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Is it possible to visit NYC in 24 hours?
There’s so much to see in the city so… not really. But if you really only have one day to spend in New York City, we’ve put together an itinerary so you can see as many as the must-sees as possible. Consider this short trip a teaser to NYC and plan to come back to explore even further.
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Where to Stay in NYC for One Night
You’ll want to stay somewhere central to everything so you won’t need to spend much time commuting. I recommend staying at hotels nearby Times Square so you can witness the energy and lights at night and during the day without having to travel to it.
Plus, these hotels in Times Square are walkable to Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the shops along Fifth Avenue, the Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal, Broadway theaters and Rockefeller Center. And you’ll also enjoy the benefit of having several subway lines that run through Times Square so you can easily hop on a train to get all over the city.
New York Marriott Marquis: Located on Broadway, the New York Marriott Marquis overlooks Times Square and is great for families as almost every room has a sofa bed for additional guests. The hotel is also home to the city’s only revolving rooftop restaurant, The View Restaurant & Lounge.
The Knickerbocker: This is a historic luxury hotel created by John Jacob Astor in 1906. Today, the building still has its Beaux-Arts facade and its interior has been updated into a modern luxury lifestyle hotel. Don’t miss the rooftop bar, St. Cloud for cocktails and a view of Times Square. It’s the closest you can get to the iconic New Year’s Eve Times Square Ball.
24 Hour NYC Itinerary
A little background about this itinerary. I’m from New York but spent the day being a tourist when friends and their family came to visit NYC. I planned this itinerary for a Saturday and we started at 9 AM and ended the day at 9 PM.
They purchased a New York CityPASS, which I recommend for tourists who are visiting for the first time or for a limited amount of time and want to see all the ‘you can’t leave without seeing’ attractions. It also allows you to skip lines so if you are really short on time (like only spending 24 hours in NYC!) you can take advantage of that benefit that a tourist pass gives.
Also, if you’re in NYC for longer, I recommend the New York Sightseeing Pass.
(I know all these different tourist passes can get confusing so I wrote an article comparing and contrasting each of them to help you decide which one is best for you.)
Read More: Which New York City Tourist Pass Should You Get?
Another note is we used the New York City subway for transportation. While we did walk a lot, to get from Lower Manhattan to the Upper East Side would’ve taken us forever (Google Maps said two whole hours!) so it’s best to learn how to take the NYC subway to save time. You can read our ultimate NYC subway guide for tourists so you can have a pleasant (or as pleasant as the subway can be) experience.
Read More: The Ultimate NYC Subway Guide for Tourists by a Local
And last note, this itinerary covers a lot. Feel free to take some of the alternatives that I’ve listed so you can be more relaxed, or make your CityPASS worth it.
Ok now for the itinerary…
7 AM Breakfast at Hotel
If you booked a rate that included breakfast, have breakfast at your hotel. Or if you prefer to have breakfast outside of your hotel (and you’re staying at one of the hotels in Times Square), walk to Ellen’s Stardust Diner on Broadway and 51st Street. This diner is open every day at 7 am, serving breakfast from 7 to 11 am and has been famous for its singing waitstaff since 1987. Have a hearty meal of challah french toast from the griddle or omelettes with a glass of breakfast bubbles (cava and fruit juice).
Even closer to both Times Square hotels is Junior’s on 7th Avenue and 45th Street, known to have the best cheesecake in New York. The restaurant was started in 1950 in Brooklyn and has since expanded to several locations including the one on 45th Street. They are open for breakfast from 6:30 am to 10:45 am and it might be early, but you should try a bite of their famous cheesecake.
I also have to mention one of my favorites in the area that you’ll have to save for your next trip (since this is your teaser trip!). Lillie’s Victorian Establishment on 8th avenue and 49th Street is open for brunch on the weekends starting at 11 am. It’s a must if you enjoy Victorian history and ornate interiors and architecture.
9 AM Empire State Building
Use your New York CityPASS and walk to the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock from your hotel for a view of the city. With the CityPASS, you won’t need to wait in line to purchase a ticket.
If you’re deciding between the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock, read Which is the Best View of New York City to help you decide.
Read More: Which is the Best View of New York City?
11 AM Brunch
Have brunch by the Empire State Building. Since the building is right by Koreatown, check out Osamil on 31st Street (between 5th and 6th Ave) for Korean style chicken and waffles. Or take a 10 minute walk to The Smith NoMad on Broadway (at 27th Street) or a closer 5 minute walk to Spoon Table and Bar at 33rd Street (between Madison and Park Ave), both for classic American brunch fare.
Alternative: Chinatown
We wanted to explore Chinatown, so if you also want to see Chinatown, you can switch the above Empire State Building and brunch for the following Chinatown exploring and dim sum brunch.
Head from your hotel in Times Square and walk about 5 minutes to the N, R, W trains at the 49th Street station. You can take the N or R train from this station to Canal Street, which takes eight stops.
We spent time wandering around the streets of Chinatown seeing street vendors, markets along Mott Street and shopping for souvenirs. This is where you can find cheap souvenirs like postcards and NYC baseball hats.
We had brunch at Royal Seafood located on 103 Mott Street, which serves authentic Hong Kong style dim sum. It’s a fun weekend experience where waiters in yellow aprons and hats push carts filled with plates of dim sum for you to choose from. Locals and tourists partake in a dim sum brunch on weekends so be prepared to either wait for a table or even be put at the same table with strangers.
Another dim sum restaurant is at 13 Doyers Street, Nom Wah Tea Parlor. It opened in 1920 and is NYC’s first dim sum restaurant.
12:30 PM Subway/Walk to Trinity Church
From Chinatown, now that you’ve eaten, be prepared to walk. (If you’re coming from the Empire State Building, take the N or R train from 34th St – Herald Square station to Rector Street station.)
There’s so much to see along the way, so I recommend walking the mile from Chinatown (it took us about a half hour). Along the way, you’ll see New York City Hall, the seat of New York City’s government and the Freedom Tower. (You can take a quick detour and see the World Trade Center and pay respects at the 9/11 Memorial or if you have the New York CityPASS, you have access to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.)
At Trinity Church, head to the cemetery and find one of the most notable graves, that of Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, an important New York City history figure who the popular Hamilton Broadway show is based off of and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States who died in a duel with Aaron Burr.
1:30 PM Walk to Wall Street
Walk to nearby Wall Street from Trinity Church. See the facade of the New York Stock Exchange at 11 Wall Street, 23 Wall Street formerly owned by JP Morgan and where you can still see some damage from a 1920 bombing and Federal Hall, known as the birthplace of American government where the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices were.
Read More: A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Lower Manhattan
2:30 PM Walk to Charging Bull and the Staten Island Ferry
From Wall Street, we’re making our way to Whitehall Terminal to take the Staten Island Ferry. To get there, head towards the Charging Bull at Bowling Green. Stop by this iconic bronze statue and take a photo with it. Then walk towards White Hall at the tip of Manhattan. This is where you can take a free ferry to Staten Island. It’s frequented by locals who need to commute back and forth between Staten Island and Manhattan and also by tourists who want to get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty for free.
Alternative: Statue of Liberty
Instead of exploring the Financial District (Trinity Church, Wall Street and the Charging Bull), you can alternatively go straight from Chinatown (or the Empire State Building/Top of the Rock if you took that route) to the Statue of Liberty.
You can either take the Staten Island Ferry to just get a glimpse of the statue for free, or use your New York CityPASS, which includes ferry access to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Visit the grounds of the Statue of Liberty or go into the pedestal (this requires an additional ticket) and or to Ellis Island (also requires another ticket). Also note you may not have enough time to go visit Ellis Island and really get to know about the island if you’re only in NYC for one day.
4 PM Head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
It’s time to leave Lower Manhattan and head to the Upper East Side.
Take the R train Whitehall St South Ferry station, which is just outside the ferry terminal and transfer to the 4, 5, or 6 trains to 86th Street station. Or walk about five minutes back to the Charging Bull area to take the 4 or 5 trains at Bowling Green station so you won’t need to transfer and can go directly to the 86th Street station.
If you bought a New York CityPASS, you have free admission to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Since it was Saturday, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was open until 9 pm. The museum usually closes at 5:30 pm except for Fridays and Saturdays when it stays open until 9 pm.) And if there’s a Museum Highlights tour when you’re at the museum, take it to see all the highlights.
Read More: A Guide to Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art
You can also get a glimpse of Central Park from the Roof Garden, relax after a long day of walking and grab a drink at the bar which is open seasonally from mid-April to October and open until 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
7 PM Dinner at the Upper East Side
The Dining Room at the Met is open until 10:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and offers views of Central Park. You can go there for dinner or find a restaurant while exploring the Upper East Side or Midtown Manhattan.
For dinner near the Met on the Upper East Side, Serafina Fabulous Pizza on Madison Avenue (on 79th Street) is just a five minute walk for Italian cuisine. Or you can walk towards Midtown Manhattan and have dinner at The East Pole on 65th Street (between Park and Madison Avenues) for farm to table dining in an Upper East brownstone.
And if you still have energy, you may even want to head to The Plaza Hotel, an iconic luxury hotel. Just see the facade, have dinner and cocktails at the Palm Court (a setting in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby) or indulge in a $300 Home Alone Sundae (the Plaza was a filming location for Home Alone 2.)
(We didn’t get to this, but I suggested my friends come back to experience dining at the Plaza!)
9 PM Head Back to Hotel
Its been a long day. Take an Uber or taxi, or if you’re up for it, take the subway again and head back to your hotel, where you can now see all the lights and vibrance of Times Square. The best part is you only need to take a few steps right to your room to relax and start dreaming about your next trip to NYC.
24 Hour NYC Itinerary Summary
Here’s the summary of what you’ll be doing and seeing in 24 hours:
- Breakfast at or near hotel
- Empire State Building
- Brunch near the Empire State Building
- Subway to Trinity Church
- Walk to Trinity Church, Wall Street, Charging Bull
- Take the Staten Island Ferry
- Subway to Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Dinner at Upper East Side or Midtown Manhattan
- Head back to hotel
And if you preferred all the alternatives mentioned, your 24 hours would look like this:
- Breakfast at or near hotel
- Subway to Chinatown
- Dim sum in Chinatown
- Ferry to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
- Subway to Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Dinner at Upper East Side or Midtown Manhattan
- Head back to hotel
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