This isn’t a guide so much as a few quick tips to enjoying your first trip to NYC.

New York City is composed of five boroughs: Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. As a newbie traveler, I would have attempted to hit up at least three of them on my first trip to New York. As a more seasoned traveler, I recommend picking one, sticking with it, and really exploring – you’ll be less rushed, enjoy and experience more, and be able to really soak up the vibe of whichever one you choose. Below is an overview map.

-Fly into Newark airport. It’s significantly cheaper.

-If you can, go into spring. According to a New York City resident,  May, June, September, and October are best. July and August are great, too, if you don’t mind the heat. It’s great to come in the warmer parts of the year so you can explore NYC on foot.

-You will use the subway a lot. Consider buying a Citypass

Main tourist destinations/sights:

Times Square

Central Park – free

Grand Central Station

9/11 Memorial – reserve online beforehand, located at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan- subway instructions on website

Staten Island

Empire State Building – I don’t recommend this, all reviews say you have to wait in line for hours, and frankly seeing a really tall building at the expense of $22 and several hours when I could be out exploring New York – no, I don’t see the appeal

Other places I recommend:

Music – The Bowery Ballroom – NY’s equivalent of LA’s Hotel Café – $15 tickets

Books– Strand Bookstore – in Manhattan 2 blocks from Union Square

Singularity Co – NYC’s only vintage Sci fi/fantasy bookstore – in Brooklyn

Ice Cream – Serendipity 3 – upper east side, Manhattan

And last but not least, check out Designsponge’s Manhattan Guide to Harlem for an exhaustive lists of places to experience music, food, drinks, books, art and shopping

Tagged: books, bookstores, Brooklyn bookstore to see, concerts nyc, exploring new york city, fantasy bookstore, guide to Manhattan, ice cream, Manhattan guide, music in NYC, New York City bookstores, NYC, NYC bookstores, places to see in NYC, planning a NYC trip, sci fi, sci fi fantasy bookstore Brooklyn, singularity & co, strand bookstore manhattan, The Bowery Ballroom, top NYC bookstores, travel, travel tips, vintage books, vintage bookstore, vintage bookstore NYC