NewYork
5
Day Itinerary •
USA
Five days in New York lets you explore the full extraordinary depth of the greatest city on earth, from the iconic skyline and world-class museums of Manhattan to the extraordinary neighborhoods of Brooklyn, a day trip to the Hudson Valley and the finest food, culture and nightlife of any city in the United States. This route covers the complete New York experience. Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the extraordinary Brooklyn Bridge and DUMBO waterfront, the High Line and Chelsea galleries, the extraordinary Catskills and Hudson Valley beyond the city, the finest pizza and bagels in America and the most extraordinary skyline on earth.
Best Time To Visit
April to June or September to November for ideal weather
Getting There
Fly into JFK, LaGuardia (LGA) or Newark (EWR)
Getting Around
Subway and walking. MetroCard or contactless bank card.
Budget Per Day
Approx $150 to $280 per person per day
Difficulity
Easy, all walking and transit
DAY 1
MIDTOWN AND MUSEUM MILE
MORNING
CENTRAL PARK AND THE MUSEUM MILE
Central Park is the most extraordinary urban park in the world, its extraordinary 843 acres of landscape by Frederick Law Olmsted giving a wilderness of lakes, meadows and woodland surrounded by the most extraordinary skyline on earth. The Bethesda Fountain, Belvedere Castle, the Conservatory Garden and the Reservoir are all extraordinary. Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue along the park's eastern edge contains the finest concentration of museums in the world. Free. Transit: 15 min walk
MIDDAY
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the most extraordinary art museum in the Western Hemisphere, its collection of 1.5 million objects spanning 5,000 years. The Temple of Dendur, the extraordinary European Paintings galleries, the Arms and Armor collection and the rooftop sculpture garden with its extraordinary Central Park views are unmissable. The museum's extraordinary breadth means every visit reveals something new. Entry approx $30. Transit: 10 min walk
AFTERNOON
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM AND THE UPPER EAST SIDE
The Guggenheim Museum is the most extraordinary building on Fifth Avenue, Frank Lloyd Wright's extraordinary 1959 spiral rotunda one of the most recognizable architectural achievements of the 20th century. The extraordinary collection of Kandinsky, Picasso, Chagall and Mondrian displayed along the continuous ramp gives the most extraordinary museum experience in New York. The Upper East Side's Madison Avenue galleries are free to browse. Entry approx $25.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Conservatory Garden in northeast Central Park at 105th Street is the finest hidden garden in New York City, its extraordinary formal Italian, French and English garden rooms entirely unknown to most visitors who walk only the main paths. The wisteria pergola in spring is extraordinary. Free and open daily. The most extraordinary hidden gem in Central Park.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Barney Greengrass, Upper West Side The finest bagels and smoked salmon in New York since 1908. Extraordinary lox on a toasted bialy. | Lunch: Xi'an Famous Foods, Midtown The finest hand-ripped noodles in New York. Extraordinary spicy cumin lamb biang biang noodles. | Dinner: Le Bernardin, Midtown The most extraordinary seafood restaurant in New York. Three Michelin stars. Book well ahead.
DAY 2
LOWER MANHATTAN AND BROOKLYN
MORNING
BROOKLYN BRIDGE WALK AND DUMBO
The Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian walkway is the finest free experience in New York, its extraordinary 30-minute walk above the East River traffic giving views of the Manhattan skyline and New York Harbor that define the city. DUMBO below the bridge is the most extraordinary neighborhood in Brooklyn, its extraordinary cobblestone streets framing the most photographed view of the Manhattan Bridge. The Jane's Carousel waterfront is extraordinary. Free. Transit: Subway A/C/2/3
MIDDAY
HIGH LINE AND THE CHELSEA GALLERY DISTRICT
The High Line is the most extraordinary urban park in America, its 1.45-mile elevated railway converted into a linear garden with extraordinary views of Hudson Yards and the Hudson River. The Chelsea gallery district below is the finest concentration of contemporary art galleries in the world, with over 200 galleries showing extraordinary work. The Whitney Museum of American Art at the southern end is the finest American art museum in New York. High Line free, Whitney approx $25. Transit: Subway L/A/C/E
AFTERNOON
CHELSEA MARKET AND THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT
Chelsea Market is the most extraordinary food hall in New York, its extraordinary converted Nabisco factory housing the finest vendors of lobster rolls, tacos, ramen, wine, cheese and pastries in the city. The Meatpacking District surrounding it is the finest nightlife and dining neighborhood in Manhattan, its extraordinary cobblestone streets of former meatpacking warehouses now housing the finest restaurants and boutiques in the city. Free to explore.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Vessel structure at Hudson Yards is the finest public art installation in New York, its extraordinary 154-staircase honeycomb of interconnected flights giving the most extraordinary close-range view of the new Manhattan skyline and the Hudson River. Free to view from outside. The Edge observation deck at Hudson Yards gives the most extraordinary outdoor skyline view in NYC.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Balthazar Bakery, SoHo The finest French bakery in New York. Extraordinary croissants and pain au chocolat before the bridge walk. | Lunch: Juliana's, DUMBO The most celebrated thin-crust pizza in New York under the Brooklyn Bridge. | Dinner: The River Cafe, Brooklyn The most extraordinary waterfront dining in New York with the full Manhattan skyline as the backdrop.
DAY 3
BROOKLYN
MORNING
WILLIAMSBURG AND SMORGASBURG
Williamsburg is the most extraordinary neighborhood in Brooklyn, its Bedford Avenue of independent boutiques, coffee roasters and galleries giving the finest creative neighborhood in New York. The Smorgasburg food market every Saturday on the Williamsburg waterfront is the most extraordinary outdoor food market in America, its 80-plus artisan vendors overlooking the Manhattan skyline. The extraordinary rooftop bars on Kent Avenue give the finest views of Manhattan at sunset. Smorgasburg free. Transit: Subway L train
MIDDAY
PROSPECT PARK AND THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM
Prospect Park is the most extraordinary urban park in Brooklyn, its extraordinary 585 acres designed by the same Olmsted and Vaux team as Central Park with a more naturalistic and less manicured character. The Brooklyn Museum adjacent to the park is the second-finest art museum in New York, its extraordinary Egyptian collection, the finest outside Cairo, and its extraordinary feminist art collection unmissable. Park free, museum approx $20. Transit: Subway 2/3
AFTERNOON
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS PROMENADE AND COBBLE HILL
The Brooklyn Heights Promenade is the most extraordinary free viewpoint in New York, its extraordinary esplanade above the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway giving the finest unobstructed view of the Lower Manhattan skyline, the Brooklyn Bridge and New York Harbor from any publicly accessible point. The Brooklyn Heights neighborhood behind the promenade is the most extraordinary preserved 19th-century residential streetscape in New York. Free.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn is the finest Victorian garden cemetery in America, its extraordinary 478 acres of rolling landscape containing the graves of Leonard Bernstein, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Boss Tweed alongside extraordinary Gothic Revival gates and the finest views of the Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn. Entry free. The finest hidden gem in Brooklyn.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Devocion, Williamsburg The most extraordinary coffee roaster in New York. Extraordinary Colombian single-origin espresso. | Lunch: Smorgasburg food market The finest outdoor food market in America. 80 artisan vendors with extraordinary Manhattan views. | Dinner: Lilia, Williamsburg The most celebrated Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. Extraordinary handmade pasta. Book months ahead.
DAY 4
HUDSON VALLEY
MORNING
HUDSON VALLEY, STORM KING ART CENTER
Storm King Art Center in the Hudson Valley is the most extraordinary outdoor sculpture park in America, its extraordinary 500-acre landscape of rolling hills and meadows containing over 100 monumental sculptures by Alexander Calder, Richard Serra, Andy Goldsworthy and Mark di Suvero. The extraordinary scale of the works in the landscape gives an experience entirely unlike any indoor museum. Entry approx $20. Open April to November. Transit: 2 hr train + shuttle
MIDDAY
HUDSON, THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY SMALL CITY IN THE HUDSON VALLEY
Hudson is the most extraordinary small city in the Hudson Valley, its extraordinary Warren Street of antique dealers, farm-to-table restaurants and art galleries giving a destination entirely unlike any other in New York State. The extraordinary Olana State Historic Site above the city, the Persian-inspired studio of Hudson River School painter Frederic Edwin Church, gives the finest view of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains. Entry free to grounds. Transit: 1 hr drive
AFTERNOON
CATSKILL MOUNTAINS AND KAATERSKILL FALLS
The Catskill Mountains are the most extraordinary upstate escape from New York City, their extraordinary forested ridges and waterfalls only 100 miles from Midtown Manhattan giving a wilderness experience that inspired the Hudson River School painters. Kaaterskill Falls at 260 feet is the most extraordinary waterfall in New York State, its extraordinary two-tier plunge into the Kaaterskill Clove immortalized in Thomas Cole's paintings. Trail 1.5 miles round trip. Free.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Olana State Historic Site above Hudson is the finest hidden gem in the Hudson Valley, Frederic Edwin Church's extraordinary Persian-influenced studio home giving the most extraordinary view of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains of any publicly accessible site in New York State. Grounds free. House tours approx $12. Almost entirely unknown outside art history circles.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Grand Central Oyster Bar, NYC The finest oyster bar in New York before boarding the Metro-North. Extraordinary local oysters and chowder. | Lunch: The Maker, Hudson Outstanding farm-to-table lunch in the finest restaurant in the Hudson Valley. Local ingredients. | Dinner: Back on the subway Return to New York and dinner in the city. Extraordinary after a day in the valley.
DAY 5
UPTOWN AND HARLEM
MORNING
THE CLOISTERS AND FORT TRYON PARK
The Cloisters at the northern tip of Manhattan is the most extraordinary medieval art museum in America, its extraordinary reconstruction of five French medieval cloisters on a bluff above the Hudson River housing the finest collection of medieval European art outside Europe, including the extraordinary Unicorn Tapestries. The Fort Tryon Park surrounding the Cloisters gives the finest views of the Hudson River and the Palisades. Entry approx $30. Transit: Subway A train
MIDDAY
HARLEM, THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY CULTURAL NEIGHBORHOOD IN AMERICA
Harlem is the most extraordinary cultural neighborhood in America, its extraordinary 125th Street corridor of historic theaters, soul food restaurants and the Apollo Theater giving the finest African American cultural experience in New York. The Studio Museum in Harlem is the finest museum of African American art in the country. The Sylvia's restaurant Sunday gospel brunch is the most extraordinary meal experience in New York City. Apollo entry approx $16. Transit: Subway 2/3
AFTERNOON
UPPER WEST SIDE AND THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
The American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side is the most extraordinary natural history museum in the world, its extraordinary collection of 34 million specimens including the Hayden Planetarium, the finest dinosaur fossil collection in America and the extraordinary Hall of Ocean Life with its 94-foot blue whale model suspended from the ceiling. The Rose Center for Earth and Space is extraordinary. Entry approx $28.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Inwood Hill Park at the northern tip of Manhattan is the finest hidden park in the city, its extraordinary ancient Indian caves, the last remaining old-growth forest in Manhattan and the site where Peter Minuit allegedly purchased Manhattan from the Lenape people in 1626. Free. The most extraordinary hidden gem in northern Manhattan.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Sylvia's Restaurant, Harlem The most legendary soul food restaurant in America. Extraordinary fried chicken, waffles and strong coffee. | Lunch: Red Rooster, Harlem Outstanding Marcus Samuelsson's finest restaurant. Extraordinary American soul food in a Harlem landmark. | Dinner: Carmine's, Upper West Side The finest family-style Italian restaurant in New York. Extraordinary pasta, served in portions for the table.
Where To Stay
Midtown The Pod 51 or citizenM for value, The Peninsula for luxury. Approx $130 to $400 per night. Lower Manhattan The Beekman or Smyth Tribeca for character. Walking distance to Brooklyn Bridge. Approx $200 to $350. Brooklyn 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge has the most extraordinary Manhattan skyline views. Approx $250 to $400 per night.
Top Tips
1. The Staten Island Ferry gives the most extraordinary free Statue of Liberty view and Manhattan skyline. Runs 24 hours.
2. The Conservatory Garden in northeast Central Park at 105th Street is the finest hidden garden in New York. Free.
3. Storm King Art Center in the Hudson Valley is the finest outdoor sculpture park in America. Book ahead.
4. Harlem's Sylvia's restaurant on Sunday morning for gospel brunch is the most extraordinary meal experience in NYC.
5. The Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park gives the most extraordinary medieval art experience in America. Approx $30.
6. Book Empire State Building and One World Observatory tickets online. Lines without tickets can be 2 hours long.
Total Budget
$150 to $280/day