My Personal 3 Walking Guide of New York City

[smarchesini]

August is the holiday month for Italians. Usually in the middle of August a lot of company apply 2 weeks of vacation. For that, my family came to visit me here in New York (yes I'm Italian), and after the short period of my new life here in NYC, I think I made a nice tourist plan for them.
I love walk and I would walk all around the world. For that I organized three ideal days of visiting New York all by walking.
Of course to the 1st point and to go back home use the metro or cab. But I'm happy to share with the community those path.

If you have anything to add, correct or some new advice it's always appreciate 🙂
Let's start then with the journey..

 

Day A ( Google Maps day A )

Starting from the Grand Central Terminal (1) it's always fascinating to see the big central station of NYC. A lot of movies were taken from the big stairs in the center, and also it's accessible from any point in the city.

When you exit I know it is interesting to the Ford Foundation Building (2), but for now is closed until end of 2024. And I will not give you more detail about it.

 My advice after the station is to go down the street to the New York Public Library (3). The study room should be closed if you are not consulting books but in any case, the stopping is it worth.


During the trip on the walk I gave you can see also the Empire State Building. And maybe you are not interested in shopping. But you like a little of design clothes and art I've never been in a shop so aesthetic like Dover Street (4). It's like an art gallery but with the clothes. Incredibly cool.

Continue the trip to Madison Square Park (5). Here sure you can recognize the Flatiron Building but you can check also the Lego Store (not the most famous one but ok, it's nice) and the Harry Potter Official shop. Inside you can see iconic props from films such as Harry's Nimbus 2000, and the wands of all your favorite characters.

Continue the trip to Noho and East Village, known for its old-school bars, music venues, and performance spaces share the streets with posh cocktail lounges and hip restaurants. There is a step my advice is to see McSorley’s Old Ale House (6), the oldest pub in NYC. There the soldiers before World 1 left some wishbones hanging over the bar, to be removed upon their return, so the remaining wishbones belong to those who never returned.

And in the end Tompkins Square Park. You can find one of my favorite second-hand bookshops (7) in East Village with a focus on old art books. Ray's Candy Store (8) a candy shop has been featured in several books, films, and television shows and is famous for its old owner birth January 1, 1933, in Iran. And close the trip with Mast Books (9) another incredible book shop! (Yes I like books 🙂 )





At this point, you should be hungry, so you may not go to every restaurant in town, but you have to go to Katz's Delicatessen! (10) The best (and most expensive) sandwich of my life. Mandatory and a must try in New York. You can't go home without trying it! Order half or split with someone. It is huge!

Day B ( Google Maps day B )

Starting with the Dumbo - Manhattan Bridge View (1). It's one of the most iconic picture of the Manhattan Bridge and Dumbo district is particularly nice. After have a view of Brooklyn bridge also from the park with the Carousel let you hears listen 1000 times the famous JAY-Z - Empire State Of Mind ft. Alicia Keys song during your walk on the Brooklyn bridge (2) 😄 to end at the World Trade Center (3). Here around you can find multiple funny statues and shops.

Particularly touching is the 9/11 Memorial (4) with his big fountains where they staid the two twins towers.

The financial district has nothing curious except for my second favorite church in NYC: the Trinity Church (5), known for its centuries of history, prominent location, and distinguished architecture. High buildings surround the church and it is worth it during the working day to go to the New York Stock Exchange (6) center of the American continent economy.
A group of people for sure will like to take a picture in front of the Charging Bull (7) symbolizing Wall Street and the Financial District.

Another trick you could find online it's the free ferry to Staten Island. It's possible to use this ferry to see the Statue of Liberty for free at an acceptable distance from my perspective. In the Staten Island Ferry Terminal (8) keep the right of the boat and admire the statue. Take the same boat for free and go back to Manhattan. And if for that's not enough you can always take the tour bout and pay the ticket to go to Liberty Island. Fun fact: Liberty Island is managed by the state of New York but it is all surrounded by water into the New Jersey state.

You can close the day with a good Chinese restaurant. Joe's Shanghai (9) is my advice, but could happen you need to wait to enter for a long. First arrive first serve. It's also an occasion to see Chinatown all around and its markets and supermarkets with different cultural tastes. Seems really to be in another country.

Day C ( Google Maps day C )

The day "C" can have two starting points: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1) or The American Museum of Natural History. Both are on the perimeter of Central Park.
Depends if you are more of a natural person or an art person. In my map, I chose the Art to follow the Conservatory Water (2) but if you prefer to go to the Museum of Natural History the second step could be the Strawberry Fields. Both museums are incredibly important and in the same way big that you need one entire day and maybe more to see them completely.
Maybe the "C" day could finish here but if you still have time and want to walk, on the map there are the next steps. Take your time in Central Park. It is bigger than some countries (Principality of Monaco for example) and the oldest public park in the United States. One of the steps curious in my map is the Balto Statue (3) 🙂

Out and go to 5th Ave, the famous road, here I set the Apple Store (4) only because it's on the corner of the street and it's ad admirable architecture, but you can stop in any shop on the street. Lego, Tiffany, Uniqlo, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nike are some of the most famous.

Sure St. Patrick's Cathedral (5) it's one of the tourist milestones. It is remarkable its titanic bronze doors, gorgeous high altar, and rich Neo-Gothic architecture, including thousands of stained glass windows.
Opposite the cathedral, you can find the Rockefeller Center (6) and if you visit during the Christmas period you admire the immense Christmas tree.

Close the day with the view in the night of Time Squared (7). It has no necessity of explanation. From here I can tell you you can take around a slice of NYC's famous pizza at a good price. The most famous is Joe's Pizza, but it will have a long queue for sure. Or my favorite of the city (and 1$ only) is on the cross of Broadway and 55th Street. Check it out!

Bonus Places

Those are walking trips scheduled let me say. But my favorite places without a path are different and you should go and lost for sure:

• Soho: neighborhood famous for its upscale boutiques, artists, and cast-iron architecture. I would live here if I could.
  

• Williamsburg in Brooklyn: characterized by a contemporary art scene, hipster culture, and vibrant nightlife that has projected its image internationally as a "Little Berlin". During the early 2000s, the neighborhood became a center for indie rock.

• Hudson Yard + High Line + Little Island ( path maps ): This path starts from the Hudson Yard, a modern and rich neighborhood, High Line, a walking path obtained from an old train metro, and the Little Island, perfect to see the sunset from the New Jersey and have a wonderful view of the south Manhattan. This artificial island is green and distinctive in design, featuring a collection of undulating, tulip-shaped structures that seemingly float on the water.

For NYC it's all. I will made more post about specific places, restaurants, bars, and museums in the future. If you want to contribute I'm happy if you want to share some gem.

Have a nice journey and be safe.

No AI has been use to write this blog 🙂 Proud of that in this difficult era.