25 Things You HAVE To Do In NYC
I've put together a list of 25 things you absolutely HAVE to do when visiting New York City!
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I genuinely don’t think I’ll ever tire of dreaming, talking about or visiting New York! It’s one of those places that you could visit 10 times and every time you’ll discover something new! Even after spending one month there I felt like I barely scratched the surface, and whilst I *do feel like I’ve satisfied my live-in-New-York-for-one-month craving, also think it’s made me want to go back time and time again to get to know that magical place a little bit better!
I thought I’d do a round up of my top 25 things to do in New York, whether you’re visiting for 3 days, weeks or months – these are my favourite things to do in the city, and what I’d highly recommend to tick off your bucket list whilst you’re there!
Let’s go!...
1.) Visit Domino Park – I discoveredDomino Park on this recent trip and ended up spending so much time there! It’s in Brooklyn and has sun loungers, a cute Taco restaurant for lunch, grassed area for picnics, the most epic views of the city and a play area for kids! Definitely worth checking out!
2.) Walk the Brooklyn Bridge – seems obviously but if you’ve never been to NYC / walked the Brooklyn Bridge then it’s a must and one of my favourite things to do in New York! *tip: walk it twice, once during the day to fully soak up the views, and once at night – the city looks so stunning lit up in the dark, so magical!
3.) Grab coffee / food at the Chelsea Food Market - I bloody love theChelsea Food Market, it’s such a cool venue, packed full with amazing food vendors (super affordable way to eat in NYC too!). I love food markets in New York, if you’ve already been to theChelsea Food Market, then why not check out my post on my 6 favourite food markets in NYC for more to check out!
4.) Walk the High Line – I love walking the High Line in NYC! It’s such a cool thing to do and you get some great views of Chelsea / the Meatpacking district!
5.) Spend the day in Williamsburg, Brooklyn - If it were up to me I’d say definitely stay in Brooklyn / spend more time but if you’re visiting NYC for 3/4/5 days I completely understand that there’s more that you’ll want to do / see. But it’s such a great chilled place! Head over on the weekend to check out the markets!
6.) Watch a show on broadway – super tourist-y, I know! BUT it’s one of the tourist things that I actually can’t resist in NYC! I’ve seen School of Rock, Cirque de Soileil and Come From Away all on broadway, and there’s just something so magical about watching a show on broadway in New York!
7.) Hire a boat in Central Park – two years back me Ben and Kat hired a boat on the lake in Central Park (for just $15!), and it was such a fun thing to do!
8.) Check out L Train Vintage – oh my GOD I cannot stress to you how insane this shop is!! Whether you’re in to vintage clothing or not, this place is well worth checking out - it’s the biggest vintage shop I’ve ever seen and you could easily spend HOURS here! I bagged myself some $10 vintage Levi’s which I was so chuffed with!
9.) Climb the Vessel at Hudsons Yards – a fairly new addition to New York it the Vessel at Hudsons Yards, it’s free to climb, just book your slot in advance. The views are super cool from the top and it’s fun to do! - It's also super close to the start of the Highline so it’s great to do together!
10.) Check out Smorgasburg food market – the largest open air food market in North America, located in Williamsburg, the Smorgasburg food market is on a Saturday and Sunday, with 100 vendors it’s THE place to go for food on a weekend!
11.) Watch the sunset from a rooftop bar – one of my favourite things to do in NYC is watching the sunset, from anywhere really but from a rooftop bar is always so special! My favourite places to catch the sunset are The Hoxton and The William Vale hotel, both in Williamsburg which is great as you get the most magical view of the sun setting over NYC!
12.) Go to the Top of the Rock – It’s absolutely no secret that I love visiting theTop of the Rock (aka the Rockeller centre), I prefer the view / space at the Top of the Rock to the Empire State but each to their own! I’d recommend to go as early as possible, we went at 8.30 in the morning and it was the BEST time to go as it was so quiet so we were able to take in the views properly!
13.) Watch a gig in NYC – I went to 3 gigs whilst I was in New York, I watched Catfish and the Bottlemen at the Manhattan Center and both the Bombay Bicycle Club and Lewis Capaldi at the Brooklyn Steel, both venues are SO cool for live music!
14.) Visit the flea market in Brooklyn – The Broolyn Flea is on in Williamsburg on a Saturday (opposite Smorgasburg food market, so it makes for a great morning to wander around!). It’s a great place for a wander and to pick up some vintage goods from clothes, to prints & homeware!
15.) Go shopping in Soho – Soho is by far my favourite place to shop in New York, packed full of both individual boutiques and luxe designer stores, it has all of the best places, and doesn’t have *quite the same madness as 5th avenue! Well worth a visit (if you’re into homeware then Crate & Barrel is a must!).
16.) Watch a film at a rooftop cinema – Ben and I went to watch Yesterday at the Rooftop Cinema Club and what a bloody lovely evening we had! They give you endless popcorn, headphones and blankets to get cosy. We went in October so it was chilly but with the blankets it was fine so don’t be put off if you’re visiting in Winter! (*We were kindly gifted tickets for this event).
17.) Go to a jazz club – In true New York style I’d always wanted to visit a jazz club in New York, myself, Lucia and her lovely mum Vale were kindly invited to Dizzy’s Jazz Club at the Lincoln Center and it was such an incredible evening! The night lights of the city were twinkling in the background whilst the band played – we had such a wonderful evening and I’d recommend it in a heart beat!
18.) Have a Shake Shack in Madison Square Park – Ben and I LOVE going back to Shake Shack in Madison Square park (the original Shake Shack!), we loved sitting under the fairy lights at night and try to squeeze this in on every trip!
19.) Check out the Whitney museum – Head to the Whitney Museum on a Friday evening between 7-9.30pm as it’s free (open to donation). I visited during the week and it was $25, I felt like it was slightly over priced but if you’re going on a Friday, it’s definitely worth checking out for free! The views from the rooftop are awesome!
20.) Go for a run in central park – When I was training I used to run every morning in Central Park and it’s just the best! There are so many runners there it just feels so surreal, but is a must if you’re into running!
21.) Time Out food market – I only just discovered the Time Out Market in Brooklyn on this recent trip and loved it! If you’re walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, I’d highly recommend exploring Dumbo then stopping off at the Time Out Market for food / a cocktail!
22.)Go to the New York Public Library – I adore the New York Public Library, it’s such a cool building! I took my laptop and worked from there one day as it was a bucket list thing to do for me, but even if you’re just visiting, the building is stunning and so worth checking out (as is the gift shop – I bought so much haha!).
23.) Get Pizza in Brooklyn – Jeeeez, Brooklyn is the home of bloody delicious pizza!! Make sure you check out Vinnie’s, L’industrie and Joe’s!
24.) Catch the NYC Ferry – I absolutely loved catching the New York Ferry, at $2.75 per journey, it’s the same price as a subway ride and a much more scenic way to see the city! (you can buy tickets through the NYC Ferry app or on board at the kiosk).
25.) Explore Greenpoint – Greenpoint is an area in Brooklyn, right next to Williamsburg that I LOVED! It’s the perfect place for a Sunday stroll! Grab brunch at Five Leaves (prepare to queue though on a weekend, this place gets BUSY!), browse some cool Vintage shops such as Fox & Fawn and Beacon’s Closet (another must for vintage lovers!), and check out Awakening, an incredible crystal / healing shop!
There we have it my loves, my top 25 things to do in the Big Apple! What are your favourite things to do in New York? Any must-do’s I need to know about for my next trip?