Top Things to Do in NYC

I don’t even pretend to be an expert on NYC and I definitely haven’t been everywhere but this is my attempt to put together all my knowledge about NYC and some of my favorite places.   For each of the places, I’ve linked them with other posts I’ve written in the past to give you a glimpse of what it was like.

I’ll be updating this continuously as I discover new places so keep checking back!  And if you have anything that you believe I’ve missed out on (which is entirely possible), leave a comment and i’ll make sure to add it in!

Museums

• The Museum of Modern Art – Classic
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art – A mish mash of everything from Egyptian stuff to art exhibitions.
• American Museum of Natural History – The finest taxidermy you’ll find. Dinos can be found here too.
• Guggenheim Museum Store – I’m not that into fine art but I hear this is really good.
• Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum – I’ve always wanted to do this one. Space shuttle Enterprise is now there along with the Concorde and other cool planes.

Parks

• Central Park – Pretty much the only park to do that easily takes a full day. Start from the South East or West corner and work your way up to the skating rink (if it’s winter you should totally do it) then The Mall, the Boathouse (rent a row boat which makes for an awesome hour of rowing and hilarity), Belvedere Castle and finally the reservoir.

The Iconic Places

• Times Square – Walk around..soak in the madness. The red steps are an awesome way to do this.
• Rockefeller Plaza – 30 Rock
• Bryant Park – A cooler place to check out in the winter but it’s a nice park to grab a coffee and just sit down and read a book or people watch
• Wall St – Check out the “downtown” financial district. Find the bull.
• Chelsea Market & High Line – Often overlooked but this above ground railroad converted into park is pretty amazing that spans across the west end. Chelsea market is a pretty neat place for both food and shops
• Brooklyn Bridge – Worth it to walk at least half of the bridge
• World Trade Center Memorial – Very well done memorial of WTC
• Statue of Liberty National Monument & Battery Park City – If you insist on doing this, make sure you budget a good full day for this.  Reserve tickets is a must.

Unique Things to Do

• Chelsea Piers – Cool place to walk around and the adjacent park is great for chilling
• Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
• Sunset boat cruises are awesome
• Staten Island ferry (free) – Great alternative to doing a trip out to the Statue of Liberty.  This ferry gets you pretty close for snaps of the Statue and also takes you to Staten Island which in itself is a nice place to explore.
• Rent a bike and go along the west end of the city along the Hudson
• Rent a bike and explore Central Park

Special/Seasonal

• Smorgasburg – If you’re around in the summer, definitely check out this food fest every Saturday and Sunday. Yummy all around.
• Skating @ Rockefeller or Central Park – There’s something magical about doing either.

From above

• Top of the Rock Observation Deck – Really the only place you should be going to get a great view of Manhattan all around. Highly recommended to book your tickets online and try going around sunset.  Don’t even bother with Empire State Building.  Seriously!

Shows

• TKTS Times Square – If you want to buy day of tickets, TKTS is the way to go. There’s also a south streetport location that has smaller lines.
• The McKittrick Hotel – Sleep No More – Interactive play that you really have to go experience. It’s totally mind blowing.
• Phantom of the Opera is always a good one that is easier to get tickets for
• Wicked, Lion King and Book of Mormon are harder to get and generally more expensive.  Look into doing rush tickets by lining up super early morning.  You can score some cheap tickets this way.

Shopping

• 5th Ave – A lot of fancy expensive stores here but some to note are the flagship Uniqlo and mega Abercrombie if you’re into that.
• Soho – generally a great area for shopping. I always check out the Uniqlo and Muji here.
• Century 21 – There are a few locations for this but the main one is by WTC. Think Winners/Marshalls on crack.
• B&H – If you’re into camera and gadgets, this will be heaven for you. Their conveyor belt system alone is magical.
• Woodbury Common Premium Outlets – Not quite in the city but you can either rent a car or take a bus out there for a full day of outlet shopping madness
• Remember there’s the NBC, NBA, NHL, MLB? and HBO stores in NYC so if you’re a super fan check them out.

Places to Hang Out in NYC

• This is more about checking out neighborhoods but Lower East Side is really cool and hip to just roam around. The place really livens up at night especially on weekends if you’re looking to party.
• Meatpacking district is super hip with some high end shops, clubs and restaurants