NYC in 3 days

Blogtrotters
2 ott 2017
Tempo di lettura: 5 min

A couple of weeks ago Giulia went to New York to attend the Bartender for a night blogger event that she organized with European Bartender School.

The event was a great success so afterwards she could enjoy her 3 days holiday in the Big Apple.

3 days are definitely not enough to visit this city, but nothing is impossible!

Here’s an itinerary to take inspiration from when you can only spend a couple of days in NYC and you want to make the most out of it :)

Day 1

9/11 Memorial

The day starts with a visit of the National September 11th Memorial and Museum, located within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood and remarkable for its unique eco-friendly design.

Statue of Liberty

Then walk down until Battery Park, from where you can take the Staten Island Ferry.

We recommend just buying the ticket for the ferry tour, which is about 18€, but not the one to go on the Statue of Liberty.

The statue is a must see of NYC, but is not as big as expected and if you go up, you’ll have the same view as from the ferry, which is amazing!

Financial District

After the tour it’s nice to spend some time visiting the Financial District. Interesting to know that this area represents the oldest part of the city and it’s a unique blend of modern and traditional buildings. It’s also populated by many nice bars and restaurant perfect to have lunch.

Also, in case you’re a cocktail aficionado, here you’ll find the World’s Best Bar, the Dead Rabbit. Definitely worth to visit and have a couple of cocktails.

Brooklyn Bridge

After lunch you can’t miss a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest bridges in the US. The bridge links Manhattan and Brooklyn and from there you’ll have the chance to admire a beautiful view over Manhattan and the East River.

Soho

The logical thing to do after Brooklyn Bridge would be explore Brooklyn. But we were quite tired so we decided to keep it for the next day and instead we head over to SoHo, a trendy area in lower Manhattan full of boutiques, art galleries, street vendors and elegant restaurants and buildings.

Here we found the perfect spot to have dinner, a cozy restaurant called Balzem where to enjoy Mediterranean cuisine and good wine at a fair price

Little Italy and China Town

To end the day in style, it’s enough to walk up for around 10/15 to find yourself immersed in the Italian and Chinese cultures. As an Italian, I found all the stereotypes about Italy in one street, but the most incredible thing was to see the Chinese Dragon next to the lights for the Italian celebration of San Gennaro, totally made my day!

Day 2

Brooklyn & Williamsburg

Brooklyn is a vibrant borough where you can take a walk, relax, and have a fantastic view of Manhattan. The best is to have a beer at sunset time at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

In this area, especially Williamsburg and Bushwick, you’ll find yourself surrounded by some fantastic pieces of street art and it’ll be like visiting an open-air gallery.

Also, in Williamsburg there’s an Hebraic area that is populated by around 30.000 people. Suddenly you’ll feel like going back in the 50es or in a movie. Totally worth to check it out and explore a totally different part of New York compared to the “classic” Manhattan.

5th Avenue

Love it or hate, that’s the New York we expect, the City of the movies. Maybe Mr. Big is not waiting for you with a bunch of roses, but you have the right to feel like Carrie Bradshaw for those 2 hours walking on the 5th Avenue.

Empire State Building & Rockefeller Center

Among the most popular symbols of the city, these 2 buildings give you the chance to enjoy a breathtaking view over the city that never sleeps.

Your wallet will probably less happy than you, as the tickets to go up are both 35$, but that’s NYC.

I recommend not going up the Empire State Building as it’s nicer to watch it from another location, so that you can actually see it :)

Instead, you can’t miss the view from the Top of The Rock, the unique observatory on the 67th floor of Rockefeller Centre.

Ideally you should be up there at sunset time, so make sure to be there at least 45 minutes before considering tickets and queue or to buy the ticket online.

Unfortunately I’m not such a planner and I arrived just after the sun went down, but I definitely couldn’t complain.

Day 3

Harlem

In Harlem once again I had the feeling to be in a totally different city. Heart of the Afro-American culture, this neighbourhood is now an incredible mix of races and cultures, as well the meeting point of many artists, especially in the music scene.

Here you’ll find some really nice cafés, bars and ethnic shops, as well as iconic jazz spots, such as the Apollo Theatre, where the career of many performers started.

We recommend to start the visit from the northern part of the neighbourhood and walk down direction Central Park.

Central Park

If you’re a runner, you absolutely go for a run in Central Park. If not, no worries, you can do like me and simply walk, relax and enjoy your lunch in this urban oasis.

Guggenheim Museum

Located on the Fifth Avenue around the middle level of Central Park, you can’t miss The Guggenheim. This is not simply a museum for people passionate about contemporary art, it’s a whole combinations of exhibitions, guided lectures by artists, and performances and its incredible architecture will make the whole experience even better.

Times Square

After some hours surrounded by art and culture, it’s time to experience the real New York, the one that we all have in mind.

Times Square is the heart of advertising from all over the world, you’ll feel bombarded by so many different images, colours, animations, messages that it’ll be like being in a 4D movie.

But it’s all real, and all you can do is enjoy the moment and think that when you’re stressed there’s probably someone who’s more stressed than you, and probably it’s in the crowd of Times Square.

The “Wow effect” is guaranteed but after 15 minutes we had enough so we found a very cozy wine-chocolate pairing restaurant called Ayza at “just” 20 minutes from there. Fantastic dinner and service, 100% recommended!

There’s still so many things to see in NYC that I definitely need to come back.

Hopefully this small guide will help you in case you’re only spending a couple of days in this magic city but still want to make the most out of it :)