LEDESMABABY

New York City

My favorite place in the world.

It’s known that NYC is my absolute favorite city, so I thought why not share some tips and guides for you! I will list all things “tourist-y” for you first-timers, some of my favorite restaurants, bars, & anything else that I think you should definitely check out while you’re there!
*This list may get updated every now and then

*My best suggestion for first-timers would be to ride the Big Bus and get off wherever you want and hop back on whenever you want! Make sure to go through this site (you never know who the people on the street are). Another suggestion would be to buy the CityPASS to see any attractions you wish without waiting in long lines.

Tourist-y things

Empire State Building
Top of the Rock (my favorite view of NY)
Freedom Tower/911 Memorial (be prepared for a 2+ hour walk-through)
The Oculus (tons of shops in here)
Brooklyn Bridge
Times Square (only go once if you can, just a lot of people and extremely touristy)
A Broadway Show
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island (take the Ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island then back – best way to see Lady Liberty w/o being in a crowd)
Grand Central Terminal (take the subway into GCT to get the full effect)
Central Park (highly recommend going for a walk or run through the park )
All museums
Walk/shop down 5th Avenue
Walk through SOHO
Bryant Park
Take a walk along on the High Line
Have a drink at the Top of the Standard (very dressy)
The Plaza Hotel (go downstairs to The Plaza Food Hall and enjoy a nice lunch – plenty to choose from)
Walk down Wall Street
Radio City Music Hall
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Carnegie Hall
The Boathouse in Central Park
The Empire Hotel (my GG fans)

Restaurants/Bars

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in Brooklyn (be prepared to wait, but know what you want as soon as you sit down!)
Joe’s Pizza in Greenwich Village
Mama’s Too in the Upper West Side (UWS)
Shake Shack
Ulivo in NOMAD ($$$)
Mr. Purple in the Lower East Side (LES)
Industry Kitchen along the East River
TAO Downtown ($$$)
230 Fifth Rooftop
Cafe Wha?
American Whiskey
Arturo’s in the Upper East Side (UES)
McSorley’s in the East Village
7B Horseshoe Bar aka Vazacs (lots of tv/movie scenes shot here)
Brooklyn Brewery
Kings County Distillery
Late night Korean bbq

Activities

Catch a basketball game at MSG (Madison Square Garden)
Take the subway uptown and catch a game at Yankee Stadium (Go Yanks!) – seriously, so fun!
Day trip to Brooklyn (Williamsburg is great) – just walk around, I found so many cool views, restaurants, bars, etc.
Walk around the city, get a little lost, and just enjoy what the big city has to offer! There’s always something everywhere.