I’m sharing my itinerary for how I spent 4 days in New York City for the first time! I’ve traveled across the world for years and finally made it to New York City in 2022. I’ve seen NYC in plenty of movies and tv shows and honestly was intimidated by how fast paced and large it seemed. A friend invited us to go to NYC for a couple days and I thought this was a great time to check out this world famous city.
This is a lengthy post that includes what we did in New York City for our first time visit, including where we ate in NYC, what museums we visited, and what NYC tourist sites we saw.
Where I stayed in New York City
There are 5 boroughs that make up New York City: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Our friends recommended we stay in Manhattan to be close to the NYC sights. This was a great location to stay in New York City for the first time! When looking for a place to stay, I’ve seen too many horror stories about AirBNBs in NYC so we looked at hotels instead to find a place in our budget. We looked at the areas close to Central Park, including the Upper West Side (UWS) and Midtown (but we were advised to avoid Times Square).
We stayed at Arthouse Hotel in the UWS. It’s a cute small boutique hotel with nicely decorated rooms. This was a great location for us to walk to nearby shops, restaurants, and access the subway. We felt safe walking together at all hours of the day and it was a quiet area at night. We could take a short walk to Central Park and the Natural History Museum.
How I prepared to visit New York City
With plenty to do when visiting New York City for the first time, do your research before you get there will make the most of your time. Check the weather to know what to pack and review my travel essentials for any trip as a guide to your packing list.
Gather NYC recommendations in Google Maps
New York City is a huge place with plenty to do. When thinking about visiting New York City for the first time, consider what you’re interested in. Art? History? Architecture? Food? Skyline views? A little overwhelmed with where to start, we asked friends who have lived in NYC or visited for their recommendations.
For me, I was most interested in visiting their museums because I’m a designer and love art. As a foodie, I also wanted to try NY pizza and bagels to see what it’s about. I wanted to see shows, either Broadway or even be in the audience of a late night show. Seeing the skyline (I’ve seen it through movies), going up the Empire State Building (too expensive for a view), or spending a couple hours at the Statue of Liberty (maybe for another trip, but I did want to see it from a distance) wasn’t very interesting to me.
I organized recommendations by saving places in a custom Google Maps. Eventually I hope to write a post about how I use custom Google Maps, but this Google Maps help link generally explains how to create your own Google Map. By saving recommendations on a map, I can start to see if clusters of things to do appear and can plan what areas of town to visit.
Book NYC entertainment tickets in advance
When I travel, I often see tourists waste their time by waiting in line. If you want to visit a museum, see a broadway show, or visit an attraction, look up if you can buy your ticket in advance to skip the line.
We looked up which museums we were most interested in and purchased tickets. We found a Broadway show and purchased tickets in advance for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, although you can try to find last minute Broadway tickets the day-of. I grew up watching Comedy Central and thought it would be fun to see a show at one of their famous comedy clubs. We ended up finding tickets available for a comedy show with Craig Robinson, who we love from The Office and other movies.
I bought tickets in advance for these activities:
- American Museum of Natural History
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
- Comedy show at Gotham City Comedy
- The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Broadway Show
How to get around in NYC
The public transportation in NYC makes it easy to get around without needing to rent a car. The subway system is easy enough and I use Google Maps to get walking directions and subway stop information. It might take some practice learning how to read the subway directions, but you’ll figure it out with time!
When we went in March 2022, it was easy to use the ticket system for the subway because they accept Apple Pay and other contactless payment methods using your phone or smartwatch. Learn more about how OMNY works to pay for the subway and other public transportation. I love that you don’t have to download an app to use it, you simply scan your phone at the turnstiles to enter.
Day 1 in New York City – Arrival and a Comedy Show
Arrival
Landing at the airport
NYC has 3 airports you can fly into. People often get confused or don’t know about this! Some airports are better to fly into depending on the part of town you’re trying to get to. Do a Google Search for “which NYC airport should I fly into?” and determine what’s best for your situation. Our flight into NYC had us land at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), which is the closest airport to get us to Manhattan.
How to get from EWR airport to the Upper West Side in Manhattan
We landed at EWR around 2:00pm and planned on heading to check-in at the Arthouse Hotel on the Upper West Side (UWS). I used Google Maps to get directions for how to get from the airport to our hotel with public transportation, and it suggested a combination of the AirTrain and subway with about 50 minutes of travel time. I didn’t love having to transfer and roll our carry-on luggages around the subways. We ultimately decided getting an Uber for about $60 was less chaotic for our first time in NYC and loved that it dropped us off in front of the hotel.
Sightseeing
Late lunch
After we settled into our hotel, we were ready to get out and see New York City for the first time! The weather was also chilly with light snow flurries! Our friend was going to see The Music Man Broadway Show while my husband and I had comedy show tickets. The shows had different performance durations so we tried to time meeting up after our shows to head back to the hotel together.
We decided to:
- Eat a late lunch of Vietnamese food at Two Wheels to warm up with pho.
- Grab a drink before our shows at Nothing Really Matters, a speakeasy cocktail bar in a subway station.
- Walk through Times Square in the evening to see the lit up billboards.
- Tried to eat Neapolitan pizza at Don Antonio by Times Square but we were short on time because of our showtimes.
- Parted with our friend who went to see The Music Man Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre.
- Go to Gotham City Comedy to see Craig Robinson perform musical comedy.
- Have a post show drink and snack at The Copper Still to wait until the Broadway show was over.
- Returned to the hotel together to rest after a long day of traveling.
Day 2 in New York City – Flatiron and Chelsea area
On our second day in NYC, we had timed entry tickets to the Natural History Museum at 9:00am. In my research, it was advised to visit this museum during the weekday to avoid the crowds of families but it didn’t fit with our schedule. We spent about 2 hours here and loved seeing all of the animal exhibits. Afterward the museum, we walked all around town and leisurely shopped.
We went to:
- Breakfast at Modern Bread and Bagel in the UWS to try their gluten free and kosher bagels. I had a simple bagel with cream cheese and thought it tasted great, my husband thought his bagel was a little undercooked.
- The American Museum of Natural History with timed entry tickets for 9:00am. This museum is by Central Park and it’s known for its dinosaur fossils and massive replica of a Blue Whale.
- The Flatiron District to see the Flatiron building, but was disappointed to see it covered in scaffolding. The original Shake Shake is also in front of the Flatiron.
- Lunch at Eataly by the Flatiron, a large Italian food market hall with delicious aromas and fresh ingredients I wish I could take home to cook with.
- Shop at the Official Harry Potter Store, an impressive shop that rivals Harry Potter World in my opinion. There’s a Wand Shop here and a Butterbeer Bar that I wish I had the appetite to try!
- Walk through Union Square to do some people-watching.
- Walk through Chelsea Market, a large market building with cute shopping and food stalls. A midday coffee here was much needed.
- Return to the hotel to rest. We did a ton of walking and needed a short break.
- Dinner at Friedmans, a gluten free restaurant close to the hotel in the UWS.
- Grab drinks at The Owl’s Tail, a small bar that closed by the time we arrived. We had a drink at the hotel bar instead.
Day 3 in New York City – Central Park and Lower Manhattan Area
On our third day in NYC, we had timed entry tickets to The Metropolitan Art Museum (The Met) in the morning. We had breakfast and took a walk through Central Park to get to The Met from our hotel. After a couple hours at The Met, we took a short nap at the hotel before heading out to walk around for hours until nighttime.
On this day:
- Breakfast at Zucker’s Bagels and Smoked Fish in the UWS. We had the Zucker’s Traditional bagel and loved it. It was huge and filling!
- We walked through Central Park from the UWS. We were able to see the Strawberry Fields tribute to John Lennon and the Bethesda Fountain featured in Home Alone 2.
- Entered The Met for our timed entry tickets for 10:00am. This New York Times Guide to The Met was helpful to learn what to see. It’s also the site of the famous Met Gala. We spent nearly 3 hours here.
- After the Met, we grabbed a snack and coffee at Orwasher’s Bakery. We returned to the hotel for a quick nap because the museum was exhausting.
- We took the subway to explore Little Italy and Chinatown. We also walked through Columbus Park to see large crowds of older people playing cards.
- We grabbed a late lunch at Kabisera, a Filipino food cafe. I wanted to try this place because there isn’t a lot of Filipino food available in Austin. We tried several dishes that we really enjoyed.
- Stuffed with food, we wanted to walk it off. We took the subway to the Brooklyn-side of the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s recommended to start in Brooklyn and walk towards Manhattan to get a view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
- The Financial District was nearby and we wanted to see the Fearless Girl and Raging Bull statues.
- We had hoped to see the 9/11 Memorial and Museum but we arrived after hours.
- Tired, but not ready to head back to the hotel, we decided to end the night with drinks at Katana Kitten in Greenwich Village. It’s a Japanese-American bar with small bites and delicious cocktails.
Day 4 in New York City – Midtown Area
On our fourth day in NYC, we had one more museum visit to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) planned. We had tickets to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Broadway show in the evening. In between those plans, we walked around and finally tried some New York Pizza.
On this day:
- Light breakfast with a pastry and coffee at Levain Bakery.
- Walked down 5th Avenue to see the shops.
- Visited Rockefeller Center to see the famous ice skating rink.
- Entered the MoMA with timed entry tickets for 11:00am and viewed multiple floors of art for about 2 hours.
- Grabbed lunch at King of Falafel & Shawarma, a food stand with the absolute best falafel I’ve had and still dream about.
- Walked to Grand Central Terminal and tried the banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery, the banana pudding was just okay.
- Returned to the hotel for a short nap.
- Tried Made in New York Pizza and preferred the slices to the square slices.
- Shopped at Nintendo New York but was expecting more unique merchandise.
- Had a beer at Other Half Brewing, a craft brewery at the Rockefeller Center.
- Attended Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Broadway show at Lyric Theatre at 7:00pm. This was our first ever Broadway show and though the storyline was a bit odd, the artistry and performance was amazing.
Day 5 in New York City – Return home
This was our last day in NYC! The time flew by. The morning before our flight, we tried bagels from one more spot and picked up gifts to bring home before our afternoon flight home back to Austin.
On this day:
- Walked to Zabar’s, a small local grocery store by our hotel. We tried their bagels and they were okay, the grocery store itself was more interesting to see.
- Bought a dozen bagels from Zucker’s Bagels and Smoked Fish to take in our carry-on as gifts to our family.
- Called an Uber to take us to the airport for our 12:00pm flight home to Austin.
Recommendations from my New York City trip
During our 5 day visit to New York City, we did so much! I owe it to the naps we took in the middle of the day to keep us going. My itinerary focused on things to do in New York City for the first time. If you don’t have 4 days to visit the city, here are the top things I’d recommend you do.
New York City museums
As a designer, I love museums and viewing art for inspiration. New York City has so many world class museums that if you have an interest in art and history, it’s worth a couple hours of your visit. We were able to visit 3 museums and looking back, it was probably 1 too many to visit. I could have skipped The Met, only because I’ve personally been able to visit other museums in Europe with similar artifacts.
Here’s what I thought about each museum:
- American Museum of Natural History: If you love animals, dinosaurs, or have kids, this museum is a great way to spend a couple hours. The animal exhibits are immersive, the dinosaur fossils are large, and the life size blue whale is iconic.
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA): If you love modern, contemporary art and installations, this museum is world-renowned for its exhibitions. It does have some historic art pieces from Matisse and Van Gogh to balance out the modernity which is why I think it a memorable place to visit.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met): If you love history and historical art pieces, this museum is for you. It has a beautiful Egyptian temple installation, European art from Claude Monet and Raphael, Greek and Roman marble statues, and more.
New York City food and bar recommendations
Trying out new food is a big reason why I travel. I met my goal of trying a bagel every day and had a couple of standout food spots I’d visit again.
Here’s why I’d return to this food or bar:
- Zucker’s Bagels and Smoked Fish: I tried a bagel every day but this was my favorite! Their smoked fish bagel stands out as the best bagel I tried. This meal was large, filling, and the bagels were so good I bought a dozen to bring back home as gifts.
- King of Falafel & Shawarma: This food stand is amazing! We were offered a fresh, crispy falafel to try while we waited in line. They beat every falafel we’ve ever tried in Austin and their falafel wrap is incredible.
- Nothing Really Matters Bar: This speakeasy is located in a subway station entrance. Finding this hidden cocktail bar and the ambiance inside felt like a very New York experience.
- Katana Kitten: Located in Greenwich Village, this bar had a fun atmosphere and decor. Their Japanese inspired snacks were delicious and they had a good variety of cocktails.
New York City tourist recommendations
Although there are plenty of touristy things to do in New York City, I didn’t do the typical tourist activities in NYC such as visiting the Statue of Liberty or going up the Empire State Building for a view of the city. It just wasn’t interesting to me. Instead, these are the touristy things I did that I’d recommend you try.
Here’s what I thought about these places:
- Walk Central Park: There’s something about walking among the tall buildings and finding relief in a huge green park that’s so enjoyable. I had a great experience just sitting on a bench to people watch and walk aimlessly in the park.
- See a Broadway show: Find a Broadway show that you find interesting and get tickets to see it. There are plenty of shows to pick from. The artistry and performances are very inspiring.
- See a comedy show: If you love comedy, seeing a show at a NYC comedy club is a unique experience. The clubs are intimate and where many famous comedians got their start.
- Walk the Brooklyn Bridge: Start on the Brooklyn side of the bridge and walk towards Manhattan. You’ll get beautiful photos and a great site of the Manhattan skyline.
What I’ll do next time I visit NYC
Next time I visit New York City, I hope to explore more parts. I had so many points of interest saved for New York City and within my 4 day visit, I didn’t have enough time to visit them all. Here are other things I want to do next time I visit!
- Stay in Brooklyn to experience a different borough
- The High Line, a elevated public park built on an old rail line
- New York City Library, to visit the Rose Main Reading Room
- Ess-a-bagel, a bagel spot recommended by many friends
- Han Dynasty, a Chinese restaurant to try their szechuan
- Golden Unicorn, a Cantonese restaurant to try their dim sum
- Paulie Gee’s, to try their pizza
- Bathtub Gin, a speakeasy with a gin-focused cocktail menu and live entertainment
- Employees Only, a cocktail bar that needs a reservation
- Whitney Museum of American Art, an art museum with 20th century and contemporary American artists
- New York Botanical Garden, an expansive garden ground great for families
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, an art gallery for multiple disciplines of design
Visiting New York City for the first time
New York City surprised me! I get the appeal. There is so much to do, I loved it. The variety of food available and easy access to different parts of the city was super fun. I can’t believe it took me that long to visit New York City for the first time. I wish I had visit even sooner, I’m looking forward to going back.
What places did I miss in NYC that you recommend? Let me know in the comments!