Let’s hear it for NEW YORK! Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do…. or eat!! I spent weeks researching Pinterest and compiling a list of absolute must places to eat and things to do, on a budget! With all this new information and personal experiences, I felt like I needed to share my conclusive results with the world! So here it is! My honest, complete guide NYC: What to Do & Where To Eat.
Full Disclosure: I am not a travel blogger!
I don’t usually do blog posts like this! I would not call myself a travel blogger by any means! However, I did do a lot of research and planning for our trip to New York for fall break and I found that many websites & blog posts out there were kinda old and felt out dated. Plus, we were trying to keep things on the cheaper side! I’m sure there are a million $$$$$ expensive places to eat that have exceptional food, but that just wasn’t what we were looking for!
I want to keep things honest on here! My honest opinion and complete review! So take it for what it’s worth! But I’m giving you ALL THE DETAILS!
So, without further ado, here is my list of must see places & things to do in NYC! I am also sharing the best places that we found to eat!
NYC: What to Do & Where To Eat
Where to Eat in NYC
Levain Bakery
This place 100% lives up to the hype! Get the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie! Get 4! You’ll thank me later. If you like walnuts, get the classic chocolate chip walnut!
Johnny’s on Bleaker
The best Pizza in NYC in my opinion! Not served by the slice, but by the pie! Fresh ingredients, super flavorful, and decent priced!
Kith Treats
This place surprised me! Kith is a shoe store in SoHo! But on the second floor, they have Kith Treats, which is an ice cream shop. Their ice cream is actually so good! Probably the best ice cream I had on the trip! I ordered The Bam Bam which has rice kripsie treats, cookie crisps, cinnamon toast crunch, kit kat, crushed oreos, and mini marshmallows! It sounds like a lot but its so good!!
BlackTap Milkshakes
These milkshakes are over the top! Totally amazing presentation and a totally delicious milkshake! We ordered the Oreo one and it was awesome! The birthday cake one looked great too! We wished we would have done dinner here, because the tables around us looked delicious as well.
La Esquina
Tacos! These were my favorite tacos we had during the week! So yummy!! The restaurant is very small, but it’s delicious.
Joe’s Pizza
Best pizza by the slice! We waited in a crazy long line on a Saturday night to grab a slice! Cash only, $3 a slice, but really good, new yorker pizza.
MilkBar
MilkBar is on everyones list! Again, it’s iconic! The cereal milk ice cream was good!! I liked Kith better, but still a really yummy option.
Vive La Crepe
Nutella & Strawberry crepe for breakfast? Yes please!
Big Gay’s Ice Cream
The Salty Pimp! It’s an ice cream cone with dulce de leche, then it’s dipped in chocolate!
Made in New York City Pizza
My husband thought it was the best pizza in the bunch! He loved that they had thin slice and deep dish options!
Magnolia Bakery
Magnolia Bakery is amazing. The classic banana pudding is always delicious! Each month, they have a flavor of the month and this month was pumpkin gingersnap! It sounded amazing, but I wasn’t able to try it because they sold out when we went there! I hear nothing beats the classics tho!
Glazed Teriyaki
Delicious, healthy easy Teriyaki bowls! Inexpensive option too which is always nice!
What To Do in NYC
Let me start by saying that I would recommend the New York CityPASS. It allows you to see New York’s top attractions, handpicked and packaged together at a significant savings! You can choose between the C6 (seeing 6 attractions) or C3 (seeing 3 attractions) options. We did the C3 options because it made the most sense for us but either pass is great! It saved us both money and the wait times in line!
9/11 Memorial Museum
The 9/11 Memorial is absolutely incredible. It is truly a site to see. Both the Museum & the Memorial pools are beautifully well done. It is difficult to find the right words to describe it. 9/11 Memorial & Museum is one of the places you should unquestionably make time for during a visit to New York. I mean, this is one of the most significant events of our time which has shaped (and continues to shape) the city, let alone world events to this day. Plan on 2-3 hours to walk through the Museum and really appreciate and take everything in. This is included in the CitiPass!
Top of the Rock
Many people recommended going to the Top of the Rock rather than the other tall buildings in the city. We LOVED it! The views from the rock allowed us to see everything in NYC, in all directions! The Brooklyn bridge, central park, the Hudson river, and more! The Rock comes with the C3 pass, but if you want to upgrade for $10 extra dollars, you can opt for the suns and starts ticket. That allows you to go up twice in 24 hours, one in the day and once at night! We chose to just go up at night, which was amazing! The views were breathtaking. This is included in the CitiPass!
Bike Ride Through Central Park
High on the list for me was riding bikes around Central Park! I’ve always wanted to do this, and it was so much fun! We opted to rent CitiBikes which were cheap and easy! It was $3 for 30 minutes, which was just enough time to bike around the park once!
Staten Island Ferry
A free way to see the Statue of Liberty and the view of the skyline is riding the Staten Island Ferry. The Ferry is completely free to ride, and it only takes about an hour total! The Ferry takes you right past the Statue, and if you look back, it gives you a great view of the city skyline. We opted to do this at night, but you can do it any hour of the day!
Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge
One of the most iconic things about New York City is the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s a beautiful, short walk, with great views. It is great for picture taking and a romantic stroll. When you reach the other side, you get to walk around DUMBO. Plus, it’s free 🙂
DUMBO
Dumbo stands for Down Under Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. It has a beautiful walk along the waterfront and many places to eat! Plus, you can see this view of the Manhattan Bridge. Totally free and a beautiful place to site-see.
Madison Square Garden
We were lucky enough to catch a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. MSG hosts both the New York Rangers and the New York Knicks. They also host many entertainment events such as concerts and performances. The stadium is one of the more iconic things of New York. You will need to buy a ticket to an event to enter, or there is an option to purchase a tour. We would have done the tour if we hadn’t got tickets to the game.
Peloton Indoor Cycling Studio
I can’t post a guide to NYC and leave out the highlight of my trip! Doing live rides in the Peloton Studio with my favorite instructors was probably one of my very favorite things we did in New York. I love the peloton bike and the only have two studios in the world where you can take a class live, New York & London. The classes are fun and full of energy! You can purchase a seat in the class for $20 for the first time and $35 for the rest. They also host FREE classes during the mid day in the middle of the week. Check their schedule to find out when these events are. For the FREE classes, you need to arrive 1 hour before the class start time to get your name on the waitlist. Even if you aren’t a Peloton lover like myself, these classes are really fun and give you a great workout! Plus, the studio is awesome! They have smoothies on site, free shoe rentals, fully equipped locker rooms, and the really make you feel special. I can’t speak highly enough about it!
Use my code 7293PT to save $100 on accessories if you are interested in owning a Peloton!
5th Avenue Shopping
Nike House of Innovation, Tiffany Flagship store, LuluLemon, Nintendo Store, and so much more! Such a fun avenue to shop on!
NYC Highline
The highline is a really unique, cool touristy destination! It’s totally free with great views of the Hudson.
Live Studio Audiences
I really wanted to be able to go to a studio taping and be in the audience! New York has so many options for live shows that are all free. You have to plan at least a month out to get tickets, or plan to wait in the standby line. Rachael Ray, Saturday Night Live, and Jimmy Kimmel all tape here!
Times Square
I mean, really, of course you have to stop by! The lights, the people, the stores, it all makes it Times Square! Worth a walk through for sure!
Other Helpful Tips
Buy a Metro Card
The Metro Card is great if you are there for more than 2 days! It’s so nice to take the subway because it literally can take you anywhere! You don’t feel trapped in one city or one place! It’s around $30 for a week pass and in my opinion, totally worth it!
Download the One Bite App
Brandon used the One Bite App to find all these pizza joints!
The best food is the cheap stuff!
We found that the best food was always the $ one dollar sign on yelp! Once you got into the $$ two dollar sign places, it just got pricy for stuff that wasn’t that great! Save your money and save room for dessert!
The CityPass!
We loved having the choose 3 city pass because it saved money and it allowed us to hit the major touristy sites for a deal! The Rock, 9/11 and the Natural History Museum were the ones we chose but there are other options! You can also choose 6 if you want more! https://www.citypass.com/new-york
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