NAME: Lynnea
CITY: New York City
COUNTRY: United States
YEAR OF TRIP: (My whole life)
HOW LONG WERE YOU THERE? I grew up just 45 minutes outside of the city
BEST TIME TO GO: Mid-October or right after the holiday season (early January)
GREATEST CHALLENGE: Avoiding crowds and getting “off the beaten path” – it’s very easy to get sucked into tourist traps.
WHAT MAKES THIS PLACE SPECIAL? There is a magic to New York City that I’ve never felt anywhere else – there’s just such an air of excitement and promise that makes you feel invincible, it truly is the city that never sleeps. There is always something going on somewhere, and the pace of life is so fast it can be overwhelming, but also so invigorating (almost like a constant adrenaline rush)!
MUST EAT:
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Galli (delicious, yet affordable modern Italian fare in a hipster’s dream of a setting – tons of exposed brick and a giant skylight – the quintessential Soho eatery)
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Katz’s Delicatessen (you haven’t been to New York until you’ve been to Katz’s and experienced the most legendary Jewish deli/pastrami of all time – don’t forget to tip the slicer!)
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Lombardi’s Coal Oven Pizza (the first pizzeria ever in NYC, and supposedly the whole country – go super early or super late to avoid tourists and order a classic red or white pie)
MUST SEE:
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Central Park
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The High Line
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Grand Central Station
MUST DO:
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It’s cliché, but it’s by far one of the best ways to experience the magical buzz of NYC – a night out to a Broadway show complete with a pre-theatre dinner special
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There is no better time to be in NYC than during the holidays – from St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the window displays on 5th Ave to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and all of the holiday markets, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. BUT, go the first week of December or right after New Year’s to avoid the crowds.
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See the city from above – but NOT from the top of the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock – they are both overpriced and the lines to wait will consume the better half of your day. Go instead to a rooftop bar or restaurant, there’s virtually hundreds to choose from! (The Met actually has a great rooftop café with a really relaxing garden, which is a really awesome way to kill two birds with one stone)
Other Recommendations: (I could go on forever…) Go to Washington Square Park (one of the coolest hubs for the “struggling artist student” type) and sit by the fountain watching all of the street performers, go to Battery Park on the southern tip of the city and enjoy being by the water, visit One World Trade Center/The Freedom Tower/The 9/11 Memorial and Museum, have a boozy brunch across the bridge in Brooklyn or check out Smorgasburg in Williamsburg, catch a concert at one of the city’s iconic and intimate venues like The Bowery Ballroom or Webster Hall, get a double Shackburger and a black & white shake from Shake Shack (yes, it’s worth the hype and WAY better than In-N-Out), enjoy a day of shopping for vinyls/vintage clothing and drinking craft beer/hip cocktails in the Village, watch a Rangers or Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, get halal from a street cart (rite of passage and possibly the best drunk food known to man), get a cupcake from the world-famous Magnolia Bakery