New York City is the kind of place you can easily spend weeks in, but sometimes, that’s not how much time you have. Here’s my guide for what to do if you have one full day to see New York City. With this itinerary, you’ll get to check out some of NYC’s most iconic and historic locations, including the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, the 9/11 memorial, Brooklyn Bridge, the Met, Central Park, Times Square and the Empire State Building.
Start your day at the very bottom of Manhattan at Whitehall Terminal and board the Staten Island Ferry (it’s free) at 8am. The Staten Island Ferry is famous as it provides the easiest free way to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty. The return ferry takes just under an hour so you’ll be back on Manhattan soil by 9am.
Get off the ferry and walk to the Charging Bull, New York Stock Exchange, 9/11 Memorial, New York City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge View, which gives you a view from the Brooklyn Bridge back to New York City, as well as across the bridge. This walk should take you around an hour with time for photo stops.
If you want to visit the 9/11 memorial museum, give yourself two hours to get to the Brooklyn Bridge View. The timings from here on it assume you didn’t go into the museum, but if you did, just shift everything back an hour later.
The map below shows a route that takes you by the Charging Bull, New York Stock Exchange, 9/11 Memorial and Brooklyn Bridge:
After visiting the Brooklyn Bridge View, get the subway from Brooklyn Bridge City Hall (Line 4, 5 or 6) to the Met at 10am. The trip should take you between 30 and 40 minutes including walking from the stop at the end. The picture below shows the Line 4 route:
The Met opens at 10am so it will be open when you get there at around 10.30am. Plan to spend three hours (at least!) in the museum. It’s massive. You’ll be done around 1.30pm.
Now you’re going to go for a stroll through Central Park to central Manhattan. If you walk directly through Central Park, it should take you around half an hour, but feel free to explore the park! You have loads of time 🙂
Sites you may wish to see in Central Park include:
- Bethesda Terrace and Fountain
- Belvedere Castle
- Group of Bears Statue
- Strawberry Fields
- Alice in Wonderland Statue
- Hans Christen Anderson Statue
- Balto Statue
- The Mall and Literary Walk
- Skaters Circle
- Sheep Meadow
- Row Boat Rental on the Lake
- Central Park Model Boat Sailing at the Conservatory Water
- Wollman Ice Skating Rink (in late October to April)
- Central Park Zoo
You may not have the time (or energy) to fit in all of the above, but many are close together or on your way towards central Manhattan, so will be easy to tick of your list.
A recommended route that takes around an hour through Central Park is as below. You could spread it out over a longer timeframe if you want to stop for a row, play with a model sail boat, visit to the Central Park Zoo or an iceskate at Wollman Rink (in winter).
You’ll want to reach the southern end of Central Park by 4.30 at the latest. From here, you’ll make your way to Times Square. Take the route below to go via St Patrick’s Cathedral, Rockerfeller Centre and Times Square. Stop inside St Patrick’s Cathedral along the way to check out the neo-gothic architecture. This route also takes you past Trump Tower.
You’ll get to Times Square by 6pm. Give yourself time to soak in the sights and sounds of the area.
Once you’ve soaked it all in, find a restaurant to rest your legs and get some dinner. There’s plenty of burger joints, American style diners and pizza places in the locality.
Once you’ve eaten, make your way to the Empire State Building to visit the observation area at the top to finish your big day in New York City.
You will need to pre-book the ticket online for a selected visiting time. If you’re in New York in summer or close to Christmas time, you can leave your elevator time until as late as 10.30pm if you would like to, but at other times of year, you’ll want to be on an elevator up the tower by 9pm at the latest to give yourself an hour up top.
You will end your day at the top of the Empire State Building, looking over all of New York.
