New York City, United States 6 Day Itinerary

The MetroCard is dead. As of January 2026 the MTA stopped selling or refilling them entirely, so pack a contactless card or your phone and tap into the OMNY readers instead, since fumbling with a paper card at the turnstile is now the fastest way to mark yourself as a tourist who hasn’t checked the news.

Day 1 - Times Square and Broadway

Skip breakfast near the hotel and walk to Buvette in the West Village for a proper French-style coffee and tartine before the Times Square crowds swallow the day. Times Square itself is worth twenty minutes, not two hours: take the photos, note the absurd density of costumed characters working for tips, and move on. Grab lunch at Shake Shack or S’Mac’s mac and cheese nearby, then queue for Broadway. Hamilton, Wicked, and The Lion King still anchor the big-ticket demand, and same-day rush and lottery tickets remain the best way to see a hit show without paying resale prices, so check the specific show’s rush policy the morning of rather than relying on a single ticket broker. Finish with a family-style dinner at Carmine’s, ordering for the table rather than individually since portions are built for sharing.

Day 2 - Central Park and The Met

Fuel up on a bagel from a cart or from Ess-a-Bagel, then spend the morning in Central Park hitting Strawberry Fields, Bethesda Terrace, and the zoo. The Metropolitan Museum of Art now operates on a pay-what-you-wish policy only for New York State residents; out-of-state visitors pay a fixed admission, so check the current rate before you go rather than assuming the old “suggested donation” model still applies to everyone. Budget at least three hours for the Met, since it is genuinely too large to see properly in an afternoon, and I’d rather skip the Egyptian wing entirely than rush the European painting galleries. Close the day with Magnolia Bakery’s cupcakes or a giant cookie from Levain, both a short walk from the park’s western edge.

Day 3 - Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Start at Prune in the East Village, then head to Battery Park for the only legitimate ferry operator to both islands. A standard round-trip ferry ticket with pedestal and museum access runs about 25 dollars for adults, with crown access sold separately as a small add-on fee on top of that and requiring a reservation booked weeks ahead, since crown slots sell out fast in summer. Beware the unofficial ticket sellers working the sidewalks near Battery Park who claim to offer “skip the line” access. There is only one authorized ferry company, and anyone else selling tickets on the street is running a markup scam at best. After the islands, walk through Lower Manhattan to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, then Wall Street and Battery Park for a last look back at the harbor. For dinner, Katz’s pastrami sandwich earlier in the day tends to be the highlight most visitors remember over anything at dinner, so don’t over-plan the evening meal; Luke’s Lobster or a low-key wine bar is plenty.

Day 4 - Brooklyn: DUMBO, the Bridge, and Williamsburg

Breakfast at Jacob’s Pickles on the Upper West Side, then subway over to Brooklyn. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge from the Manhattan side toward DUMBO for the better sightline back at the skyline, stopping at Jane’s Carousel for photos. Grimaldi’s pizza remains the tourist magnet, but the line regularly runs past an hour on weekends; Juliana’s next door, run by the same original owner, is frequently just as good with a shorter wait, so I’d rather eat there than stand in Grimaldi’s queue on a busy Saturday. Spend the afternoon around North 6th Street and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg for indie shops and galleries, and consider the Brooklyn Museum if you have museum stamina left after the Met. Dinner options in Williamsburg skew toward small-plate and natural wine spots, so book ahead on weekends rather than walking in.

Day 5 - The High Line and Chelsea Market

Start at a West Village cafe near the High Line’s southern entrance, then walk the elevated park north, taking in the rotating public art installations along the way. At the northern end, detour into Chelsea Market for a food hall lunch, and expect it to be crowded at midday since it draws both tourists and the office workers from the surrounding Google-anchored blocks. Spend the afternoon in the Flatiron District and Madison Square Park, then choose between Eataly for a casual Italian dinner or a reservation at a higher-end spot if you booked one weeks out, since the better Flatiron tables fill up fast.

Day 6 - MoMA and Rockefeller Center

Begin with a bagel and smoked fish at Russ & Daughters Cafe on the Lower East Side, a genuine New York institution rather than a tourist trap despite its fame. MoMA’s permanent collection covers Warhol, Picasso, and Van Gogh, and timed entry tickets are worth booking a few days ahead in summer to avoid a slow-moving standby line. For your final skyline view, Top of the Rock currently runs around 45 dollars for general admission versus roughly 39 to 42 dollars at the Edge over at Hudson Yards. I’d pick Top of the Rock over the Edge for a first-time visitor: it frames the Empire State Building and Central Park in the same shot, which is the view most people actually picture when they think of New York, while the Edge looks west toward the Hudson and feels less iconic. Close the trip with a splurge dinner if your budget allows it; a tasting menu at a top-tier seafood room is the kind of meal that justifies the whole flight over.

Transportation and Practical Notes

The subway costs 3 dollars a ride with OMNY, and the system automatically caps your spending at 35 dollars over any rolling 7 day period, so a week of frequent riding effectively becomes free after twelve paid trips. There is no reason to buy a weekly pass separately anymore since the cap applies automatically to your tapped card or phone. Uber and Lyft cover the gaps the subway doesn’t, particularly late at night in outer Brooklyn, but expect surge pricing during Broadway curtain times. Pack shoes you can walk eight miles in without regretting it, because that is a realistic daily average once you add up museum galleries, park loops, and bridge crossings.