How to Spend 24 Hours in New York City
- ablondewithabrew
- Jan 22
- 6 min read
Tips and tricks for how I made the most out of only a day in New York City.
If you know me, you know I dream of moving to New York City some day, and you know my personality probably fits in better there than in Portland. After visiting family in Connecticut, I used my last day of paid time off from work and spent it on a quick overnight trip to NYC.
Here is my itinerary and how I planned in advance to best maximize and prioritize my limited time. My tips below can be used for efficiently planning any length trip. While my visit includes a lot of craft beer, my trip planning information can be applied to a vacation with any interests.
Planning
Tip #1: Pick a place to stay that has easy access to however you are getting in and out of town.
In my case, this was by way of Penn Station, so I prioritized hotels with easy access to here. I used points to book a night at the Hyatt House New York/Chelsea, which was only an eight minute walk from Penn Station.
Tip #2: Make a Google Map of everything you want to do (even if it's way more than could ever be done on this one trip).
Then you will see where everything is in relation to everything else. This will help you pinpoint what makes sense to do within a short timeframe and helps narrow down decisions like what to eat and when.
Tip #3: Use your Google Map to develop your itinerary.
With limited time, pick activities that are geographically near one another and plan your itinerary in an order that makes sense and minimizes travel within the city. While I love Brooklyn, with only 24 hours, it made the most sense to just stick to Manhattan for this visit. Had The Test Brewery been open on the day I was in town, I may have made the decision to prioritize visiting there instead, but that would have resulted in having to eliminate a lot of other activities, and increased time spent traveling between destinations, which may have not been worth it on a short trip.
Tip #4: Check business' hours before visiting.
Business hours can affect the order in which you plan your itinerary or whether or not you even to do a certain activity during a visit. For example, if you really want to eat at a certain restaurant, but you check their hours and they open at 5:00pm on the day you want to visit, now you know not to plan it for lunch. And, if you really have your mind set on doing one specific thing, like had visiting Test been the most important thing to me, check hours even before booking your travel. I have rebooked vacations due to business operating hours before!
Tip #5: Document and time out your itinerary.
Having your itinerary documented and timed out keeps you organized, maximizes efficiency, and helps ensure nothing planned gets mistakenly left out. It also helps me pack by planning what I want to wear and what I will need on a certain day. I make a table using Google Sheets to develop my itinerary. I recommend keeping an eye on the weather forecast as your travel approaches in case any activities need to be adjusted depending on the weather.
My 24 Hours in NYC
Using the methods detailed above, here is how I spent a busy 24 hours solo in New York City.
Arrive in NYC, check into hotel, and drop off luggage: I lucked out that the hotel had a room for me early, and I took a few extra minutes to enjoy the city views from my surprise penthouse suite upgrade and the hotel's rooftop.
Cookie snack at Culture Espresso: Rumored to be the best chocolate chip cookie in NYC, I had to try it for myself. I'd honestly have to try more for a proper frame of reference, but this is a really delicious cookie.
Pizza from Joe's Pizza: A must in NYC, I fortunately saved some of my cookie to enjoy in line awaiting my pizza.
Beer at Talea Bryant Park: Located right across the street from Bryant Park, stopping here for a beer (and an outlet to charge my phone and a bathroom) was a no-brainer. Read more about my love for Talea from when I visited their Cobble Hill location in Brooklyn here.
Shop the Holiday Market at Bryant Park: This seasonal European inspired open air market features local artisans, a wide variety of food options, and an ice skating rink. This had just opened the weekend before I arrived and runs through early January. With more time in NYC, I would have loved to have planned to eat here.
Admire the New York Public Library En Route to Other Half Rockefeller: I didn't have time to do anything but admire the exterior on this trip, but the NYPL is beautiful, has clean public bathrooms, and has one of the best gift shops in the city.
Drink Beer Flights at Other Half Rockefeller: I can't visit New York City without drinking at Other Half. While this isn't my favorite location, it's the most convenient as it's literally located in Rockefeller Plaza in the heart of Manhattan. Read more about the different NYC Other Half locations here.
Dinner at L'Industrie Pizza in the West Village: I took the subway to meet my friend here for dinner. The Burrata Pie is my absolute favorite pizza slice in New York City. I had planned to get to the West Village earlier and walk around and browse some shops before dinner, but I spent more time at Other Half than planned.
Quick drink at Talea West Village: It's literally next door to L'Industrie Pizza and we had some time before our show. Totally unplanned.
Standup Comedy at New York Comedy Club: My idea had been to see a musical on Broadway, but my friend suggested this option instead and I agreed. We took an Uber here to save time. Jeff Arcuri was one of the featured comedians, and our front row table cost less than the mediocre Broadway ticket I'd been looking into buying.
A Nightcap at Proletariat: I went off itinerary again here. My plan had been to just go back to my hotel, or visit City Beer closer to my hotel, but I saw on Instagram that Proletariat had a Test Brewing collab Hazy Triple IPA on draft (and I've already mentioned my disappointment that Test was closed the day I was visiting) and it was just a 5 minute walk from the comedy club. I'm not typically very spontaneous, but some things are worth a last-minute change of plans. I enjoyed a half pour and then took the subway back to my hotel calling it a day.
Hotel Checkout and Luggage Storage: I packed and checked out of my hotel early, so I wouldn't have to waste time going back to check out later. I stored my luggage for free with the hotel, which is one of my top travel hacks.
Coffee and Breakfast: From my hotel, I grabbed coffee to go from Variety Coffee Roasters, which I selected for its proximity to my hotel, and then walked to Ess-a-Bagel for breakfast because I could not leave NYC without getting a bagel.
Fall Colors in Central Park: I selected the Bow Bridge as a landmark in Central Park and took the subway here to enjoy my bagel and the fall colors. My plan had been to use the Citi Bike bike share and ride around the park, but I was enjoying walking around and taking pictures, so I skipped the ride.
Get Zapped at Catbird: I got my first permanent bracelet from Catbird in Brooklyn the previous summer and thought it would be fun to make it a new tradition and get another. I took the subway from Central Park to Catbird's East Village location. It's a pretty quick process, but make an appointment online before you visit.
Shopping on the Way to Lunch: From Catbird, I mapped my walking route to lunch in a way that took me right by some of my favorite stores on Elizabeth Street in NoLita. With limited time, I only went inside a couple, including Sezane and Industry of All Nations.
Lunch To-Go from Katz's Delicatessen: Katz's pastrami sandwich is iconic. I waited in line for about 30 minutes for mine, and the line was even longer by the time I left. It's worth the wait and price tag. Mine served as both my lunch and dinner later on the airplane too.
Retrieve Luggage and Travel to the Airport: I took the subway back to my hotel, got my luggage, and walked to Penn Station where I caught a train to Newark Airport. For planning purposes, it helped me to look up the train schedule ahead of time, and work backwards planning this day. Also, the train I wanted was not frequent enough where I felt comfortable just showing up and catching the next one.
Let me know how you would spend 24 hours in New York City in the comments. I think if I have this opportunity again, I think I will plan it Brooklyn based, but ideally, I would just have more time in one of my favorite cities.
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