Perhaps you’re spending an upcoming weekend in the Big Apple and looking to plan the best weekend in NYC itinerary. Or maybe you’re just curious about New York!
New York City is one of my favorite places to visit and explore. Tommy (Mr. CK) and I spent President’s Day weekend in the city and I’m recapping our trip in case you find yourself there sometime soon!
New York City
Fun fact: when I was a sophomore in high school, I was convinced I was going to go to New York University and live in NYC for college. However, when my family went to visit, a few unfortunate things happened on our trip and I got the sense that New York wasn’t for me. (Bummer.)
But, NYC is still one of my favorite cities and I love visiting as often as I can. It helps that one of my besties lives there and I love going up to see her whenever I get the chance.
Weekend in NYC Itinerary
There is so much to do in New York, it’s hard to know what to choose when you’re visiting. I’m a total nerd and always do tons of research before I travel so I knew exactly what I wanted to do and see on this trip. Plus, we celebrated Valentine’s Day and my birthday so we had a reason to splurge!
Here are the details of our weekend in NYC itinerary, broken down by category.
Stay
We stayed at The High Line Hotel. It’s located near the High Line in Chelsea and we loved the neighborhood. The room was small but nice and we had a view of the High Line park from our window.
Eat
Jack’s Wife Freda was the perfect spot for a cozy dinner on Friday night. Pro-tip: get the Peri Peri Chicken and ask for extra green sauce. So good!
I didn’t want to miss Van Leeuwen for ice cream because they have VEGAN ICE CREAM! And it’s delicious. Even Mr. CK gave his vote of approval. They have regular flavors too but if you’re dairy-free, do not miss this spot.
I’d been to The Meatball Shop before but knew Tommy would like it. Verdict: he did! I ordered the Classic Meatballs with the Spicy Meat sauce with no cheese and two sides of veggies.
The highlight of the trip was our amazing dinner Blue Hill. You guys, best meal of my life. I am not sure where I first heard about Blue Hill but if you’re a fan of Chef’s Table on Netflix, then you’ve seen this restaurant featured in season 1. Honestly, the meal we had there needs an entire blog post of its own but they don’t allow phones in their dining room so I don’t have any pictures of the actual meal!
Tommy didn’t want to miss out on a traditional NYC bagel so we went to Murray’s Bagels twice. This isn’t the stop for you if you’re looking for a gf/df breakfast.
Cookshop is located right next to The High Line Hotel and came highly recommended by a few folks. The meal wasn’t complicated but was really good. They also have some allergen-friendly options.
I’d also been to The Fat Radish once before and remember really loving it. My second visit didn’t disappoint!
Drink
The High Line Hotel has an Intelligentsia Coffee right in the lobby, which means great coffee is available only steps away from the elevator. I started each day with an oat or almond milk latte or cappuccino.
You know I love smoothies and I always try to find the best smoothies when I travel. Enter Juice Press. They have locations all over the city and I love that they let you modify your order! (I’m a high maintenance smoothie-orderer, as you might imagine.)
Tommy only asked for two stops to be added to the schedule. Verve Wine Shop was the first. If you’re looking for hard to find wines at reasonable price-points, check it out.
Employees Only, a cocktail bar, was Tommy’s second request. This bar is well-known on the cocktail scene (aka, not mine) and the drinks were awesome. I had the AMELÍA: Aylesbury Duck Vodka & St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, shaken with puréed blackberries & fresh lemon juice. I’m hoping Tommy can recreate it for me at home sometime soon!
On the way back to the airport, we swung by Anima Mundi Apothecary. I just posted about their coconut cream powder on Instagram the other day and I’m hooked! The turmeric latte I enjoyed at their cute shop in Brooklyn was also very tasty.
Visit
The Union Square Greenmarket has been on my to-visit list for some time and I’m glad I got to walk over to check it out. It’s a fun farmer’s market with lots of goodies.
For my birthday, I wanted a facial at Heyday. I got the 50-minute treatment and left with very hydrated skin. (Do you know what kind of skin you have?) I wish I could go all the time!
Three years ago, Tommy got his first manicure during my birthday weekend. We thought we’d relive the excitement again at Tenoverten, a nontoxic nail salon, in Soho.
I always wake up earlier than Tommy, and when we’re on vacation, I use that time to explore whatever city we’re visiting. New York is perfect for this! I love feeling like I’m up before a majority of the city is awake. I love how walkable the city is and it’s expected that you’ll walk a lot of places. So in between meals and spa treatments, we walked. A LOT.
Have you been to New York? Or more specically, have you been to any of these places? I’d love to hear!