72 Hours in NYC

Want to see some NYC highlights but only have a weekend? Keep reading to see how you can see the NYC sights in just 72 hours! This suggested itinerary assumes you get into NYC in mid-late morning of your arrival day & fly out in the late evening of your departure day . This also assumes you are in good health and don’t mind walking. This is not the best itinerary with very young children because there is not much rest built in. It further assumes you will wake up early and stay up late. And finally, it also assumes you will make it back to NYC another time to catch some of the other sights. You can, of course, modify anything-this is just what we were able to cram in on one of our trips. Disclaimer: you will be TIRED when you get home! 😊

Day 1

A Little Culture

Head to your hotel. Lyft and Uber seem to be the cheapest & fastest way I’ve found. I’ve flown into LaGuardia both times.

Check into your hotel. If your room isn’t ready, ask them to store your bags so you can hit the ground running!

Head down 5th Ave and check out the NYC Public Library. The architecture is just beautiful here. And if you’re a Sex and the City fan, check out upstairs. This is where Carrie & Big’s wedding was supposed to happen (before the bum stood her up!). If you are a reader, their gift shop is the sweetest thing and has unique gifts at reasonable prices.

Some of the art in the gorgeous NYC Public Library

After you leave the library at the 5th Ave exit, take a left at the corner onto 42nd St and pick up a light lunch at one of the nearby restaurants. There are several places nearby. If you’re there in the winter, head into nearby Bryant Park. Skate if that’s your thing (it’s much less crowded here than at Rockefeller Center), or just watch skaters and check out their Christmas market if you’re in town during the season. The market has endless shops with fun gifts and snacks. Spend an hour or so here.

If you don’t want to go to Bryant Park, you could go over and check out Radio City Music Hall or head the opposite direct and check out the flagship Macy’s if that’s more your thing.

If you have theater plans and want to change clothes, head back to your hotel to freshen up before dinner.

Make dinner reservations somewhere near the theater district, but I suggest skipping the touristy Times Square. You can eat at Olive Garden anywhere. Pick somewhere local. Some swear by Ellen’s Stardust Diner. A little touristy for me, but I can see the appeal. Walk if you feel up to it, or take a car from your hotel if they have a courtesy one or Uber. Don’t take the subway around 5. Super crowded.

For our pre-show dinner last time, we ate at Bea and LOVED it. Best mac-n-cheese I’ve ever had!! Fun cocktail menu too. They take reservations. Walk to the theater district for your show.

After the show, brace yourself for the crowd, but walk through Times Square. If you’ve never seen it, it’s just something you have to do. Check out a few stores if you can deal with the masses and either grab a slice of cheesecake for dessert at Junior’s or take a trip over to Serendipity. Serendipity stays open until midnight and late-night is usually a good time to get in without a wait because it’s not very big. They do take reservations though. Get a yummy sundae or their famous frozen hot chocolate-yumm!!!

Head back to your hotel and crash!

Day 2

Parks and Rec

Head to Grand Central Station. Grab a bagel at the bakery when you enter on 42nd or at the food court and just people watch and marvel at this bustling transportation hub. Grab a metro card (make sure you are getting a metro card and not just a ticket so you can use it again) and load $ on it (maybe $10 to start-you can always load more so keep up with it).

Head uptown and check out a museum. Take your pick: The Met, The American Museum of Natural History, and MOMA are all fairly close to each other. Just depends on what you’re into. If you’re traveling with kids, I suggest the American Museum of Natural History. The content here seems to be a little more interesting to kids and if they’ve seen the Night at the Museum movies, they will appreciate it even more! Plan to spend a few hours at whatever museum you choose. We chose MOMA for this trip. I recommend getting the audio guides or taking a docent-led tour.

Depending on what your tastes are and how much time you want to spend, pick something for lunch. Shake Shacks are popping up everywhere, but they started in NYC. There’s one not far from where you will be, or choose a street vendor, the café in the museum, or you could grab lunch inside your next stop-Central Park. Tavern on the Green and Loeb’s Boathouse are both iconic, but also a bit pricy and are a sit-down meal, so it’s really up to you.

Spend a couple of hours exploring Central Park. Here are just a few of the highlights:

Strawberry Fields to see the Imagine mosaic that’s in honor of John Lennon
Bethesda Terrace and Fountain to check out the beautiful architecture and musicians
Conservatory Water (aka the Boat Pond) this is where you catch all the remote- controlled boats
Sheep Meadow for iconic views

Plan your park tour so that when you’re finished enjoying the park, you end near The Plaza. Take a moment to wander inside. You’ll recognize it from movies and the Eloise movie/book series if you’ve ever come across those. The Eloise store inside is adorable! From here, take your preferred mode of transportation (cab, Uber/Lyft, or subway) to the High Line.

The High Line is a public park built on a historic rail line above the streets of Manhattan’s West Side. The park is a great place to enjoy nature, art, design, and views of the city. Stoll around enjoying the sights. Exit the park at Chelsea Market (download a map of the space from the highline.org before you go-the exit’s not marked and Google Maps doesn’t work well in this situation).

Pick a place to enjoy dinner in Chelsea Market. There no shortage of options. We enjoyed the BEST mozzarella sticks (fried mozzarella) at the counter of Big Mozz. Highly recommend! There are plenty of options at the market and shopping too if you feel up to it. Or, call it a day and rest up for tomorrow!

Day 3

Cram in the Sights

Ask your hotel’s bell services to hold your luggage for you while you make the most of you last day! Do a grab-and-go breakfast.

Head to either the Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building. You’ll want to have made reservations ahead of time for the time slot at Top of the Rock. For the Empire State Building, you can buy skip the line tickets, but as of this writing, you can’t reserve a time, so if you choose this one, get there early. Check out the sights at whichever location you prefer and take lots of pictures of the famous skyline.

Next head downtown to the World Trade Center Memorial. You can spend a couple of hours here or even if you don’t have time to make it inside this memorial this trip, check out the fountain outside. All of the names of the people who lost their lives that terrible day are listed around the edge. Such a moving tribute to this infamous day in American history. While you’re here, head to the Oculus and check out this stunning space.

From here, you can head down to either catch a ride out to Staten Island to view the Statue of Liberty, from the free ferry, I would only ride the ferry that actually goes to the statue if you were able to score tickets to the crown (this has to be done months in advance). Otherwise, from what I hear, the ferry that drops you off at the Lady Liberty is an underwhelming experience and the views are just as good from the Staten Island Ferry. If you’re trying to just get a glimpse of her and don’t have time to ride the ferry, or the weather’s not great for a boat ride, head over to Battery Park. You can get a view of her from there and it’s free! If you choose to go to Battery Park and your last stop was the 911 Memorial, use GPS and try to map it so you go past Trinity Church and the Wall Street bull, and maybe even the NY Stock Exchange on your way down.

After this, you have a choice, take a walking tour of Little Italy, Soho, and Chinatown or walk the Brooklyn Bridge. We tried to do a little of the bridge then go over to the tour and it was just a little too much to cram in with what we had done that morning. We really stressed ourselves out to get to the 2 p.m. reservation we had with Free Tours by Foot.

I can’t say enough good things about our tour with Free Tours by Foot. This company operates in multiple cities and it was a great way to see the city and felt like we were touring with a friend. Our guide was personable, knowledgeable, and was just great! He led us through the area and gave us insight into architecture, history, places famous people lived, and restaurant recommendations. I highly recommend this option. I actually plan to do another one of their tours the next time I’m in the city. You do need to make reservations online at www.freetoursbyfoot.com. There are multiple options to choose from and you get a confirmation that gives you contact info for your guide and detailed instructions on where to meet. The tours are “pay what you can”. I paid the suggested amount and felt it was worth every penny!

You can book a tour with them through my link here: https://freetoursbyfoot.com/jessica-roams/

After your tour, head back to your hotel and collect your luggage unless you have time to grab dinner before your flight. For us, we headed to the airport and enjoyed one last NY staple: Shake Shack while waiting for our flight! We enjoyed talking over our favorite sights from the weekend (and planning what we want to see next time) over a yummy burger and fries and then crashed on our flight back home!

North America

“I’ve gone to look for America”- Simon and Garfunkel