This post is so overdue it's ridiculous but I'm going to write it anyhow! In this post I'll be talking about the things I did and the places I went on my first ever trip to New York City back in July 2016. It's always been my dream to visit this city and now that it's finally happened I can give an insight into what it was like and some tips that I learnt. We didn't end up doing every single thing we had planned as some of them were too far to travel to, but we got the main things we wanted done!
Time Square (West 42nd to West 47th Street)
This was, naturally, the first place we went and I just remember feeling like I was in a movie looking up at the huge billboards and standing on the top of the red stairs taking in the view. Honestly, after we went there once we avoided this at all costs (apart from passing through it). It was just so busy and with the heat it was all too much. It gets especially busy leading up to 9pm and after which was to be expected.
Rockefeller Centre (Top of the Rock Observation Deck) $32
We decided to do this instead of the Empire State due to the fact that you get a view of the Empire State Building itself from the Rockefeller. The view from the observation desk is absolutely amazing and definitely worth the money! I went up at around 11:45am-12:00pm but I would suggest going around 7/8 to catch the sun setting.
We decided to do this instead of the Empire State due to the fact that you get a view of the Empire State Building itself from the Rockefeller. The view from the observation desk is absolutely amazing and definitely worth the money! I went up at around 11:45am-12:00pm but I would suggest going around 7/8 to catch the sun setting.
Central Park
I absolutely loved this park and was definitely one of my highlights. We began at the entrance closest to the Plaza Hotel (we did go inside) and just worked our way through. We didn't go through the whole entire park as we were walking and it was way too hot! Places we visited within the park included Gapstow Bridge, Bethesda Fountain, Dairy (mid park at 65th street), The Mall, Boating Lake (all of which were used to film the movie "Enchanted."), and the Alice in Wonderland statue.
I absolutely loved this park and was definitely one of my highlights. We began at the entrance closest to the Plaza Hotel (we did go inside) and just worked our way through. We didn't go through the whole entire park as we were walking and it was way too hot! Places we visited within the park included Gapstow Bridge, Bethesda Fountain, Dairy (mid park at 65th street), The Mall, Boating Lake (all of which were used to film the movie "Enchanted."), and the Alice in Wonderland statue.
Big Bus Tour (Uptown and Downtown) $55
Definitely worth the money as it took us through Uptown, Midtown and Downtown via 2 different buses (we had to change). Also the guides were amazing as they provided us with so many facts about the places we passed.
Brooklyn + Brooklyn Bridge
We ventured over to Brooklyn twice as loved it so much the first time we just had to go back. I loved the vibe there and it was definitely more chilled than in the city. DUMBO is a really cute neighbourhood within Brooklyn that we walked around and explored. The second time we went we decided to visit Windsor Terrace which is Peter Parker's house they used to film 'The Amazing Spiderman' and it was so surreal seeing it in real life.
Other notable places we went:
Brooklyn + Brooklyn Bridge
We ventured over to Brooklyn twice as loved it so much the first time we just had to go back. I loved the vibe there and it was definitely more chilled than in the city. DUMBO is a really cute neighbourhood within Brooklyn that we walked around and explored. The second time we went we decided to visit Windsor Terrace which is Peter Parker's house they used to film 'The Amazing Spiderman' and it was so surreal seeing it in real life.
Other notable places we went:
→ High Line
→ Grand Central Terminal
→ Madison Square Garden
→ Bryant Park
→ Greenwich Village
→ 9/11 Memorial
→ Greenwich Village
→ 9/11 Memorial
Thank you for reading!
