These are my tips for a first time trip to New York!

While we were eating a hamburger at Shake Shack, my boyfriend asked; what are the five nicest world cities you have been to? New York is certainly in my top five. I love the vibe ♥️ It is not without reason that Sex and the City and Friends are my favorite tv-series!

I've been to New York a few times, so here's a collection of my tips!

Top 10 Highlights⚡️

• Times Square; If you've never been to New York, you have to visit Times Square. And once you've seen it, you'll never have to go there again haha 😄 Very touristic! 🌇
• Empire State Building; a ticket costs no less than fifty dollars, but it is worth it in my opinion. You will learn something about the history of the building and then go to the rooftop for a super beautiful view of New York 🏙️
• Rockefeller Center; Here too you can go to the rooftop for the view, but you can also go ice skating! ⛸️
• St. Patrick's Cathedral; you will encounter many churches while walking, but this one is definitely worth a visit ⛪️
• High Line and Chelsea Market; the High Line is a park on elevated train tracks. Grab a coffee to go and enjoy the walk. Along the way you will spot street art in the form of graffiti. I do advise you not to go in winter, because then there are no leaves on the trees and it is a completely different experience. At the end of the High Line you will find the Chelsea Food Market. Get a falafel sandwich at Miznon and you can continue to your next stop🚶🏽‍♀️
• Central Park; This world-famous park is located in the middle of Manhattan and, just like other parks, you see people walking, running, picnicking, etc. I did notice the number of au pairs with children.. 🌿
• Downtown; the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, Wall Street and Ground Zero are all close together and can therefore easily be visited in one go. If you want to take beautiful pictures at the Brooklyn Bridge, go at sunrise. To visit the Statue of Liberty you can take a paid trip, but you can also take the free ferry to Staten Island and look at the statue from a distance🗽
• Museums: the Guggenheim, MoMa or the American Museum of Natural History are perfect for a rainy day I would say! 🎨
• Shopping; Of course it depends on the exchange rate, but you can certainly do some shopping in America. The American brands in particular are cheaper. We usually go to SoHo, Greenwich and Williamsburg. If you really want to go to an outlet, take the bus from Port Authority to the Jersey Gardens. This is an indoor shopping center where you can enjoy yourself all day long. Outlet stores in Manhattan itself are Century 21 and TJ Max 🛍️
• Sports competitions; A popular basketball or ice hockey match can easily cost you $200 per ticket. You can attend less popular matches for as little as $30. Madison Square Garden is an experience in itself, with typical American cheerleading performances, refill popcorn and soft drinks! If Madison Square Garden is too expensive, try looking for tickets at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. This is the stadium of the Brooklyn Nets and you can visit a sports match for relatively less money 🏀

Accommodation and transportation 🚗

From JFK to Manhattan

I always fly to JFK and there are several ways to get to Manhattan;

• The Airtrain; This express train takes you to Jamaica station, where you then take the subway to Manhattan. Total price: $20 pp, total travel time: about an hour 🚉
• Airport shuttle: You can reserve this shuttle bus in advance and it will take you (together with other passengers) to your hotel. Advantage: the shuttle will bring you to the doorstep. Disadvantage: you are most likely stuck in traffic and there are a lot of hotel stops. Price: $40 per person, total travel time: two to three hours if all goes well 🚐
• Taxi: You can take a yellow cab or order an Uber/Lyft, but this is (depending on the number of travelers) the more expensive option. Price: between $100 and $120 per ride, total travel time: about an hour 🚕

Transportation in Manhattan

Prepare your city trip well and pin the places you want to see in your Google Maps map in advance (I've added all my tips in the Google Maps map below 😉). Visit the sights closest to each other in one day, so you can do everything on foot. Everything further away is easily accessible by subway. I always check in advance where I have WiFi via Google Maps, which line, direction and stop I should go to. You can get a ticket from the machine, but if you have a credit card, I recommend scanning your card at the gates. You can also get a multiple-journey card from the machine, but the last time I did that, my ticket was swallowed by the machine and I had to buy a new card 😵‍💫.

In addition to the subway, it is also very useful to have the taxi apps Uber and Lyft on your phone. If you go for a drink somewhere in the evening, you might not feel like taking the subway back home. The disadvantage of the apps, is that you have to find WiFi somewhere...

There are also people who rent a bicycle, but I cannot advise you about that. I don't even cycle in Amsterdam, so definitely not abroad 😄

Where to stay

If you go to New York for the first time, you will probably also visit the tourist attractions. It is convenient to be in Midtown, because then you don't have to travel all the time. I have also stayed in Uptown and Downtown, but I still found it quite irritating to always take the subway to get somewhere. But hey, that's different for everyone of course. My advice for a first time is to choose Manhattan. As for hotels, I simply choose the best price/quality on Booking.com or Airbnb.

If you've been to Manhattan before, choose Brooklyn this time for your stay. Super nice area, with boutiques and nice restaurants. Brooklyn has so much to offer, that I will write a separate blog about this area 😉

Good to know before you go 🙋🏽‍♀️

I hope you find these 'basic' tips helpful for your first time! Would you like to read about my latest New York trip? Then read my blog; Babymoon in New York; four-day city trip in January.

Cheers,

Nathalie