Things to do Thursday: Top 10 NYC

Hey guys,

So I am finally writing a post about my favorite things to do in New York City! I absolutely love this city and I have visited it about 5 or 6 times now. My sister is currently trying to plan a trip there because there is a broadway play that she wants to see but we might not end up being able to go. Who knows? We visited two times last year and once the year before so I kind of like the whole trend of going at least once a year but unfortunately visiting New York can get a little pricey.

I have done several travel blog posts for my trips to New York, which can be found under my Travel tab. 

Honestly, there is so much to do in this amazing city. Even though I have been a handful of times there are still new things that we discover almost overtime that we go. There are also a few things that we always have to do whenever we go such as visiting Macy's in Herald Square or visiting Bergdorf Goodman! We also have to make sure that we go to Central Park because it absolutely amazing! My favorite part which I have talked about before is this walkway that is lined with trees and benches, it's called The Mall which is perfect for me because it's absolutely breath taking and I love shopping! I think I've mentioned it before but this is like my dream proposal spot. I love to get proposed to in/under the tress of The Mall. 

1) Central Park

So my recommendation for Central Park is to plan an entire day dedicated to spending it in the park. There is so much to do in the park that you pretty much need a whole day. Some of my favorite things to do in Central Park is to go to The Zoo, The Reservoir, The Boathouse (which is actually a restaurant, but we haven't eaten there, it's just located in a really pretty area), Belvedere Castle, Strawberry Fields, and Bethesda Terrace and Fountain. If you are going during the winter months then you obviously need to check out Wollman Rink, it's the famous one that is featured in all the movies and TV shows (Yes, we've been skating at both Rockefeller Plaza and at Wollman Rink. We're really big fans of ice skating). Honestly, there are things in Central Park that we haven't seen and we visit the park every time we go to the city. Granted we do tend to visit our favorite spots like The Mall and Bethesda Terrace haha. 

Also, just to let you know you can actually spend the entire day in Central Park if you plan accordingly because there are a couple different (famous) restaurants in the park and then there might also be some hot dog vendors or other street vendors, which typically yes, they are normally completely safe to eat from the vendors just make sure that they look professional haha. We haven't ever eaten anything from a street vendor but that's mostly because we try to research new restaurants to try every time we visit the city because they don't specialize in chains like we do here in southwest Florida so it's fun to get to experience new restaurants that you can only eat at when visiting the city. I recommend visiting the website for Central Park because it tells you where everything is, you can get a free guide, and it gives a lot of other helpful information. 

2) Fifth Avenue

This is my favorite street in all of Manhattan! I'm guessing you can figure out why, considering I write a fashion blog haha. But besides having every store you could ever imagine on this one road there are other things to do on Fifth Ave as well. The Empire State Building is on Fifth Avenue, so is The New York Public Library and St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Met is also located on Fifth Ave. By the way, every single road in the city is extremely long. Once you get the hang of it, it is super easy to navigate your way around the city. After visiting about 6 six times, we pretty much have the whole city memorized!

3) Statue of Liberty

I have been to the Statue of Liberty twice, once during the summer months and once during the colder months. I highly recommend only going during the summer months because it's already cold enough in the city during the winter months and then just going by the water and hoping on a boat just makes it sooo much colder. The first time we went we actually got to climb up a little but not all the way up. The second time we just walked around the island and took some new pictures and then we took the boat back. I don't think we took the boat to Ellis Island. We did that the first time and I don't think we had enough time the second time we went. I think we had free tickets or a coupon to visit the statue and that's why we ended up going the second time.

4) 9/11 Memorial  at One World Trade Center

So this might make you cry because it made my mom, my sister, and I all cry! It's a very sad tribute but it's also very beautiful. There are some parts where they figured out how to make such a tragic, horrific time into something beautiful. This is something that I highly recommend going to. It's an experience that is unforgettable. It is breathtaking and heartbreaking all at the same time. But I do have to mention, it's kind of hard to figure out how to get to it if you are taking the subway. When we went to it we had a hard time finding it because there was so much construction. I'm not sure if the construction is still there but you might have to ask a few people to figure it out or do better research online haha.

5) The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is by far the best museum in all of Manhattan! We've been twice and every time we go there is so much to see. This museum is so huge that you would need an entire day there just to see the whole thing possibly even two days haha. Which you could spend an entire day there if you are really into museums because there are a couple of places to eat inside the museum, so you would never even have to leave. Also, for those of you who are Gossip Girl fans, this is the museum Blair would talk about whenever she said would talk about eating breakfast on the steps of The Met. By the way this museum is right next to Central Park so you could plan accordingly and go to Central Park right after and what there is to do in that area of the park and then just visit a little of the park each day you are there.

6) Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock

So my family and I recommend doing the Top of the Rock instead of doing the Empire State Building because the view is kind of better in my opinion because you can take pictures of the world famous Empire State Building. Plus not mention, but Top of the Rock is cheaper than the going up the Empire State Building. I actually have never been up the Empire State Building but I think my mom and sister have. Plus there is so much to in the Rockefeller Plaza area. There is an underground shopping center that also has a bunch of different restaurants, self-service food items, or fast food places. There is also a Ben & Jerry's down there which is amazing! You can also see if you can get a tour and tour the building where the shows are filmed. I believe the Today show is also filmed across the street!

7) Times Square 

This is something that I highly recommend visiting in the evening. It's fun to see during the day as well but it is even more spectacular at night. The billboards are so blinding! There are a ton of famous/popular restaurants in this area and there are also a ton of clothing stores. This is another one of our favorite places to shop. The Forever21 in Times Square is like three or four stories high, it's crazy! The Hershey store is also located in Times Square which is great for when you need a little chocolate pick me up! The TKTS Booth is also located in Times Square and it's very hard to miss because it is pretty much always lit up bright red. This is where you can wait in line to find discounted Broadway tickets. The seats might not be the best but I have heard that sometimes they can be great. We've never actually waited in line before but that's mostly because when we go, we have already planned to see a specific show and we can't risk it being sold out when we get there. 

8) A Broadway Show

So this is a must in my opinion. There are always a ton of shows going on almost every night or at least every weekend night. It's a very popular thing for the locals to do as well so don't feel like you are just going to see a show because it's a touristy thing to do. Honestly, if you go though, you should dress up a little because that's kind of how the locals do it. I mean, don't go wearing a ball gown or anything but a nice cocktail dress or black slacks if don't want to get too dressed up. We always wear a dress and pair of heels. We also feel like it is the respectful thing to do because it's traditional and the actors have worked really hard to put on a show for you so the least you can do is dress respectable. I actually haven't seen a classic Broadway show because we try to see shows that feature celebrities that we follow. The last two shows we saw featured the actor Zachery Levi (Tangled and Chuck) because my sister is a huge fan of his!

9) Visiting Famous Hotels, Churches, and Other Buildings

So I love going to New York and visiting all of the historic places. I kind of lumped them all together because there are too many historic places to visit and I have to recommend going to all of them. There's Grand Central, The Public Library, The Empire State Building. There are also a ton of famous churches that have been featured in movies and shows over the years such as St. Patrick Cathedral and Trinity Church. I also recommend going to see The Waldorf Astoria, The Plaza, The Ritz-Carlton, and The St. Regis. I would also recommend visiting Trump International but I'm not sure how many people actually want to visit there considering all that has happened. However, if you really don't care about any of that stuff then go and check it out because the building itself is really cool and the inside is pretty nice!

10) Chelsea Market

So this is something that we discovered a couple of years ago. We have only been once but maybe twice. I can't remember if we were able to go back the last time. However, it's pretty cool because it looks kind of like an old train station or something that was converted into a shopping plaza. But I'm not really sure. It's super long and you can enter through one door on one street and then walk all the way through and exit through the other door on a completely different street. But the cool part is the inside because it's filled with tons of small shops and places to eat. They literally have so many choices for food, it's insane!

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and I think I am going to be writing more New York City related posts in the future. If there is anything you would like to know just ask in the comments down below!

XO, Steph

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave