My Top 10 Things to Do & See in NYC!

I was in NYC for the third time this year just a few weeks ago, and I finally feel like I am starting to get the hang of this massive city. Third times a charm right? I figured what better time to recap and share some photos from my travels to the big apple. I’ll share the best, worse, and coldest moments from my time in New York.

My first trip was in January and didn’t exactly match my expectations for my first trip to New York city. As you can imagine it was FREEZING! Tim and I just so happened to fly in on the weekend of the biggest blizzard of the year. Our flight was delayed almost 8 hours and then when we arrived at Laguardia our bags were no where to be found. Unfortunately we were one of many people to have our bags lost among a midst of several delayed and canceled flights. We ended up without luggage for 4 days. Ha! Sounds pretty great right? I thought it couldn’t get any better but it did– I got sick! I mean like three boxes of tissues and diaper cream on my nose sick. Needless to say, that definitely wasn’t my fave!

We didn’t get outside much on that trips so I was excited to be back in New York in June. This trip was for a work photoshoot and event so it was very short. I was quickly surprised how humid it gets in New York! I pulled out all of the short leaves, cotton maxi’s, and tennis shoes I could get away with! There wasn’t too much time for exploring but we did venture into Chinatown and Little Italy for an afternoon which was a lot of fun.

This last trip was definitely my favorite of all the trips. Fall in New York City is a dream! It was just cool enough to enjoy wearing boots and sweaters, but not the miserable cold that it was in January. All three of my trips have been for work but this last trip was a great balance of work and fun. Our entire team traveled up for our book launch event. You have probably seen me mention it on Instagram (If you don’t follow me you should! @monique.mchugh)- Permission to Screw Up: How I Learned to Lead by Doing (Almost) Everything Wrong came out on October 10th and we had an amazing launch week filled with press, events, and of course lots of food.

Even when I work, I try to squeeze in a little bit of fun. Here are my top 10 things to do and see in New York City:

1. See Central park: I have still not done this fully but the little sliver I did see was beautiful.
2. Take the Metro to Brooklyn and walk the Brooklyn Bridge back
3. Explore Chinatown and LittleItaly! You will feel like you are in another country. Also don’t be afraid to try out some of the restaurants. We had the best Pho I have ever had in my life at a little Vietnamese place near our hotel.
4. Go to Washington Square Park
5. Go to Joe’s pizza for the best slice of heaven you ever did taste. We went twice in 4 days!
6.  Try to stop into Dō for some cookie dough
   *PS. We grabbed Joe’s pizza, ate it in Washington Square Park and then headed over to Dō afterwards and it was a great evening. All are within a short walking distance!
7. Walk the Highline! I did this in January and it was beautiful even covered in snow.
8. Go to a show of some kind: comedy, broadway, etc.
9. Check out the flatiron building and stop into Eataly for some delicious food.
10. Go to a rooftop bar! Even if you don’t drink (like me) the views are absolutely breathtaking and well worth a visit for an appetizer.

That’s it! I could go on and on with things to do and see in New York City so I will absolutely round them all up and post a full travel guide soon. Before I go, I want to share one last general tip- pack a variety of clothes! Each trip I feel like I have packed completely wrong. The weather changes so much (even day to day) so make sure you have a mix of layers and comfortable walking shoes so you are good to go no matter what.

Thanks so much for reading! I would love to hear your tips and tricks for New York City in the comments below and if you try any of the things mentioned above I would love for you to share and tag me.