Tweak my NYC itinerary

[Julietandhercat]

Hello, can anyone who has been to NYC or is from there please refine my itinerary? We'll be travelling there in late May.

About us:
Late 30’s, from London, I’m a very light drinker, husband is a non drinker. Eat everything except pork.

1. We enjoy grazing on small eats so that we can experience lots of different flavours and variety. The only real restaurants that we want do are for the classic NYC steak experience, which is a bucket list item for us. Please give us your recommendations for great steak places.
2. Oh, and I also want to go somewhere for happy hour oysters, which I’ve heard are divine. Please feel free to suggest places that do this 😊
3. I also love thrift stores and anything quirky

Friday – stay near hotel, Renaissance Chelsea

• Get to hotel at around 2pm (after an 8 hour flight, having woken up at 6am, so we'll take it easy)
• Freshen up and head out at 3pm-ish
• Walk around, check out shops (buffalo exchange for example)
• Walk to Flatiron building
• Anything cool to eat around the area? Any recommendations for steakhouses? Bucket list item is to eat great steak in NYC. Is Wolfgang Steakhouse Park Avenue decent? Nothing set in stone to do on this afternoon/evening so happy for suggestions, what would you do that we won’t have covered below?

Saturday – Brooklyn

• Take the F line to York Street (Brooklyn).
• Wander around Brooklyn Flea Market
• Wander around Dumbo, photo op at Washington/Front Intersection
• Head to Timeout Market and explore, food and views from rooftop
• Wander through Brooklyn Bridge Park and through promenade
• Explore Brooklyn Heights, through Cobble Hill (Court Street and Smith Street) – any interesting shops/sights/food we should get/do here?
• Either head through Park Slope to Prospect Park OR head to Red Hook area and eat/drink/views at Strong Rope (which would you choose? Or is this whole bullet too ambitious and should we skip back to Brooklyn Bridge from here?)
• Back to Brooklyn Bridge, walk across bridge (iconic NYC bucket list item)
• Head to Pier 11, get Staten Island Ferry return to check out Statue of Liberty from the water (I'd rather do this that fit in Red Hook/Prospect Park above)
• Take South Ferry back to 23rd Street, walk back to hotel
• Either call it a day and relax or chill for a bit and head out again
• Options for going out – City Winery, a comedy club or jazz bar – any suggestions?

Sunday - UWS, Central Park, Met, East River Ferry

• Head to Zabars, pick up some food for a picnic (iconic NYC bucket list item, as strange as it may sound)
• Wander through Farmers market on W 79th St & Columbus Ave, more picnic food
• Check our Grand Bazaar
• Take food loot to Central Park – picnic on Great Lawn
• Find Bow Bridge, then wander to Bethesda, more wandering if we fancy it
• Head to The Met and wander round
• Drinks and views on The Met roof
• Walk to 92nd street, hopefully seeing pretty architecture on the way (any particular street or small food spots, like bagels or slices?), and take ferry to East 34 Street (doing this to get skyline view from the water, have heard it’s good)
• Wander back to hotel, either rest for the night or relax and head out somewhere later
• Late night options: comedy at Village Underground, Jazz at Smalls or Blue Note (any other suggestions?)

Monday – Village/Chelsea/Downtown day

• Walk to Chelsea Market, wander around (any recommendations for small eats?)
• Check out Pier 57 (any recommendations for small eats?)
• Walk to Magnolia bakery, banana pudding
• Check out general Bleecker Street area and side streets (SATC house, Friends house)
• Joes Pizza for a slice
• Mooch up to Washington Square Park, eat the slice on the grass and chill for a bit
• Check out Greenmarket at Union Square (is it worth doing this considering we'll have been to a few markets already in UWS?)
• Walk down to Strand Books
• Head to Yonah Schimmels for knish
• Katz deli for something to share
• Wander through Chinatown, get something small, maybe bubble tea (any small eat recommendations here?)
• If we didn’t get round to Staten Island ferry do it now, otherwise head back to hotel (take the R or W line from Canal Street station to 28 street)
• Chill and either stay in or head out later in the evening
• Any suggestions for what to do later locally?

Tuesday – Midtown day (have a chilled day as we’re flying out in the evening)

• Walk to Grand Central Station, eat at Veselka
• Check out view at SUMMIT
• New York Library and Bryant Park
• Either eat at Los Tacos 1, or head up to Gallaghers for steak (is Gallaghers a better option that Wolfgang Park Lane?)
• What else can we do in the area? Maybe a cool cinema?
• If we have time to kill, get some small eats (any recommendations please? cart food or bagels for example) and chill in Central Park.
• 5pm – get taxi to the airport

My sort of itinery!!!
Eaterly near Flatiron is good for food
Greenwood cemetery in Brooklyn...amazing views of Manhattan
Public Library near Bryant Park...incredible inside and a terrific gift shop

I like to do a lot but I feel this is over planned. You aren't allowing yourself to "feel" NYC plan time to just walk
I would eat oysters in Chelsea market
Go for breakfast/brunch at the singing diner (can't remember the name now !)
Allow time to enjoy it ...

Wow. We were in NY last year and we had a plan but this is next level. If you want to add in some more culture I’d recommend MoMA. I loved it. Bryant Patk is small we just had a drink there one night. High Line is fun to do.

Ellen's Diner is the singing one. Have you been before/intend to go back as I would have to add some iconic places if it was going to be my only visit.

It sounds like you have a great city trip plan outlined. It's a great city but just be cautious it's a tiring city that exhausts you with all the walking. Be prepared to perhaps not tick off all on your to do list and perhaps prioritise accordingly all the top things you want to do.

@Roystonvwe went to Ellen's Diner 6/7 years ago. Massively overpriced for a bog standard diner with mediocre food, followed by extortionism for a tip from the "entertainer" waitresses/waiters (most of whom wouldn't pass my local am/dram auditions, let alone Broadway)

We may have just hit a bad night of course........

@JulietandhercatI love that itinerary. So, so much better than waking up each day, looking at each other and going "what shall we do today", "where shall we have dinner" etc followed by the "I don't mind - what do you want to do" etc

Thanks for the tip on Greenwood Cemetary! I do enjoy cemeteries but my husband thinks they're too dark. I'll see if I can get him on board.

@Maddy70 I hear you, and there's definitely something to said about winging it and going with the flow. My husband is that kind of tourist and his approach has really really really loosened me up. I used to be much more defined with everything, like to the hour planning, reservayions made at restaurants, research on the best picture and angle to take at places. Now that was madness. This is my version of going with the flow 😂 and to be fair I don't have we'll defined plans at all for the day we arrive or the day we leave, leaving room to just... wander. And hopefully find the magic, of its eluded us on previous days.

@cyclingmum67 thank you! It fills me with anxiety being put on the spot in a new place and not knowing at least a few things to do/eat. The on the spot googling and reading reviews is something I definitely don't want to do.

@TranceNation Thanks, after all the feedback I'm going to cut something out of the plan as the walking might get very on top of us, or research routes with more public transport. We're also fine with ubering to places if need be.

Also, accepting that the itinerary is more of an indication of what a full day could be.

@roystonv never been before, if we enjoy it we'll be back I'm sure. I wanted to mix things up so not just do first timer NYC things, and also I'm OK seeing some things from afar (hopefully we'll get to do that from the Met roof and also the ferry).

Saying that, is there anything specific that we should add to the itinerary?

Thanks @hopeishere that's two comments on MoMa now so I'll add it as a pin to Google maps, in case we're nearby and at a loose end.

Unfortunately this time round I don't think we're going to have the time to also do high line. Could be a thing next time round for us.

Definitely MOMO and the Chrysler Building. We were amazed by the metal work - doors, around trees etc and do look up as what can look scruffy on the ground floor was originally an amazing building. We went to Ellen's with children so fine for them.

Came to say I really enjoyed cycling in ny. Was great fun cycling across Brooklyn bridge and can speed things up a bit obvs. Loads of hire places

In terms of other things to do, I’d do at least one tall building, last time i was in NY I did top of the rock which gave beautiful panoramic views and I like that you can see the Empire State Building.

the 9/11 museum is also really worth a visit

Yes, they’re a chain. A very good chain. Which is why I recommended them. They’re not exactly Taco Bell. 😂 I was introduced to them by NYer friends (who have excellent taste - and the budget to match) and they’re a big favourite of a number of my US colleagues/friends (I used to work in the US for 2 weeks out of every 6 weeks - alternating offices between NYC, Denver and Houston, all well known for their excellent steaks).

Ye, I have eaten there myself, in DC and in Michigan. The food is OK but it’s a chain.

If the OP is looking for an authentic and historic NYC steakhouse, the 100+ year old Gallaghers is more in line with her request. Or Delmonico’s.

One wouldn’t send a tourist here to Wetherspoons if they asked for an authentic old pub.

@roystonv thanks, I'll add a stop at the Chrysler to my list!

Which one would you do between:

• Edge
• Summit
• Top of the Rock

Or is there a rooftop bar that does the same but without the long lines and with a drink?

@minipumpkin Cycling would be so good but neither of us are very good on a bike, boo. We're used to walking a lot on daytrips at the weekend or when on holiday though, 20-30k steps a day is the usual for us. Feet sore by the end but satisfied.

There are no public tours of the Chrysler building as it is a regular office building but I think you can still go into the lobby area.

Sorry I meant Top of the Rock but yes if someone can recommend a high rooftop bar then go with it!

Bar 65 was where we went for drinks with a view...that was 9 years ago though

My advice in NYC is to always check in with the hotel concierge for the best restaurants.

We had a 9am flight from Heathrow and landed just after 2pm NYC time. Only we then spent nearly 3 hours getting through customs/security/baggage claim as about 4 international flights came in at the same time. We'd taken so long we couldn't find our luggage! By the time we got to our hotel in the financial district in rush hour traffic, it was 7pm and we were both absolutely beyond exhausted. So we lost an afternoon and an evening off our 4 day trip and I was gutted. Be very careful planning anything for your first day/evening. Hopefully you'll be a lot luckier than we were!