Things to do in New York
Local tables, a Broadway stage, and a Brooklyn rooftop to end on.
This is New York for people who want to eat well without a reservation made six weeks in advance, see the city from the inside out, and still catch a show. Three days that move between downtown, Midtown, and Brooklyn without wasting time or money on the obvious stuff. Best for travellers who know what they want and are happy to queue for it.
Day 1: West Village and SoHo on foot
A morning bagel, a tenement tour that reframes the whole city, lunch at Thai Diner if you can get a table, and an evening that ends with a proper Italian dinner at Via Carota and whatever comedian walks into the Comedy Cellar.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:15 AM
Tenement Museum
Guided tour through real 19th-century tenement apartments, the city's origin story told room by room.
Map - 12:30 PM
- 2:00 PM
McNally Jackson
Browse McNally Jackson's independent shelves, great local bookshop for a slow afternoon wander.
Map - 7:30 PM
Via Carota
Via Carota's svizzerina, the dish locals swear by, and the room feels like a proper West Village dinner.
Map - 9:30 PM
Comedy Cellar
Comedy Cellar, tiny basement room, stacked lineup, real shot at an A-list drop-in. Book ahead.
Map
Day 2: Midtown, a show, and Koreatown
The great reading room at the Public Library, a cheap dumpling lunch, open-air views from Top of the Rock, then Koreatown for dinner and a pocha bar.
- 9:30 AM
Hanamizuki Cafe
Onigiri and green tea at a small Japanese café near Herald Square, an easy Midtown start.
Map - 10:15 AM
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
The Rose Main Reading Room's painted ceilings and the library's free exhibitions, a calm Midtown morning.
Map - 12:30 PM
Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen
Hand-pulled noodles and soup dumplings on Eighth Ave, a quick, cheap lunch.
Map - 2:15 PM
Top of The Rock
Open-air terraces on floors 67 to 70 with sweeping views of Central Park and the Empire State Building, one of the best vantage points in the city.
Map - 7:30 PM
Cho Dang Gol
Great-value Korean in Koreatown, consistently praised by multiple trusted sources for hearty, soulful food at a fair price.
Map - 9:30 PM
K-town Pocha
Lively Korean pocha bar right in K-town, perfect for a post-dinner cocktail without straying far.
Map
Day 3: A day in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Coffee in Greenpoint, then over to Nolita for Thai at Lovely Day and a browse at Housing Works, and back across the river for Laser Wolf's rooftop grill and a late slice at Ace's.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
Sara D. Roosevelt Park
A long Lower East Side park strip with community gardens and pickup games, a short walk to lunch.
Map - 12:30 PM
- 2:30 PM
Housing Works Bookstore
Secondhand books in a two-level SoHo loft; every sale funds housing and HIV/AIDS services.
Map - 7:30 PM
Laser Wolf Brooklyn
Laser Wolf is acclaimed, multiple swear-bys, rooftop Israeli grill with stunning views; the one splurge-worthy dinner in Brooklyn.
Map - 9:30 PM
Ace's Pizza
Detroit-style square pies and cheap beer on Driggs Ave, the right late bite after Laser Wolf.
Map
Where to stay
Walker Hotel Greenwich Village
Walker Hotel sits right in the West Village, putting Day 1 on your doorstep and the subway to everywhere else two blocks away.
The Standard East Village
The Standard East Village is the best-value option in the cluster, close to the L train for Brooklyn and a short ride to both Midtown and SoHo.
Make New York your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art: a few days ahead
- Tenement Museum: weeks ahead
- Broadway: weeks ahead
- Lincoln Center: weeks ahead
- Top of The Rock: a few days ahead
- SUMMIT One Vanderbilt: a few days ahead
Skip these
- Times Square restaurants charge rent, not food quality, so eat two blocks west on 9th Avenue instead.
- Pedicabs use per minute fine print and short rides can cost hundreds, so agree a total price in writing or walk.
- Costumed characters, CD sellers and unofficial Statue of Liberty sellers turn a photo or free item into a payment demand.
- Do not do five observation decks, since one gives the skyline and the rest repeat it at different angles.
The full New York travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around