Fall Trip to New York City

OVERVIEW

 I took my first trip to New York City in 2016 with my mom, and between 2017 – 2019 I often went to New York City for work trips. My husband had never been to the city before, so when Broadway announced it was reopening in the fall of 2021, I immediately jumped on it and bought tickets for his favorite musical of all time (and his obsession of 2021) Hamilton. We planned our trip around the tickets, and we had such a wonderful time!  

Because it was his first trip to the city, we had a few splurges (the Hamilton tickets for one) that I don’t regret at all. I’ll outline those and the costs of those in a separate section from the rest of the budget, as they are in no way necessary if you are planning a trip to New York and are trying to get ideas of what a trip might cost.  

We went at the middle of November for 5 days. I think if you are ambitious and move fast (like me!) for a full New York City experience, you need at least 3 days, and anything beyond that is extra. We did 5 days so we could have some down time, and we ended up having a low-key last day. The trip cost us $1,875 for 2 people and 5 days of accommodations, flights, activities and food (minus the big splurges). The detailed budget is below.  

Itinerary 

Budget 

Note: I excluded some big splurge meals (Scarpetta and Keen’s Steakhouse), and our Broadway ticket (we went to Hamilton and 2 additional shows) as these splurges aren’t necessary to a great New York City experience. I still included the rest of our food and activities and added in substitution for a moderately priced meal in place for those days in the budget. If we included all these things, our total budget would increase by ~$1,000. 

Activities 

Broadway: I love going to Broadway shows while I’m in the city! If you have a show you are set on seeing, make sure to buy tickets ahead of time (especially for popular shows like Hamilton, Dear Evan Hanson, or Moulin Rouge). If you are flexible on which show you want to see, there are a few ways to get last-minute cheaper tickets. 

• Lotteries: Most shows offer a chance to enter an online lottery to win discounted tickets. These drawings often happen the day before or the day of the show, and sometimes you must enter a few days before the show. I recommend making a list of shows you would be interesting in seeing, researching the lotteries ahead of time and have the links and times ready to go so you can enter them when you are on your trip.  

• Rush Tickets: Some shows also offer rush tickets, which are a limited number of discount tickets available to buy at the box office the morning of the show. Rush information will be available on the broadway show website in the same location as the lottery information. If you are planning on rushing a show, plan on being at the box office a bit before it opens if you want to be sure to get tickets. I rushed tickets for the first time on this trip, and was super surprised how easy it was. I got there 10 minutes before the box office opened, I was 6^th in line, and I got my tickets for $35 a piece (vs $110 each!).  
• Last-Minute Ticket Booth: The easiest (but most ‘expensive’) choice is the last-minute ticket booth called TKTs. The TKTs booth is in Times Square (they sometimes run one in Lincoln Square as well), and each day they open for a limited number of hours and sell the remaining Broadway show tickets at a discount. You must go to the booth in person, get in line and see what shows they have available to buy. The booth is busiest first thing in the day when they open (due to that being when the availability is highest), and on weekends. This is still a great way to grab Broadway tickets for a show that evening if you are flexible on what you want to see!  

Viewpoints: There are 3 iconic places to get a great viewpoint of the city, and any one of them will give you a unique experience. The Empire State Building is the most iconic (but you don’t get to see the Empire State Building when you’re there). The Top of the Rock (the Rockefeller Center) is the shortest of the three, but you get a magnificent view of Central Park, and you can see the Empire State Building (as well as having an area where there are no barriers for great photos). The One World Trade Center is the tallest (and newest), but it’s down in Lower Manhattan, so you get a view of the city from the bottom vs being in the middle. They are all similarly prices ($40-$45), so pick whatever one you want, and you’ll have a wonderful experience! Note: if you are picking the One World Trade Center, if you add tickets to your cart and leave them there for a while, you’ll get a pop up with a discount code if you check out. 😊  

Statue of Liberty: To step foot on Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty monument, you have to pre-purchase tickets for the ferry and admission through Statue City Cruises. The basic ticket includes the ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island, and you can pay additional amounts to walk up the Statue of Liberty (to either the Pedestal or the Crown). When we went, we went up to the Pedestal and it was cool to be able to feel closer to the statue, and it offered an interesting viewpoint of the city. Visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island is a ½ day. Alternatively, you can take the free Staten Island Ferry from Battery Park to Staten Island and back, and en route you get a beautiful view of the Statue of Liberty. 

Museums: There are so many museums you can visit in New York City – some of the most popular to visit during a first trip are the Metropolitan Museum of Art (‘the Met’), the Guggenheim Museum (a modern art museum), the American Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Modern Art.  

9/11 Memorial & Museum: Don’t forget to visit the 9/11 Memorial and museum. I’ve visited twice now and both times I was overcome with emotion. I won’t go into detail (bring tissues), but just know it’s extremely worthwhile to visit whether you are from the USA or not. The museum isn’t open every day, so check the days and hours ahead of time and consider pre-booking tickets.  

Food Tours: New York City is one of the best places to eat in the entire world. If you aren’t sure where to start, a food tour is a wonderful place to get a feel for some of the neighborhoods in the city while eating delicious food. I’ve personally done the original Greenwich food tour through Foods of NY Tours, and would recommend it.  

Central Park: Central Park is such a beautiful park, and even though I make a point to visit every time I’m in New York, I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface. Start on one side of the park and wander around by foot, or if you get tired you can grab a pedicab or horse drawn carriage to take you around instead. If you start at the Met, you can walk over to Belvedere Castle, wander through the Ramble, past Bow Bridge and down to Bethesda Fountain. If you are a Beetles fan, make sure to stop by Strawberry Fields. The Mall is the main walk in the park where you can find hot dog stands, benches and artists.  

Bryant Park: Bryant Park is another iconic New York City park that backs onto the New York public library (which is also worth a visit). The park has lots of activities year round, places to eat, the cleanest public restrooms you’ll ever use, and lots of places to sit and relax.  

Explore Neighborhoods: There are so many unique neighborhoods in the city, and each one has its own flavor and personality. Spend some time exploring the neighborhoods outside of where you are staying and maybe you’ll find some new favorite places to eat or a new place you might want to stay next time you visit. Some neighborhoods to visit: Greenwich, Chelsea, East Village, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Chinatown, Tribeca, Financial District, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights/Downtown Brooklyn. 

Food 

Casual: 

• New York Bagels: Lots of places to get a classic New York Bagel (don’t get it toasted!), but some recommendations include Ess-a-Bagel, Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company, Murray’s Bagels, Black Seed Bagels, and Leo’s Bagels. 
• Kat’z Delicatessen: Jewish deli known for their pastrami sandwiches. 
• Gray’s Papaya: Bargain hot dog chain that also serves tropical juices. 
• Joe’s Pizza: By the slice New York Pizza (there are multiple locations, but the one in Greenwich is the classic location worth visiting in my opinion). 
• Chelsea Market: Indoor marketplace with a large variety of food vendors. 

Sweets: 

• Magnolia Bakery: Famous for their banana pudding and cupcakes (and long lines). 
• Levain Bakery: Delicious cookies (my favorites are the peanut butter chocolate and the walnut chocolate chip). 
• Pasticceria Rocco: A wonderful place to grab some Italian desserts in Greenwich, but especially their made-to-order cannoli. 
• Dominque Ansel Bakery: Home of the original cronut and everything delicious including the DKA (Dominque’s Kouign Amann). 

Sit Down: 

• Scarpetta: An upscale Italian restaurant with a hip vibe (think loud music and dim lighting). It’s hard to get a reservation, but we really enjoyed the food and would love to go back. Everything we had was great. 
• Carbone: I haven’t personally been (I haven’t been able to get a reservation yet), but Carbone is considered the premiere upscale Italian restaurant in the city (with Scarpetta not far behind).  
• Emily Loves Pizza: Emily is known for their to die for Detroit-style pizzas (and they are INCREDIBLE), but their burger is also mind-blowingly good. The restaurant isn’t fancy, but it was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time.  
• Ippudo: Known as the place to get ramen in New York City. There are a handful of locations to pick from. 
• The Smith: Casual American restaurant with a well-rounded menu that is a suitable place to go if you have a group or aren’t sure what you are in the mood for. There are lots of The Smith locations in the city which makes it an easy go-to spot for a lunch.  
• Momofuku: There are a few Momofuku restaurants in the city, and I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. Each one has a slightly different menu, but they are all Asian-American cuisine.