New York City

I recently put together a 4 night New York City itinerary for some clients, then we had an influx of New York City bookings! Whether that be just the time of year or some kind of law of attraction thing but either way I wanted to share it with you!

If you haven’t been to New York before then add it to your bucket list RIGHT NOW. It’s iconic, vibrant and fast. Once you find yourself in a New York moment, you’ll be hooked forever. The only thing I can liken a New York moment to is feeling like Carrie Bradshaw herself, hearing your inner thoughts as a monologue overhead whilst you smile to yourself as if you really are the coolest kid in town!

I spent 3 months onboard Royal Caribbeans Explorer Of The Seas out of New York back in 2009, I got to experience New York in the hot hot summer and it’s beautiful. Central Park in bloom, rooftop bars overlooking the Empire State Building at sunset…..
I then went in January 2020 on a stopover trip to Oklahoma and we had the BEST few days. The below itinerary is inspired by what we did do, what we didn’t get to do, other recommendations etc. If you have any questions or want to know more then leave a comment 🙂

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The day you arrive, I’d 100% recommend dumping your stuff at the hotel and heading straight to the Rockefeller Center. Head to the top (known as Top Of The Rock) and look at the view. It’s amazing. We opted going up to the Top Of The Rock rather than going to the top of the Empire State, purely because you can see the Empire State Building from Top Of The Rock and it’s really impressive! Our thought was, whats the point in going up the Empire State if you then can’t see it?! Also, on the day you arrive, starting the day at home and then that evening, being up there, is magic ✨

Top of the Rock NYC Observation Deck | Best Skyline Views of Manhattanrockefellercenter.com

The 9/11 museum is a must. Go and see the memorial outside then go down and into the actual museum. It’s very very emotional, but it’s done so well, its really respectful, very harrowing, but you can’t go to NYC and miss it.

Close to the 9/11 Museum is the World Trade Center terminal station, its well worth a walk through and photo, its an incredible building!

Ellis Island museum is fascinating, you take a very from Battery Park to get over their which will give you an amazing view of the skyline and a great view of the Statue Of Liberty too. We loved Ellis Island, very interesting, great to learn the history of NY.

Allocate a few hours to enjoy Central Park; take a horse and carriage ride, walk across Bow Bridge and take photos, go to the Zoo! Make sure you go to Bathesba Fountains, underneath the stairs there are often singers down there. We saw a group of guys singing who were absolutely amazing, they made a real fuss of Henry, it was one of my favourite moments from the entire trip.

Walk across Brooklyn bridge! It’s a long walk, longer than we expected but it’s amazing, and free! The day we did it, it was January and 20 degrees centigrade, it was warm!

Across the other side is Brooklyn. There’s an amazing Italian restaurant that often wins best restaurant awards in on Tripadvisor, we had pizza for lunch here and it was 👍🏻 Plus there are some awesome spots to take photos of Brooklyn Bridge from there. It’s well worth the walk across. We got the subway back to Manhattan once we’d finished, we didn’t fancy walking back across again!

 

Juliana’s Pizzajulianaspizza.com

FAO Schwartz is fun to look around, it has the piano in the floor from Big The Movie! It’s in the Rockefeller Center area. Great place to get gifts for the kiddos too! It was cheaper than I expected too, we picked up some great Christmas decorations in here.

The subway is a great way to get around, we used it loads, even took it from the airport into Manhattan to the hotel with Henry and our luggage! Cheap, cheerful, makes you feel like you’re really in New York. This was where I had my New York moment, being on the subway, a singer got on and played his guitar……. I’ll never forget it.

There are also some fabulous rooftop bars to go grab a drink at sunset. I went to a party at this place years ago and it was amazing! The view of the Empire State Building here is fab, the rooftop bar is lower than the Empire State Building so you get a totally different view of it.

Venue – Rooftop Bar NYC – New York’s largest indoor and outdoor bar230-fifth.com

Summit One Vanderbilt is quite new, it wasn’t there when we went in 2020 I don’t think, I know people who have done it though and they said it was brilliant! Lots of instagram shots but honestly it looks awesome! I’d recommend a look at some videos on YouTube to see if you think it’s up your street. Next time I go to NYC and 100% heading here!

Buy SUMMIT One Vanderbilt NYC Observation Deck Ticketssummitov.com

Something else that comes highly recommended is this place: https://www.thehighline.org/
We didn’t have time to do this when we went, but I wish weld had an extra day to squeeze it in! Its another one of those things that when I talk to someone about their New York experience this place always comes up.

Definitely go to Times Square too, especially at night! It’s an absolute must do. Go and sit on the red stairs, take it all in, its crazy, its bright, its fascinating! great for people watching too. We went in the day and at night and it’s definitely better at night time in the dark with all the lights on. Also, the Disney Store is there, so clearly another NYC must do 😉

If you have any questions or want to know more then let me know in the comments below, make sure you have subscribed too, we won’t bombard you with emails, but it will get you access to all new information, news and giveaways. Thanks so much for spending time here with me on my favourite part of the internet <3

Sam x