Hey, everyone. It's Katherine
with Free Tours by Foot and today, I'm going to take you
through a full-day itinerary of free things to do in New York
City. A couple of caveats. Well, all of the activities
that I'm going to mention are completely free. In order to do
this and to really maximize your time, you do have to get
on and off the subway a lot. I believe there are six subway
rides in this itinerary. So, you will of course have to pay
for those depending on how long you're staying in New York
City. This might be a good opportunity for one of those
unlimited New York uh metro cards uh but that depends again
on how many days you're staying and how many other times other
than this itinerary you would be using the subway. This is
also just so you know a jam-packed day. This is
probably not for somebody that's looking for a somewhat
leisurely vacation. Um this one is going to start at 8 AM and
go past 8 o'clock in the evening. So, a jam-packed day
but lots to see and covering a lot of the highlights. Like I
said, all for free. So, let's go ahead and jump in.
We're gonna start 8 AM in the morning at 61. street in
Lexington right in front of Picka Bagel. Now, we are
starting here because you need to power up for the day that
you have ahead um and this is a great location not just because
it's very close to Central Park which is going to be our first
activity but also because these are truly fantastic New York
bagels. A great New York bagel like pick a bagel. It's going
to be hand rolled, boiled, should have a nice, chewy
exterior. There are a lot of different ways you can get your
bagel. You can get yours with cream cheese. You get a bagel
sandwich um but anything you get here is going to be great
my personal favorite is a whole wheat everything bagel I don't
know why I felt like you needed to know that if you need a
little help choosing something though that's a great place to
start um so once you have had your bagel 8:30 AM we're gonna
head over to Central Park so we're going to use the first
part of the morning to cover the lower section of Central
Park so this is gonna take us from the southeast corner of
the park over to Strawberry Fields finishing up on the west
side at 72nd street um so some of the things that you're going
to see in this lower section of Central Park are going to be
the Plaza Hotel right at the beginning. You'll see the pond,
you'll see the Central Park Zoo, the Woman Rink, the Dairy,
Bethesda Fountain, uh and of course Strawberry Fields right
there at the end. Now, if you take a nice walk through the
park starting at eight thirty, you kind of go at a leisurely
pace, take some pictures. You should be finishing up over at
Strawberry Fields at about 10 o'clock in the morning and so
right there on Central Park West is a subway station at
seventy-second Street. You are going to hop on the beep Train
there at 72nd street and take that down to 42nd street Bryant
Park. It's a quick ride but you'll get to get off your feet
for just a few minutes. When you get out at the 42nd street
Bryant Park subway station, you will actually be able to look
towards Times Square and you'll be able to see the New Year's
Eve ball right there at the top of number one Times Square.
Grab a picture um and take a little stroll through Bryant
Park. It's not a very large park but it is and there is
always something happening in Bryant Park depends on the
season if you're here in the winter time we have a holiday
market that goes on there in the summer there is a full
range of yoga classes fencing lessons there's a Bryant Park
free outdoor library that goes on throughout the year so take
a little time to soak in Bryant Park from there you'll actually
be able to see the New York Public Library on the back side
you're gonna walk around to the front side check out the
library maybe go in for a minute. At least go in and see
the entrance and the rose main reading room. It is really
really beautiful. But then you can take a continue walking
down forty-second street. You'll be able to see the
Chrysler building, my personal favorite skyscraper in this
entire city and you'll be able to go inside Grand Central
Terminal. Grand Central Terminal is a train station but
it is also an absolute masterpiece of architecture. It
is beautiful. Great place to spend a little time. You can
walk around. If you have time, and you are so inclined. We do
have an audio tour. We also have a self-guided tour right
on our website that you can get. It's nice to have a little
bit of information. Grand Central has an amazing history
and there's also like some nooks and crannies in the
terminal that I think if you've never been before and you
weren't really looking for them, you wouldn't necessarily
come across. Um what Grand Central also has uh public
restrooms if you need them and also a food court on the lower
level. So, we are right about lunch time at this point in the
itinerary. So, this is a great opportunity to grab some lunch
at Grand Central. Uh sit there and eat for a little while, get
off your feet. Again, we have a lot more walking to do um but
once you finish up with lunch about twelve forty-five, you're
gonna get on the seven train towards Hudson Yards. Um the
seven train goes two different directions there at Grand
Central. So, make sure you get on the right train but it'll be
easy because Hudson Yards is the last stop uh going the
direction that you need to go. So, it will say seven train to
Hudson Yards. So, make sure you get on that one. Head over to
Hudson Yards. Hudson Yards is a new development. It's actually
the largest private development New York City has seen since
Rockefeller Center was built in the 1930s and it's actually
still ongoing. There's still some construction going on
there but a lot of it is finished um including the
beautiful vessel. So, this is something where you are going
to have a little bit of advanced planning that you need
to do. Um vessel is free but you have to have a ticket
because it's a time to entry. Um the way that this is
designed is all these different staircases going up and down
this beautiful sculpture piece so they have to limit the flow
of people going on and off of it. So, you are going to want
to make a vessel reservation for 1 PM um and spend a little
time on the vessel. The amazing thing about doing this is you
get by going up and down all of these different staircases, you
get all of these various views of the city. So, make sure you
have your camera ready cuz this is a great spot to take so
pictures. You know, from here, you are actually right at the
north end of the high line. Uh so, you can walk the high line
straight down to the other end from here. So, if you've spent,
let's call it 30 minutes at the vessel. You can start walking
down the high line at one thirty. So, the full length of
the high line from where you are is about a mile and a half
but you're gonna wanna stop. You're gonna wanna take a nice
walk. There's some beautiful views. You're gonna wanna take
pictures. There's even spots along the way. If you wanna sit
and rest for a few minutes, I definitely recommend doing that
and there's also a lot of art installations on the high line.
So, make sure you you really save a little time to take all
of it in. You're gonna walk down the high line for about an
hour and you're gonna finish up at Genzivort Street which is
the southern end of the high line. So, from there, you'll be
pretty close to the A and C train at fourteenth Street.
That's the blue line and from there, you're going to take a
downtown bound A or C Train and you're going to get off at High
Street Brooklyn Bridge. So, High Street Brooklyn Bridge
Station is very close to the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn
Bridge. So, the next step on our itinerary is to walk across
the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. Um so, you can go on the Brooklyn
Bridge from either direction. You don't have to start in
Brooklyn but it's actually fantastic to do it. One of the
reasons people like to walk the Brooklyn Bridge is because
there's really spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline.
Uh and if you start on the Manhattan side, people tend to
spend a lot of time doing this and looking over their shoulder
so they can see the skyline. If you start on the Brooklyn side,
you just have it in front of you the whole time and it's
really nice. So, this is another place where if you are
interested, the Brooklyn Bridge has a fascinating history. This
thing took 14 years to build. Um this was the longest
suspension bridge in the world at the time. So, a lot of new
things were happening. It was a really big turning point for
New York City and for Brooklyn which were two separate cities.
It the time. This was the first time there was a landlink
between the two cities. We do have an audio tour walking the
Brooklyn Bridge starting on the Brooklyn side like I'm having
you do now. So, if you are interested in learning a little
bit more, this is a spot where I really do recommend um
getting that audio tour for just a few dollars and having
it guide you across the bridge. You'll definitely learn a lot
about the bridge and make sure you spot all of the various
things that you can see from the as well. So, if you walk,
started your walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at 3 o'clock in
the afternoon and you take a leisurely walk across the
bridge, stop, take lots of pictures. Um we're we're
padding this a little bit. This will put you over the bridge at
about four o'clock. Um the full length of the Brooklyn Bridge
is 1.1 miles or 1.6 kilometers. So, this is AA leisurely and
generous amount of time um but right there on the other side
of the Brooklyn Bridge, you're going to be Right by city hall
in Manhattan. Um right by city hall there is a subway station.
You'll see it as soon as you get off of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Um and from that subway station, you can take the
number four train and you can take it downtown bound just a
few stops to Bowling Green. Just so you know, when you get
down there, there's actually countdown clocks letting you
know when the next train is. Um if for some reason there are
delays or something like that and they say the next train is
not going to be for 15 minutes which would be unusual but it
can happen. Um if you don't mind a little extra walking and
I know that there is a lot of walking in this day, you can
actually walk from uh city hall to Bowling Green in probably
about 15 minutes as well. So, if you're up for a little extra
walking, that's an option if you walk to take off one of the
subway rides. So either way, once you get down to Bowling
Green, you're going to go to the Staten Island Ferry
Terminal. The Staten Island Ferry is a commuter ferry
technically. Uh ferry's commuters back and forth
between the southern tip of Manhattan and Staten Island all
day long and it's completely free. Uh and even though it
really is supposed to just be a commuter ferry, it's actually
used by a lot of tourists in New York City as a sightseeing
ferry with good reason. There are some of amazing views of
the Lower Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis
Island out there in the harbor. Going to the Statue of Liberty
and Ellis Island can be a very long day if you wanna do those.
If you want to do that and get off on those islands, you
absolutely have to take the Statue of Liberty Ferry. That's
the only official way to do it but if you're short on time or
you don't wanna spend the money, going and seeing those
islands on the Staten Island Ferry is great. You'll get very
close to them. You'll get some really nice views, you can take
some pictures, um and it's much much shorter. The ride over the
Staten Island is twenty to twenty-five minutes. Most
people just exit the Staten Island Ferry. You do have to
exit on the other side. You can't sit on and wait for it to
turn around. You exit on the other side, you zip around in
the ferry terminal and board the next ferry departing for
Manhattan and you can see all of these things out there in
the harbor in just about an hour. Um so, A great thing to
do at this point if you're getting hungry before you board
the Staten Island ferry. There's actually a lot of quick
places to grab something to eat there in Lower Manhattan right
down there by Bowling Green and so you can grab something and
actually eat it. While you're sitting on the ferry, you can
have this lovely boat ride. You can sit on one of the seats
that's facing out into the harbor facing where the Statue
of Liberty is and have something to eat while you're
looking out over the the water and looking out at the Statue
of Liberty. So, Staten Island Ferry is also an option for an
audio tour. We do have an audio tour that is guiding both ways
both the ride from Manhattan to Staten Island and the Staten
Island to Manhattan return. Kind of detailing what you're
seeing both directions. So, if you're looking for a little
more information while you're riding, that is an option for
you as well. If you just wanna relax and have something to eat
and look out over the water and look at the Statue of Liberty,
you can definitely do that too. So, when you get back, over to
the other side once you've completed your ride on the
Staten Island ferry which like I said really typically only
takes about an hour. We have allowed in this itinerary an
hour and a half. Just in case there's any delays or any wait.
Um so, we have you back over on the Manhattan side at 6 PM and
we have included in this itinerary a little time at this
point to explore the financial district. Um the financial
district is one of the oldest parts of New York City. This is
where the colony of New Amsterdam was initially founded
which then later became New York. Um this was one of the
early capitals of the United States after the American
Revolution. Um this is of course the home of Wall Street
but it's also the home of Trinity Church of Saint Paul's
and of the World Trade Center. So, take a little time to walk
around the financial district. Uh we've actually allowed an
hour and a half to do this in this itinerary. You can walk
right there from the Customs house down there at Bowling
Green. Um you can walk through Bowling Green. Go up Broadway.
You'll see the charging bull. You'll see Wall Street, Federal
Hall, Trinity Church. If you continue at Broadway, you'll
see Saint Paul's and then you can loop over to the west and
you can check out the World Trade Center and the 911
Memorial. So, once you've spent a little time in the financial
district um and it's 730 in the evening and you're up at the
World Trade Center, you can go to the Fulton Street Subway
Station right there down the block and you can hop on the
subway up to twenty-third Street. This quick stop at 23rd
street is so that you can check out it the flat iron building.
It's a really well-known triangular-shaped building. It
was originally called the Fuller Building but it had an
uncanny resemblance to an old fashioned um iron and so New
Yorkers started calling it the flat iron building. Um it is a
great thing to stop and take a picture of. You're also right
there by Madison Square Park. Uh another great place to just
take a few minutes, look around. We have you or arriving
there and spending a little bit of time and then at 815 hopping
on the subway, you can take the yellow line. You can take it up
just a few stops and you're going to get off at Times
Square forty-second Street. Um so, by this time, it should be
dark no matter what time of year you are visiting and
that's really the time to visit Times Square is you wanna go
when all of the lights are lit, when all of the billboards and
the spectaculars are there. Um at this time of night, it
should be active. It should be full of people. There will
probably be some street performers, some buskers,
costume characters, everybody walking around. Times Square is
called the crossroads of the world and you'll probably see
what we mean when you get there. There's a lot of people,
a lot of activity. Um if you are tired at the end of this
long day, which would certainly be understandable, um you can
head over to the Red Steps in Times Square. You can sit and
just people watch for a little while. It's one of the best
things to do in Times Square. If you have a little more
energy left, uh once you've spent of time in Times Square
taking in the sites, taking in the lights. You're actually
just a short walk from Rockefeller Center as well. So,
if you want it as an added bonus to the end of your day to
head over to Rockefeller Center and walk around, it's another
great place to visit at night. So, there it is. A full day,
more than 12 hours in New York City with all free activities.
If you are short on time, if you don't have a lot of of time
or days to spend in New York City, this is a great way to
see some of the most popular sites all in one day. If you're
short on cash and you're really trying to watch your budget for
your trip to New York City, here is a great way to spend a
full day in the city, spending almost nothing, just your
subway rides, and those audio tours if you decide to take
them. You do not have to spend a lot of money to have a great
time in this city. This place is for everybody. So, thank you
so much for joining me and we'll see you when you visit
New York.
