Whether you’ve lived in NYC for years, you’re from here, or you have an upcoming trip, my weeklong NYC staycation itinerary is here to help you enjoy some adventure, relaxation, art, history, and more.
After living in New York City for the last 6+ years, I will be moving in a few months. I plan to make a separate (and very emotional) post about the reasons why, so stay tuned. One of the things I will miss the most is the fact that you can never be bored here. There are millions of things to do, see, and try. And even after years of exploration, I still had a decent amount of things left on my NYC bucket list.
So, my friend Rachel (who is also moving soon) and I decided to take a week off of work so we could accomplish as many things on our lists as possible. It was such a blast! I highly recommend doing this if you live in NYC or if you live in/near any major city! Jot down all the things you’ve been wanting to do, schedule that PTO, and make a plan of attack.
We went to trendy restaurants, historic sites, museums, and more. We used Google’s “My Maps” to pin every location on our bucket list. Then, we planned our days based on things that were in the same areas — which was super helpful. I wanted to share my full itinerary (and photos) with you so you can check out some of these cool places. Whether you also live in NYC or you’ll be visiting soon, this itinerary can serve as a pretty solid base for exploring an array of different things that the city has to offer.
My NYC Staycation Itinerary
Day 1 – Saturday
Locations for the day: Westside of Lower Manhattan & Long Island City, Queens
Brunch at Sveta
Be sure to make a reservation ahead of time. You have to order to mystery cocktail!
Visit Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment
This one is specifically for Sex and the City fans. Carrie’s brownstone from the show is located at 66 Perry St. There is a chain and signs blocking tourists from standing on the stoop. But, I was still able to get some cute pics (I just edited the chain and signs out of them).
Explore the West Village
This Manhattan neighborhood has a lot of cute shops, cafés, and photo spots!
Take a walk down Stuyvesant St.
This is one of the oldest streets in Manhattan. If you stand at the corner of Stuyvesant and East 10th St. in the West Village, you’ll be at one of NYC’s most Instagrammed spots.
Take the subway over to Long Island City, Queens.
Sneaker shopping at Extra Butter
One of my favorite sneaker stores in the city.
Get drinks at The Infamous speakeasy
The Infamous is attached to Extra Butter. Just ask an employee to let you into the bar and they will open up a mirror, leading into the intimate, moody bar area.
Day 2 – Sunday
Location for the day: Harlem, Upper Manhattan
The Met Cloisters
This is a museum in Washington Heights. We went when they first opened and it wasn’t busy at all. The structure looks like a small castle on top of a hill and it has beautiful gardens. The museum specializes in European medieval art and architecture, with a focus on the Romanesque and Gothic periods.
Brunch at Melba’s
Delicious soul food in Harlem! This is a Black woman-owned business founded by Melba Wilson. Be sure to make a reservation.
Walk through Morningside Park
A beautiful 30-acre park in Harlem.
Shopping at Trintage
This is a Black woman-owned vintage boutique. They have some great stuff!
Ice cream at Sugarhill Creamery
There are multiple locations, but the one we went to is right next door to Trintage. This is also a Black woman-owned business.
Day 3 – Monday
Location for the day: Lower Manhattan
Take a walk through Little Paris
This street of businesses highlighting French culture is located on Centre Street in Nolita/SoHo (between Broome & Grand Street).
Breakfast at Maman
This café is located in the Little Paris area. I had a ham and cheese croissant and it was so delicious! They also have some tasty seasonal lattes.
INTER_ exhibition
This is an interactive, multi-sensory, immersive art experience. It was cool, but I did think it was overpriced.
Did a quick outfit change in a public bathroom.
Lunch at Malibu Barbie Café
This is a pop-up experience that ends in mid October. You have to make a reservation ahead of time and you’re required to select your entrees and pay for them online. It was very cute inside, but definitely busy (even on a Monday). The service and food was okay, but again, I felt it was overpriced. Fun photo moments, though!
Day 4 – Tuesday
Location for the Day: Midtown Manhattan
Breakfast at the Blue Box Café
It’s best to make a reservation. The reservations open at midnight 30 days in advance, so you’ll need to plan ahead. The other option is to show up before the store opens and wait in line (which is what we did). We got there a little before 9:30am and the store opens at 10am. It went pretty smoothly, we were able to be seated at the bar right when they opened because we were towards the front of the line. It is pricey, but the atmosphere is gorgeous and our breakfast tower was great.
This was my second time eating at the Blue Box Café, but they have done a major renovation since my last visit.
Stroll down 5th Avenue
We walked about 10 minutes from Tiffany’s to Rockefeller Center. The are tons of fabulous window displays to check out on 5th Ave. and we stopped at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a few pics.
Top of the Rock
Tickets are around $40 and we were able to purchase them with ease when we got there. The views were great!
Visit the MoMA
The Museum of Modern Art is full of amazing art, including Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Claude Monet, and more.
Day 5 – Wednesday
Location for the day: Midtown Manhattan
Go to the TKTS booth
You can get same-day discount tickets for Broadway shows if you go to the TKTS booth in Times Square. The tickets are first come first serve. The booth opens at 11am on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday and at 3pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. We got there around 10:30am and waited in like for a little over an hour.
Grab coffee and a snack at Bibble & Sip
I ordered a lavender latte, egg salad sandwich, and a dessert. It was all so good!
Explore the New York Public Library at Bryant Park
There are multiple New York Public libraries across the city, but the main branch is inside the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Bryant Park. The building is beautiful and the Polonsky Exhibition inside has tons to look at.
Shopping at the Drama Bookshop
This unique book store specifically focuses on theatrical works, with over 8,000 plays regularly in stock. It has a really cool “floating” book display throughout.
Visit the Museum of Broadway
Our day of theater continued at the new Museum of Broadway. The displays were incredible, with different costumes, set pieces, and behind-the-scenes set-ups. If you’re into theater, you should def check it out.
Dinner at Junior’s
Junior’s is a popular NYC restaurant known for their cheesecake.
& Juliet on Broadway
We ended the day with a 7pm showing of & Juliet. It was a jukebox musical, so it was fun to sing along. The storyline was cute — I enjoyed it.
Day 6 – Thursday
Location for the day: Westside of Manhattan
Yayoi Kusama exhibit at David Zwirner Gallery
Sadly, this exhibit has ended now. We caught it at the very end — we both love Kusama. But, this contemporary art gallery has multiple locations and showcases many different artists, so it’s definitely still worth checking out. We went to the West 19th Street location.
Walk along the the High Line
The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long elevated park. It’s really unique and there is tons of greenery and art to look at.
Shopping at Hudson Yards
Hudson Yards is basically an elevated mall. It has luxury designer stores and fast fashion retailers. There’s also restaurants, galleries, and other cool experiences inside. I’ve been a few times for different things (like seeing their extravagant Christmas lights).
The Edge
Located inside Hudson Yards, The Edge is the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere.
Lunch at Spanish Diner inside Mercado Little Spain
Also inside of Hudson Yards, Little Spain is a food market with Spanish restaurants and kiosks. It was so cute and the food was delicious.
Day 7 – Friday
Locations for the day: Williamsburg, Brooklyn & Roosevelt Island
Bathhouse Spa
We started the day in Williamsburg at the spa. If you go before 11am you can get a day pass for $45. It’s pretty small, so I would definitely opt for the lower priced passes and try to go on a weekday because it gets busy. Luckily, it was pretty chill when we went. Note: Phones actually aren’t “allowed” — I basically snuck these pictures when it was pretty empty inside, so I didn’t disturb people.
Grab donuts and coffee from Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop
We walked over to the pastry shop after the spa. I’m not a big donut person, but these were SO good.
After this, we went back home and chilled for a while.
Ride the Roosevelt Island Tramway
I’ve been wanting to do this for a while! The tram runs every 7-15 minutes from 59th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan to Tramway Plaza on Roosevelt Island. You have to use an MTA MetroCard to ride, but you can purchase one at the station if you don’t have one.
Dinner & drinks at Panorama Room
This beautiful rooftop bar is located inside The Graduate hotel on Roosevelt Island. The food was okay and pretty pricey, but the atmosphere and drinks were on point.
Take a ferry ride at sunset
The ferry ended up being a convenient way for us to get home from Roosevelt Island. It was a nice way to end the day.
Day 8 – Saturday
Location for the day: Midtown Manhattan
Visit The Met
You can easily spend a whole day at The Met, but since we’ve been plenty of times, we just went to specifically see Van Gogh’s Cypresses exhibit. It is on display through August 27. NY residents can do “pay as you wish” for admission.
Walk through Central Park
We walked through Central Park to get to our next museum. It was a bit tiring in the heat, but a nice scenic route.
Visit the Gilder Center at American Museum of Natural History
I’ve also been to the AMNH a few times (I’ve even seen a fashion show there). But, I wanted to check out the new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. You have to pay extra for the special exhibits, but NY residents can do “pay as you wish” for general admission and check out the insectarium.
Get ice cream at Anita Gelato
There are two Manhattan locations, we went to the one on 2nd Ave. It’s very yummy! They have tons of unique flavors, including vegan options.
Visit The Guggenheim
We ended our day of museums at The Guggenheim, which I had never been to before. This museum is def on the smaller side compared to the others, with three main exhibitions throughout. The architecture itself is pretty cool to walk through. On Saturdays, from 5–8pm, you can “pay as you wish” for admission.
On Sunday, we spent our entire day in Flushing, Queens. I decided that it deserves its own post, so I will be working on a separate blog post all about things to do in the neighborhood of Flushing. Be on the look out for that!
You can also check out the daily mini vlogs I made during my NYC staycation over on my TikTok!
What’s on your NYC bucket list?
