Weekend Wanderings: New York City Guide
The Big Apple - New York City Guide
New York City, the big apple or the city that never sleeps. New York City is a great place to spend a weekend eating great food, drinking delicious coffee, seeing incredible Broadway Shows and of course emptying your wallet or purse on some unique shopping. To give you some tips on where to stay, what to do and where to eat we put together a New York City Guide.
Where To Stay
We love spending a weekend in New York City, but the city is spread out. So if you are only going to be in the big apple for a weekend, picking a hotel with a central location to your planned activities is very important. Keep reading our New York City Guide to see our favorite things to do in NYC.
Renwick Hotel: For a quick weekend trip, our pick would be The Renwick Hotel, part of Hilton's Curio Collection (see our complete review of The Renwick).
The Renwick
The Renwick is in a great location, just two blocks from Grand Central Station and a short walk to the United Nations, 5th Avenue and Central Park.
Hilton Honors Gold & Diamond Members get complimentary breakfast. The Gold & Diamond Member breakfast benefit is a special menu which features pastries, oatmeal, Greek yogurt or a homemade waffle. You’ll get to select three of the four items and breakfast includes juice or coffee. You'll need that breakfast before a full day of exploring the city.
If you don't mind being slightly displaced from a lot of the tourist attractions, the Conrad New York is another great option (see our complete review).
Where To Eat
New York City is full of amazing culinary adventures and is foodie haven. No matter what type of food you are looking for, you'll find it in the Big Apple. It was hard to narrow down our favorites places to eat in this New York City Guide.
Chobani Cafe: A few of our places include the Chobani Cafe (be sure to see our full review of the Chobani Cafe). We are Greek Yogurt snobs and we are big fans of Chobani.
Whether you like sweet, savory or a little of both, the Chobani Cafe has a number of offerings that are sure to get you hooked! Their main feature is greek yogurt creations made from hand-selected artisanal ingredients. They have three types of yogurt creations; sweet, fruit and savory. Besides the yogurt creations they have Smit (Turkish Bread Ring) Sandwiches, salads, breakfast bowls and yogurt drinks. You can see their full menu here.
Eataly: Eataly is not only a place to eat, but it's a destination in itself. Eataly is the largest Italian marketplace in the world, comprising of a variety of restaurants, food and beverage counters, a bakery, retail store and even a cooking school. Every time we are in New York City, we make a point of indulging in at least one meal at Eataly.
Cookshop Chelsea: The Cookshop Chelsea is located near the High Line (another spot you must check out - see below). The Cookshop serves up farm-to-table” American fare that’s “creatively prepared” using seasonal, sustainable, and local ingredients. And the Cookshop has an incredible wine menu! If you are looking for cozy, romantic dinner, the Cookshop should definitely be added to your list.
Coffee
New York City is full of great coffee roasters and coffee shops. You'll never run out of options for caffeine in NYC. We would love to spend a weekend in the big apple just to have more coffee shops to feature in this New York City Guide.
La Colombe: We've wrote about La Colombe before, but La Colombe is probably one of our favorite coffee shops and coffee roasters. La Colombe, which started in Philadelphia, has not only landed all over New York City with numerous coffee shops, but also has changed the ready-to-drink coffee category with it's canned Draft Lattes found in most grocery stores and in most retailers. La Colombe's coffee and their lattes are some of our favorites, so make sure you add the coffee roaster to your New York City itinerary.
Irving Farm Coffee Roasters: With hip cafes popping up all over New York City, Irving Farm Coffee Roasters not only pours a delicious latte, but has a cool atmosphere where you can catch up on the news or just take a few minutes to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. And their coffee beans make a great souvenir to take home with you.
Where to have Dessert
Cookie DŌ: While there are dozens of great options in New York City, one of the most unique places you need to visit is Cookie DŌ! Cookie DŌ serves you guessed it cookie dough. Some of you are probably thinking it isn’t safe to consume raw cookie dough. Don’t worry this DŌ is safe to eat! Just a warning…once you try this you will be obsessed (see our complete review of Cookie DŌ).
Cookie DŌ
What To Do
It's hard to fit everything there is to do in New York City in a weekend trip. But thanks to our New York City Guide here are a few of our recommendations to make the most of your weekend in the Big Apple.
Central Park: It's hard to believe that in the middle of New York City, there is a 843 acre park with over 20,000 trees! Central Park is an incredible place to take an early morning run, romantic stroll or afternoon bike ride. You won't even feel like you are in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world. Central Park is a majestic place that has to be on your itinerary for a trip to New York City.
Top of the Rock: Yes, we know, everyone likes the Empire State Building for the picturesque view of New York City. But we actually prefer the Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Building. Not only do we think the view is better, but you can see the gorgeous Empire State Building plus the rest of the New York City skyline, making your picture opportunities even better. The Top of the Rock has two observation decks, 70 floors high with unobstructed 360° city views.
High Line: The High Line is an incredible experience that runs right through New York's Chelsea neighborhood. The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail. It was created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in New York City.
American Museum of Natural History: Not only are the Night at the Museum movies based off of the American Museum of Natural History, but the American Museum of Natural History is also one of the largest museums in the world. The entire museum spans 4 city blocks and consists of some 25 interconnected buildings which house 45 permanent exhibition halls, in addition to a planetarium and a library. A visit to the American Museum of Natural History is a must for your New York City trip but be sure to give yourself several hours to explore the dozens of exhibits.
Shopping on 5th Avenue: You won't find a better shopping corridor than New York's 5th Avenue. But if it's your first time shopping on 5th Avenue, it can be a bit overwhelming. Take your time and do a little research ahead of time to pick out a few stores you want to stop in. And do yourself a favor. Stop in Bergdorf Goodman, a New York City Institution. With that old-school luxury and service yet without that stuffy feeling, plus Bergdorf Goodman also recently renovated their main floor, the first redesign for the store in more than 30 years.
Catch a Broadway Show: There's no place better in the world for theater than Broadway. Do yourself a favor and book tickets to see a show on Broadway. We saw Wicked the Musical. Despite the fact that we've seen Wicked before, seeing Wicked on Broadway as truly an incredible experience.
Murray's Cheese:Murray's Cheese is an experience of itself. Murray's Cheese is essentially a foodie mecca offering an array of fine cheeses plus breads, cured meats, olives & other deli items. And Murray's Cheese sells Megpies (see why we love them).
We hope you put our New York City Guide to good use, you won't be disappointed.
