New York Itinerary

New York Itinerary information

New York Iconic Symbols

Begin a day dedicated to New York icons with a bird's-eye view atop the Empire State Building. Stroll up 5th Avenue past the leonine guardians of the New York Public Library and step inside to behold the gleaming Main Reading Room. Forty-second Street takes you east to the beaux arts Grand Central Terminal, a hub of frenetic activity and architectural wonder. Move on to the Chrysler Building, an art deco stunner, and continue east to the United Nations. Make your way west across 49th Street to the triumvirate of Saks Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Shopping, ice-skating at the Rockefeller rink, or visiting a nearby museum could fill your day until dusk, a good time to walk south on 7th Avenue toward the bright lights of Times Square. Rush hour is a contact sport in Grand Central Terminal and Wednesday's foot traffic through Times Square can grind nearly to a standstill as audiences pour in and out of Broadway matinees.

New York City History

Set off in search of history via ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. An early start helps you beat the crowds, and after a thorough visit, complete with guided tours, you can expect to return six hours later. Back in Manhattan, walk through the Wall Street area, home of the colonial-era Fraunces Tavern and mid-19th-century Trinity Church. St. Paul's Chapel is Manhattan's oldest surviving church building and site of September 11 remembrances. Just north is the neo-Gothic Woolworth Building (don't miss the splendid gilded lobby) and City Hall. The perfect place to take in the sunset is the esplanade along Battery Park City, easily accessed via Chambers Street. For dinner, choose among TriBeCa's many restaurants. There may be fewer crowds waiting for the ferry on weekdays.

The Fine Arts and Musems

Fine art and the finer things in life beckon, starting at the magnificent Metropolitan Museum of Art. You could easily spend a whole day here, but you'll exhaust yourself if you do. Luckily, just behind the museum lies beautiful Central Park, where you can collapse onto a bench, rowboat, or meadow and watch the world go by. For a romantic carriage ride through the park, hail a hansom cab at the park's south end, across from the Plaza hotel and the F.A.O. Schwarz toy store, both extravagances worth a peek. World-class shopping awaits on 5th Avenue and 57th Street. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is closed Monday.

Shop 'til you Drop

First thing this morning, head west to the American Museum of Natural History. Take a gander at the dinosaurs and stop by John Lennon's last home, the Dakota apartment building on Central Park West at 72nd Street. Walk into lush, green Central Park itself to see its Shakespeare Garden, Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Fountain, and Wildlife Center (more familiarly known as the Central Park Zoo). After your dose of fresh air, shop 'til you drop along 5th Avenue and 57th Street. Then treat yourself to dinner followed by a performance at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Do this any day.

Lazy Day

Do what many New Yorkers like to do on their days off -- wander. Make your way to Chinatown for a dim sum breakfast or tapioca-filled soft drink. From here head north to SoHo and NoLita for galleries and chic boutiques and restaurants. Farther east, the Lower East Side is a former immigrant enclave where you'll find the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and bargain shopping on Orchard Street. If you haven't eaten by now, hit a café a few blocks north in the happening East Village, home to yet more shops and vintage stores. From Union Square, walk up Broadway to the fashionable Flatiron District with its inimitable Flatiron Building. Have dinner in one of the neighborhood's noted restaurants.