A Couples’ First Trip to New York City: A 36-Hour Itinerary

Day 1: Welcome to New York!

Arrival and logistics:

We arrived at Penn Station and walked 15 minutes to our hotel. While navigating luggage over bumpy NYC sidewalks was a challenge, stepping out of Madison Square Garden into the skyscraper-lined streets was an incredible introduction to the city. Since our room wasn’t ready, we dropped our bags and immediately set out to maximize our limited time.

NoMad and Flatiron: Staying in a luxury boutique hotel in NoMad placed us perfectly—just off 5th Avenue and steps from the Flatiron Building. After snapping some photos, the January chill led us into Eataly. We warmed up with incredible pizza and table-side fettuccine alfredo, grabbing a pastry to go.

Harbor Lights cruise: After checking into our room and refreshing, we headed to the Hudson River for a Harbor Lights cruise. This is a must-do for first-timers; seeing Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty illuminated at night was a breathtaking highlight of our trip.

Evening: Exhausted from travel and full from our late lunch, we skipped a formal dinner. Instead, we enjoyed a thoughtful welcome gift from our hotel staff of HAL’s New York Popcorn and chips back at the hotel—the perfect low-key end to an adventurous first day.

Day 2: Iconic NYC sites

Morning fuel: We began our full day of sightseeing the only proper way: at a local espresso and bagel spot near our hotel (Madman’s). You simply can’t visit NYC without having a classic bagel.

Madman's Espresso & Bagels

Central Park stroll: After breakfast, we navigated the subway system to Central Park. We strolled through the peaceful, snow-dusted grounds, taking in landmarks like Bethesda Terrace and Fountain and the Boathouse, recognizing countless movie filming locations along the way.

A stroll through Central Park

Bethesda Terrace in Central Park

Museum hop on Fifth Ave: Exiting the park, we impulsively stopped into the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) to warm up and explore for a couple of hours. The museum is quite large and a wonderful experience. Continuing our architecture tour, we walked further north to admire the exterior of Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Guggenheim Museum.

Midtown landmarks: We hopped back on the subway down to Rockefeller Center, and enjoyed watching the ice skaters. We explored the area, spotting the Atlas statue, marveling at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, browsing Saks 5th Avenue and FAO Schwarz, and grabbing a delicious prime steak sandwich for lunch at Lobel’s in the lower level of the NBC Studios building. (Next time, “Top of the Rock” is on the list!)

Rockefeller Center

Empire State Building at dusk: After a brief rest at the hotel, we headed to the Empire State Building. We purchased tickets in advance for a dusk viewing and had a magical experience. The immersive museum detailing the building’s 1931 construction, the movie memorabilia (King Kong, Spiderman, and my personal favorite, Sleepless in Seattle), and the entertaining elevator ride set the stage. We took in the 360-degree views from the indoor 80th-floor observatory before taking another elevator up to the 86th-floor outdoor observation deck.

View from the Empire State Building

Evening treat: We ended our whirlwind tour of the city with a frozen hot cocoa from the Ghirardelli at the base of the Empire State Building. Our short trip was fabulous, capturing the essence of the city in just a day and a half.

Ghirardelli - a sweet ending to our time in New York City

Carnegie Hall

Things I would do differently:

• For such a short trip, I would stay a little closer to the Rockefeller Center with more walkable and cleaner areas. The Waldorf Astoria would be amazing!

• Buy tickets to a show ahead of time (Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and SNL are all filmed right there.)

• Add one day to the itinerary to allow time to visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

• Schedule the boat tour during the day—although the night views were beautiful.

• Make a reservation at Serendipity III to try their Frrrozen Hot Chocolate!

Transportation: We used Uber/Lyft a couple of times and it was quite expensive. The subway was very easy to use. If you have Apple Pay, you can tap to get on the train. It was $3 per ride. I recommend walking as much as possible and wearing comfortable shoes.

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our New York City page.