New York New York!! I wanted to document what I got up to on my recent trip to New York and share my fave things I did with my sister for our lovely girlie weekend away to the Big Apple! We went away in July and there was a heatwave happening so it was super super hot. Remember the humidity is different there to the UK so it feels a lot hotter than the actual temperature it's telling you! We seriously sweated out way around the city and covered some major mileage. Lots of people asked for this blog post to help plan any future visits so here we go...
Location Location Location
We stayed at The Ludlow Hotel in the Lower East Side of Manhatten which was in a perfect location for being close to plenty of neighbourhood restaurants (it's opposite Katz's deli!), coffee shops and boutiques. It's very stylish with fab views and interiors of hardwood floors, handmade silk rugs, artisan-crafted Moroccan lamps and (incredible) marble mosaic bathrooms. The rooms were small but very comfortable with good service, food and recommendations for the local area.
Top Must Dos/ Sees for a long weekend in New York...
The High Line
This is the perfect way to view the city and it's incredible buildings. This 1.5 mile elevated public park, greenway and rail trail is built on a former railroad which you can follow as you walk along. We started in the Meat Packing area at the Gansevoort entrance and walked the full length of it, there are plenty of places to stop and loads of fab photo opportunities. There is lots to see including colourful artwork and pretty wild flowers as you walk along. Also plenty of places to stop and rest which you will be doing a lot if you are there in the summer!
We enjoyed picking which building we'd most like to live in and there is a fab mix of old and new architecture to take in. There's also a covered area that sells food and drink that had some really interesting looking ice-creams and South American food. If it's summer do the walk early before it gets too hot! www.thehighline.org
Brooklyn Bridge
We were a little short on time so we got an uber from our hotel over Manhattan bridge to Brooklyn Bridge Park (which also has lovely views and is a nice place to potter) and walked over Brooklyn Bridge from there. Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest roadway suspension bridges in the US. It's the perfect way to see the Manhattan skyline and spot the Statue of Liberty from afar! Cars whizz past underneath you as you walk above them on a wide walkway. This iconic bridge takes around half an hour to walk one way over the 1.3 miles but lots of stopping means you need a good hour to see it properly and take it all in but block out a morning if you can.
Central Park
In an ideal situation you hire bikes when you get to Central Park - it's so big (over 800 hectares) you need wheels to get you around it all but sadly the heat meant it was just too hot to do a cycle! So we walked to the Mid Park section where the boating lake, fountains, Bethesda Terrace and Strawberry Fields were.
www.centralpark.com
Art Walls
Found absolutley everywhere! Graffiti and street art are well and truly embedded in NYC urban culture and there is a treasure trove of walls to look at and take your Instagram pic in front of! Too hard to pick a favourite as they are literally found on every street but here were some of my fave pics. Apparently you can do a walking tour of the street art which I would've loved to have done!
Shopping
Obviously shopping was high up on our agenda for our trip with the main goal to focus on shops that you didn't get back in the UK (which is getting harder!). There are so many good shopping areas you can't really go wrong, with J Crew, Anthropolgie and the iconic department stores being scattered all over the city. For more unique shops SoHo is great as is Broadway for more well known stores like Gap and Old Navy.
Kate Spade
Well worth a visit for the windows alone, again these are found across the city and make the perfect place for small gifts.
Madewell
I think we went into 5 different Madewell stores whilst we were there! They have really nailed the casual look and the denim is a good investment. My fave shop.
www.madewell.com
Sephora
For stocking up on all your beauty buys
Glossier
This is my favourite beauty brand at the moment, you can buy it here online in the UK but this showroom is well worth a visit to see their cult products in all their glory.
www.glossier.com
Reformation
For a super cool edit of new and vintage - retro elegance at it's best!
www.thereformation.com
Warby Parker
Designer eyewear at really good prices. Honestly such a lovely selection of quality sunglasses, we both purchased a pair.
www.warbyparker.com
FOOD!
Eating was pretty high up on our agenda. The reality is there are so many good places you just won't get to try them all so here are my top reccomendations...
Milk Bar
This award winning bakery can be found in a number of locations. You have to have the cereal milk soft serve and the crack pie for a pit stop. Also the cookie tins are a really good present to take home!
www.milkbarstore.com
The Standard High Line
The perfect spot for brunch, gorgeous setting and amazing American style food. You can access the high line from here too and there are lots of nice shops and Chelsea Market nearby too. I would love to stay in this hotel next time I visit.
www.standardhotels.com
Momofuku
If you haven't watched Ugly Delicious then you may not know who David Chang is but Momofuku is his chain of noodle bar restaurants which are well worth a visit and there are a handful scattered across the city.
www.momofuku.com
Tacos at La Esquina
We had a few recommendations for this place (you have to have tacos somewhere when you visit NYC!) the frozen margaritas, tacos and queso fundido (melted cheese) were super yum! We just sat at the bar and people watched but this is a fun place for starting a night out too. Watch out for the staff in their Sexico tees :)
www.esquinanyc.com
Katz's Delicatessen
This family run neighbourhood restaurant is now a NYC tourist destination so make sure you get there before the queues! We did by going at 8.30am and sharing their pastrami reuben which was incredible! You can even sit at the table where they shot the famous scene in When Harry Met Sally!
www.katzsdelicatessen.com
Black Seed
For the best hand rolled and wood fired bagels - perfect for early brekkie or lunch.
www.blackseedbagels.com
Estela
New American food at it's best - as in most restaurants here it's sharing plates. we went for brunch but dinner looks good too.
www.estela.com
Cocktails at Freemans
Another place that was recommended by a few people, partly due to its instagrammable crudentials. This is a great spot for a pre-dinner drink, although the food looked pretty good too! It's down an alleyway covered in street art, good fun. Be warned, the cocktails are strong!
www.freemansrestaurant.com
Must takes
-Comfy shoes (you will be surprised at how far you end up walking!)
-Fan - be it hand held or an electric portable one you won't regret it!
-Google Maps - we dropped pins for everywhere we wanted to go which gave us a god footprint of how to plan our trip.
-Remember to tip so have small notes to hand - around 15% in restaurants and 10% to cab drivers
-Uber app - a really great way to get around the city
Feel free to email or message me if you would like any other tips or recommendations!