Cheeky adult only 3 night New York city break!

Rich and I LOVE NYC and it’s our favourite city in the world - we were lucky enough to visit in May 2019 on a 3 night child free escape! The main reasons for going were to see a noisy punk band that we love playing a gig in Brooklyn and in slight contrast to see a musical version of the movie Tootsie which is my favourite film. The gig was brilliant fun and we loved Tootsie too! So what else did we get up to?

We always make a point of having a walk in Central Park when we get our New York fix, we can never resist hopping on the cable car to Roosevelt Island if you’re in that part of town and we loved mooching round fun shops like Fishs Eddy homewares near the Flatiron Building (check out the funny pet portraits!).

One of best things about NYC is eating out and a lovely local couple on the plane recommended a delicious Italian in the West Village called Malatesta Trattoria that we really loved, other foodie highlights included a veggie brunch at The Butchers Daughter in the Lower East and gorgeous fish tacos at Smorgasburg open air food market in Brooklyn.

As well as all of this we also squeezed in one or two lovely bars including the secret Campbell Apartment at Grand Central Station (as us how to find it!) and Employees Only speakeasy in the West Village which is also hidden behind a nondescript shop-front.

Here are some top tips for first time visitors to wet your New York taste buds!

1. Don’t be scared of the subway! It’s cheap and super speedy. $33 will buy you a 7 day pass that will pay for itself in no time.

2. You don’t have to stay in midtown and you’ll get much more for your money if you stay in other areas of Manhattan. For example Louise and I stayed at the 4* Club Quarters near the World trade Centre which was under $200 per night which is great for Manhattan.

3. It’s definitely worth getting a Go City Explorer Pass for your first visit which will save you lots of money for the most popular attractions and quite often, you’ll be able to skip the lines.

4. Make sure you walk over the Brooklyn Bridge - we recommend getting the subway to Brooklyn to explore and then walking back over towards Manhattan for the iconic skyscraper views.

5. This is a personal favourite of ours but when you’re in Brooklyn pay a visit to the gorgeous beautifully restored Janes Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

6. Eat some pizza! There’s of choice here but the famous pizzerias’ include Grimaldi’s and Joes.

7. Wear comfy shoes and just enjoy getting lost! One of the best things about NYC is exploring all the different neighbourhoods and when you get tired, there is always a cool looking bar or café to stop and recharge your batteries.

8. It’s super fun to cycle around Central Park and there are lots of companies very close by where you can hire a bike for a few hours… highly recommended!

9. Grab a burger and beer al fresco at the original Shake Shack in Madison Park which is covered in fairy lights at night.

10. If you actually want to see the Empire State building consider going to the Top of the Rock observation deck instead - you can actually see the Empire State from here and your ticket will be timed entry so no long queues!