One Day In New York City Itinerary:
Breakfast: Le pain Quotodien
Morning : Metropolitan Museum or American Museum of Natural History & walk through Central Park
Bus Tour : Ride the M1 Bus down Fifth Avenue
Lunch : Lombardi's Coal Oven Pizza
Afternoon: Greenwich Village
Dinner : Thai Food in Union Square
Night : View New York City from the top of the Rockefeller Observation Deck
Night Cap: West Village jazz bars
New York City – Attractions By Neighborhood
Bronx: Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Park, The Cloisters-The Metropolitan Museum, Yankee StadiumBrooklyn: New York Aquarium, Prospect Park Zoo
Queens: New York Hall of Science, Queens Zoo, American Museum of the Moving Image
Central Park: Central Park, Central Park Loeb Boathouse, Central Park Zoo, Central Park Conservancy
Chelsea: Chelsea Piers, Empire Diner, Chelsea Market
Financial District/Battery Park City/South Street Seaport: Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York City Fire Museum, New York City Police Museum, New York Stock Exchange, New York Mercantile Exchange, Trinity Church, Wall Street, World Financial Center, South Street Seaport Museum, Brooklyn Bridge, Fulton Fish Market, South Street Seaport, Battery Park, Ellis Island, Immigration Museum, Statue of Liberty
Gramercy Park/Flatiron District/Garment District: Flatiron Building, Teddy Roosevelt's Birthplace, Union Square
Greenwich Village/West Village: Washington Square Park, Forbes Magazine Galleries, Gay Pride Week and March, New School University, New York University (NYU), Parsons School of Design, Village Halloween Parade, Yeshiva University, Bleecker Street (often misspelled “Bleeker”), Elliot Smith Gallery, Gray Gallery of Art
East Village/Lower East Side: The Ukranian Museum, Lower East Side Tenement Museum
Harbor Islands: Ellis Island, Roosevelt Island Tramway
Harlem: Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Columbia University, Sylvia's Restaurant, Abyssinian Baptist Church
Midtown East/Murray Hill: The Museum of Television & Radio, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Trump Tower, United Nations Headquarters, Bloomingdale's, Saks 5th Avenue, Tiffany & Co.
SoHo/Little Italy/Tribeca/Chinatown: Guggenheim Museum SOHO, New Museum of Contemporary Art
Theatre District/Midtown West: Broadway Theater Tours, Carnegie Hall, Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum, Museum of American Folk Art, ESPN Zone, Herald Square, Javits Convention Center, Madame Tussaud's, Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Penn Station, New York Public Library, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Toys 'R Us, TKTS Ticket Booth
Upper East Side: Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, El Museo del Barrio, Frick Collection, Museum Mile, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Jewish Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gracie Mansion, Sotheby's
Upper West Side: American Museum of Natural History, Avery Fisher Hall, Children's Museum of Manhattan, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The New York Historical Society, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Columbus Circle, Dakota Apartments, Julliard School, New York Philharmonic, Vivian Beaumont Theater
Manhattan Neighborhoods
DOWNTOWN
Financial District
Located at the southern tip of Manhattan, the financial district has long been established as the economic center of the country. Sometimes referred to as Wall Street (or simply, The Street), the area exudes capitalism. Its tall stately skyscrapers are synonymous with Manhattan itself; buildings worth a second look include the stately Equitable Building and 40 Wall Street, which once vied with the Chrysler Building as ‘the world’s tallest.’ Though the New York Stock Exchange is no longer open to the public, you can learn about Wall Street history at the nearby Museum of American Financial History. For a whiff of spirituality amidst the commercial vibe, visit the elegant and historic Trinity Church with its 17th century graveyard. Appropriately, this is the final resting place for Alexander Hamilton, the first United States treasurer, along with signers of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.Little Italy/Nolita
Visitors will find family-style trattorias, specialty food stores, and pastry shops touting scrumptious cannolis that transport you back to Italy. Though you won’t find many Italian-Americans living here, special events such as the Feast of San Genarro, held every September, bring them back to the neighborhood. While its name implies otherwise, Nolita lies within Little Italy. Fashion boutiques, independent labels, and chic bars and restaurants dot Mott and Mulberry Streets, making the area a popular destination, and a less crowded alternative to SoHo.
Chinatown
Reportedly the largest Chinatown outside Asia, food dominates here. Buckets of live seafood, roasted ducks in shop windows, baskets of exotic fresh fruits and vegetables, and tasty snacks are everywhere. Home to Chinese and more recently, Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese Americans who brought along their exotic cuisines, you’ll find traditional herbal shops alongside specialty Asian groceries, and hundreds of reasonably-priced eateries that cater to an eclectic, diverse crowd. In the bustle of this extremely commercial area, you’ll find pockets of ethnic life. Elderly men and women gather at Columbus Park (Bayard and Mulberry Streets) to play mahjongg and dominoes, or to practice tai chi. Nearby, Chinese American heritage is presented at the Museum of Chinese in the Americas.
Tribeca
Found in the Triangle Below Canal Street, this area is quickly following in Soho’s footsteps. In the midst of a massive gentrification, Tribeca’s former factories and warehouses now play host to celebrities such as Harvey Keitel, Ben Affleck, and Robert De Niro, who owns two high-end restaurants here. As in Soho, you’ll find many restaurants, art galleries and shops that cater to its trendy residents, but there is a unique Hollywood buzz here. Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Film Center on Greenwich Street hosts regular screenings, while the Tribeca Film Festival attracts thousands of film buffs in May.
SoHo
Once known as Hell’s Hundred Acres, Soho is now a seminal lesson in community preservation. A former manufacturing and industrial heavyweight, this neighborhood SOuth of HOuston Street has been dramatically transformed into small boutiques, decorative and furnishings stores, trendy bistros, and art galleries. Designated a historic landmark district in 1973, you’ll find elegant cast iron buildings that have been lavishly converted into residential lofts. With its distinctive architecture, Soho makes for a glamorous stroll along its charming cobbled streets.
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side is the story of New York’s immigrant community. Eastern European Jews were among its first settlers, and more recently, Asian and Latino immigrants. Despite a recent influx of trendy restaurants, shops, and boutiques, remnants of its genesis as a cultural melting pot can still be found. Locals head here for Jewish and Eastern European specialties such as kosher pickles, knishes and bialys. You’ll also find clothing and accessories at bargain prices along Orchard Street’s Bargain District. For a glimpse of 19th century immigrant life and its challenges, head for the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.
Greenwich Village (East Village)
Once populated by writers, artists, and political activists, a celebrated counterculture continues to thrive here. An area of immense creativity—the writer Allen Ginsberg resided on East 12th Street, while Leon Trotsky ran a printing press on St. Mark’s Place—galleries here were the first to discover and display the works of artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. A unique East Village culture lives on today with frequent indie film screenings, performance art, and poetry readings. You’ll also find fiercely independent stores, second-hand clothing stores, grunge bars, and inexpensive cafes.
Greenwich Village (West Village)
Synonymous with a bohemian lifestyle, artists, writers and jazz musicians settled here, and the Village still inspires new traditions in literature, music, and art. Some of the best American writing—including those of the Beat poets--emerged here and you’ll find traces of their spirit in the coffeehouses along Bleecker Street. A high level of creative energy is everywhere in the Village—including Washington Square Park—popular with musicians, street artists, and NYU students.
Meatpacking District (also known as MePa, The Meat Market, or Gansevoort Market)
North of Gansevoort St., south of 14th St., and west of Ninth Ave. Normally known as the Meatpacking District, this tiny stone-covered four block area tucked into the northwestern corner of the West Village around 14th Street between Hudson Street and the water was, not long ago, a seamy locale with a herd of wholesale butcher shops and unsavory characters. But the past few years have seen this neighborhood morph from creepy to hot, with a roster of trendy restaurants, bars, boutiques, galleries, dance joints, furniture and antique stores, and not much left to beef about.
MIDTOWN
Flatiron DistrictTaking its name from the triangular and aptly-named Flatiron Building, this district is best known for design-conscious shopping. Madison Square, one of two public squares, was once known as the ‘Ladies’ Mile’—referring to the shops of household goods and clothing shops found there. You’ll still find many housewares and furnishings merchants, from the mass market to the exclusive. Union Square—known as center stage for political rallies--is also home to Union Square Greenmarket, a lively farmer’s market with gorgeous produce from local farms.
Chelsea
A former working class and industrial enclave, the neighborhood is now the center of a vibrant art scene and, in more recent years, has been home to a large gay population. Not surprisingly, epicurean pursuits run high here; smart, chic restaurants have clustered around many of the art galleries and experimental and performance art theaters. Visitors should not miss the Chelsea Market--a paradise of gourmet and specialty shops--including purveyors of French cookware, fine wines, fresh seafood, a bakery, and exotic imports for the professional and home chef.
Gramercy Park
Noted for its distinctive architecture, leafy streets, and luxurious townhouses and apartments, the area exudes a quiet elegance. While only residents can enter inside the tranquil gates of Gramercy Park—a small square of greenery at Lexington Avenue—everyone can bask in its elegant environs and rich historical and literary significance. Here you’ll find Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace, a street named after writer Washington Irving and the pub where O. Henry penned his magical and classic short story, ‘The Gift of the Magi.’
Murray Hill
A largely residential but powerful neighborhood that includes Park and Madison Avenues, the area also boasts the Empire State Building as well as the J. Pierpont Morgan Library that houses manuscripts, prints, and silver and copper collections.
The Garment District
New York’s Garment District is at the center of America’s billion-dollar clothing industry. Here designers plot, create, and predict what we’ll be wearing next season. While most of the clothing manufacturing has left the island, you’ll still find fabric shops along the area. Stretching along Seventh Avenue—the district’s main drag—you won’t miss Macy’s, which touts itself as the largest department store in the world.
Broadway and Times Square
Originally called Longacre Square, the area adopted ‘Times Square’ after The New York Times moved to the area. Glitzy and flashy, this is the heart of New York’s entertainment business. Scores of music studios, record labels, and production companies call this home, and over 30 theatrical stages can be found along Broadway. Eateries in this area cater to theatergoers, and Restaurant Row (46th Street between Eight and Ninth Aves.) has plenty of them. For a bit of whimsy, and to escape the bright lights circus, visit the Toys ‘R’ Us flagship store with its infamous 60-foot-tall indoor Ferris wheel.
Fifth Avenue
Chic, sophisticated, and elegant, Fifth Avenue is home to a powerhouse of shopping, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Gucci, and Donald Trump’s gilt-trimmed Trump Tower of a shopping mall. Tourist attractions dominate this area: Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center, the United Nations, St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Notables include the New York Public Library—a gorgeous Beaux Arts building guarded by two infamous stone lions—and of course, the Empire State Building. Its 102nd-floor observatory offers magnificent views in every direction and is most popular—and romantic—at sunset.
UPTOWN
Central ParkA resplendent 843-acre oasis in the middle of a bustling metropolis, Central Park provides a necessary respite for busy urban dwellers. Runners, cyclists, and roller bladders abound in the country’s first man-made, landscaped public park. Central Park is an ideal destination for families. Here you’ll find a vast playground with a carousel and a children’s zoo. During the winter, arrive with your ice skates for a postcard-perfect turn at Wollman Rink. Frisbees and soccer balls fly across the field at Sheep’s Meadow, and rowboats and gondolas are available for hire at Loeb Boathouse. The latest addition to the park is the beautifully landscaped Conservatory Garden, near the northeast corner of Central Park on Fifth Avenue at 105th Street.
Upper East Side
The arrival of Central Park also brought luxurious apartments for the city’s most affluent residents, and you’ll find the most exclusive homes dotting Fifth, Madison, and Park Avenues. Long synonymous with upper crust New York society, evidence of their philanthropic gestures abounds here. The area is home to the Museum Mile—including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the Cooper-Hewitt Design Collection, the Jewish Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Frick. Madison Avenue, stretching from 57th to 86th Streets is home to elegant designer boutiques.
Upper West Side
Running along the west side of Central Park, a rich and sophisticated cultural life thrives here. You’ll find the impressive Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the American Museum of Natural History, and the city’s oldest museum, the New York Historical Society. Foodies should not miss Zabar’s, a gourmet food emporium, and H&H Bagels; both are New York City institutions.
Harlem
A mecca of African American culture and the site of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s, Harlem gave the world Zora Neale Hurston, Duke Ellington, and Langston Hughes. Several cultural holdovers from the Renaissance remain such as the famed Cotton Club. Rich in historic districts, gorgeous brownstones and numerous churches, its heritage is chronicled in The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, with an impressive archive of over 5 million documents, ephemera, and films relating to the African diaspora.
Abingdon Guest House is a small, affordable hotel in the historic Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. It is perfect for a romantic getaway, sightseeing, shopping, a comfortable business trip, or enjoying the nightlife of New York City. The Abingdon is a great deal, a bargain, a boutique hotel on a budget in a central location.
New York Public Library
You’ll recognize this building by the lion sculptures guarding its gates. Step inside for more grandeur, especially the incredible Main Reading Room, where you might want to take a break and read the paper (if you have time). While you’re here, take a look at the library’s backyard, Bryant Park. Between end of October and February, the Pond ice-skating rink will be up. You can also go round and round on Le Carrousel.
Grand Central Terminal
Before stepping into this magnificent working train station, take a look east toward Lexington Avenue and then crane your neck up. You’ll see my favorite skyscraper, the Chrysler Building. Okay, now enter Grand Central, where approximately 500,000 commuters dash through daily. I hope it’s not rush hour but even if it is, you really won’t have to worry about colliding with a commuter: The building and the stupendous main concourse were constructed so cleverly that despite the perceived chaos, people rarely bump into each other. You’ll want to spend hours examining the beautiful detail throughout the terminal, but you don’t have hours to spare. A walk through the main concourse and a look at the sky ceiling will be evidence enough.
Museum of Modern Art
Yes, the $20 admission is outrageous, but this is New York and you are getting used to outrageous. And you’ll forget about the admission charge once you peruse the exhibits in this beautiful museum. Airy and expansive, with sky-lit, open galleries along with smaller, intimate rooms, the museum is one of a kind.
Rockefeller Center
A short walk from MoMA is the Rockefeller Center complex. If you are here during the Christmas holidays, you’ll fight the crowds for a glimpse of the Christmas tree and the skaters in the small rink. If your timing is right, you might be able to squeeze in the 70-minute NBC Studio Tour. If not, you’ll see Radio City Music Hall and 30 Rockefeller Plaza. If you did not have advance tickets for the Empire State Building and the line was much too long, take the elevator up 70 floors to Top of the Rock for, arguably, as good a view as you would have at the Empire State Building. Across the street (Fifth Ave.) you’ll see St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Fifth Avenue
Is a street an attraction? When it’s one of the most famous in the world, it is. Walk north up Fifth Avenue from Rock Center and pass such big-name stores as Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel, the NBA Store, Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Bergdorf Goodman, FAO Schwarz, and the Apple Store. You’ll also see Trump Tower from the popular Apprentice TV series. At 59th Street, you’ll see the ornate Plaza Hotel. Across the street you’ll see the southern end of Central Park.
