Ah, New York City. The hustle and bustle – and frankly, garbage and grime. Personally, I do much better in my Midwest home of Chicago, but I do love to get a weekend here and there in the Big Apple! (Do people still call it that?) I actually made two trips in 2019 – one to visit a friend who recently moved there and another for a friend’s birthday weekend! Figured it was high time to pull together a New York City travel guide with plenty of options of things to do and places to eat!
I’ll start with my favorite places to dine and / or drink. Then move on to the activities. Now, diving right in …
New York City Travel Guide Dine + Drink
Little Spain
Little Spain is a v trendy market in the recently updated Hudson Yards complex. Think different food stalls for things like Iberico ham and manchego, paella, churros, and more. Plus, wine. Lots of wine. It’s a great place to stop before or after the Vessel – which I’ll talk about in a bit!
Brooklyn Social
My friend lives in Brooklyn so quite a few spots in this travel guide are outside of Manhattan! This is a quiet spot – seemingly divey, but with great cocktails and a cool vibe!
Saraghina
One of my favorite dinners can be found in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn is this tapas / small plates spot with some truly dynamite – and different – food! My favorites were the watermelon salad and the tuna ceviche.
Bar Veloce
Darling little wine bar – we went to one that was near Chelsea Market, but they have locations around the city. Basic, but good prices and good drinks and nibbles.
Cull & Pistol
Definitely the winner of the Manhattan restaurants we tried! So much delicious seafood! We had the octopus appetizer (my fav), then my friend and I shared the scallops and lobster roll – both amazing! This is a great spot if you want to see Chelsea Market, check out the Highline and finish with a higher-end meal.
Frankies
This is a great little Italian restaurant in Brooklyn – so great my friend is actually getting married there this summer! The name of the game here is pasta and wine.
Cha Cha Matcha
Most of y’all know, I’m a full-on Starbucks addict for my morning tea. BUT, I do love a good afternoon matcha treat and when I asked my friend for a suggestion of where to try, this came to mind! It’s a chain, so they’re all over the city and they make your drink in front of you so you get to see the process a bit!
The Meatball Shop
I kind of laugh throwing this one in here, but let’s talk late-night food. Our go-to takeout for ending the nights talking and drinking wine in bed was The Meatball Shop. Pretty sure you can guess the basics, but they had lots of fun flavors to try as well. Quality take-out dining. 🙂
Bagel Pub
It wouldn’t be a New York City travel guide without an option for bagels. Yeah yeah, Russ and Daughters, and all that. But actually, I was a much bigger fan of Bagel Pub in Brooklyn! If you make it that way, they have dozens of cream cheese flavors to choose from – I’m partial to the olive cream cheese and have been making it at home!
Milk Bar
Okay, so you probably know about Milk Bar, but this serves as your reminder to go while you’re in NYC! Get the ice cream. Get a slice of cake to go for later. You won’t be sorry.
New York City Travel Guide Things to Do
The High Line
We didn’t stay on the High Line for long, but if you live under a rock (sorry), it’s like Atlanta’s BeltLine or Chicago’s 606. There is an entrance at Chelsea Market, so we hit both at once.
Chelsea Market
Chelsea Market was an unfortunately quick stop for us as we were doing dinner before a concert, but what I did see was stationery and gift shops galore – my jam! I wish we had more time to browse!
The Vessel
This is one of New York’s newer attractions – basically a bunch of interlocking staircases. Yes, I’m serious. But it’s actually pretty cool. It’s all open air with great views of the city and a trippy interior. Be prepared for sore legs and skip the line by paying $10 online before you go (well worth it, IMO).
911 Museum
Yes, it’s incredibly sad to walk through the 911 memorial and museum, however it’s also an important part of understanding our history. The way we structured this was we got tea and breakfast, walked around to see the memorial fountains, then went into the museum. Afterward, we walked around in silence for about an hour and then perked up with lunch and afternoon tea. It’s a hard visit, but I still highly recommend it. I also thought we did well to go early so that we didn’t go into the evening with the heavy feelings.
Governor’s Island
This was actually my favorite activity between both of my visits! We took a ferry from Brooklyn to Governor’s Island – I believe my ticket was $3, then rented bikes and rode around a few times. There are some art installations, gorgeous views, fresh air, and lots going on. I’m dying to try their yurt options sometime as well!
Brooklyn High Tea at Williamsburg Hotel
No vacation would be complete without afternoon tea. A highly underrated activity, we found a lovely service at Williamsburg Hotel at a totally reasonable price! It was totally approachable and not at all pretentious if you’re a tea newbie and are overwhelmed by the fancy hotels in Manhattan.
See a Play
Of course one of the most popular things to do in New York City is to see a play or go to a concert! We did both! Billy Joel plays at Madison Square Garden regularly so we timed our visit with The Piano Man. We also saw Mean Girls – which greatly exceeded my expectations for it. And half the fun with seeing a show is using the TKTS booth in Times Square to see what you can get a deal on!
I’d love to hear your New York City favs as well! What should I include on my next visit?
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