New York is one of the biggest cities on earth, a modern megalopolis with numerous cultural and historical sites, as well as hundreds of restaurants, coffee shops and clubs. Getting a taste of the fast-paced New York lifestyle is a wonderful experience, but it doesn’t come cheap. There is just too much to see, you can get lost quite easily and things can get a little expensive if you don’t plan ahead and look for affordable accommodation. If you are planning a short visit to New York and want to make the most out of your trip, there are some great places you definitely shouldn’t miss.
Historical and cultural sites
New York has plenty to offer in terms of culture and iconic locations, a lot of which everyone will recognize from various movies and TV shows.
- Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Immigration Museum – you can’t end your first trip to New York without visiting these important cultural sites. You can get three different tickets, each providing additional levels of access and I highly recommend the Crown ticket, which allows you to go all the way up to the crown of the statue. Elis Island has tons of great information, including an award-winning documentary on immigration, which has greatly influenced American history and culture.
- Central Park – yet another must-see location, the 840 acre park is located on Manhattan and you can book carriage rides, book bike or pedicab tours, book a special surprise proposal event or just have a quiet walk and a picnic.
- American Museum of Natural History – the museum features: a planetarium, a library, 45 permanent exhibition halls and an enormous selection of artifacts, fossils, meteorites, as well as habitat recreations and full-scale animal models (including the blue whale and dinosaur skeletons). Plenty of interesting things to see for people of all ages.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art – with 17 different curatorial departments, the museum has everything from Ancient Near East Art, Arms and Armor and Costumes to paintings, prints, musical instruments and photographs.
These are the most important cultural sites everyone should see, but there are other places for you to explore if you have more time.
Where to eat
All the running around and sightseeing will eventually tire you out and make you hungry, and that’s when a good restaurant is all you start to think about. Whether you are looking for a nice dinner in an upscale restaurant, a specific cuisine, baked goods or just some cheap food, New York has you covered. Here are some great places to get something to eat, broken down into categories:
- Fancy dining: Sushi Nakazawa, Pearl & Ash, Betony.
- Cheap eats: Mighty Quinn’s, Alchemy, Texas BBQ.
- French food: Balthazar, Café Boulud, Buvette.
- Italian food: Del Posto, Perla, Locanda Verde.
- Bakeries: Doughboy Bake Shop, Eclair Bakery, Mille-Feuille, Patisserie Tomoko.
There are plenty of undiscovered gems, places with great food and services that don’t get mentioned that often, so feel free to do some experimenting of your own – you’d be surprised at what you can find if you dig a little deeper.
Great places for a coffee break
To get through a hectic day in NYC, you are going to need some coffee. There are a lot of great coffee places to choose from, but if you are looking for the ultimate coffee break, your own little moment of Zen-like clarity and peace, than I suggest you visit one of these fine establishments:
- Abraço
- Birch Coffee
- Culture Espresso Bar
- D’Espresso
- Housing Works Bookstore Café
- La Colombe
- Southside Coffee
- Third Rail Coffee
Great coffee and great service is what you will get at any of these cafes and the prices are quite fair for what you get.
Where to stay
Although NYC hotels can get quite expensive, particularly in certain popular areas, there are still a lot of very affordable places and even some of the bigger names offer relatively cheap rooms for the budget-minded tourist. Some great examples include the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, the Milford Hotel on Times Square, New Yorker Hotel right across the street from the Madison Square Garden and the cozy Pod 39 near the Chrysler Building – all of which offer some quite affordable rooms.
NYC is a great place to visit – you can have fun, get an opportunity to learn about history and art, take a ride in Central Park, eat some tasty food, drink some great coffee and just generally experience everything this enormous city has to offer. Just be sure to plan your trip carefully and to set a budget, or else you may very well be going home with empty pockets.