A First Time Visitor to New York City!

New York is a wonderful city, however it is also gigantic so navigating your way around can initially be quite intimidating. Once you get used to it though, the numbered Avenues and Street system makes it almost impossible to get lost. You have two options to get to your destination – follow the street number uptown or downtown. 

As first time visitors to NYC our plan was to visit as much of the cultural and historic destinations that we could, Complete all the tourist activities.

With only 3 full days to explore we didn’t want to spend a full day out in a retail store a mile outside of the buzzing city.

Transport:

The easiest and most convenient way to get around NYC, if you don’t have time to walk block by block, is the subway. A ticket costs $3 and can get you pretty much anywhere you need to go within the city. It can be reused within 2 hours from when you purchase it.

Attraction Tickets:

For our 3 day visit we picked the New York City Pass. The tickets may seem pricey as a once off payment, but we definitely made our money back on them. With most of the attractions costing approx, $40 each, with the pass you don’t have to compromise one visit for another as you can do both. The 3 day ticket also included a 48 hour pass on the Big Bus Tour which was a great way to see the city and to take in the enormity of it.

Broadway:

Right on Times Square you can purchase discounted tickets from the TKTS for shows taking place on the day. For matinee shows the stall opens at 10am and for evening shows they open at 3pm. I would advise getting there at least an hour before the stall opens. You won’t be able to purchase discounted tickets for any new shows or any of the Disney shows on Broadway.

We decided to splurge and go to see The Lion King, and I tell you, it was spectacular I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. If you can fit it into your budget and schedule definitely go to see it!

Here is a quick breakdown of what we got up to each day. Make the most of your visit!

I will definitely be returning to New York some day soon.

Day 1:

• Red Line Bus Tour – Big Bus Tour – Downtown
• Statue of Liberty & Liberty Island
• 9/11 Memorial & Museum
• Top of the Rock
• Empire State

Day 2:

• Blue Line Bus Tour – Upper East Side and Central Park
• Bike rides in Central Park
• Natural History Museum
• Grand Central Station

Day 3:

• Freedom Tower – One World Trade – 360 degree view of the city from the highest building in NYC.
• Chinatown & Little Italy
• Christmas Markets in Bryant Park
• The Lion King on Broadway