After my very first 5 day ‘whirlwind’ trip to NYC in 2013, I decided I needed to go back and dig little deeper.
This is an amazing city with so many layers. It’s a city where the whole world lives and for this reason you have so many different cultures, languages, food and experiences.
You could easily spend 3 weeks here and still not cover it all, so here’s how I would make the very most of 7 days.
NYC Hop On, Hop Off Bus Tour AND Water Taxi Hop On, Hop Off
A brilliant way to start your week in NYC! Get your bearings by sitting back on the double decker red bus and take in the grand view of the sites of Manhattan. The vehicles are equipped with speakers located under every seat, allowing passengers excellent audio reception of the guide narration even in the open air.
Discover NYC at your own pace with the this Hop-On, Hop-Off Tour. The tour has two routes; Downtown and Uptown, which between them have over 40 stops, meaning that all the major NYC attractions are covered.
New York Water Taxi’s hop on hop off service is the only water ride in New York City where one ticket is all that you need to see some of the city’s greatest attractions narrated by guides.
We boarded the taxi at Pier 84 and from there it took us down the World Trade Centre (9/11 Memorial). Along the way we got great views of the Manhattan Skyline and Statue of Liberty.
Tickets for the Water Taxi are $ 28.00 and that allows you 24 hours of travel. This is excellent value and really gives you a different view of the city.
9/11 Memorial
The memorial is a national tribute of remembrance and honour to the men, women, and children killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.
There is no fee to visit the Memorial, but you must reserve your free visitor pass online at:
https://www.911memorial.org/visitor-passes
Where the twin towers once stood, are huge water features which are surrounded by the names of the people who lost their lives in each of the towers.
Adjacent to the Memorial is the brand new World Trade Centre. A single tower which stands at the same height as the Twin Towers did.
Construction on the building began in April 2006 and on 24th May 2013 construction workers bolted the last pieces of a 408-foot spire into place a top the World Trade Centre.
After spending time at the memorial, you are now nice and close to Wall Street. So head on down and have your picture taken with the famous bull.
The High Line
The High Line is a 1.6 km (or 1 mile to our American friends) section of the former New York Central Railroad, which runs along the lower west side of Manhattan.
It has been re-designed to be an elevated walkway amongst local neighbourhoods.
The High Line currently runs from Gansevoort Street, three blocks below West 14th Street, in the Meatpacking District, to 30th Street, through the neighbourhood of Chelsea to the West Side Yard.
It allows you to see how the people of NYC actually live.
Finishing up the quaint neighbourhood of Chelsea, known for its art galleries, restaurants and trendy shops is a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.
Bike and Roll Tour
A truly fun and different way to explore NYC!
We collected our bikes at Battery Park, but the company has 11 different locations across the city.
The representative set us all up on our bikes, ensuring the seat was at the right level etc and gave us a detailed map and suggestions of where we could go.
We decided to head across to Brooklyn for lunch, so we set off across the Manhattan Bridge which has a wonderful bike track.
A lunch stop gave us the energy to ride back to Manhattan, this time going back across the Brooklyn Bridge. So many wonderful photo opportunities along the way!
Riding bikes through NYC traffic doesn’t interest you? Why not pick your bike up at Central Park and spend the day cruising along the bike paths, stopping whenever you like for a photo?
Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour
A 4.5 hour tour taking you from one end of Brooklyn to the other.
We started off just under the Brooklyn Bridge taking some wonderful photos, and then continuing to Grimaldi’s – a very famous Neapolitan style pizza restaurant.
We then went through some neighbourhood areas of Brooklyn and then onto Coney Island.
The second pizza restaurant we visited was L&B Spumoni Gardens in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. This restaurant is famous for its very thick ‘pizza pie’.
Our guide was wonderful and provided lots of commentary along the way. She pointed out many famous landmarks and famous movie locations like Saturday Night Fever.
The tour will return you back to Manhattan by mid-afternoon. Take your time walking through Times Square, seeing the amazing lights and billboards, have your picture taken with the Naked Cowboy and stop in at M&M world for a well-deserved chocolate treat!
Harlem Heritage Tour
Now that you have been in NYC for a few days and are confident navigating the subway, it’s time to head uptown to 125th Street.
Harlem Walking Tours provide a general introduction to the history of Harlem. Their 2 hour tour features a mix of Harlem sights including churches, jazz clubs, speakeasies, elegant neighbourhoods, institutions of art & culture, famous residences, and eateries. The tour will explain Harlem’s history from the beginning (mid 1650′s), to the present with special attention paid to the current renaissance happening in the community.
After the tour, head on into Amy Ruth’s famous Harlem restaurant for some serious soul food.
Woodbury Common Premium Outlets
Finish off your wonderful week long stay with some retail therapy.
We decided that the Woodbury Common outlets would be the way to go. Sit back on the coach and enjoy the sights as you head out of Manhattan with Gray Line NYC.
The drive itself takes about 1.5 hours, but was it worth it!! Be sure to take a big shopping bag, or maybe even a suitcase.
The outlets are huge! There are over 200 stores including brands such as Armani, Balenciaga, Banana Republic, Burberry, Chloe, Coach, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Michael Kors, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Tom Ford, Tommy Hilfiger and many more
Most had savings of 50-80% off RRP – which is a huge saving, especially for Australians.
This evening find a restaurant that takes your fancy. Why not try a Mexican restaurant in the area of Greenwich, or an Italian restaurant close to Central Park or even a Cuban restaurant near Times Square? The choices are endless!
Enjoy your dinner as you reflect over the amazing week you have had….
Before you know it, you will be planning your return trip!
