New York, The Big Apple
I’m going to share with you some ideas of what to do in New York during a 1 week’s stay. I went there with my daughter in April 2024. The time before that was in 2015, so there were a few more skyscrapers to see and a lot more money to spend.
Let me start by saying you will be walking a lot! Let me know if you can beat our record of 23KM or 36,296 steps.
If it’s your first time, take a look at a map of Manhattan before you go. You will notice how it’s mostly rectangles, that’s what they call blocks. You have West and East streets on either side of Central park, 5th Avenue, and then in the south you have mostly street names from Noho until the Financial District.
Central Park and its surrounding museums
Rockefeller center & Top of the Rocks
Empire State Building and Chrysler building
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
Favourite restaurants in Manhattan
Preparation before you leave
1 Book your flights and hotel :
- You can book your flights on booking.com or directly with the airline, if you do so make sure you registered on the frequent flyer program to get your miles registered.
- Next book your hotel on booking.com
- Here are some recommendations of hotels we stayed out during our time in Manhattan from the cheapest to the most expensive one
- Broadway Plaza Hotel, a 4 star hotel in NoMad, close to Madison Square Park, with nice big rooms at a reasonable price for Manhattan of 365 eur/night
- Pestana Park Hotel, this 4 star hotel is conveniently located next to Grand Central Station and Bryan Park. The rooms are quite small but very well designed using all the space under the bed, at a price of 400 euro/night.
- Lotte New York Palace, a classic 5 star hotel that you might remember from Gossip Girl, located across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The rooms are really big for Manhattan and are priced at around 750 eur/night
- The Dominick Hotel , this 5 star hotel is located in Soho where you have so many choice of great restaurants and boutiques. The outdoor pool was a blessing during the hot summer we were there. We were offered an upgrade to a corner family room with incredible views from all windows. The prices are around 1250 eur/night
- Here are some recommendations of hotels we stayed out during our time in Manhattan from the cheapest to the most expensive one
2 Get your ESTA on the official site
3 Book the following tickets in advance for a better planning of your trip:
- The New York city pass by Go City is my favourite, it’s the most flexible pass that you can adapt according to your agenda. Even after visiting New York so many time, we still take a pass, you save money and you get to choose from over 112 attractions, that will include the hop-on hop off bus, the museums and different tours. Some attractions have to be booked in advanced and you should also download the app once you have your passes. The pass only activates when you visit your first attraction.
- We also enjoyed the ‘NYC: Brooklyn Graffiti & Street Art Walking Tour in Bushwick’, a 2 hour tour with a guide telling you all about the Street Art, the artist and the neighbourhood of Bushwick.
- Why not splash out and enjoy a helicopter tour for the best views ever.
- If you are a foodie like us, you might want to book a few restaurants too
Best skyscrapers in Manhattan
Manhattan is full of skyscrapers that you can visit. So, if you are there for a week, you’ll need to pick and choose the best ones to get the best views. These are the two I would definitely recommend :
First of all, make sure you book your tickets in advance. You don’t just get a view of Manhattan but a whole experience, starting with the lift to the summit and then all the different rooms, each offering a unique way to view the skyline. That leads you to the last floor where you can enjoy a (strong) cocktail with a view.
The One summit Vanderbilt is not included in the New York pass, so you can buy it with getyourguide because it’s absolutely worth it!
45 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, United States
Close to the One Summit Vanderbilt skyscraper, don’t miss out on Grand Central, the station is a classic monument of Manhattan. Look up at the iconic zodiac ceiling, check out the magic of the whispering gallery, situated in lower floor in front of the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant. If you wish to learn more you can also book a guided tour.
Edge is the highest outdoor deck located at 30 Hudson Yards. The design is incredible and the view is amazing.
This attraction is included in most passes but we were lucky to have access as of 9 am, an hour before it opened to the public. That really gave us the opportunity to take some amazing photos and avoid the queueing, which is a luxury in Manhattan. The pass we bought is called the All-Inclusive Pass by Go City.
High Line and its surroundings
If you have early access to Edge with your Gocity pass, this could be your starting point to access the High Line.
Hudson Yards is where you will find the Edge, the Vessel and it is also where you can join the famous High Line. The High Line is built on a historic, elevated rail line which has been transformed into a green path that takes you from the Spur and moves east along 30th Street. On the way, you will get to see over 500 species of plants and trees alongside art exhibits.
You can also stop off and visit the Whitney Museum of American Art and have lunch at the Chelsea Market followed by a walk on Little Island where during the summer they organise plenty of activities and live performances.
Central Park and its surrounding museums
Enter on 5th, stroll past the zoo and stand by the Delacorte clock. Every half an hour, on the dot, there’s a lovely surprise. You might have seen this featured in the movie Madagascar. Check out the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, the Alice in Wonderland Statue, the Strawberry Fields and the Belvedere Castle.
Central Park will be your go to place the day you visit the museums on the Upper West and East side of Manhattan: Guggenheim, The MET, the American Museum of Natural History and the Copper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum.
Guggenheim
This architectural icon is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece opened to the public on October 21, 1959. It is such a unique museum to display contemporary art along with its spiral ramp rising to a domed skylight.
The MET or The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The MET has 5 floors and more than 2 million works in its permanent collection. It’s impossible to see everything in a few hours, so the best option is to maybe take a free tour or concentrate on your favourite artworks, you are bound to find something you admire, they have just to name a few African, Asian, European Art and the most amazing room is the Egyptian one including the tomb of Perneb and the Tomb Chapel of Raemkai. They also have a reconstructed facade of the Mastaba Tomb of Perneb.
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History in New York City is still one of my son’s favourite museum. If you go with your children, watch the movie Night at the Museum before you go and spot all the highlights you want to see on your visit. This will for sure include the iconic T-rex, the blue whale model, the moai cast, the Hayden Planetarium space show and many more exhibits.
MOMA Museum of Modern Art
Around the area, you can also go to see the MOMA Museum of Modern Art. Check what exhibitions are on at the time and make sure your see the unmissables including the Starry Night from Vincent Van Gogh.
Copper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum
This is a small gem that seems to go unnoticed, it’s situated just a few blocks away from the Guggenheim.
It is the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to historical and contemporary design, with more than 215,000 design objects spanning 30 centuries.
The historic house and museum building, namely the Andrew Carnegie mansion is a three-and-a-half story, brick and stone mansion was designed by Babb, Cook & Willard in the Georgian Revival style. Completed in 1902 for the industrialist Andrew Carnegie, it served as the family’s residence until 1946. Since 1976, the house has been occupied by the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution.
Rockefeller Center & Top of the Rocks
We went there at night and were lucky enough to see fireworks in the park.
Top of the Rock’s three levels of indoor and outdoor observation decks deliver spectacular, unobstructed views of the city skyline, especially one of Central Park and the Empire State building. Once, we went there in the late evening and were lucky enough to see fireworks in the park.
The Top of the Rock experience has observation decks that include Skylift and The Beam Experience, with an iconic 360-degree skyline views.
Rockefeller Center is also famous for its ice skating ring in the winter, and if you want to skate you should book your time slot in advance.
Time Square
You cannot go to Manhattan without going to Time Square, something odd will always happen when you are there! You might meet the naked cowboy with his guitar, a giant hotdog, the New Year’s Eve ball and other crazy things.
Fun fact, you can also book a Times Square billboard display through GetYourGuide,
Empire State Building and Chrysler building
Empire State Building and Chrysler building are both amazing art deco skyscraper but I would recommend admiring them from the top of the other skyscrapers I mentioned; so you can see them in all their glory.
Flatiron District
The main attraction is the Flatiron Building, the triangle shaped building is unlike any other building. Although it’s currently being renovated to accommodate condos. This is estimated to last till end 2026.
Next to the Flatiron you can enjoy the Fotografiska museum and/or a bit of greenery in Madison Square Park. In the summer you can attend outdoor jazz concerts in the park. Last but not least there’s Eataly, an amazing space dedicated to, you guessed it, Italy. It has the best ice creams, coffee, food, restaurants and also offers cooking classes, just brownsing around the food market is a treat to the eyes.
Financial District
The Financial District is so full of contrasts, alongside the Wall Street workers, there’s an emotional component of the One World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Here you can feel the strength and resilience of the New Yorkers and the importance of the site. It must be included in your trip and it part of The New York city pass by Go City
You can’t miss The Oculus, it’s the building that looks like a bird and is home to a station and subway lines, shops and restaurants. Around the Oculus are sculptures of animals by the artist Gillie and Marc called A Wild Life for Wildlife. So cute!
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
Here’s a controversial take, we finally took the boat tour to the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island because it was part of the The New York city pass by Go City, and honestly you spend most of your time queuing on and off the boat.
Instead, I really enjoyed the Staten Island Ferry which is free and takes you really close to the Statue of Liberty. You get an amazing view for free. You will also get views of Governors Island and Brooklyn Heights. So definitely worth it!
Brooklyn
Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge has to be done. When you get to Brooklyn, walk down Washington Street, and follow the crowd to get that famous picture of the Brooklyn Bridge. Then take a stroll to Time Out Market, where you can have a bite to eat and enjoy their terrace. You can also go down to Pebble Beach by the water for a different view of the Brooklyn Bridge.
We didn’t spend much time in Brooklyn on this trip but last time we were there we really enjoyed the ‘NYC: Brooklyn Graffiti & Street Art Walking Tour in Bushwick’ which I would recommend if you are into graffiti and murals, the tour was really well organised.
Our Favourite Restaurants in Manhattan
The Central Park Boathouse
We booked a table The Central Park Boathouse restaurant which offered a good variety of traditional dishes. We started with oysters and then the Sicilian swordfish and the spaghetti with clams (I have never seen such big clams, some were four times the size of the European ones!). Then we shared a perfect cheese cake
As you can see you’ll have a prime view of the lake while you enjoy your meal. It might even inspire you to rent a rowing boat afterwards.
If you just want a small bite to eat or a drink you can enjoy the terrace of the Central Park Boathouse Cafe.
72 E 72nd St, New York, NY 10021, United States
Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant
Every time we go to Manhattan, we have to have a bite to eat at the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant at Grand Central Station.
It’s an institution and we always sit at the circular tables on the right. Over the years, we’ve gotten the same waitress serving us almost every time! The other thing we do is ask for a menu to take back home that we frame and hang in our kitchen wall. Our first menu dates back to 22nd November 1999. We have actually now started this tradition for restaurants all over the world.
89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, United States
This is a great Korean restaurant, where you will have to remove your shoes to sit out the table (just mentioning it so you can make sure you don’t have any holes in your socks).
They are a vegetarian restaurant with an amazing choice of Korean dishes, such as stone bowl rice, hot pot, stew and dumplings. Even if you are not a vegetarian, you should try it out and I can bet you will order it.
12 E 32nd St, New York, NY 10016, United States
Sappe is an Thai restaurant and it is pronounced “Sep”, meaning to joyfully consume or partake of the objects or in the experience (a small world with a lot of meaning).
We were there in the evening and the ambiance is buzzing. If you want to taste a bit of everything you can go for dishes from the Sappe Experience Recommendation and of course don’t miss out on the skewers. Everything is so tasty and spicy (you can get to decide how spicy though).
240 W 14th St, New York, NY 10011, United States
Chefs Jonathan Benno and Jean-Georges Vongerichten are behind this fine dining restaurant. I just have to mention the decor and style of this restaurant that really give you the impression of grandeur and class, where the tables are not too close to one another and the lighting is perfect.
The dishes were perfectly balanced and refined with a special mention to the Octopus & Squid a La Plancha and the Pommes Pont
425 Park Ave, New York, NY 10022, United States
New York is just full of different cuisines and this one is a Michelin-recommended Sichuan restaurant, known for its authentic Sichuan cuisine. It is run by a chef who previously oversaw a Michelin-starred kitchen.
The restaurant is praised for its spicy dishes, particularly those featuring chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns.
13 E 37th St, New York, NY 10016, United States
Although the restaurant is defined as Japanese, serving food from Hakata in the southern part of Japan, the food culture also has a Korean and chinese influence. It is a casual restaurant where the dishes are just delicious with nothing too fancy so you are left with the authentic taste of Hakata, so don’t expect sushi and maki. Instead, you will get to taste snow crab, pork, mushroom and vegetables served with spring roll skin; tonton hot pot and Wagyu Itame.
43 Mott St, New York, NY 10013, United States
I couldn’t leave out this typical American restaurant, that has the juiciest burgers ever served with curly fries, the best home made pies ever. This restaurant is all about family brunches, great service and comfort food with great local produce in a nice corner restaurant in Tribeca.
You could if you have time, go and check out the Ghostbusters Headquarters that is really close by.
Written by Elene Riordan
Welcome to Travelling Cooks! I’m Elene, a 50-ish-year-old British-Belgian woman living in Brussels, surrounded by my beautiful friends and family. This blog is a celebration of my three great passions—travel, restaurants, and cooking. Enjoy!