New York City holds a special place in our hearts. I lived in the city in my early twenties, and took Rob for his first trip to America in our second year of dating before we even lived together. It was going to be our first long-haul trip together and I knew we’d be in good hands in the Big Apple. We actually ended up flying separately as I had a last minute work trip in Montreal come up, so flew straight to New York from there. We were a little disappointed not to travel together at first, but soon realised that meeting at the subway near our hotel after our separation would be super romantic and exciting… and it was.

We enjoyed five days of exploring the city, having fun and really getting to know each other. I showed Rob my favourite places in the city and we discovered new things together. We ended up loving it so much that we flew back for a long weekend six months later so Rob could see the city in fall (my favourite season.)

Times Square and Broadway

Without a doubt, my favourite thing to do is see a show on Broadway while I’m there. There’s nothing in the world quite like the buzz of Times Square when people are spilling out of the surrounding theatres (although Rob hates crowds so I’m not sure he’s agree with me on that one). We ended up seeing two shows on our first visit (Waitress, Bronx Tale) and then an Off-Broadway show (The Office Musical) and (Pretty Woman) when we returned in October. The best place to research upcoming shows is the Playbill website which also offers discounts and tips on what to see while you’re in the city, including off-Broadway shows. We go for an early dinner, see a show, then head somewhere fun for a rooftop drink overlooking the city. Is there a better date night? (If there is, please message us on the contact page. Thanks.)

Central Park strolls

Central Park is magical. Some people go to Disneyland to immerse themselves in a fairytale - I go to Central Park. Sitting right in the middle of Manhattan you can spend all day wandering around exploring the different areas and changing landscapes. I didn’t think we could top our first winter walk together through the chilly park but when we came back in October, Rob decided on a whim that we should hire a boat and row on the lake. A calm trip around the lake it was not - Rob furiously rowing from one end to the other - but the dappled sunlight on the water and the surrounding skyscrapers made it a lasting memory.

Hitting up the Tourist spots

Usually we tell you in our blog that you need to stay away from touristy areas, but New York isn’t like that. We find ourselves happily going back to the Empire State Building to get the best views of the city at sunset (I also like Rockefeller’s ‘Top of the Rock’, so that you can get pictures of the Empire) and the ‘One World Observatory’ at the Freedom Tower, which is now the highest skyscraper in the city and offers a very different kind of view from the South of Manhattan. It’s an important, sobering place to visit as it was, of course, built to commemorate 9/11.

Fans of theatre and performance should also check out the Radio City Music Hall tour which offers a poke-around the wonderful art deco building.

Grand Central Station is the main train station in the city and famous for appearing in many films and TV shows (including Gossip Girl’s opening sequence, YAS.) From there you can wonder down midtown to discover Washington Square Park and the Flat Iron which is still very much an iconic part of the New York City skyline.

One of our favourite walks is to Brooklyn Bridge from Battery Park (for views and ferries to the Statue of Liberty) via Seaport for a completely different experience of the city.

Museum Mile

As art lovers we love visiting museums or galleries and New York City makes this very easy with it’s ‘museum mile’ on the Upper East Side featuring the Guggenheim, the building alone is worth seeing with your own eyes, The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art and The Frick Collection. This part of the city, on the border of Central Park, is absolutely breathtaking and feels like you’ve just stepped into a TV show about the upper echelons of New York society (film fans can also spot the epic house from Cruel Intentions.)

Outside of Manhattan is the Brooklyn Museum, which always seems to have something cool on, including the Bowie exhibition we caught on our last visit. It’s well worth the trip out to explore their open, modern space full of interesting art pieces (they have over 1.5 million pieces in the museum, which is, quite frankly INSANE.)

Cinemas

Who would go to the cinema on their holiday right? Well, we are those people. When living in New York, my go-to indie cinemas were the IFC Centre and Angelika Film Center (you can’t get a better cinema I don’t think, I’ve looked everywhere.) They have a great atmosphere, interesting curated programmes and indie flicks we’d maybe miss in our worlds back in London. It’s part film fanaticism and part nostalgia. Rob also makes sure that we go to the Regal in Times Square to see a popcorn movie. It’s us soaking up the culture, you know? You simply can’t get more American than that.

Lauren Loves

Honestly, I’m so relieved that Rob loves New York as much as me. It was hard to write this post because even ten years later I don’t see myself as a visitor when I return. I end up doing the same stuff that I did when I lived there; heading to Bleecker Street for books, Bloomingdales during sales and Williamsburg for vintage shopping. Then there’s the theatre and cinema trips that helped with my homesickness. But New York is ever-evolving. A lot of my favourite restaurants are now long closed, with others in their place. There’s always new things to see and do. Even the changing seasons shed a new light on the city. I think I’ll take Rob to experience it in summer next - I can just see us watching an outdoor screening in Bryant Park together or sipping Margaritas in the West Village.

Robert Loves

I’d never been to the United States before going with Lauren. Lauren almost being like a local really made me feel at ease and made me quickly fall in love with the city as well. It is always good catching a Broadway show or maybe even an off-Broadway show as that would work on a smaller budget, it guarantees a good night out. We always try to walk as much as we can and use the subway only when absolutely necessary, the best way to explore a city. Rowing in Central Park is one of my most fondest memories, there is something about being in the middle of a pond with gigantic skyscrapers poking out behind the trees. There is one picture I wasn’t allowed to share, where Lauren dives into an entire cake from Magnolias Bakery. It perfectly sums up the joy of our holiday experience in New York.

Where did we stay?

Arlo SoHo - this was probably way too hipster for us but we managed to get a REALLY good deal via booking.com. It has a Dylan’s Candy Bar in the reception (I couldn’t part with $20 for a pot of candy, sorry Dylan) and a chic rooftop bar that tried to distract from the fact we were 500 feet from the Hudson Tunnel. We stayed in a tiny room but it was so unbelievably gorgeous that I wanted to live in it. It also had the biggest TV in the world opposite the bed, so you could cosy up and, you know, watch a late night movie together. We watched (King Arthur), but anything goes.

Hyatt Midtown- the second time we visited the city, all we wanted was a clean, comfortable room which wasn’t too long a walk from the Waverley Diner (keep reading for an explanation.) It didn’t have to be ‘chic’ or fancy. We were done with fancy. What we got was a surprise: it had a pretty cool rooftop, a large comfortable room, decent buffet breakfast and free starbucks coffee. I’m always happy when I get decent coffee.

What did we eat?

Emmetts - This was the first place we went to eat together after meeting at the subway station. We shared a bottle of wine and a pizza in this cosy, SoHo pizza / bar hybrid which, to me, sums up everything cool about New York.

Waverley Diner - The BEST place for breakfast in the city - say no more.

Rocco Steakhouse - Possibly the best steak restaurant in Manhattan (I know) but also the most expensive meal we’ve ever had.

Havana NY - Tasty, authentic Cuban cuisine in midtown. To Rob’s horror, I ordered off-menu and got the fish special. It was $60, but worth it.

Top Tips

• Understand that you’ll need to pay sales tax on top of what you buy and always tip at restaurants - you’ll be expected to.
• Try to buy theatre tickets in advance or queue up early at the TKTS booth in the middle of Times Square. If a show offers ‘rush’ tickets (check the Playbill website) then you can queue up on the day and get tickets for as low as $40 each, but you need to be committed (we sometimes wait for over an hour for the box office to open, and in winter that is NOT fun).