Four Days in New York City: What to See and Do
The New York City skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge
New York is one of my favorite places to visit, because no matter how many times I go there, I always walk away from each trip having seen something new. You could spend your entire life living in New York and not come close to seeing everything that the city has to offer. It is a place that simply refuses to stagnate; it is always changing, always evolving. And that is what makes it such a fun and exciting place to visit.
During my most recent trip to New York, I spent three full days and part of a fourth there. I traveled with my favorite travel buddy, my husband, and together, we managed to do and see a fair amount. We struck that balance of taking it easy while also seeing everything we had set out to see.
Day 1: Arrive and Step into the Past
Opting for a more leisurely mode of transportation, we caught the morning Acela from South Station here in Boston to Penn Station in New York City. The train ride took around four hours, and it was a nice change from how we usually travel into the city (by car). Instead of contending with traffic jams and overly aggressive drivers, we were able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the passing scenery outside of our train car’s windows.
View of the New York skyline from the train
Our first stop in the city was our hotel, The Pearl. After checking in and dropping off our luggage, we grabbed some takeout from P.S. Kitchen, a vegan restaurant around the corner. We both had the “Chicken” Caesar Wrap, and it was so good (I’m salivating just at the thought of it). We also split an order of sweet potato fries, and those were just as delicious.
Bedside, or rather bed-top, picnic featuring lunch from P.S. Kitchen
Hangry-ness averted, we set out on foot to the Tenement Museum for our Hard Times tour. This was an hour-long walkthrough of a renovated tenement apartment, as well as German saloon, from the late 1800s. It was a fascinating glimpse into the lives of New York immigrants around the turn of the century. A word of warning though, the tenement apartment has neither air conditioning nor great airflow, so if you visit during the summer, like we did, you will find the rooms quite stuffy and hot. If you have any breathing difficulties, I would caution against doing any of the indoor tours offered by the Tenement Museum and instead try one of their neighborhood walking tours.
Exterior of the Tenement Museum
Once our tour had finished, we headed back to our hotel to relax for a little bit before setting out to get dinner at Ippudo Westside, a ramen shop with a few different vegetarian offerings. I ordered the Nirvana Shiromaru, and it was easily one of the best ramens that I have ever had.
My bowl of ramen at Ippudo Westside — so good!
For dessert, we swung by a Krispy Kreme on our way back to our hotel. We showed restraint and only ordered three doughnuts.
Day 2: Met and Market
We started the day with breakfast at Pick a Bagel. I ordered their scrambled egg sandwich with a coffee, and both were quite good. Unfortunately, I was unable to savor either, as my husband and I had to scarf down our breakfast in order to make our ticketed entry at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Waiting in line at Pick a Bagel
We spent a couple of hours wandering around the Met, perusing several of their galleries. I particularly enjoyed seeing the recreated rooms from the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum is so massive that you cannot feasibly see it all in a single visit, so I recommend looking at a museum map before your visit and picking out one to three galleries to focus on.
One of the aforementioned recreated rooms inside the Met
We had worked up an appetite walking through the Met’s endless galleries, so when we left, we made our way to Beyond Sushi for a tasty lunch of vegan sushi.
Delicious vegan sushi from Beyond Sushi
Craving something sweet after our savory lunch, we grabbed dessert at Bibble and Sip, a bakery that whips up desserts that are equal parts adorable and delicious.
Almost too cute to eat: a lychee tart from Bibble and Sip
We relaxed at Bibble and Sip for a while, people watching in between eating our lychee tart and drinking our coffee. Afterwards, we met up with a couple of our friends for dinner at Willow, a vegan bistro. I had the ‘Scallop’ Cacio e Pepe, which I really enjoyed. Following dinner, we all walked over to Chelsea Market, where we explored the various vendors, as well as picked up some mini doughnuts from the Doughnuttery (they were so good!).
Entrance to Chelsea Market
Day 3: Dinosaurs and the Brooklyn Bridge
Our morning once again started at Pick a Bagel. This time, however, I opted to try their oatmeal, which was exactly as I had imagined it would be (so-so). I knew that it would not be top-notch (ordering oatmeal at a bagel shop is like ordering tea from a pizza joint), but we had breakfast vouchers from our hotel to use up and I did not feel like another egg sandwich.
After breakfast, we made our way to the American Museum of Natural History. We spent three hours meandering through the exhibit halls, viewing dinosaur fossils, taxidermic animals, minerals, and gemstones. The Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals was the highlight of our time at the museum; it houses so many unique and exquisite pieces.
One of the minerals inside the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals
We had gotten quite hungry by the end of our time at the museum, so our next order of business was getting something to eat. We ended up going back to P.S. Kitchen, as we had enjoyed their food so much when we had it during our first day in the city. I once again had the “Chicken” Caesar Wrap (what can I say, I know what I like), and it was just as good the second time around.
Replenished, we then caught the subway out to Brooklyn, where we started our walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. This is something that we had wanted to do during our first visit to New York, but we had lacked the time to do so. So, it was nice to be able to do it during this trip. Overall, the walk was enjoyable for its breathtaking views of the New York skyline, but the horde of people on the bridge definitely put a damper on things.
Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge
We then met up with a friend of mine for dinner at Anable Basin. It is located right alongside the waterfront in Queens and consequently boasts stunning views of the New York skyline. Plus, the food is pretty good. FYI – it is a seasonal, outdoor restaurant that is cash only.
View from our table at Anable Basin
Day 4: Pack up and Head Home
On our final day in New York, we grabbed breakfast to-go from good ol’ Pick a Bagel before catching a taxi to Penn Station for our train back to Boston.
Inside Penn Station
Summing it up: The 3 Wheres
Where We Went
Tenement Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Chelsea Market
American Museum of Natural History
Brooklyn Bridge
Where We Stayed
The Pearl
Where We Ate
Breakfast
Pick a Bagel
Lunch
P.S. Kitchen
Beyond Sushi
Dinner
Ippudo Westside
Willow
Anable Basin
Dessert/Coffee
Krispy Kreme
Doughnuttery
I hope that you found this guide useful, and as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below!
