The Ultimate 3 Day New York City Itinerary | a guide to planning your trip

hey everyone is Sara I've made a lot of videos about what to do eat and see in NYC but today I'm gonna make a video about what I think your itinerary should be so I'm combining all of my top tips into a cohesive itinerary that you can bring with you this one's gonna be a three day itinerary or a long weekend however in the future I could be doing longer ones so let me know if you like this concept in this guide I'm gonna break it down by morning midday afternoon and evening this is a three-day guy but I really do recommend you've spent at least a week when you come visit the city there is so much to do here so in this video I've jammed packed what I think are the absolute top attractions for three days in the city this is a no BS guide to making the most of your trip now if you want a copy of this you can click on the link below and I will send you a printable downloadable version for you to take with you or help plan your trip to NYC you should be aware of using New York is an expensive city so I really recommend budgeting 300 to $500 per person per day now I know you're probably thinking holy crap that is a lot of money well it really depends on your style and if your abundant traveler or not a budget traveler now the 300 to $500 is factoring in all costs so that's abstraction to food and drink experiences and lodging the lodging costs I've added into that is one hundred and twenty dollars per night it is possible you may be looking at hotels and seeing oh my gosh hotels are on average $350 a night yes that's true but that's really why I recommend doing an Airbnb you can find a good Airbnb here for a hundred and twenty dollars per night and if you've never used Airbnb you can use my Airbnb link which I'm putting below and that will save me $40 on your first Airbnb booking since this is such a short trip to the city I really recommend using lips to make the most of your time here list is the largest growing rideshare company in the US they make it easy to call a car to wherever you're located and make your trip to the city a much more comfortable because let's be real our subway system isn't the most glamorous experience I prefer to use lifts over other rideshare companies because they're reliable and socially responsible for example every lift ride is carbon neutral to support a healthier planet and they provide free and reduced-price rides to people who need them the most such as medical patients low-income seniors and veterans in transit I recommend arriving to the city in the evening checking into your Airbnb to get a good night's rest and our three-day itinerary will start in the morning so I'll see you in the morning [Music] after getting a refreshing night's sleep and your Airbnb I recommend coming here to Jack's wife freed up for an early morning breakfast you can also come here for brunch they served out African Israeli and Jewish cuisine and this is one of my favorite spots for breakfast or brunch in the city the restaurant was born from two immigrants named Maya and Dean who met in New York City but it's named after Dean's grandparents from South Africa that's why the cuisine is South African now Maya the owner is from Israel and that's where you get the Israeli infusion into that I recommend getting the green chef suka or Jack's breakfast when you're here but honestly anything here is fantastic if you can I definitely would recommend avoiding weekend breakfast or brunch here because it can get very crowded however if you show up early then you tend to avoid the packs of people or you could come on a weekday which is what I'm doing and then you don't have to deal with all the crowds it's so much better that way did you know that I recently launched my own group tours I have a tour now called secrets of New York and I'd love for you guys to join it of course I had to clued it in my ideal itinerary of New York because in this tour I'll take you through Manhattan to places that you've never seen it before you'll travel through hidden passageways here fascinating true stories of the area and learned secrets from the city's origins on this tour some of the things you'll see are a world war two biplane parked on a skyscraper roof these are the Berlin Wall I in elevated Park with an epic city view and where the largest concentration of gold in human history is kept plus much more this tour takes place in the financial district and here in the Battery Park City it's about 2.5 miles of walking I offer this tour every Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I'm going to include a link below where you can book it I hope to see you there [Music] after my tour I think it's time for pizza you can't come to New York without getting a good slice of pizza and in that situation I recommend coming here to Lombardi's this is the first pizzeria in America it was opened in 1905 I think their pizza is excellent I think when it comes down to is in New York you really can't get a bad pizza unless you go to dollar slice which is horrible and you shouldn't go there but there's several excellent ones Lombardi's is great print Street is great they're known for their wood-fired thin crust Neapolitan style pies the thing you have to know about this foot is they only offer full size pies so if you want a slice you can't get it here in that case go to Prince Street however for lombardi's I recommend their original margherita pizza or you could get their clam pie which is made with romano cheese with no mozzarella and is one of their specialties however you have to arrive early because these are limited availability a great way to see the city is by boat so in the afternoon I recommend that you go on one of my favorite New York experiences which is a classic Harbor line cruise there's two in particular that I really recommend for an afternoon ride and they are their champagne sunset cruise which will definitely be like later afternoon evening time or their statue and sightseeing cruise on their cruises you're going to see the Statue of Liberty the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan on a beautiful 1920s inspired yacht all of the guys are super comfortable and it feels private because they don't overpack the boat like some other companies do which I will not name but they advertise quite a bit one of my favorite things to do in New York and I highly highly recommend you do not miss this it is wonderful in the evening we come to hear it solve the burglary and I think they have the best burgers in town but this place is really special not just for their burgers which by the way I recommend that you get their six ounce patties topped with pastrami Gruyere cheese and Brooklyn brined pickles on toasted rye roll or the press Cubano comprised of a chorizo patty fresh ham and Manchego cheese so have a nice meal here and then you're gonna head upstairs to my favorite speakeasy in the city Garfunkel's now I was very uncertain if I should even mention this in this video because I loved it so much and I kind of wanted to keep it to myself but then I thought you know what I don't want this to just be a mediocre guide to New York I want this to be the best guide to New York Garfunkel has the most incredible cocktails that I've had in the city they're also in a very unique atmosphere it was once the offices of feminist bankers marcusgarfunkel and max Hauser we used it as a corrupt Bank in the 1920s and this is why there's a safe door entrance with this super fun it makes it just like you're entering a whole new world plus the interior is completely 1920s design so it's very chic just very beautiful they're known for their curated mixology cocktail menu I recommend the table for two which is with jasmine infused vodka each puree fresh citrus and simple syrup they open at 6:00 p.m. every day and I do recommend reservations but sometimes you can just pop up there and you do not miss this place it is the best speakeasy in town better than the other ones that I've mentioned in my video I'm just finally revealing this secret to you now because I think you deserve it although I'm sad to give it up but I'll be hearing again anyway on the morning of day 2 I recommend going to a museum you can either go to the Museum of Natural History or the Met I'm here at the Met which I prefer but they're honestly both incredible museums the only thing is they get very crowded so you need to arrive at 10 a.m. when they open to avoid the lines you can get tickets online in advance here the Met is $25 for adults for kids 12 and under it's actually free and this is the largest Art Museum in the United States they have permanent collections containing over 2 million works and you'll see art from classic antiquity and ancient Egypt paintings and sculptures from nearly all the European masters an extensive collection of American and modern art the Met maintains extensive holdings of African Asian Ocean Byzantine and Islamic art the museum is also home to an encyclopedic collection of musical instruments costumes and accessories as well as antique weapons and armor from around the world now if you choose the matte you definitely need to go to their cantor rooftop garden bar this is open at 11:00 a.m. and it's open mid April through October and here you're going to have unprecedented views of Central Park and the New York City skyline one of the cool things about the Met is when you buy your ticket it's actually valid for three consecutive days now I know you're here for three days so if you want to swap out some of the things that I'm mentioning in this video to come back to the met you absolutely can you'll also get access to the met 5th Avenue the met Brauer and the met cloisters so there's a lot that comes with this ticket and you could spend a lot of time just exploring all the met museums throughout the city [Music] after exploring the met I recommend coming here to the Nathan's hot dog stand and having an authentic New York City hot dog now the reason I say Nathan's is because this is a first hot dog place in the city they started in Coney Island and now they have carts throughout the city make sure that if you get a hot dog you get it from a Nathan's car not one of the regular cars one hot dog is three dollars and fifty cents the nation's car is right outside of the Met on 80th Street and Fifth Avenue just look for it it looks like this it doesn't look like this okay I just want to make sure you get the right hot dog after that I always take the hot dog and I eat it in Central Park so I'll see you right over there now I like to come here to Central Park to enjoy the hotdog because it's just a much more peaceful environment and it's literally right around the corner from the Nathan's car and the Met this is such a special place in the city it's the most visited Park in the u.s. and it's even appeared in 350 movies making it one of the most famous urban parks in the world it was first opened in 1857 was declared a national historic landmark in 1964 and a New York City landmark in 1974 in the afternoon you can spend several hours here exploring the park there's several ways to do it you can either do it yourself there are several man-made Lakes there's field there's over 51 sculptures 36 bridges and art 7 ornamental fountains and 125 drinking fountains by the way so you're definitely not going to go thirsty while you're exploring the park but I think that really the best way to see it is doing a tour there's two tours that I recommend and it really depends when you're visiting here if you're here on a Saturday free tours by foot offers a free tour of lower Central Park at 2:00 p.m. every Saturday I've talked about these guys before they do awesome free tours if you don't mind a large group normally it's 20 to 30 people then this is an awesome option for you if you'd like to have a more private experience there are private tour guides so you can hire like me by the way I offer private tours another option will be doing a tour with NYC parks they offer towards on a daily basis several times a day they're $15 so if you're not here on a Saturday you can do that $15 really isn't that much money so you might as well do it learn a bit about the park and while you're here by the way this won't be part of the tour but I really recommend renting a rowboat and going out on the lake it's just such a romantic experience it costs $35 to rent a boat however you get $20 back once you return the boat safely so it's really only $15 my biggest tip to you from this is all the row boats tend to stay in the first part of the lake if you go around the bend there's this massive lake that no one ever goes to because if you stay in the close part that you can see from the boat rental place it's super super crowded and not Romancing at all so you actually have to go under the bridge and turn the corner and then you'll have a full lake to yourself so make sure you do that to have a more enjoyable experience so while you're rowing the boat because otherwise they're gonna be doing bumper car ride with all the other boats and it's not gonna be the experience you're looking for cuz you're probably looking for like a movie experiences is what I'm looking for personally I'm here at Le Bernadin this is one of the best restaurants in the city if you're looking for an elite French restaurant specializing in seafood this is a place to come the food is out of this world I'm doing a tasting right now incredible this place is really special because it opened in 1986 but within the first three months was reviewed by the New York Times which is unheard of and they received four out of four stars maintaining that record for over three decades it's run by head chef Erik repair and just come here that's all I gotta say take a look at this food beautifully presented and tastes better than it looks if that's even possible reservations are required here but if you don't have a reservation you can come to the bar a lounge area and order food there [Music] have some dinner and liberty' then that you're gonna be in the Time Square area which is any local person's nightmare but since you're visiting I do recommend stopping in quickly for a photo but may need to see a Broadway show New York's number one attraction is Broadway shows so you must see a show when you're here my top recommendations are the Lion King or wicked both of them are awesome but there are tons of shows to choose from now if you choose one of the blockbuster hits like The Lion King or wicked or Hamilton you're going to be paying about $200 a ticket so just prepare for that but if you don't want to spend that much money there are several ways to get discounted Broadway tickets I have an entire video on how to get this kind of Broadway tickets one of my tips is right here it's the TKTS booth so you can go there and get some discounted tickets that way but really just watch my video because there's other ways around it so you don't have to wait in the longest line [Music] after the show I recommend going to a rooftop bar you really can't come to New York without going through a rooftop bar that will be horrible because they're one of the most amazing ways to see a beautiful view of the city one that is right near the Broadway area that I recommend is called the Skylark this has some of the best views in the city this is a stylized cocktail lounge on the 30th floor of a skyscraper with expansive panoramic views of Hudson River Hudson Yards Times Square the Empire State Building and the best of Midtown Manhattan my tip to you with this though is definitely check their calendar on their site before coming here because they can be closed sometimes for private parties certain months they have several dates where they're completely closed for private parties so you don't want to come all the way here and then find out their clothes and I say all the way here like it's far Boxley it's a really short walk from Times Square and bring your camera because these views are epic on the morning of your last day in New York I recommend coming to the One World Observatory and the 9/11 memorial this is such an important place in New York's history and it's good to pay respects and see a little bit more about the city now One World Memorial is $35 I recommend just getting the general admission tickets you don't need any of the fancy stuff they're adding on to the ticket price because really the main site is just seeing the views because they are extraordinary there's no view as good as the One World Observatory however it does get very crowded so I recommend getting the earliest tickets possible so you can enjoy the view without people all over you because if you go later in the day it's very difficult to even like get a place at the window or take a picture at the window without having a bunch of people in your shot while you're here I recommend going to the September 11th memorial it's right outside of where the One World Observatory is and the two reflecting pools are where the towers once stood that fell on September 11th around the pool are the names of the 2,983 people that died engraved in bronze and the design is actually called reflecting absence and was chosen for more than 5,000 competition entries but if you want to learn more about 9/11 there's the 9/11 Memorial Museum that is right next door as well so you can go there to learn more about that day in New Yorkers lives because it was a very traumatic day [Music] midday I recommend you eat here at Frances tavern this restaurant is special because it's the oldest restaurant in the city it was established in 1762 but as a very unique history because this is actually where George Washington established at the Chamber of Commerce this is also a great example of what eighteenth-century buildings looked like this is one of the only surviving blocks in the city now Fraunces Tavern has been rebuilt a few times the most recent time was in the early 1900s but it's a great example of how New Yorkers lived hundreds of years ago when you come here I recommend ordering their pot pie or their filet mignon which is served on a hot stove both are fabulous they're also known for their whiskey room which has over 200 types of whiskeys and if you're coming here in the winter they also have a fireplace there which is very nice touch when you're trying to get all warm from that cold weather their bar has 130 craft beers and cider and craft cocktails they also have live music on weekends so you can do everything here and this is just the best place to get typical American cuisine from the beginning of time I'm here at the tip of Manhattan where all of the helicopters take off you can see some of this behind me and this is something that you absolutely needs to do there's no better way to see the city than from a bird's eye view in a helicopter now the only thing is these are costly it's about 170 dollars for 12 to 15 minutes yeah expensive but well worth it at least just once in your life because it's the best way to see the city if you saw if you thought seeing it from one world observatory was good and just wait until you see it from a helicopter there are several companies that do this they all have around the same pricing so it really doesn't matter which one you go with it's especially a great way to end your trip in New York because I really think you need to save this last if you do this first it kind of it kind of like the best thing you can do and then and then the rest will be less exciting because the helicopter ride there's nothing quite like it I don't think there's any better way than to talk about your amazing helicopter rides then at the world's best bar that's right here in New York we have one of the world's best cars here at the dead rabbit they won the world's best bar award in 2015 and 2016 this bar is known for its wide selection of drinks and high-quality Irish food but the name has an interesting history actually the dead rabbits was the name of the Irish American criminal streaking in lower Manhattan in the 1850s the dead rabbits were named so after a dead rabbit was thrown into the center of the room during a gang meeting prompting some members to treat this as an omen withdraw and form an independent game this pot is open at 11:00 a.m. on weekdays and pen a.m. on weekend now you have kids that are under the drinking age you can bring them here until 4:00 p.m. so don't worry you can still enjoy a nice drink here whether or not you have kids [Music] after you have some delicious beverages at the dead rabbit I recommend you take a walk over the Magnificent Brooklyn Bridge now this was completed in 1883 and at the time it was the highest structure in the city and it was also the largest suspension bridge in the world at the time this bridge is 1.1 miles or 1.7 kilometers and I recommend you cross it in order to watch the sunset from beautiful Dumbo this bridge goes 15 million to build in 1883 which is equal to three hundred and sixty-four million dollars today pretty healing is the investment they had going on there but you can't go to New York without seeing the Brooklyn Bridge it will make you speechless it's so beautiful [Music] in New York I recommend coming here to Dumbo this has been a designated historic district since 2017 Dumbo stands for down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass and you want to know why because quite literally if we come over here we are under the Manhattan Bridge overpass now but the reason I really like it is because you have these absolutely unmatched views of Manhattan now keep in mind of course the one day I film here it's foggy normally you can see the whole skyline the sunsets here are unmatched they are the best place to view the sunset and the Manhattan skyline all in one place now this area used to be all old factories but today it is very upscale because you have tech companies restaurants cafes and art galleries all moving in which brings a very sophisticated type of person and this is also at the perfect spot for Instagram photos by the way I have a whole video on the best Instagram spots in the city so if you want to see that check it out I'll link that video below and this is one of my favorite spots it's that I'm good at using a beach in New York City but this is the perfect way to end your trip take a look at the Sun set and then head home and hopefully come back to New York for a longer period of time so you can do even more things thanks for watching if you like this video remember to subscribe follow me on Instagram at Sarah funky and watch my other NYC videos I have tons of them I will see you next time bye [Music]

Channel: Sarah Funk

Views: 384,334

Keywords: new york city, new york travel, new york city travel guide, new york travel guide, nyc travel tips, nyc travel guide, things to do in nyc, nyc food guide, travel guide nyc, what to do in new york city, what to do in nyc, best things to do in nyc, nyc things to do, new york food guide, new york city food, nyc restaurants, nyc bars, nyc itinerary, 3 days in nyc, nyc 3 days, here be barr nyc, here be barr, nyc vacation guide, what not to do in new york city

Id: UUFyS5yC7mA

Length: 26min 12sec (1572 seconds)

Published: Sun May 12 2019