6 days in New York with @gracegrangetravel

New York is such a dream destination for me and arriving at the airport for the first time, I was filled with excitement as to what the next few days would hold. I spent hours prepping the itinerary, making sure I was making the most of our time, as well as picking where to eat from my huge list of restaurants, bakeries and fast-food spots I’ve had saved over the years! But here’s what I ended up doing over the six days I spent there… 

Day 1 – getting there  

After we landed in the late afternoon, we headed straight to check into our hotel, Hotel Hendricks, and settled into our room. It had a really chic design and a good amount of storage space for all our luggage. What I couldn’t believe though, was the incredible view of the Empire State Building from our room – you could literally see it from being in bed. Despite being very tired, we headed straight out for some pizza and a couple of cocktails to try and power through the jet lag at The Carnegie Club – a cocktail and cigar lounge with live jazz music at the weekends. It felt like we had stepped back in time and was the perfect start to our trip! 

Day 2 – bagels, shopping and sunset 

Of course, on our first morning we had to start the day with bagels. We decided to skip the viral spots like Liberty, Pop Up and Apollo Bagels and headed to Pio Bagel instead. I chose a caramelised onion bagel with sausage, egg and scallion cream cheese and WOW it was good! All set for a day of exploring, we headed to SoHo to wander the cool streets and independent shops like Mure & Grand, What Goes Around Comes Around, RealReal and New York and Nowhere. This area also has so many great cafés and restaurants, too (the tacos from La Esquina were great).  

We walked from here to the 911 Memorial and Museum, which I felt was really important to visit. Despite being in the middle of the city, the area was so quiet, and the memorial really brought home the tragedy of what happened. Our last activity for the day was SUMMIT One Vanderbilt for sunset and this should be a MUST on your itinerary. Make sure you book the sunset session – even if there isn’t a good sunset (ours wasn’t the best) it’s still amazing to see the city go from day to night. On day one alone, we managed 25k steps, so it was an early night ready for another day of exploring tomorrow. 

Day 3 – a snowy Central Park and graffiti workshop 

This was my favourite day because we woke up to lots of snow! We took the subway up to 77th Street in the morning, grabbed a coffee and spent the morning wandering through Central Park. It was magical seeing it in white and all the families sledging but I would love to visit in summer, too, and go on the boating lake. We headed over to explore Williamsburg during the afternoon and our first stop was L’Industrie Pizzeria, which was SO delicious. It is popular so go early if you can, but the queue does move quickly. Make sure you get the pistachio soft serve, too! 

After lunch we had our First Choice experience, which was a graffiti workshop where we  were taught by a real-life Brooklyn street artist how to do our own graffiti. This was such a  fun and unique activity that I highly recommend for your itinerary. We made our own graffiti  art to take home. Then, on the way back to our hotel, we hopped on the Roosevelt Tramway to see the city from a different POV and spent the evening having dinner at Monkey Bar. 

Day 4 – THE sunrise spot  

The next day was a very early start for what has become a bit of an iconic activity in NYC… We made our way to Brooklyn Bridge to watch the sunrise over the city. As we were on our way in the dark, I did question whether it would be worth it, but it really was special! We crossed the bridge into Brooklyn to the famous DUMBO (down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass) photo spot, then went in search of breakfast at Time Out Market. Bear in mind, it doesn’t open until around 9am, so you do have to wander about a bit to kill some time… 

Day 5 – my first NBA game 

This was another busy day, as we spent a few hours in the American Museum of Natural History, which is huge. Make sure you add on the Invisible Worlds immersive exhibition if you go here, too. This evening, we watched Brooklyn Nets in the basketball – this was my first NBA experience, and I loved it (even though I know nothing about basketball). One tip for you is that if the tickets at Madison Square Garden are too expensive, look at the Barclays Center instead – this is what we did. Pasta at LaRina is a great option for a pre-match dinner if you choose the Barclays Center, too. 

Day 6 – walking the High Line and home time 

I couldn’t believe how quickly the trip went and before we knew it, it was the final day! Today there was yet another part of the city to see and lots of steps to get in. We headed to walk the High Line, finishing at Pier 54, which is a funky park on the water. At the end of the walk, Chelsea Market is conveniently across the road and filled with food options. Very Fresh Noodles is a must – I think they’re the best noodles I’ve ever tasted. Of course, Los Tacos No.1 is also amazing and if you like seafood tacos, make sure you check out Los Mariscos, too. To end our time in the Big Apple, we had to see Times Square and watch a show on Broadway – we chose Aladdin and it was the perfect end to the trip.  

Five nights felt like the perfect amount of time for a first-time visit to NYC to see the sights, but you could also remove a couple of activities if you prefer a more relaxed itinerary. I hope this has given you some inspo for your First Choice holiday to New York! 

 
If @gracegrangetravel’s trip sounds like a bit of you, have a look at our USA holidays and you can find all her picks on our Insiders Hub.     

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Author: @gracegrangetravel
Last updated:23/04/2025