Here’s the real deal from a girl who has lived in New York her whole life and has seen a lot of places. While I do not live in the actual city (shout out to Staten Island), I have been to the city at least fifty times and I’d like to think I know the tourist spots pretty well.
There’s so much to do and see in NYC, but if you’re travelling here you have to budget your time wisely. I’ve been to tourist traps and I’m hoping you take my word for these fabulous NYC tourist spots to visit and tourist spots to avoid.
Places To Visit:
1. Max Brenner
This restaurant is known for their chocolate, but personally, I believe their burgers are AMAZING. They have the best burger I’ve ever had. Their burgers are better than their chocolate, IMO. Yes, it is a little bit overpriced. Yes, it’s usually crowded but you get a table quickly and they have a lot of fun menu items (like a panini with waffles as bread or chocolate fondue) that make the experience worth it.
Bonus Advice: Order the delicious burger or save money and just go there for dessert. This place can easily get super expensive.
2. Strand Bookstore
This is conveniently right down the street from Max Brenner (yay!) and it’s a fabulous way to kill time. I still remember going here as a kid and seeing bookshelves filled to the brim that touched the ceiling–it’s a magical experience and it’s one of my favorite NYC places to visit!
This bookstore (right near Union Square) is HUGE. Sadly, it’s not well-ventilated and it needs some serious air conditioning, but it’s absolutely gorgeous. I could spend hours looking through the shelves of books. Although they’re not as cheap as they used to be, you can usually get some great deals and you most likely will not leave without at least three books.
3. Times Square **AT NIGHT**
This is obviously a tourist spot and in the hot, summery heat it’s a hell hole. As much as I want to say to avoid this place, you have to visit Times Square if you’re in NYC, it’s like a right of passage. In all honesty, there are too many tourists and you’re going to absolutely get ripped off. Avoid the people in costumes, don’t take anything that’s “free” and try to head to a restaurant that’s not in this area or you’ll most likely be way overcharged.
Times Square looks far more magical at night time because of all of the lights–I definitely recommend hitting this place in the evening rather than in the morning and afternoon where tourism is at its peak. At night, Time Square is still hustling and bustling but there are less tourists and it’s not as hot and stuffy.
4. Sprinkles Ice Cream
Sprinkles is known for their cupcakes, and I definitely recommend a cupcake or two from them, but they have amazing ice cream. Seriously, any ice cream in their red velvet cone is heavenly. I personally recommend the coffee or banana ice cream. This place is amazing. You can also get cupcakes if you feel like indulging. Magnolia is a popular cupcake shop, but it’s also generally quite crowded, Sprinkles is just as delicious.
Bonus Advice: Splurge on the red velvet waffle cone. It’s absolutely magical.
5. A Broadway Show
Get your tickets in advance if you plan on visiting!!! This is so important–yes, you can “rush” tickets and get inexpensive ones really close to a show but there might not be tickets left and then you miss your chance. No matter which Broadway show you see, it’s a magical experience. If you want to save money, matinee shows are generally less expensive than shows at night.
Bonus Advice: Finding Neverland and Newsies are two of my favorite Broadway shows, if you can grab tickets for those shows you should absolutely go!
6. The Meatball Shop
This place is DELICIOUS. It’s one of my favorite restaurants in NYC. The environment is so funky and indie, although the restaurant itself is small. The menus are dry erase and you choose any combo of meats and sauces for your “naked balls” aka meatballs. The menu names are funny and the food is amazing. This is definitely a place to check out whilst in NYC.
Places To Avoid:
1. Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
It’s such a novelty place that gets boring real fast. Truthfully, the tickets are very expensive and you’ll probably only care about a quarter of the celebrity figures that are there. While posing with wax Abraham Lincoln and Rihanna gets lots of laughs and fun photos, the amusement is short-lived and most likely not worth the bang for your buck.
Bonus Advice: If you do go here, search for a Groupon or some kind of discount online. There’s always coupons that help with the super expensive ticket prices.
2. Ellen’s Stardust Diner
This is a popular spot near Times Square where you get diner food while the waiters and waitresses sing classic Broadway songs to you. Sounds fun, right? Nope. It is always SO crowded. You have to wait a while and it’s incredibly loud–you can’t have a conversation because there are always people singing and speaking.
If you love Broadway music, this might be a fun place for you but if you’re indifferent or merely *like* Broadway, try to avoid this spot. It’s overpriced, the food is only decent and it’s way too loud and crowded. Seriously, we could barely get in or out of the place. Getting to the bathroom was like a maze from hell.
Bonus Advice: Don’t go here if you’re in a hurry or if you want to have conversations with whoever you go with.
3. Tour Buses
If you want to go see the city–go see the city! Being trapped on an expensive bus with occasional places to get off doesn’t seem appealing. My bus to get home from my internship was right next to the tour bus stop and countless tourists would confusedly get off and on the bus or be complaining about not having enough time or being confused about what they were doing. Make a list of places you want to go and use the subway/streets to get to them. Don’t stick to tour buses solely out of fear you won’t be able to find the places you want to find.
Bonus Advice: Download the app “Hopstop”, it tells you which subways and streets to take in order to get to your destination. It’s like Google Maps but focused on NYC.
4. Grand Central Terminal
Seriously, I Googled “NYC Places to Visit” and this popped up as one of the top ten spots. It’s a friggin’ train station. Yes, it’s big, yes it has SO MANY trains. I am in here every semester going to and from college and I can promise you that it isn’t worth taking time out of your trip to go see. It’s people buying tickets or getting crappy frappes at Starbucks.
It’s a train station. It looks kind of pretty, but seriously, go to Central Park or the Empire State Building instead. If you take time out of your trip to visit a train station (you can’t even see any trains, BTW, it’s just entrances to train terminals), you’re wasting money and time.
Bonus Advice: Just, seriously, do not bother going here unless you have some reason you just HAVE TO go. If you’re in this area go to Bryant Park instead, it’s pretty and nearby. All of the commuters will be pushing you around while you take pictures of Grand Central.
5. The Statue of Liberty
To see it for FREE from far away, take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. Seriously, it’s the same thing up close. If you want to climb it or go inside the statue, good luck. You have to buy tickets in advance and it’s very limited. It’s nothing special–I’ve passed it many times on the ferry and people take pictures. That’s it. That’s all you would do if you were a few dozen feet closer, too.
Bonus Advice: Visit Ellis Island instead–it’s incredibly fascinating and also requires a ferry ride where you can see some of the NYC coastline.
6. Serendipity 3
This place has been see in countless TV shows and is a HUGE tourist spot. Everyone wants a frozen hot chocolate from here, but if you go you can count on facing a huge crowd and quite a wait. Plus, isn’t a frozen hot chocolate just a freakin’ chocolate milkshake ??? The afore mentioned Max Brenner’s has delicious hot chocolate and the wait is far less. Plus, Max Brenner’s hot chocolate comes in the cutest little hug mugs.
Bonus Advice: Like I said, Max Brenner’s is going to be less of a wait for a similar delicious hot chocolate experience.
Of course, if you have your heart set on a specific place, go for it. NYC is a fantastic place to explore and my last piece of advice is to avoid chain restaurants/coffee shops. Now is the time to try new foods–there are so many unique places to grab lunch or your morning coffee that eating at T.G.I. Fridays or Starbucks is absolutely sinful. Be sure to check out these things to do before travelling before you head out to NYC!
