After just arriving home after my first trip to NYC, I consider myself an expert in all things New York. Just kidding but I do have some suggestions of fun things to do/see/eat while you're there!
1. 9/11 Museum
This definitely changed my perspective on the whole event and aftermath as a whole. It was a very humbling experience that I would highly recommend to anyone visiting NYC.
2. Free ferry ride to Staten Island
Who doesn't love free?! This is an awesome experience because its free, only takes about an hour to go there and back, and you get an incredible view of the Statue of Liberty.
3. Empire State Building
We never got the opportunity to go up inside but it is beautiful just to look at from rooftops/hotels, not to mention, it lights up different colors every night!
4. Eat a giant milkshake at Black Tap
Life changing. Hands down best milkshake I've ever had. You just might have to overlook the fact that it is 4 days worth of calories in one drink.
5. Tea at Baccarat Hotel
Such a beautiful and amazing experience. The tea was the best I've ever had an all of the desserts/tea food was incredible and beautifully presented.
6. See a show (would highly recommend Lion King or School of Rock)
Definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. I think I could have seen and enjoyed every show that was playing on Broadway because these are just so well done and so fun to watch.
7. Walk around Central Park
Movies and shows don't do Central Park justice. It is HUGE, apparently it would take you 7-8 hours to walk the entire thing. Needless to say we didn't tackle the entire then but we spent the majority of a beautiful day there and it was amazing.
8. Explore Bryant Park and surrounding restaurants and bakeries
We stayed right on Bryant Park and loved it. It is a beautiful area and there is so much to see and eat around there. Not to mention ice skating in the winter!
9. High Line
We attempted this on a brutally cold and windy day so didn't spend as much time there as I would have like but still was a really cool experience. You get great views of the city and its a great places to take photos!
10. Find fun brunch places-there's a million!
This was probably on of my favorite parts of every day, picking a fun brunch place. In an effort to avoid having 3 meals a day, we crammed breakfast and lunch into one and found a different, fun place to eat every day and every place we tried was amazing!
11. Chelsea Market
This is an indoor "farmers" market kind of place. There are also tons of fun and beautiful shops within and great places to get ice cream, tea, coffee, food, you name it!
12. Eataly
The smells of cheese, pasta, and gelato alone make this sight worth it! Just a fun place to experience and even better food!
13. See the Statue of Liberty
As I mentioned previously, a great and FREE way to do this is by the free ferry which takes you very close and allows for great photo ops but this is definitely a must see in NYC.
New York is such a great city with SO much to do. We spent 5 full days there but could have kept going for another week because there was so much we wanted to see and do but there are just a few of my highlights from the week. I can't wait to go back and experience even more!