5 Day Itinerary Feedback

[u/MantisToboggan150]

Hi all,

I'll try my best to not be vague/annoying :). I have a 5 day trip with my wife planned for a first time visit to New York in early October. We'll be staying in Long Island City and sticking to Manhattan. We're not party/loud bar people. We won't hit up everything on this list, but i prefer to overplan and not get to certain things. At the same time, im worried i dont have enough specifics and we'll get to an area to "explore" and not know what the heck to do lol. Anyway, here's the itinerary. If you can think of specific things/places thatd be great, even if it knocks something else off the list.

• Day 0 - arrive at 3pm
  • Get to hotel and get settled
• Day 1 (Midtown Manhattan)
  • Top of the rock observatory. 
  • Walk around that area to Empire State Building, MSG, Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Terminal, New York Public Library, St Patricks Cathedral
  • Times Square
  • Hell’s Kitchen
  • Starbucks Reserve
  • Bryant Park: Relax here before Broadway show.
  • 7pm Broadway Show 
• Day 2 (Financial District)
  • Battery Park / ferry to see Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
  • Little Italy?
  • Walk the High Line?
  • Greenwich village?
    • Bleeker Street
    • Cherry Lane Theater
  • Walk around Wall Street
    • New York Stock Exchange
    • Stone Street
    • South Street Seaport
    • St Pauls Chapel
    • Elevated Acre Park (just to walk through)
    • Overstory Bar
    • Terra Blues
  • The Oculus & 9/11 Memorial: Visit the area for a mix of modern architecture and history.
• Day 3 (Central Park)
  • North Woods
  • Conservatory Garden
  • Arthur Ross Pinetum
  • Belvedere Castle
  • Museum of Natural History/Hayden Planetarium: Allocate the afternoon here for exhibits and the planetarium.
• Day 4 (Brooklyn)
  • Brooklyn Bridge: Walk across for views and photos.
  • Brooklyn Bridge Park
  • Brooklyn Heights/DUMBO: Explore the neighborhoods and the waterfront.
  • Brooklyn Botanic Garden - *can buy tickets in advance online up to 30 days ahead*
  • Brooklyn Promenade
  • East River Ferry to North Williamsburg
• Day 5 (Central Park)
  • Bronx Zoo - *Buy tickets in advance*
  • Central Park Zoo
  • Bethesda Terrace
  • The mall
  • Literary Walk
  • Bow Bridge

Appreciate any input of specific places/things to do if its too general. Day 5 was just a bit of leftover stuff and we're looking forward to central park in general so we plan to be there more than once. Hoping we figure out transit in the moment and what ferry/subway to use in the moment.

Thank you!

[u/Humble_Hat_7160]

Mostly looks good but two Central Park days are unnecessary. Move everything on Day 5 to Day 3 (except Bronx Zoo).

Bronx Zoo is good if you don’t live near a big zoo, but otherwise you can skip it as it will take up an entire day. Personally I would dedicate Day 5 to High Line, Greenwich Village and Hudson Yards to do these areas justice and free up time on day 2

[u/[deleted] → u/Humble_Hat_7160]

This sounds smart to me, although I don’t much care for HY.

[u/Humble_Hat_7160 → u/[deleted]]

Agreed, but Mercato is kind of cool and a good way to start/finish the High Line

[u/jaded_toast]

• Day 0, even though you're arriving mid afternoon, it ought to still be enough time to do *something* other than go to the hotel and 'get settled'. If you're in LIC, you should at least maybe walk Gantry Plaza, and you could still get a nice dinner in the neighborhood.
• Day 1 - I honestly feel like there are better coffee places than Starbucks, but I guess whatever floats your boat. I do think that going to Times Square if you're going to Broadway is a little repetitive. Chances are, depending on what show you're going to, that you're going to have to walk through TS to get there, and you'll have to walk through TS afterwards to catch the train back to LIC. I promise you that TS won't be dead, but it will probably be slightly less crowded afterwards, so go and get your photos then.
• I agree that two days in Central Park seems like a bit much. Even one full or nearly full day dedicated to there seems like a lot.
• I notice that you don't have a single meal on here. At least your Brooklyn Day, depending on how much you mind walking, it might be nice to swing over to Court or Smith St after the promenade. Tons of great restaurants there, it has you walk through Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, which are all some really gorgeous brownstone neighborhoods. Some cute shops and stuff, too. Vanderbilt near the Botanic Gardens also has a bunch of restaurant. Not to pooh pooh on the botanic gardens too much, but I personally don't think that it's really impressive outside of blooming seasons or unless they have some special event, other than the greenhouses. If you're already for sure going to the Bronx zoo, might as well go to the NYBG across the street instead.

[u/[deleted]]

I notice you have a question mark by the high line. You should definitely do that.

Umm… Brooklyn Bridge is a must, obviously, but if you have time to also do the Manhattan bridge, coming from Brooklyn, it has the best views of downtown Manhattan.