Are you wondering what you can do in 3 days while exploring New York City? MANY THINGS! 33 things, in fact! Here’s a GLORIOUS list of what we did in NYC during the autumn season and my honest reviews.

Given only 3 days, we packed our schedule full to see the city as much as we could. From raclette to a play about a boy obsessed about Orlando, Florida (you might be thinking “ew, gross,” but wait until you see which play I’m referring to), this list covers food, fun, and landmarks (landmarks is separate from fun as a category because not all landmarks are necessarily fun).

Whether it’s the hustle and bustle of city life or the allure of the rich history (and old money) that draws millions of tourists every year, NYC is a destination for adventure seekers to urban dwellers to fervent foodies. Jo and me are all of the above.

Being in New York City in our 20s is quite exciting (we don’t live there — thank goodness we don’t with our millennial budgets). After sitting at desks all day for our day jobs, getting out and walking more than five miles a day in a busy, busy, busy metropolitan mecca sounds a little crazy. *Shrugs* Places to see, people to meet, and things to do.

Without further ado, here’s what you can do with your friends or even check out while out on a solo adventure. You do you!

1. See a Play

Before you picture an old couple dressed in black tie with one eye monocles/hand held spectacles, hear me out. We saw Book of Mormon in the heart of New York City and we loved it. Clever, fun, and deep. The protagonist has this dream of going to Orlando, Florida in a way in which he thinks all his problems will be solved which is already great comedy. It’s not the point of the play, but I don’t want to spoil it for you. It’s a great coming of age story and explores the power of belief systems. Highly recommend.

We had to stretch during intermission because the seats were spaced apart like airplane seats (which essentially means no spacing).

2. Take a (not so random) Walk Down Wall Street

There’s a bull and there’s a girl. Can you guess which statue is more popular? It was a bit disheartening to see the enormous line for the bull as the little girl stands alone facing the towering gray monument that is the New York Stock Exchange. We stood with her for a while.

3. Try New York Bagels

They say New York style bagels taste differently because of the water in New York. We tried it and yes, I can say with 100% certainty they taste distinctly unlike the bagels I’ve had in SF and LA. There are many many bagel places and we used Yelp to find Best Bagels.

4. Happy Hour Drinks with a Skyscraper View at Manhatta

What better way to take in the famous cityscape used in countless stock footage than from the top of a building while sipping a drink? Manhatta has a great view of the city through tall glass windows and offers wonderful cocktails to pair with the scenery.

5. Spin “The Cube”

Oftentimes, you can wander through a city and find something interesting to do. In this case, we found a giant cube that can be spun! It was very heavy though, so a guy helped us out while greeting us with “Welcome to New York!”

Not all New Yorkers are rude, right?

After some post-trip research, I can report that this cube was found in East Village.  Spanning eight feet wide (or 2.4 meters for my friends on the metric system), it’s an outdoor sculpture made by Bernard (Tony) Rosenthal formally called the Astor Place Cube.

6. Go to Central Park

It’s not just any park, it’s CENTRAL Park! Oh, the autumn leaves must have been glowing had we gone during the right season! Perch on a rock formation or spread a picnic blanket on the grass, this park is sprawling, just like the city. So many movies have been filmed here! (If you’re a fan of When Harry Met Sally, Enchanted, and Maid in Manhattan, you might recognize the scenery!) I’m not a huge movie buff, so I’m sorry I can’t really name much more LOL

7. See the Plaza Hotel

Speaking of movies, they shot the iconic, classic movie, Home Alone in the Plaza Hotel. It’s quite opulent inside and just a cross street away from Central Park.

8. World Trade Center

Visiting the World Trade Center is a sobering experience. I recommend it to everyone visiting New York to understand the timeline that we live in and how we can honor the past while looking towards the future.

There is a tree that survived the attacks called the Survivor Tree that really struck a chord with me. It’s located next the memorial.

9. Immerse yourself in the Oculus

This modern building seems like it’s out of Star Wars movie. Stepping into it, we were just in awe of the space and bright lights.

10. See the Freedom Tower and Visit the 9/11 Memorial

This tower is a way of saying if you knock us down we’ll build something right back up. They built the Freedom Tower where the Twin Towers used to stand. It’s located in that same plaza area as the memorial.

11. Visit the New York Library

I didn’t realize so many movies were shot in this library! They filmed movies like Ghostbusters to 13 Going on 30. The library offers walking tours. The amazing painted and high ceilings were seriously a sight to behold. The impressive rotunda spaces set beneath archways and towering columns are a must see.

I felt Harry Potter vibes from it all, but Hogwarts Library was filmed in Oxford University’s library. It just felt like an epic, bookish space.

12. Holiday Fair Park with Shops

Want to gaze at $15 hot chocolate drinks that painfully remind you of how gas used to be 99 cents a gallon?

Seriously, it is a cute market though, complete with tiny bottles of hot sauce in a variety of flavors, fruit jerky, fuzzy headbands with cat ears, and hot cider stalls.

It is very nicely set up with spacious tents right outside the New York Library.

13. Try the Chinese food at Xi’An Restaurant

NYC has some of the best authentic, diverse culinary options in the world. Our friend who moved to New York and is working there recommended we try this Chinese place. On a cold autumn night, we enjoyed spicy noodles with beef. Do you like spicy food? This place is for you! They take spice seriously! Our friend needed to wash down the spice with a soymilk drink.

The cuisine is different from the Southern Chinese flare found in Northern California and the mandarin cuisine in Southern California. Upon further research, I discovered it is northwestern Chinese cuisine.

If I haven’t already confused you with all these cardinal directions, I’d like to point out that the restaurant chain originated in Queens. They have several locations throughout New York.

14. Try “bubble tea” at Kung Fu Tea

We like boba (or you might call it “bubble tea” depending on where you’re from) so we tried it in New York City as well. Our verdict? Glad to see that boba exists on the East coast. The drinks were served quickly and brought a little piece of Los Angeles to our experience in NY.

15. Try Melted Cheese Off the Cheese Block at Raclette

Ah, I remember when these were (and probably still are) trending amongst social media due to their oozing cheesey nature. Racelette is a cheese that hails from Switzerland. The novelty behind it is that the cheese is heated up so that it literally oozes from the cheese wheel onto your plate. The tricky thing is to eat it before the cheese hardens.

The server usually brings the cheese and then spreads the melted goodness onto the plate.

We found a place on Yelp that served a delicious raclette dinner here.

I’d like to go back to Switzerland one day.

16. See the Empire State Building

The Empire State Building used to be the tallest building in the world. It’s no longer but it’s still a sight to see.

17. See the Chrysler Building

To be honest, we mixed up the Chrysler with the Empire State Building all the time. Sorry, New York. I try to remember the Chrysler building by its tiara like design at the top of the building.

18. Stroll through Madison Square Park with Squirrels

People say these squirrels act differently from other squirrels found elsewhere. Maybe they have a New York accent as well?

19. Times Square

How can you not miss this light show? PANELS upon panels of advertising. It’s a bit surreal to stand in the middle of it all, bathed in the glow of flashing, blinding lights.

20. See New York University

Have a child/teenager/returning education adult considering applying to New York University? Visit this campus which struck me as very much embedded into the city. As an alumni of a large school in a ginormous city as well (but on the opposite coast), I was totally surprised by the way NYU is structured.

21. See St. Patrick’s Cathedral

NYC is home to history and what shaped history more than religion? Or is it the other way around? Anyway, standing inside the cathedral felt epic. Even if you aren’t religious, the building itself is something to be admired.

22. Visit Grand Central Train Station

Definitely a landmark to visit. There were several shops inside. I can’t imagine taking this to work or school everyday — it’s just feels more like a landmark than a functioning terminal if that makes sense. And yet, the station transports hundreds of passengers each day. AMAZING. Just thinking about how many people have passed through there, where they came from and where they were going… insane. Imagine being a fly on a wall and what you’ll see and hear?

23. Try New York Pizza (red sauce)

“When in New York, one must try New York Pizza.”

– said many wise folk (like me and Jo)

Recently we watched a Saturday Night Live episode about New Yorkers and they talked about how “Za” is the way to call pizza. Maybe someone can weigh in on this? I haven’t heard anyone call it “za” but who knows! Gotta try red sauce pizza in New York. This is the restaurant we went to first.

24. Try white sauce pizza

Well, if you try red pizza, you should try white pizza. I like the red sauce made from tomato for my pizzas, but blanco or white pizza is just as good. White sauce is usually made from butter, flour, milk, and sometimes Parmesan cheese is sprinkled in.

We dined at this pizza place which serves red and white pizza.

25. Potted plants for dessert at Spot Dessert

No meal is complete without dessert, right? Well, we opted for the famous potted plant dessert from this place that garnered many reviews on Yelp.

We “watered” the “plant” with milk. It didn’t grow, though but our stomachs did.

26. Statue of Liberty

Standing tall, this landmark can be seen from many different angles from the city. If you want, you can take a free ferry to get closer to the island during the daytime. It has a lot of great history that can’t be fit into this blog post, but definitely worth a look.

27. Take the subway

You can’t really avoid taking the subway in NY if you want to get ANYWHERE.

Good thing I like walking! New York subways may not be the cleanest but that’s part of the experience, I guess? Sometimes it’s safer to take the subway when walking isn’t such a great idea. I feel like most modern cities have an efficient and reliable public transportation system (and then there are some places that are exceptions).

28. See the Flat Iron building

It is called a flat iron building because, well, it’s very flat. I imagine this building photographed in those very cool, vintage framed pictures hung up in chic coffee shops and in architectural magazines that everyone has on a coffee table just for display and no one actually reads.

29. Eleven Madison

Fun fact: they gave homemade granola to take home at the end of the meal and we packed it into our suitcase. When we went through airport security, TSA thought it was a suspicious item. Haha, a jar of granola as a bomb!

Okay, if you’re a big foodie, you know about the Michelin star system when it comes to rating food. Well, there’s a 3 star (that’s the most stars a restaurant can earn) restaurant called Eleven Madison.

We met up with a friend to celebrate their birthday at Eleven Madison. It was their first fine dining experience. We opted for the highlights menu which shows the best of their full menu set. They’re well known for their cocktails as well.

30. Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

The news broadcasts when this epic Christmas tree is lit. It’s just that special. It’s located in Rockefeller Center which is a hub of coffee shops and underground stores.

If you visit during not the holiday season, there’s still a whole underground section to explore. Being underground during the winter was great because we were freezing. It was nice to have a little bit of shelter from the elements.

31. Visit the largest Macy’s Store in the World

Consumerism, yay. I’m joking. But this Macy’s flagship is the largest Macys in the world. It’s decked out in holiday decorations for the season so it’s a nice stroll in the chilly East coast weather.

32. See Radio City Music Center Hall

Home of the Rockettes, the building itself is pretty red and bright. And there’s a large red Christmas Tree in front of it during the holidays.

33. Washington State Park

Another park! We strolled through this one alongside some skateboarders. This park also made appearances in movies/shows like When Harry Met Sally, August Rush, I Am Legend, and Gilmore Girls!

And, of course, more squirrels.

I still can’t really believe it: we traveled all the way across America — from coast to coast. It took a few days to recover (we’re not even old, what’s up with this?) but I’m glad we have memories. We came back and most of our plants didn’t die! We were worried they might have dried up from the winter air, but our wine bottles which served as our watering system turned out to work quite well. Happy plant moms, indeed <3

Do you ever worry about your plants dying while on vacation?

Anyway, that’s our list! Would you visit NYC and what would you like to do there?

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