3-day New York City Itinerary

 

Manhattan from Staten Island Ferry

While we spent more than 3 days in New York and New Jersey in our family trip, going through attractions, doing some meet ups, and shopping (of course!), if you only have 3 days in New York, here are some of the places you can hit:

Day 1 – Central Park, The MET and World Trade Center

We took the subway to get around NYC. It was not very accessible for Grandma with escalators under repair and elevators not available in all stations (many quite stinky!), but she powered through (thanks to Salon Pas!). 

New York Subway Train

We got off at 81^st and walked across Central Park to get to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was quite hot and extremely humid on the day we were there, but you can spend a few hours just in Central Park. There are a few things to see such as the Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Fountain/Terrace and the Bow Bridge, among many others. But, we had to get out of the sweltering heat (and it was not quite 10am then!) so we just passed through to get to The MET.

Central Park

We got to The Met as it opened at 10am and went to the Special Exhibit first. If you can time it or book it, there are free tours you can join. While there are practically only 3 floors you can explore (rest are for restaurants and lounges), I think that a full day is not enough to appreciate everything the museum had to offer. We spent about 5-6 hours here, including lunch (at the ground floor Eatery which was not bad at all!), and even with that, we were not able to explore everything. I absolutely loved The MET! The collections were extensive and I would not hesitate on getting a membership if I lived in NY.

The MET

@The MET

@The MET

After a day of exploring, we took the subway at 86^th to Fulton to get to the World Trade Center. We checked out The Memorial which honored those who perished at the 9/11 attacks, at the sites where the two towers were. There was also a museum, which you can go to, but we skipped this. We then just walked around the Oculus, a nice and modern transportation hub/shopping mall. There were also many eateries close by for dinner.

Oculus

Inside the Oculus

World Trade Center Memorial

Day 2—Chelsea Market, High Line, Vessel/Hudson Yards, MoMA and Staten Island Ferry

We actually took the Staten Island Ferry the night before, after WTC, as the views were beautiful at sunset. It was a bit exhausting (after a full day at The Met) so I suggest this itinerary instead.

We were going to have lunch at Hudson Yards so we explored Chelsea Market and the High Line before going there. We got off the subway at 14^th and walked to Chelsea Market. We loved this place! The interiors were industrial chic which we really liked. The shops were fun and vibrant and we enjoyed a super yummy chocolate chip cookie croissant from Sarabeth’s. Unfortunately, we were only able to check out a few stores as not many places were open at 10 am. I think you can easily spend an hour or so here.

Chelsea Market

Chelsea Market

We walked to the High Line which is a rail trail transformed into a park. Some of the entrances were under construction so we took it from the middle. It was nice and relaxing to be walking through this greenway, practically right beside some apartment buildings, with sculptures here and there. At the end, we got to Hudson Yards, by the Vessel. The Vessel was a very interesting structure but unfortunately, closed. Even if it were open, I don’t think I’d have the guts to go up there, though.

Buildings along High Line

High Line

The Vessel

We had a most wonderful lunch at Queensyard, but if you are looking for something more casual, Mercado Little Spain at the lower floor has so many options. Wish I had more space for a second lunch as I would have loved to try out some of food there!

Chocolate Mousse @Queensyard

Jamon @Mercado Little Spain

After lunch, we took the train to 5^th Ave/53^rd St to the Museum of Modern Art, which housed my favorite Starry Night--I know it is just too “common” and popular but I have loved this artwork since I was in high school, so, sorry, art snobs. MoMA closes at 530pm but 7pm on Saturdays. There was also a company-sponsored free first Friday night for NYC residents (read: crowds) that we managed to catch so we took that as our cue to wrap up our visit. 3 to 4 hours should be sufficient for MoMA.

Photo (C) at MoMA

Photo (C) at MoMA

From here, you can take the subway to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. There is a ferry about every 30 minutes and it is free. Along the way, you can catch a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty. Once you get to Staten Island, there is a shopping mall right beside the terminal and other attractions you can take transit to from there. Or you can just wait for the next ferry ride back to Manhattan. It was a relatively relaxing ferry ride when we took it. My friend who went with us said that it was surprisingly cleaner than when she was last there years ago.

@Staten Island Ferry Terminal

Lady Liberty

Day 3 – Broadway and Times Square

We could not go to NY and not catch a Broadway show. We saw a matinee performance of &Juliet. It was such a fun show and all of us enjoyed it! Of course, there are many, many other shows available on and off Broadway that you can see. I got tickets online, but there is a ticket seller by Times Square for some last-minute ones.

Times Square NYC

We then walked along Times Square and explored the many stores along the way. It was extremely busy, as was usual for this area. We happened to catch a street festival when we were there, which was a nice bonus! Rockefeller Center is a 5-minute walk from here so you can also try to squeeze that in.

We absolutely enjoyed our time in NY, even if we likely did not even scratch the surface in terms of places to visit. We definitely needed more time to spend with friends! We averaged 16,000 steps a day (hey, if we can make it there…), but this was apparently not enough to burn off all the good stuff we had been eating. Number of pounds gained from the trip will not be discussed. Yet, there were so many other treats we missed and would definitely come back for next time!