New York City
Day One: East Village & Greenwich Village
- Fly in early, drop bags at hotel or airbnb/vrbo in or near East Village
- 11:00AM. Brunch at Mud (307 E 9th St)
- 12:00-1:30PM. Consignment Shopping: Buffalo Exchange (332 E 11th St), Beacon's Closet (10 W 13th), Cure Thrift Shop (91 3rd Ave), East Village Thrift (186 2nd Ave), L Train Vintage (204 1st Ave)
- 2:00-3:30PM. NY Catacombs by Candlelight Tour at 2:00 (266 Mulberry Street). Requires reservations. Tip: Buy a 3 day New York Pass and use it.
- 3:30-5:00PM. McSorley's Old Ale House (15 E 7th St). More Choices: Bua (122 St Marks Pl), Augurs Well Bar (115 St Marks Pl), Proletariat (21 E 7th St), Alphabet City Beer Co (96 Loisaida Ave), etc
- Walk over to Greenwich Village: One time we played chess with locals in Washington Square park.
- 5:15-6:10PM. John's on Bleecker (278 Bleeker St). Tip: Early or wait a long time. Blind Tiger across street has great beer selection. 5:15-6:10
- 6:10-7:00PM. 124 Old Rabbit Club (124 MacDougal St). Very cool basement bar.
- 7:30-8:45PM. Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal St). Reserve before visiting, get 7:30 show to save time after the show for live music. Tip: get there 30 mins ahead (7:00 for 7:30 show) to get better seats.
- 9:00PM+. Live Music: The Red Lion (151 Bleecker St). Good Bar Food, Beer Selection, Great cover bands, and sports on TV. Also - stop in at the legendary Bitter End (147 Bleecker St).
Day Two: Lower Manhattan
- 8:00AM. Breakfast: The Grey Dog (244 Mulberry St)
- 9:00-10:15AM. 9/11 Memorial and Museum (180 Greenwich St). Use New York Pass. TIP: figure out the Subways, it is simple, buy a week pass for ~$30.
- Alternative: Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Did it once, it's too long for us to do more than once. Battery Park is cool, good street performers. You can also take Staten Island Ferry past Statue of Liberty.
- 10:30-11:00AM. One World Observatory deck (285 Fulton St). Use New York Pass.
- 11:00-11:30AM. NY Stock Exchange (11 Wall Street), Fearless Girl (on Broadway across from NY Stock Exhange), Charging Bull (on Broadway just north of Bowling Green). Then, walk along Fulton St to east side of island.
- 11:30-1:00PM. Fulton Market Building and Seaport area. Fulton Market Building (11 Fulton St) is the old fish market converted to shopping mall, Fulton Stall Market (91 South St) is a local farmers market. Plenty of places for snack, full meal, or drink.
- 1:00-2:30PM. Bike the Brooklyn Bridge: Blazing Saddles Bike Rental and Tours (93 South St). Use New York Pass. Option: could go earlier and eat at pizza at Grimaldis under the bridge and shop in Dumbo area. Great views of Manhattan, also breweries.
- 3:00-4:30PM. Experience Chinatown: walk up Pearl street which changes to St James Pl. At large intersection of 6 roads, take Mott St.
- 4:30-5:30PM. Experience Little Italy: Just cross Grand St at Mott St, go west one block and welcome to Little Italy.
- 5:30-6:30PM. In Chinatown or Little Italy, pick your spot. We have eaten at a few different places on Mulberry St in Little Italy, so good, you can't go wrong.
- Nightcap: Could head back over to Red Lion and Bitter end. If you to relax with a good beer and people watch, Bua may be the place to be.
Day Three: Mid-Town
- 8:30AM. Breakfast: Ess-a-Bagel (831 3rd Ave). May have a line down the street, but goes quickly and is worth it. Fill the tank, this is a big day of walking. Eat a Bagel with cream cheese and a Muffin, and get an extra bagel for later.
- 10:00-12:00PM. Highlights of Central Park Bike Tours by Unlimited Biking (56 West 56th St). Use New York Pass. Famous movie and TV locations. History, Jackie O and Strawberry Fields.
- 12:30-1:45PM. Museum of Modern Art (11 W 53rd). Use New York Pass. Tip: If you are like us, an hour in a museum is all you need, this is what is great about the NY pass,,,, I would never go to a museum at full price.
- Alternative: American Museum of History is great, but it is a hike and a longer time commitment.
- Shop on 5th and Mad Ave if that's your thing
- St Patrick's Cathedral. Corner of 5th Ave and 51st St. Walk past or drop in on way to Rockefeller Plaza.
- 2:00PM-3:00PM. Rockefeller Plaza (45 Rockefeller Plaza) See the Ice Rink, the international flags, the Today Show location, and the NBC Store. It is also a bit of a shopping mall. Top of the Rock is on NY Pass but if you did the World Trade Center, may skip it to save time.
- Walk past Radio City Music Hall on way to Times Square
- 3:30-4:30PM. Experience Times Square, the lights on Broadway, the people.
- 4:30-5:45PM. Madame Tussards Wax Museum (234 West 42nd St). Use New York Pass. If you have teenagers with you, have to do this.
- Alternative: The Ride. This attraction closed in 2022. If it comes back, must do, and it is on the New York Pass.
- Alternative: The Vessel. Closed for now as well. Great exercise.
- 6:00-7:15PM. Dinner: John's Pizza on 44th (if you didn't do John's on Bleecker or even if you did). Carmines is famous, classy, Italian. Juniors is like a diner. O'Donoghue's Times Square would be a good choice, big menu, good beer selection.
- 8:00PM. Broadway Show. This is not my deal but when in New York
More tips for a New York Visit
- More Suggestions, maybe take several 3dayvacations: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden, Check out Grand Central Station, Change up Museums, Chelsea Market, High Line, Brooklyn, Yankees, Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, More Shows, Central Park Zoo.
- Stay in East Village or Greenwich Village. Too much Times Square is not the way to go. Stay at the Walker if you want to Splurge.
- New York Pass. It's expensive but it allows you to enjoy multiple attractions that you will not pay for individually. And as a bonus, you don't feel like you need to stay in a museum for four hours to get your money's worth.
- New York is expensive. If you want to go cheap, then don't go at all.
Details & Descriptions
Mud
Mud is a great place for Brunch. Coffee and a Beer offset each other nicely. Get a seat on the Patio.
McSorley's Old Ale House
McSorley's Old Ale House is the oldest bar on Manhattan. Tons of historical artifacts, see the website. My favorite is the wishbones.
New York Pass
The Comedy Cellar
New York Pass is recommended due to the high volume of tours and activities. In other cities, we generally do individual tours through viator.
The Comedy Cellar
The Comedy Cellar
The Comedy Cellar in New York is a low cost entertainment. Famous comedians perform or just show up from time to time.
124 Old Rabbit Club
124 Old Rabbit Club is too cool. Walk down steep steps to an unmarked iron door into a dark speakeasy,,,, great unique beer selection.
The Red Lion
The Red Lion in Greenwich. Good bar food, big and fun. We have seen good cover bands. Also, the TVs have sports.
Bitter End
The Bitter End is the bar where folk rock legends of the 60's hung out and still do. From Bob Dylan to Stevie Wonder, to Norah Jones, to Lady Gaga.
The Grey Dog
The Grey Dog is good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plates and sandwiches for the heavy eater as well as lighter and healthier options.
Ess-a-Bagel
John's Pizza
Ess-a-bagel is home to the best bagels we've ever had. Extra crunchy and chewy on outside. Muffins are great. Be prepared to order when it's your turn b/c they will move on to next customer.
John's Pizza
John's Pizza
John's Pizza may be our favorite in NY or anywhere. Both locations are fun, on 44th, check out the Mural of NY and the ceiling.
Lunch in Little italy
Lunch on Mulberry st in Little Italy at family run italian places is a great experience.
Broadway shows
Shows are not really my thing, but I did like School of Rock and Beautiful (Carol King story)