New York City ~ YVETTHEWORLD

Intro

“You snooze you lose” is the best way to describe our time in New York. I’m not sure if this was because of the time we visited (we were there between Christmas and New Year), or if it’s always this busy in the city that never sleeps.

For every attraction, we either had to be there first thing in the morning, or get stuck in a queue for hours. We also had to reschedule two observatory decks because of the weather conditions. So if you plan a trip to New York, it’s better to plan a few spare days to make up for time lost while queuing or having to reschedule.

Apart from the crowds, we had an amazing time in New York. I’ll never forget the New York City skyline and the Ball Drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

Map

Places to see

9 Day itinerary

Day 1 - Christmas Decorations at Rockefeller Center and Herald Square

We arrived in New York the day after Christmas, so we wanted to make sure that we didn’t miss out on the Christmas Decorations. With its ice rink, angels and enormous Christmas tree, the Rockefeller Center is definitely the best place in New York for some Christmas cheer. The giant ornaments are just across 6th Avenue from the Rockefeller Center. We continued our walk through the City towards 5th Avenue, Herald Square and Times Square.

Day 2 - Brooklyn Bridge, Dumbo, The Vessel and Central Park

Day 2 was the first in a series of early mornings in New York City. We wanted to take pictures on the Brooklyn Bridge, so we arrived there at sunrise (7:20 am). At that time of the day, there were only a few other pedestrians – and quite a few bikes – on the bridge, so it was fairly easy to take good pictures. Our second stop of the day was Dumbo, which just a 5 minute walk from the Brooklyn Bridge.

We also walked around the Vessel at the Hudson Yards, which is a really cool piece of architecture. Another thing to visit at the Hudson Yards is the High Line for some amazing views over New York City.

Our final stop of the day was Central park, where we just walked around and visited the Belvedere Castle.

Day 3 - One World Observatory, the Oculus, Brookfield Place and Pier 15

The One World Observatory is one of those “you snooze you lose” places in New York City. We made sure to be there when they open at 8 am, and at that time there were maybe 10 other people. There are so many photo opportunities at the Observatory that we stayed until 9:30 am. We heard from other tourists that the queues for the One World Observatory can be as big as 6 hours in the afternoon.

Since it was still early in the morning when we left the Observatory deck, we made the most from the almost empty streets. So we took some nice pictures in the streets, The Oculus, Brookfield place and the harbour behind Brookfield place. We ended our day taking pictures with the Brooklyn Bridge from Pier 15 at sunset.

Day 4 - New Yorker Hotel and Bar 54

We didn’t pre-book our hotel for the night of Day 4, so we wasted a bit of time finding one. In the end, we decided to go for hotel New Yorker. We even got a free room upgrade out of it, so we had a room with views over the Empire State Building. Too bad it was only for one night…

We ended our day in style with a cocktail at Bar 54 in Times Square. Although it was a rainy day, we couldn’t help but to enjoy the wonderful views from the balcony.

Day 5 - Top of the Rock and breakfast at SuperNova

Our plan was to visit the Top of the Rock first thing in the morning, but unfortunately the rain and clouds hadn’t cleared yet. A member of staff at Top of the Rock said it was our choice to enter, but the skyline views would be all foggy. Although we had already pre-booked our tickets, they kindly offered to re-book our tickets for another date (without any extra costs).

We took the opportunity to take pictures around the Rockefeller Center instead, while the streets were still empty. We then went for a fancy breakfast at the SuperNova in Times Square, which was definitely an excellent choice. We even got a table next to the windows overlooking Times Square.

We spent the rest of the day chilling in our hotel room, making plans for the remaining days, and waiting for the rain to pass.

Day 6 - Empire State Building and New Year's Eve

Finally the rain was gone, and we had pre-booked our tickets to visit the observatory decks in Empire State Building. The staff was very happy to let everyone buy and use their tickets to enter, despite the views being fully blocked by clouds. This was in sharp contrast to our experience at the Top of the Rock the day before, so we filed a complaint at reception. After a bit of hassle, we managed to have our tickets re-validated for another date.

We then went on to our hotel for one last toilet break, to the supermarket for food, snacks and water, and then off to Times Square to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Watching the Ball Drop on Times square is a free event, but you need to arrive at noon to have some decent views.

Day 7 & 8 - Top of the Rock, Empire State Building and Brooklyn

After having waited on Times Square for 12 hours to celebrate New Year’s Eve, we had an easy day in on day 7.

The weather had finally cleared on day 8, so we decided to give Top of the Rock and Empire State another chance. We had an absolute wonderful experience at Top of the Rock, but a rather disappointing one at the Empire State.

Our plan was to visit the Statue of Liberty, but when we arrived in Battery Park at 1 pm, the ferry tickets were already sold out for the day. So we booked tickets for the next day instead.

We then spent the afternoon in Brooklyn, where we also watched the sunset. We then went back to the Top of the Rock, to watch New York’s skyline at night.

Day 9 - Statue of Liberty

On our last day in New York City, we finally managed to visit the Statue of Liberty. Just be careful with unofficial ferry tickets being sold to Liberty Island. There is only one official operator who is allowed to let passengers disembark on the island. Any other ferry operator will just let you watch the Statue of Liberty from the water. We almost fell for this scam when the official tickets were sold out for the day.