I absolutely adore New York. It’s one of my favourite places in the world. I love the atmosphere, the busyness, the people, the food, the lights, everything - so I thought I’d compile a list of my favourite places to visit, the best restaurants to eat at, etc. It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t an exhausted list whatsoever - there are so many other places I’m sure that deserve a mention but these are just the ones I have visited and loved.

Also, if you are looking for a guide on the best touristy things to do in New York, like the Empire State, the Rockefeller centre, etc then this is the wrong guide for you. This is a guide for avoiding the crowds, and exploring the less touristy spots in New York.

TO SEE…

All my previous trips to New York involve a lot of walking. Like 18,000 steps a day every day! Obviously you have the metro and you have taxi’s but I just don’t think you can beat walking, because you are bound to stumble across some amazing streets and shops and restaurants that you would have missed otherwise. So, this section is about all the areas I love wandering around, and all the free things you can go and see en route.

WEST VILLAGE AND GREENWICH VILLAGE

This is my favourite area of New York. It reminds me a bit of Notting Hill in London. It’s quite bohemian, not very touristy, has amazing breakfast spots, and loads of good independent stores. I’d recommend walking down Hudson Street and wondering around the little streets around there. The Friends apartment building is also in West Village so if you are a Friends fan then that’s worth a visit. As I said, West Village and Greenwich Village have some amazing breakfast spots, Jack’s Wife Freda, The Butchers Daughter, High Street on Hudson, to name a few. There is also normally a Farmers Market you can stroll around and just enjoy all the fresh food.

SOHO, NOLITA AND LITTLE ITALY

Soho is a lot busier than West Village and Greenwich Village, but it’s definitely worth a visit. It has loads more shops and restaurants and is normally pretty busy. But, it has a really nice buzzing vibe and is definitely nice to wonder around window shopping. Nolita has loads of amazing graffiti so that’s great for photos. I also love the vintage and antique stores in Nolita. For the best graffiti hot spots google ‘best graffiti in New York’. On an evening, head to the Rooftop Bar of the James Hotel (15 Thompson St) in Soho for the best views over downtown New York. I have only wandered through Little Italy a few times, so can’t give too many recommendations apart from Lombardi’s Pizza( 32 Spring Street) is the absolute best! Rubirosa is also an amazing little Italian restaurant in Little Italy that also has a pizza hour (2 pizzas for 16 dollars!)

MEATPACKING DISTRICT

This is where I normally stay, it’s the best of both worlds, you are close to West Village, but also not too far from Lower Manhattan. It is also the start of the High Line, which is a unused railway that lies above the city. A great way of getting away from all of the traffic and a nice spot to sit. Along the high line you will find art installations and also street food stalls too. Head for Bubby’s diner for breakfast, a typical American breakfast establishment - their pancakes are out of this world! Then, you can wander up the high line from there. Also in the Meatpacking District are the more fancy restaurants like STK, Catch, Bagatelle etc - which all have a great atmosphere on an evening. The Meatpacking District is great if you want to have a party, as there’s lots around, but it’s also fine if you don’t (I stayed with my mum and we didn't go and party and we were fine, although do bring ear plugs particularly on a weekend). You can also access the Chelsea area really quickly, with the Chelsea Market really nearby (You have to visit Chelsea Market, it has so many amazing food stalls and normally has a sample sale too!) The shopping in the Meatpacking District is also brilliant, especially for homeware, with shops like Arhaus and Restoration Hardware (to take allll the inspo from!).

BROOKLYN AND BROOKLYN BRIDGE

Now, I am really disappointed to say I haven’t visited much in Brooklyn, and it’s on my list to go and explore. I have explored Dumbo a little but not enough to recommend anywhere. But, something I did want to include is watching the sunrise at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Due to the jet lag, we were waking up at 4am every morning. Instead of lying there and doing nothing, we decided to get up and go and watch the sunrise. The best place to see the sunrise over Manhattan is Brooklyn. So, we hopped in a taxi to Brooklyn Bridge Park and caught the sunrise. We got there about 5 mins before the sun rose and then the sky was so beautiful for around an hour after. The other bonus, it was totally deserted! Then, we wandered over Brooklyn Bridge. Anyone who has been to New York before will know that it is almost impossible to get a photo at Brooklyn Bridge without someone else in it, as its usually heaving. Well, not if you go at 7am on a Sunday! It was amazing, we pretty much had the whole bridge to ourselves, and we watched the sky change colours as we walked across the bridge.

There’s also a really famous pizza place in Dumbo called Grimaldi’s - really old school but amazing pizzas.

GROUND ZERO

From Brooklyn Bridge we walked to Ground Zero, as it’s only 15 mins walk away. I wanted to include this as I think its an important thing to do in New York and you don’t have to go inside the museum, its just very poignant to see the memorial. I’d advise you go early as if you visit when the crowds are there, it very much takes away from it all.

CENTRAL PARK

Although some may say Central Park is touristy, there are so many parts to Central Park and it’s so big, you rarely feel crowded. Of course, the Boat house restaurant is pretty touristy, but my favourite thing to do is to wander through Central Park, then sit down somewhere, have a picnic and just enjoy this amazing park in the middle of such a busy crazy city. One thing I really enjoyed too was walking out of Central Park by The Met, and sitting on the steps and watching the world go by.

A FEW OTHER FAVOURITE PLACES TO VISIT…

Bryant Park
New York Public Library
Grand Central Station
Washington Square Park
I love visiting flea markets, we went to Grand Bazaar but I’ve heard the Brooklyn one is much better!

TO EAT…

BREAKFAST:

Jack’s Wife Freda
The Butchers Daughter - (Great for veggie and vegan)
High Street on Hudson
Bubby’s Diner - Classic American diner
Balthazar (also for dinner too!) - French brasserie
Freeman’s
Buvette

LUNCH

Chelsea Market - absolutely everything you could ever wish for!
Serafina Meatpacking (you can watch the world go by outside) - Italian
Pershing Square Restaurant (this is near Grand Central station, if you find yourself in this area this is a fab place for a good lunch!)
Boucherie West Village
Lombardi’s Pizza (Little Italy)
Grimaldi’s Pizza - Dumbo
Barbuto
Sevilla - a Spanish restaurant

DINNER

Santina - Italian in the Meatpacking District (good for late night eating)
The Spotted Pig - on Bleeker Street, West Village
La Contenta - Mexican food
Pasquale Jones - Soho
Tao - Thai restaurant
Catch - Mostly seafood, really nice atmosphere
Charlie Bird - Italian
Bagatelle - French bistro with a party vibe
Bar Bacon - great burgers!

TO DRINK

Cafe Wha - my favourite place in New York. Such a good atmosphere with live music. A great place to go have a dance!
Employees only - late night busy spot
NoMad Hotel - great cocktails
Please Don’t Tell - Secret speakeasy cocktail bar hidden in back of a hot dog store!

TO STAY…

I’ve only ever stayed at two hotels in New York, The Gansevoort in the Meatpacking District and the Standard on the High Line (both in the Meatpacking District). I loved the Gansevoort particularly in the summer as it has an amazing rooftop pool. The Standard is a really cool hotel with amazing views, but remember your earplugs as there is a nightclub on the top and it can be pretty noisy - same goes with the Gansevoort! Both hotels have a great atmosphere and vibe though, and if you want to go and party then that’s great, but you can also go there without partying too! The Standard doesn’t have a coffee machine in the rooms though… whats up with that?!

Other great hotels I’ve heard of in New York are: