A First Timer’s New York City Guide

Last October, Curtis and I visited NYC for the first time on our honeymoon! Yes, that’s right, we honeymooned in New York City. And we had a blast! And well it’s about time I share a New York City guide, just a casual few months later lol.

Random kids festival

exploring NoHo

Love all the graffiti

View from the Highline

We went for a week, walked around and explored all the neighbourhoods, ate so much good food, drank at small bars, went to jazz clubs, people watched and did a little shopping. It was a perfect week, not the traditional honeymoon, but I plan on having a relaxing holiday later this year.

NYC is full of energy, the hustle and bustle, we fell in love. I’d love to live there! Everything is in the city, all sorts of free events, fun markets, cool places to grab a drink, concerts, plays, art installations, you name it, the city has it going on somewhere. 

I’ll be sharing where we ate, drank, saw, places to get a great photo and where to stay. This will be a part one of maybe 2, I also have a couple of vlogs to upload too, so stay tuned for those!

Have you visited NYC? Share your fav spots below the New York City guide in the comments! Check out my NYC Shopping Haul here for what I brought back.

How to get to the city from the airport

Taxi: The quickest and maybe most amazing option? Yellow taxi cabs are such a New York thing and when you ride on the Brooklyn Bridge to the city you’ll get the most amazing feeling. Sadly it’s not the cheapest option, since one ride will cost you around $70.

Subway: You can take the AirTrain and transit to the Subway. It’s cheap since the AirTrain costs $13 and the subway $3. We took the AirTrain from Newark and yes, it was long, but we still beat traffic and were only a couple of blocks from our hotel.

Bus: You can also take the bus into Manhattan. You can either get dropped off at Grand Central Station or Time Square. You can also book a more private shuttle bus where you get dropped off at your destination.

Where do you stay?

The city is full of Airbnb’s, hotels and hostels. We stayed at the Ace Hotel, in Mid-Town. Which was super central and has two amazing restaurants downstairs. There is an abundance of places to stay, my brother has stayed in Williamsburg and loved it, maybe for our next trip.

Subway

Of course you can take a cab and go from place to place but the subway is much cheaper plus faster ($3 per ride) and this way you get to experience the true New York life! We bought a 7-day unlimited metro card which is very handy if you, occasionally, check in on the wrong side of the tracks or jump in a train to Brooklyn when you are actually headed to Downtown Manhattan. Thankfully didn’t happen to us and it saves us time when trying to catch a train. We literally used it all day, everyday.

In terms of travel once you’re there, although Uber and the classic yellow taxis are everywhere to been seen (my advice would be to hop in an Uber because they tend to be cheaper), I love getting around on the subway because it’s so darn fast.

Wi-Fi

You will find lots of Wi-Fi connections in the city. Of course lots of restaurants, museums and tourist attractions do and you can also find Wi-Fi at subway stations which I found really handy when I had to kill some time waiting for the next train.

Neighbourhoods

New York has plenty of different areas that you can explore. Even in Manhattan alone there is so much to see. Greenwich Village aka the The Village is my favourite area because you’ll see the typical New York buildings here that you see so much in movies and TV shows.

I also love NoHo for their more industrial look and artsy street art. Just walk around each area and see which one you like most. That’s also a tip: walk a lot. This way, you see most of the city instead of sitting in a cab or riding the subway.

New York Culture

Even though New York is a Western city I felt super European when I was there. Just the people and the accent and everything were so funny to see and hear. New Yorkers are super busy most of the time but also super friendly.

Museums

Artist in The Met

American Museum of Natural History

Admission is donation at virtually almost all, they list a price, but technically their museums are supposed to be accessible for all and therefor you can just even donate a $1 and up to go into them. Which is amazing, because everyone deserves to see culture and art no matter your life’s circumstances.

Broadway

A must thing to do is visit a Broadway show. At TKTS on Times Square you can buy discounted tickets for shows on the same day. Or you can book them in advance which will cost you a bit more money. We were always out exploring and didn’t have plans and kept it that way, so we didn’t see a show this time around but definitely next.

Sports games

Americans go crazy about their sports teams and you can be a part of that too by going to a Knicks or Rangers game. Depending on the season some sports are not available so just have a look and see what’s there. I actually have never been but I would love to see a baseball game or the US Open.

And that is it for my New York guide. The concrete jungle where dreams are made of has a special place in my heart. I can’t wait to go back and eat, shop and walk in that amazing city.

Do you have any recommendations for a trip to New York? You can see my other travel posts here.