48 Hours in New York

Day 1:
Start your day off with a hearty diner breakfast, you just can't beat some pancakes and a good cup of Joe to set yourself up for a busy day. There are countless options in the city to choose from, we loved Theatre Row Diner on 424 W 42nd Street.

Afterwards, head off to walk the Brooklyn Bridge to work off breakfast, we recommend if you are coming from further north than Greenwich Village hopping in an Uber or taking the A or C subway to High Street - Brooklyn over to the Brooklyn side and walking back in to downtown, that way you get to walk towards the skyline views! You can also join the walk along the bridge by a staircase off Prospect Street just down from the Metro Station instead of starting on Tillary Street. If you have some time it is well worthwhile exploring Brooklyn Heights before you cross the bridge and enjoying the views from the much quieter promenade.

For the afternoon make your way to Greenwich Village (The Village to locals) and take in the sights, including Washington Square Park, Cafe Wha (Hendrix and Dylan played in the 60's) the Friends Building. Grab a slice of pizza from Joe's Pizza for lunch, followed by a delicious doughnut from the Doughnut Project or a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie from Milk & Cookies (or both!) Once you have explored one of the most expensive places to buy a property in the USA make your way back to Midtown via the Highline, a beautiful public park built on a historic freight train line and be transported away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
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In the evening, make the most of being in the city and book yourself tickets to see a Broadway show. If you aren't bothered about what you see you can book tickets on the day in Times Square however if you have a specific show in mind make sure to book before you go! Either way head to Times Square and Broadway early and grab a pre-theatre bite to eat at one of the many restaurants, our favourite is always the Hard Rock Cafe! After the show head to one of the many New York piano bars to carry on the showbiz fun, we can't recommend Don't Tell Mama enough. Be sure to have plenty of $1 & $5 notes to get your requests played! Feeling brave? You can also be the vocal accompaniment and sing along with the pianist (brush up on your favourite musical numbers before you go)!

Day 2
After all that singing, have a leisurely start to the morning and visit a coffee shop for a grab and go breakfast.

Head down to the Staten Island Ferry and enjoy the free round trip - don't be fooled by the touts outside who will try to sell you tickets. From here you'll be able to enjoy the views of Lower Manhattan, including the Statue of Liberty.

If it is raining (or maybe snowing) head to the Museum of Natural History for a couple of hours. If you want to see some of the exhibits that are on display, pick them in order of how much you want to see them and book them for as early as you can in your visit. Remember to leave time to walk around the museum as well. 

Once you've had your fill of history/off the ferry make your way to Central Park and get yourself a pretzel or hot dog from one of the many street vendors and spend the afternoon exploring the park. Be sure to visit the John Lennon Imagine memorial, the boating pond and the Alice in Wonderland statue.

For the evening take your pick of the Empire State Building or the Top of the Rock and head up for sunset - the Empire State gets Craig's vote whereas the Top of the Rock gets Katy's. Come back down and treat yourself to a delicious meal at our favourite restaurant Butter - be sure to try the Mac & cheese gnocchi.