all of them it’s still great to have another look but off foot, since NYC is a city that requires a lot of walking, this will be a nice break.  Top tip if your visiting between September to March, wrap up warm!  Even if you’re not of the top deck, it can be a pretty chilly ride so plan ahead.

As far as do’s and don’ts for your NYC visit, my biggest ‘do’ would be comfortable footwear and planning each day ahead of time, even if that just means the night before, it makes it much easier to get all of your sights done.  And my biggest ‘Don’t’, don’t forget some extra layers, even if the suns meant to be out, the tall buildings mean that there’s a lot of shade and you wouldn’t want the cold to ruin your NYC trip.  Also don’t forget to take in every moment, it’s the most wonderful city, take it all in!