7 Days In New York

New York City, the big apple, the place where Kevin spent his Christmas in Home Alone, the city where we were heading for our Christmas holidays of 2018. At some point or the other, each and every one of us has seen New York on TV but seeing it and experiencing it are 2 very different things. After our last year’s festive 2 Days in Nuremberg, we had to see Christmas in more places around the world and although New York was clueless about the famous Gluhwein, this place has a magic of its own, one that makes me want to live there.

New York City comprises of five buroughs, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island and the New York we all know is Manhattan, our home for the next 7 days.

We arrived at our hotel just before noon, exhausted after a 15 hour flight from Dubai and a 2 hour journey in the New York subway, desperate need of a shower and a nap.

Where to stay in New Yotk?

POD TIMES SQUARE HOTEL, a relatively affordable modern hotel located in Hell’s Kitchen, minutes away from times square. The hotel was very clean, safe and had a great bar with a terrace which is accessible in warmer months. The room had all the basic requirements in the small space (a compromise you have to make in NYC) and a very comfortable bed. I’m going to re-emphasize on the word ‘relatively’ when I said it’s affordable, times square area is ridiculously expensive and you would be burning a big hole in your pocket if you want to stay here, but with a Starbucks, a 24/7 deli and a 7-eleven next door, Pod hotel is a good compromise between the price and the location. But if this doesn’t fit your budget you might want to look into other parts of Manhattan. Click here to checkout some great deals on Pod Times Square Hotel

Another great place to stay would be MOXY NYC Times Square, Due to no vacancy, I didn’t actually stay here but it was highly recommended by some of my friends who went to NYC and was my other budget option near Times Square.

Booking.com

What to do in New York City?

DAY 1

It was cold and sunny, perfect holiday weather for a person who lives in Dubai. Our journey began with TIMES SQUARE, and why not, this place is just magnificent. Yes, it’s crazy crowded and very touristy, but no matter how much the internet tells you to avoid this “tourist trap”, it is definitely worth the visit, especially after sundown. Who in their right mind would travel to New York City and not post a picture on the red steps of Times Square?

A visit to the M&Ms and the HERSHEY’S STORE at times square is a must, you will be amazed by the amount of themed items they sell here, a great place to get unique gifts for your friends and loved ones, world’s largest chocolate bar or a magnet for your fridge.

We walked towards the RADIO CITY BUILDING to take some pictures with the gigantic Christmas ornaments before we headed to the MUSEUM OF MODERN ART. Personally, I’m not a museum person, but it was Friday so I wouldn’t say no to admiring some of Van Gogh’s magnificent work. MoMa has a free admission between 4 and 8pm on Fridays, courtesy of UNIQLO so this is a pretty cool thing to plan if you are here on a Friday.

Moma took most of our afternoon but it did build up an appetite and it was time to start checking off the dozens of bookmarked places on my map. The first one was KINGS OF KOBE, a burger joint recommended by many bloggers, located about 20 minutes’ walk from moma on 9^th Avenue. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed by their burgers; I’d give them a 3/5, mostly for their great selection of fries.

We were still not far from Times Square and had just enough energy to squeeze a drink at ST. CLOUD ROOFTOP BAR before ending the day. Located in Knickerbocker Hotel, bang in the heart at times square, this bar boasts a great indoor/outdoor area, a brilliant selection of overpriced cocktails and stunning views. We got ourselves a nice winter cocktail, wrapped ourselves in a blanket, planned for the next day whilst complaining about the cold weather which now I miss.

Summary:

• Walk around Times Square
• Check out the M&M’s and Hershey’s store
• Visit the gigantic ornaments near the Radio City Building
• Visit the Museum of Modern art for free (only on Friday afternoons)
• Eat a Burger with fries at Kings Of Kobe
• Enjoy a cocktail at St. Cloud Rooftop Bar in Knickerbocker hotel

DAY 2

One does not come to NYC and not walk across the BROOKLYN BRIDGE, as the name suggests this bridge connects Manhattan to Brooklyn and its picturesque design attracts hundreds of tourists on a daily basis. Just make sure to carry an extra jacket if you are stupid enough to do this during winters, like us. I could feel the wind chill in my bones there but the views definitely made up for it. On the Manhattan side of the bridge, you will find many street vendors selling souvenirs at really great prices, so if you are looking to get something to remind of NYC at home, this is the place for it.

Still on an empty stomach, we decided to hop on the subway and brunch like a New Yorker at FRIEND OF A FARMER, a really cozy place near Union Square Park. This place is famous for all the right reasons, the food is splendid, the staff is friendly and the ambience is perfect. They even gave us complimentary walnut cake.

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As we walked out from Friend of a farmer, the Christmas decorations at PETE’S TAVERN next door attracted us in for a drink before heading back for a well-deserved afternoon nap.

Just after sundown, we went to check out the giant Christmas tree at ROCKEFELLER CENTER and the light show at SAKS FIFTH AVENUE. Be warned that this place is insanely crowded but a definite must do to check it off the first-time-in-new-york list.

Our dinner and drinks fix for this evening was at a place on 9^th Avenue, close to our hotel called FIVE NAPKIN BURGER. We discovered this joint on the go on Day 1 and I highly recommend it for dinner. The burgers were great, the staff is very helpful, the music was awesome and the place is buzzing with many locals and tourists alike.

Summary

• Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
• Brunch at Friend Of A Farmer
• Enjoy a drink at Pete’s Tavern
• Visit the Rockefeller center Christmas Tree
• Watch the lightshow at Saks Fifth Avenue
• Drink and Dine at Five Napkin Burger

DAY 3

Both the days we passed by this place near times square called CARLOS BAKERY and every time it had a long queue of people, curiosity gave in and we decided to check it out for breakfast. Turns out, this place is really popular because of its connection with the TV show ‘Cake Boss’ and that’s about it. Everything at this place was extremely overpriced and the taste wasn’t worth the extra premium you pay for those pastries, instead I would recommend going for a cheesecake at JUNIOR’S RESTAURANT AND BAKERY which we weren’t able to try due to lack of time but a week later, a friend of mine did and she loved it. Read more about her 2 days in ‘The Big Apple‘ for more NYC eats.

Our first stop today was the Christmas market at BRYANT PARK. Not far from Times Square, this park has an ice rink and a great variety of food stalls which keep it lively all the time. As mouth-watering as the food was here, I was saving my appetite for something else.

Our next stop was THE HIGH LINE, a unique park in lower Manhattan built on old rail tracks offering great views of the city and a lovely stroll through the buildings. I wouldn’t say this is a must do but I imagine this place to be an instagram gold mine in spring.

Right next to the High line is the place I was looking forward to all day, CHELSEA MARKET, a one stop shop for a great indoor food market and epic restaurants. If I ever go back to New York, I’m definitely going there again, mainly because I didn’t get to try the famous LOS TACOS here but I did have my first Pastrami Sandwich at FRIEDMAN’S LUNCH and while I munched on this heavenly treat, I kept asking myself why oh why can’t we have multiple meals without any consequences.

A year ago I came across a video on Facebook about a unique rooftop bar in NYC and that’s where we headed next. The bar I’m talking about is called 230 FIFTH ROOFTOP BAR and here you can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate in a heated glass igloo and if that doesn’t excite you, you can just wrap yourself in one of their red wearable blankets and enjoy breathtaking views of the Empire State Building. The popularity of this place sells itself, so the service isn’t really the best here but it’s still a memorable experience during the winter months, one that I would highly recommend for a drink.

The rest of the evening we walked up the 5^th Avenue, window shopping and people watching, dropped by the deli next to our hotel for a quick dinner, finished off the box of Japanese Royce Chocolates we picked next to Bryant Park and snored off the night.

Summary:

• Breakfast at Carlos Bakery
• Visit the Christmas market at Bryant Park
• Take a Stroll at the High Line
• Visit Chelsea Market
• Have Lunch at Friedman’s Lunch
• Enjoy a Hot Chocolate at 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar

DAY 4

How can a trip to NYC be complete without visiting the STATUE OF LIBERTY right? Wrapped up in 3 layers of clothing and a steaming cup of Starbucks coffee in hand, we took the subway to South Ferry station, the southern tip of Manhattan. Now here you have 2 options, you can either take the ferry to the lady liberty, take the tour and climb up this iconic symbol of NYC for about 30-40 USD or take the free staten island ferry back and forth which will get you quite close it. The first option would take 3-4 hours of your time and the second one will be done in about an hour. We chose the second option and enjoyed stunning views of the statue and Brooklyn bridge. Every single passenger on our ferry was just doing the round trip to staten island like us so I’m guessing this is the more popular way to see the statue of liberty.

When I was a kid, I loved going through the big album of photos my grandma handed me after her yearly trip to the states. One photo in particular really fascinated me back then; it was the icon of Wall Street and Financial District, THE CHARGING BULL. Dear Grandma, I’m going to the same spot today. The Charging Bull which symbolizes aggressive financial optimism and prosperity is just 10 minutes’ walk away from the south ferry terminal and is always buzzing with dozens of tourists; needless to say it was almost impossible to recreate the scene of my grandma’s photo, maybe next time.

I have memories of watching the 9/11 incident on live television and although I can’t even imagine what NYC had to go through during that time, I had to go to the 9/11 MEMORIAL and pay my respects. Reading the names of all the people who are not among us anymore took me to a place which I cannot describe, it was the same feeling I had after visiting Hiroshima earlier this year and reliving the dark past of the atomic bombing there, one that took some time to recover and return back to reality, you can read all about that trip on 10 Days In Japan.

I had to cheer myself up with a gorgeous slice of New York pizza next to the memorial at PRONTO PIZZA. You will find pizza joints all over Manhattan, some of them even offer a slice for just 99 cents. Listen to me, have one every opportunity you get, it’s a pizza you will never find anywhere else in the world. Some would even claim that the NY style pizza is the best in the world; I say it’s not justified to compare it with an authentic Italian pizza because these are two very different things. Nevertheless, the thin crispy crust and brilliant blend of sauces on a NY style pizza is a delight in itself. A must do in in New York. Another pizza place I wanted to try but couldn’t was NY PIZZA SUPREMA on the 9^th and 31^st, if you do go there; let me know what do you think of the place.

If you’ve been following me on instagram you must’ve noticed that I’ve taken travel photography up a notch and I am experimenting with different things, so our next stop was a spot that is among the top-most instagrammable places in NYC, PIETRO NOLITA. A small restaurant in lower Manhattan with a unique entrance and a slogan that describes it best, “pink as f*ck”. From the cutlery to the toilet seat, literally everything in the restaurant is pink. They serve a handful of very basic food, but we just dropped in for a cocktail. There are just two reasons why you should visit this place, one, you want an epic instagram post and two, pink is your favorite color.

Our last stop for the day was the most popular deli of New York City, KATZ’S DELICATESSEN. If you ever Google ‘best pastrami sandwich in the world’, this place will be your top result. Apart from extremely expensive sandwiches, this place is a one of a kind experience and a must do for every meat lover. I ordered 3 sandwiches a Pastrami sandwich, a Corned Beef sandwich and their most popular The Reuben (Yes, I went all out), each cost about 20 USD and come with gorgeous amounts of really tender and juicy beef. Katz’s Deli is huge and ridiculously efficient, but you can always expect a wait here. We were there late afternoon and had to wait 15 minutes before giving our order, however, from the moment you are handed a ticket at the entrance till the moment you exit the deli goes by fairly quickly.

We skipped dinner thanks to those gigantic sandwiches and just went to the bar at our hotel in the evening, POLYNESIAN BAR. They served some really mean cocktails and the food looked good to, highly recommended if you are in the area.

Summary:

• Take the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue Of Liberty
• Visit the Raging Bull in the financial district
• Visit the 9/11 memorial
• Have a Pizza slice at Pronto Pizza
• Experience a drink at Pietro Nolita
• Devour a Sandwich at Katz’s Deli
• Enjoy the cocktails at Polynesian Bar

DAY 5

Many people don’t know that USA is a very affordable place to buy clothes. A person like me who isn’t really thrilled about spending hours looking for clothes ended up spending about a 1000 USD shopping in this trip. CENTURY 21 is among the many outlets across the United States which sells discounted branded items, Manhattan has 2 of them, one near the 9/11 memorial, the other near Central Park. As expected, we spent the entire morning in their Central Park outlet and headed back to the hotel to be well rested for an exciting evening at the Broadway.

New York is home to a lot of musicals and other Broadway shows, really there are a lot of them every single day and attending one should be on your bucket list of things to do in New York. THE LION KING is the most famous musical in NYC, probably in the entire world, after missing it in London the year before, I was not going to miss the best-musical-ever-made again. It was hands down the most spectacular musical I’ve ever seen and I won’t stop talking about it ever. Don’t’ leave New York without watching a musical. More information about Broadway shows in the general information section below.

I’m not a party person and clubbing isn’t really my cup of tea but I would never say no to an evening at a nice Jazz bar. THE RUM HOUSE was just the place I was looking for to complete this evening, an amazing live jazz bar with delicious cocktails located steps away from Minskoff Theater where we watched The Lion King Musical. We spent a good 2-3 hours at this place before heading back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Summary:

• Shop at Century 21
• Watch The Lion King musical
• Enjoy cocktails and live jazz music at The Rum House

DAY 6

A foodie relative of mine from New York recommended a French place called BUVETTE for brunch which is where we began this lovely day. Buvette is a cute little place on groove street in West Village, Manhattan, and for a change this place had more locals than tourists. We ordered an avocado toast and steamed eggs with truffle from the short, to-the-point menu and loved every bit of it, I’ll let the pictures below speak for themselves.

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There is a very good reason we chose this location to begin our day, groove street is also the street where the APARTMENT BUILDING FROM F.R.I.E.N.D.S is located and of course checking this place out was one of my top things to do on this trip. The friends’ apartment building is located steps away from buvette and thankfully I was able to get some great pictures of the building that I’ve been seeing for years on TV. I think this is the only attraction in Manhattan that was not overflowing with tourists, there were just a handful of people clicking pictures of this totally normal looking building with so much sentimental value.

Talking about television shows, the CARRIE BRADSHAW’S APARTMENT (Sarah Jessica Parker) from the hit series ‘Sex and the city’ is also located just 4 blocks away, which I had no idea about until few days ago.

From the West Village we walked all the way to East Village through Washington Square Park and this was the most gorgeous walk we had in our entire trip. Far away from the madness of Times Square, it felt so good walking through this insanely scenic street of NYC. Surprisingly not a single person on the internet spoke about this area where every block was instagrammable.

That 20 minute walk was magical and left a smile on both our faces but mine was about to get bigger because we had finally reached PAUL’S DA BURGER. Quite a few people over the internet recommended this place for burger lovers and for good reason, the variety of choices are crazy, makes you want to have all their burgers at once. This place is what I had imagined a typical burger joint in America to be, industrial décor, sizzling sounds of the grill from behind the counter, a big guy in an apron announcing the orders as they are ready and the whole place filled with the aroma of those juicy burgers. Best burger in New York? Close enough but still yet to find. Unfortunately I’ve been so spoilt by the pink centered burgers of Europe, well-done burgers don’t excite me anymore, but if that’s your cup of tea (or burger) then this place is heaven. P.S. Their medium is also quite well done.

Moving up north on the 3^rd to our next bookmark, ROLF’S. An authentic German restaurant that has become an internet sensation because of its’ Christmas decorations, let’s just say they went a bit overboard. If the Grinch ever existed, he would never be able to steal Christmas from here, this place smells and breaths the holiday spirit. They have great Eggnog and probably the only place that serves Gluhwein (imported from Nuremberg), took us back in time to our trip in Nuremberg exactly one year ago, read all about that trip on my post 2-Day-In-Nurember-The-Ultimate-Christmas-Destination. If you are in New York during the Christmas season, ‘have eggnog at Rolf’s’ should be among the top things on your to-do list.

It was the universe’s way of telling us to get something sweet when we realized that another star on our Google map was very close to us. TIPSY SCOOP, an ice cream “bar-lour” which if you haven’t guessed it already, serves ice cream to 21 and over only. They have a great selection of innovative flavors and they are a tad bit generous with their main ingredients. The ice cream is awesome, the staff is friendly and they’re quite reasonably priced for NYC, highly recommended. Oh and they give you a free ice-cream if they share your tipsy scoop instagram post.

All that food we’ve been hogging since morning had to be burned to make space for more, so we continued up north on foot towards Times Square dropping by MACY’S. Apart from the fact that this is a really busy shopping store, Macy’s is known for its creative themed window display. Now this is not just mannequins with flashy clothes, we are talking about windows that tell a story using excruciating detailed modeling and mechanics, obviously the current theme was Christmas. During my research of NYC, I came across a vlogger who covered the ‘Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs’ theme at Macy’s where the windows illustrated the entire story of the world famous fairy tale. My point here is whether you want to visit the store or not, the window display is a definite must see.

After reaching Times Square, we rushed to the TKTS counter to try our luck at another Broadway show. Two minutes later, we were sprinting towards New Amsterdam Theater to catch the ALADDIN MUSICAL which began in 30 minutes. The show was amazing, no comparison to Lion King though, but totally worth the price. For more information on how to get cheap Broadway tickets, check out the general information section below.

We had just enough energy to walk over to JOE’S PIZZA and put some new york by the slice in our bellies before we head back after such an eventful day. As expected the pizza was delicious and would be the only place to eat I would recommend closest to Times Square.

Summary:

• Brunch at Buvette
• Visit the Friends’ apartment building.
• Visit the Carrie Bradshaw Apartment
• Walk from West to East Village
• Eat a burger at Paul’s Da Burger
• Have Eggnog at Rolf’s
• Eat an ice-cream at Tipsy Scoop
• Check out the window display at Macy’s
• Watch the Aladdin Musical
• Eat a slices of pizza at Joe’s Pizza

DAY 7

BWAHAHAHA! Our last day in New York. We began this day at CENTRAL PARK and as we got out of our Uber, tiny white flakes started falling from the sky, finally. I don’t know about you but I live in a dessert and I jump around like a little girl whenever I see snow. Central Park is a great place if you want a break from the skyscrapers of Manhattan. We spent hours walking around the park clicking pictures, aww-ing at squirrels, admiring the street musicians and also got to visit the fake “friends” fountain. Yes, it’s a scam that the horse cart drivers tell people to get more rides I guess. Just FYI, there is no friends fountain in Central Park, yet you see dozens of tourists clicking pictures of a random fountain which barely fits 3 people let alone Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Chandler and Joey. However, there is a very nice restaurant next to the lake inside the park called THE LOEB BOATHOUSE, we skipped it due to lack of time.

The last thing we did in New York is definitely one of the most unique experiences of this trip, a meal at the house of singing stars, ELLEN’S STARDUST DINER. This diner is extremely popular with crazy long queues outside, not because of its’ food but its live entertainment. This is no ordinary restaurant; the staff of this restaurant are aspiring Broadway stars so the person who just took your order 2 minutes ago could be up on stage singing a song for you. Words will not do justice to how awesome my experience here was but if you have just one day in NYC, this is where you should be heading.

Unfortunately our lovely trip had to end here. We barely scratched the surface of New York but for a foodie like me, I’m guessing it would take months to try all the awesome places NYC has to offer. Either ways, 7 days is a perfectly good amount of time to get a good New Yorker experience in the city that never sleeps.

 General Tips for New York

• New York is expensive, like crazy expensive, hotels, food, drinks, transportation are all on the pricier side. You could stick to really budget stuff but then you will miss out on a lot of good stuff, so plan your travels accordingly. To give you an idea, a meal at a decent restaurant would cost you about 20-30 USD minimum.
• Getting around New York –
  • Manhattan is very pedestrian friendly; we discovered a lot of interesting places on foot. Imagine new york as a grid where the vertical streets are referred to as Avenues and the horizontal ones as streets, everyone in New York gives locations based on the intersections, for example the pod times square hotel is located on 42^nd street on the 9^th avenue. Once you get used to that, you will never get lost.
  • The subway is very well connected, uses a prepaid metro card and Google maps always plans out the perfect route. However, the subway of NYC is not user friendly at all. The signboards are quite confusing, the stations are not luggage friendly, the exits and entrances of the stations can lead to a completely different direction, so double and triple check where you are going.
  • The Yellow cabs of New York are everywhere but they aren’t cheap at all. Uber is a brilliant affordable alternate than the normal cabs.
• New Yorkers are not rude. Majority of the people we met were quite friendly and helpful but they don’t take BS. If you are not nice to them you can expect the same response in return and they will call you out on it, which is misinterpreted as rude by many. Just don’t do stupid things like stopping in the middle of a busy sidewalk, being loud in a restaurant, blocking someone’s path on the escalator or not tipping your waiter.
• Make sure to tip. You will need to tip almost everywhere. Many New Yorkers live only on tips so keep that in mind, 10-20% of your bill is a good tip.
• We stuck to the touristy areas, avoided dark alleyways and felt perfectly safe. There are dozens of people and cops everywhere so you won’t have any issues, just use your instincts.
• Physical space is rare. I guess due to the high rental costs, you don’t find spacious places. Hotel rooms, shops, restaurants, even the apartments and airbnbs in NYC are small, many with shared bathrooms, New Yorkers are used to it and you should get used to it too.
• Starbucks is a blessing. Almost every single blog or vlog out there tells you to avoid the overpriced coffee and stick to local shops. I’m sorry to say I’d have to disagree with them. In the mornings, I need my dose of caffeine to kick start my day ASAP, I’m not too bothered to go around searching for a small shop which sells bad quality premixed coffee just to save 2-3 USD, whereas Starbucks is in every corner of the city and very popular among locals and tourists. For some reason, every barista gave a very positive vibe and seemed like they enjoy their job a lot, I need that every morning.
• Broadway has dozens of shows daily, visit www.broadway.com for schedules and bookings. However, if you’re looking for discounts, there is a TKTS counter on Times Square which sells left over tickets of same day shows. Obviously the availability of these tickets depend on the shows and the timing. We got really good tickets for The Aladdin Musical for about 75 USD each. You can get live status of the available tickets on the TKTS app. However, shows like Lion King are always sold out so it’s almost impossible to get tickets on TKTS, for such tickets online booking is your only option. We booked lion king a month prior to our trip at 200 USD each for mid category seats.
• Carry a photo ID at all times. Many bars have strict rules for checking IDs, no matter how obviously ancient you look, you will be asked to show an ID.
• Pizza By the slice is the cheapest food you can generally have in NYC, there are pizza places everywhere prices range from 99 cents to 6 USD. This is a great way to stay on a budget and the pizza is ridiculously delicious.
• Avoid the food carts, they might seem very tempting but a lot of people on the internet got sick after having something from these carts. However, same is not the case for food trucks, the latter like the famous Halal Guys are totally ok. Basically use common sense, if in an area full of people you see nobody at a food cart, it’s for a reason.
• Keep a lot of room in your luggage. USA is one of the most affordable places to go shopping for clothes, especially with discounted stores like Century 21, TJ Max, CVS, Marshalls and more, you will definitely end up bringing back more clothes than you left with.
• Have Fun, New York is very fast paced and can be quite intimidating so keep an open mind and enjoy your holidays.

Have you ever been to New York? Is there something I missed? Drop a comment below.