Let’s talk New York City Itinerary! Traveling to a new destination, especially when it is a big city can be quite overwhelming. The number of things you want to visit, all the attractions, shows, concerts, restaurants, bars can sometimes seem like a mission impossible! Especially when you compare it to the number of days you have to visit and do everything. We had the same problem in the beginning of our trip.
With that being said, I have decided to share my New York City 7 Day Itinerary with all of you and hopefully make at least one person’s trip easier! You can always change things up. Feel free to move something you don’t like and add something you are interested in. I feel like it’s always easier when you have a base to start from. If you are visiting for more days this can be your itinerary without the rest days (Which will be needed!). In the end of my blog post you will find a FREE GIFT for you – New York City 7 Day Itinerary Planner! Ok, enough with the chitchat, let’s get to it!
Day 1 – Grand Central Terminal, NYC Public Library, Bryant Park…
Since we weren’t staying in NYC but in Connecticut, our mornings would start with taking a one hour train ride to the one and only, Grand Central Terminal. Let’s just say it was a privilege to come to that station every day and get to see it and feel it, and in the end of the day feel like a part of it. With its long history and amazing architecture it is definitely a must see while visiting NYC! Grand Central Terminal was built for the first time in 1871. Today it is used by more than one million people a week. On the lower floor you can find restaurants, one of them being the Oyster Bar, the oldest business within Grand Central.
Our second stop of the day was NYC Public Library. We only saw it from the outside and didn’t go in, but it is a great place to visit without spending money. The Library was built in 1911 and at that time it was the largest marble building ever built in the US.
Right behind the library is the famous Bryant Park. Since we were visiting during winter holidays there was a skating rink. Around it you can find a lot of little Holiday Shops housed in little kiosks. They offer local crafts, food and goods from around the world as well as jewelry, sweets and artwork.
Our next stop of the day was the one and only Times Square! This is of course one of the most popular spots in the city and New York just wouldn’t be the same without it. Personally it is much more breathtaking during nighttime when all the lights are shining bright! I wouldn’t recommend eating or shopping there because everything is pretty pricey. I would recommend rather going a bit further from the main attractions where the prices will be more reasonable. My dream was to be at Times Square for New Years Eve and I am proud to say that I did it! I got so lucky and was able to stand in the first row! I will talk more about how we did it in another post!
Next up was the amazing Flat Iron. It has been one of the NYC symbols for over a century. Eataly Flatiron is the biggest Italian food and wine marketplace in the world! It offers probably every Italian ingredient you can image. There you can find also restaurants, bars and a rooftop beer garden where you can try and enjoy their cuisine as a true local!
Our last stop of the day was a New York Knicks vs Washington Wizards game in the magnificent Madison Square Garden. This was an amazing experience! Being there and thinking of all the concerts, games and events held there is just WOW! We had amazing seats and it was our first basketball game ever! The only thing I can say is that it was a cherry on the top for our first day in New York City!
Day 2 – Totto Ramen, Rockefeller Center, Top of the Rock
Our second day in the city started with a walk and eating Ramen at Totto Ramen. This place was a recommendation and we loved it, it was also our first time trying it!
Our plan for the day was to see Rockefeller center and go ice skating which was on my bucketlist! After getting there and seeing how long the line was I decided it was not worth it. All of a sudden only seeing it was just enough haha! Right next to the skating rink is the Rockefeller Tree. One of the most popular Christmas trees in the world! My advice is passing next to it at night time (Preferably later in the night when there are no crowds). Then the light are on and the tree becomes even more spectacular. Taking a picture next to it is not that magical as you might imagine. It is fun to try and take a picture without at least 10 people next to you or in front of you.
If you are visiting the city in Christmas time make sure to put this on your New York City Itinerary!
Our next stop was my favorite spot in the city and the whole New York City 7 Day Itinerary!!! The stunning view from the Top of The Rock! This view just took my breath away! I could go there every day and not get bored of it! I spent over 2 hours looking at the view and the only thing that made me leave was the cold Christmas eve temperature. Plus my boyfriend who listened to my “just 5min more” for an hour and just wanted to go and grab a drink somewhere warm.
We entered the building at around 3pm because we wanted to see the sunset. Let me tell you it was the best decision ever! We were able to see the city at day time, sunset time and night time which made it perfect! Looking at the city from up there feels like looking at a desktop screensaver! You can imagine me going WOW, WOW, WOW everywhere I turned. We chose this view over the Empire State view because from this one you can see the Empire State itself from one side (Which makes the NYC skyline so special) and then Central Park from the other side which is just as magnificent.
You can check out videos from this amazing place in my Instagram Highlights: https://www.instagram.com/donateladekanic/
After sadly leaving this amazing place, we were on a quest to find last minute Christmas gifts. This wasn’t easy since it was Christmas Eve and most of the shops were already closed. We ended up walking for the rest of the evening and enjoying the city.
Day 3 – The Vessel, High Line, Washington Square Park
For day 3 we decided to first visit the newly built landmark, centerpiece of Hudson Yards, the spiral staircase called The Vessel. It was opened in March 2019 and costed about $200 million dollars. From there we walked up to the High Line.
High Line is a 2.33km long elevated linear park which was created on a former New York Central Railroad on the west side of Manhattan. Since its opening in 2009 it has become an icon of contemporary landscape architecture. High Line is a great place to take a walk in the city without any traffic. During the spring and summer time it is even more beautiful because all of the plants are green and in bloom!
After arriving to the end on the High Line, we decided to sit down, take a break and get a coffee. The first thing that popped out was The Sugar Factory. After entering we saw people waiting at the little front desk but we didn’t know why and since there were free tables we sat down. Of course a minute later the waiter came and told us that we can’t sit there without a reservation but we can sit at the bar, so thats what we did. We ordered two coffees which were first of all way too expensive and second of all not tasty, after seeing all of the pictures of famous people in the menu, we realized it was a famous place which explained the prices.
From there we walked around 20 min to the Washington Square Park and we got to see some more quiet and more expensive neigborhoods. All those private houses with expensive cars parked in front of them looked like from a movie.
Day 4 – Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Oculus
We dedicated the day for lower Manhattan and our first wish was to visit the Statue of Liberty. After arriving to Battery park we went straight to buy the ferry tickets which were around $15 dollars each. We continued to wait in line for the security check. They scan you and look trough your purses and backpacks. The ferry ride takes about 15 min to get to the Statue of Liberty. It drops you off and when you want to go back you can just hop on the next one that arrives.
We walked around the island but didn’t go up the statue. Instead we took some pictures in front of it and looked at the view of lower Manhattan from the island.
I loved the ferry ride back! The sun was setting and you could see all the lights of the city becoming brighter as it started to get darker outside! And when you turned around you could see the shining Statue as they turned on the reflectors. Make sure to make space in your New York City 7 Day Itinerary for The Statue! It is something you don’t want to miss while there!
Our next wish was to see the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. In the museum we spent around 2h looking at all the exhibits, videos and reports from that tragic day. We really liked how they made the museum. The fact that you are standing in the foundation of what used to be one of the Twin buildings is hard to comprehend.
Right next to it is the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub called Oculus. Oculus it is a train station, plaza and a shopping mall. Inside you can find a great number of stores as well as restaurants. Its design is definitely something out of the ordinary!
Day 5 – Radio City Music Hall, Tiffany, Central Park…
We started the day by going to watch The Christmas Spectacular in the Radio City Music Hall. Radio City Rocketts have been performing in Radio City Music Hall since 1932. They are best known for starring in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, an annual Christmas show (And let me tell you they truly are spectacular). The way their moves are all synchronized, every tap, every kick and every smile are in perfect timing! It makes you try and search for one mistake to prove that what you see is real!
I was amazed by the fact that they kick up to 1200 times per day! You know that the show is a must see if it has been playing continuously for over 80 years! Not to forget, it still fills up 4 full halls per day! I would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting NYC in the holiday season. Especially if they want to see something special and traditional that will leave them in awe.
We wanted to see the new 6 floor Nike store and do some shopping so that’s exactly what we did next! Although since it was holiday time which ment Christmas presents, the store was full of people. A lot of things were sold out but it is still a cool place to see. Besides I’m sure it is much more pleasant in the non holiday time.
Next store was Tiffany. There we definitely didn’t do any shopping but we sure did drool over all the stunning jewelry! Maybe one day I will be able to afford something from there but until then seeing it was just as great!
We wanted to try and go ice skating in Central Park. When we got there the line was waaay to long so we decided to take a walk instead. Afterwards we went to grab a drink in Center Bar in Time Warner Center.
Next stop was Dave & Busters and playing arcades which was a lot of fun! There you can put money on a card they give you and then use it for all the arcades. Some arcades can give you coins and points which you can later exchange for something in their store. Mostly it’s toys or some fun small things.
Our last stop was getting a chilly hot dog from a food truck. I thought I would never try it, but in the end I decided to give it a try and it was pretty good!
Day 6 – American Museum of Natural History & Uncle Paul’s Pizza
American Museum of Natural History was our plan for a rainy day. Make sure you have at least one day in your New York City 7 Day Itinerary ready for a rainy day. Our only problem was that we didn’t come early enough! We spent 4 hours there and still didn’t have enough time to see everything!
My advice is coming as soon as they open. That way you have time for everything and when you feel like you saw everything you wanted you can leave. We didn’t get to see everything we wanted because they were closing at 17:30 so we had to leave. Overall it was amazing. All the animals in the museum are made so realistic and you get to see the culture and history of the whole world. My favorite part was the Ocean Life and the dinosaurs.
Since we walked a lot in the museum and it was raining, we took a metro and went to get a pizza at Uncle Paul’s Pizza. We got the Prosciutto di Parma with Arugula & Fig Jam and it was delicious! My mouth is watering just by thinking of it!
Day 7 – Brooklyn Bridge, Chinatown, Soho…
Walking the Brooklyn Bridge was first on our to do list for that day! Since we got there around 12:30 it was pretty crowded but still amazing! We took so many pictures there. I feel like it took us two hours to cross it and come back haha! If you would like to have a picture there without any people I think you should go there very early in the day. That is not really my choice of travelling. I feel like I would be too tired for the rest of the day if I did that.
After Brooklyn Bridge we walked up trough Chinatown and towords Soho district. We just strolled around the area, entered a few shops and enjoyed the sightseeing.
From Soho we took the metro to Times Square. We ate at Burger & Lobster (The lobster was really good) and then we went to watch a Broadway Show. All of the shows that are performing there are amazing so it was a hard decision!
In the end we chose Frozen. Since we decided last minute that we would like to see it, there were not a lot of seats left. I really loved the show! The singing was amazing and there were these two adorable and oh so talented little girls that I just admired! Seeing them so young and already acting and singing like professionals was just incredible! I would really recommend going to see a Broadway Show if you can!
The cherry on the top of the day was smelling freshly baked Cinnamon rolls. Of course I had to get them and I’m currently wishing I could get one also!
New York City 7 Day Itinerary Planner
I hope you liked my New York City Itinerary and found it useful for your trip!
To make your travel planes easier to follow, I decided to give you a small gift. A 7 day itinerary planner! I hope it will help you in all your future travels and make them at least a little bit easier!
Let’s check all of our bucket lists together! Have fun, travel, love, laugh and see you in the next blog post! Xx Donatela
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