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!

Castle-hopping in Copenhagen and our favourite castle

Royal Flag @Amalienborg

There are three castles in Central Copenhagen which are major attractions. Technically, you can cover these three in one day if you want to pack your schedule. Common hours are from 10 to 5 and if you spend about 2 hours each, take lunch on the go and walk fast (or take transit), then I think it is doable. We were on chill-mode so we did these three over a day and a bit—with other stops in between. I took a quick fam poll and we were all pretty unanimous in our ranking of the castles. First, here are the Copenhagen castles in order of preference. I will reveal at the end, our favourite castle, which is technically not in central Copenhagen.

Rosenborg—we like this 17^th century castle, built by one of the most famous Danish kings, Christian IV. 

Rosenborg 

We walked up the spiral steps and discovered rooms filled with beautiful clocks, armoires, writing tables and other furniture--many of which had an Asian influence. These were so beautifully intricate, definitely screaming royal. 

Armoire at Rosenborg

One of the clocks on display at Rosenborg

My favourite and possibly one of the main attractions of this castle is the Knights’ Hall with the coronation thrones. These were decorated with narwhal tusks and had three life-size silver lions standing guard. Tapestries on the walls commemorated battles between Denmark and Sweden. Guess who was winning in these battles? The interiors were well-preserved and the castle housed an exquisite collection of Flora Danica, ivory carvings (if you manage to think past the material used) and an amazing Venetian glass collection. In the basement, they had a collection of firearms and wine barrels (not sure if this is a wise combo), leading up to the treasury. In the treasury, we saw the Crown jewels, which was why the castle was watched by actual armed guards. 

Danish Crown Jewels at Rosenborg

Outside the castle, you can find the gardens which was perfect for relaxing and just enjoying a nice afternoon.

King's Garden, Rosenborg

Christiansborg—was once the royal residence but now houses the Danish Parliament, the Supreme court and the Ministry of state. 

Christiansborg

We visited the Ruins under the castle, the Royal party kitchen which had such an amazing collection of copper cookware and also the Royal Stables, which was home to majestic white (Kladruber) horses. Unfortunately, the Royal Reception rooms were closed at the time. It seemed like there was an official event—it is, after all, where they hold functions and receive foreign dignitaries. It was indeed unfortunate, as from the pictures, it seems that it would have allowed us a glimpse of what we expected palaces to look like—somehow like Versailles (but of course, not nearly as opulent or “golden”).

Ruins under the castle, Christiansborg

Royal kitchens at Christiansborg

Amalienborg—our least favourite castle, and something we all said we could have skipped. While the history of current King Frederik X was interesting, it was not so much compelling for us to see many of the items in person. 

one of the buildings at Amalienborg

We did, however, stay for the changing of the guards at noon. The guards marched from their barracks by Rosenborg Castle through the streets of Copenhagen to Amalienborg. The whole process within Amalienborg took over 20 minutes and while it was interesting, there were many dull moments, wherein, according to DD#2, they were just staring at each other. Hubby and I agreed that the Changing of the Guards in Athens was so much more entertaining! 

changing of the guards at Amalienborg

Amalienborg is also close to the marble church, which was so beautiful. Also called Marmokirken or Frederik’s Church, this Lutheran church has the largest church dome in Scandinavia with a span of 31 metres.

Marmokirken

Our favourite castle (that we have seen in our Denmark trip), was actually about 50 minutes by train away from Central Copenhagen. We took a trip to Elsinore (Helsingør) to visit Kronborg, the setting of Hamlet and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The castle started off as a coastal fortress, Krogen, built by King Eric VII in the 1420s.  In the 1770s, King Frederick II had the medieval stronghold transformed into a magnificent Renaissance castle. 

Kronborg, Elsinore

We took the Hamlet’s tour where we saw the cellar, the beautiful 1580s chapel (with its original interior fully restored), the Royal apartments showing the bedrooms, the well-preserved tapestries and the ballroom, reminding me of many familiar scenes with Kenneth Branagh. 

1580s chapel at Kronborg

Royal apartments, Kronborg

ballroom at Kronborg

There were a few quotes from our tour guide officially making it a Hamlet tour. If you happen to be here in the summer, I heard they hold live performances of Shakespeare’s plays.  After the tour, the fam (minus Grandma, of course) took 145 steps up to the Cannon tower to take in the beautiful vistas of the sea and the town. We also checked out the kitchen which was less impressive than the Christiansborg kitchens. Hidden deep down under the castle, in the casements, we saw the stone statue of Holger the Dane (Holger Danske). In Danish legend, if Denmark is ever in trouble, Holger will wake from his rock throne under Helsingør and defend her. 

Holger Danske at Kronborg

The casements were eerie and cold, hosting an extensive series of low-ceilinged dungeons, storerooms and soldiers’ quarters. I did not venture further down to where bats supposedly lived. 

casements at Kronborg

We also no longer went to the barracks/flag bastion as we wanted to catch an early train back to the centre. The castle’s history and preservation/restoration were amazing. This was our favourite castle of the trip and well-worth the day trip!

Over 5 Things to do and see at Copenhagen: Canal Tour, Nyhavn, City Hall, National Museum and Tivoli Gardens

 

Copenhagen

Scandinavia had been in hubby and my bucket list so we decided to hit a couple of the Nordic countries. And, to celebrate several milestones in our family, we visited the happiest country in the world, Denmark (rankings change yearly, but Denmark is always top 3). We got a Copenhagen Card and checked out some top attractions that were included. Apart from admission, the card included transit which was very efficient and convenient. We managed to ride the Metro, S-tog (like a streetcar), bus and regional train. We did not rent bikes as that would be harder for Grandma. Bike rental was very accessible and there were bike lanes everywhere. While there were so many attractions included in the card, here are those we went to that could fit in our trip:

1. We started our trip to Copenhagen with the Canal Tour. We wanted to just take it easy, having come from a red-eye flight and wanted to situate the attractions so we decided a canal tour would be perfect. We knew that we would not have a chance to visit Christiana and the Church of our Savior so we just took a peek from our tour.  

Church of Our Savior, view from Canal Tour

As well, the Little Mermaid statue was reputed to be so underwhelming and far from the rest of the attractions, so we wanted to get those checked off our list via the tour. 

The Little Mermaid statue

The Stromma Canal Tours was great and our guide, Peter, was funny! We learned a few things (and a few jokes) and saw many sights. The Ved Stranden departure point is the one included in the Copenhagen card as the Nyhavn location was more expensive. It was all fine since the one-hour tour will take you to the same sights.

Opera house, Copenhagen

Black Diamond, Copenhagen

2. When you Google Copenhagen, Nyhavn is one of the first things you will see in pictures. It is a waterfront, canal and dining district lined by brightly coloured 17^th/early 18th century townhouses, bars, cafés, and restaurants. We took a leisurely stroll (and many photos) from Kongens Nyrtov to the Inner Harbour. The buildings as well as the tall ships and sailboats moored along the canal were so picturesque. Nyhavn is truly iconic.

 

Nyhavn

4. Grandma, the shopper, was looking forward to going to Strøget, which is known to be the longest pedestrian shopping street in Europe at 1.1km. Here, we were also going to check out the Lego store (which is based in Copenhagen) as well as other Danish brands including Ecco and Pandora. Department store, Illums Bolighus (also with a basement food hall) was also there among so many other stores.

5. But before heading to Strøget, we went first to the City Hall where we checked out Jens Olsen's World Clock (Verdensur).  

Jens Olsen's World Clock (Verdensur)

This astronomical clock was intricate and so cool to see! We were only expecting to see the clock but we were happy to find that the interiors of the City Hall was very nice as well. The hallways and staircases were ornate and provided us with a few photo ops. 

City Hall, Copenhagen

Outside, you can also find a statue of Hans Christian Andersen looking over to the Tivoli. 

Hans Christian Andersen looking at Tivoli

The building itself was beautiful, having a tower which is the highest structure in the capital. As well, the statues and fountain in front made the edifice grander.

City Hall, Copenhagen

After the City Hall, we went to the National Museum of Denmark.

inside the National Museum of Denmark

6. National Museum of Denmark - As we wanted to learn more about Danish history and culture, we breezed through the top floor housing Classical and Near Eastern Antiquities. The exhibits for Danish pre-history, Middle Ages, all the way through to 2000s were very informative and we could easily have spent a couple more hours (on top of the two we spent here) if we wanted to read through everything. They also had a collection from various other countries including Japan and Africa. However, the Viking exhibit, which I would have wanted to see was unfortunately under renovation. It was a good foundation to visit the museum to learn more about Denmark before exploring other places.

one of the exhibits at National Museum of Denmark

 7. While the girls thought the rides at Tivoli Gardens would not be able to compare to the thrill rides at Canada’s Wonderland or Disney World, we still had to visit the second oldest amusement park in the world. And we were so glad we did! 

Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli Gardens is a nice theme park from 1840s. The flowers in the gardens were just beautiful and various birds were a delight to see across the grounds. The different rides and shops were interesting, and they had a huge grassy area where you can just get a lawn chair to relax. We watched a couple of shows—one, of an up and coming local band, which we really enjoyed, and as well, a Pantomime show which was too silly for us to sit through. 

beautiful flowers at Tivoli gardens

 

grounds at Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli Gardens

Carousel at Tivoli Gardens

We stayed through the evening so we can experience the gardens with the lights and catch the light and sound show at 9:30pm. Fair warning, if you have seen fireworks at Disney or the water show at Bellagio, you will be really underwhelmed. It was still a nice enough show and surely the younger kids would have appreciated it more. Overall, we really enjoyed our relaxing stroll at the Tivoli Gardens, as we imbibed a bit of Hygge.

Light and Sound show at Tivoli Gardens

8. Other attractions we passed by but were not included in the Copenhagen card were the Round Tower and the Trinitatis Kirke (no admission for this one).

Round Tower, Copenhagen

Trinitatis Kirke 

We wished we were able to go to more of the attractions that came with our Copenhagen card but with the limited hours that we did spend on those that we went to, we know we wouldn’t have been able to swing it. At that rate, we averaged 15,000 steps a day and were definitely exhausted by the end of the day. Nevertheless, Copenhagen had a lot to offer. I can actually imagine see myself living here!