New York 2023

This is our second time to New York 🗽. It was almost 20 years ago when I was last in New York. Things look different but feel familiar. New York still feels very worthy of being one of the best cities in the world. In fact, it was ranked 3rd Best City in the World in 2023! Can you guess which are the Top 10 Cities in the World?

New York marks the start of our vacation in North America (mostly Canada). Check out the previous post for our trip overview.

We knew jetlag would be a problem for us, so our New York itinerary was kept light and breezy, and the main objective was to conquer jetlag within the 3 to 4 days we spend in New York so that we won’t be visiting Canada feeling dazed.

We had a terrible experience clearing the customs at JFK. Imagine after almost 19hrs on the plane, we had to wait another 3+ hours to clear customs! This seems to be atypical, but we had no idea why the wait was this long. Everyone in line (in America, they don’t use the word “queue”) was weary, hungry, and frustrated. Even though we landed on time, 645PM, we only managed to reach Nesva Hotel near midnight. Not a good start to our trip.

💡Tip: Keep some snacks from your plane meal, just in case you end up queueing for hours to clear customs.

The next day, we left our room early for Free Tours by Foot’s Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO Free Walking Tour. Nothing like getting some sun and exercise to combat jetlag. It is our first time crossing Brooklyn Bridge, and we highly recommend it. The tour made it much easier for us to explore Brooklyn in our brain-mushed state.

There is plenty to visit, do and eat in New York. We created a google map to summarize the places we actually visited and added short notes/reviews about them. We also included places we visited and would not recommend (their icons are in light grey and the ones you should avoid comes with a ❌).

Get Free Access to our “Must See & Do” Attractions and F&B places to eat.

We highlight 3 attractions that were fun for us, and you will probably enjoy doing too. All 3 attractions are children and elderly friendly.

#1 Central Park

The place needs no introduction. It is an iconic park and attraction, and an ideal place to get some walking done outdoors (we are still fighting jetlag). It was our first time in Central Park, and we didn’t know what to expect.

We took the subway to 72 St Station, to begin our visit. On hindsight, starting from 81 Street - Museum of Natural History Station might be a better idea. It will be pretty cool to see the Museum from the outside and cover a larger part of Central Park. We didn’t because our brains are mushed, remember?

Then we just walked wherever we fancy - along any path we feel like, towards or away from crowds. Soon, we chanced on Bethesda Fountain and Terrace, and…

This got me super excited. That last scene in John Wick 2 played back in my head. I felt like how Jake Peralta felt when he visited Nakatomi Plaza. It was super cool! Of course, I also took many pictures.

After a while, we continued our stroll towards Gapstow Bridge. It has a nice backdrop of the high rises around Central Park reflected on the pond, a pretty cool place to chill.

Just across the street from there, you can also see the famous Apple Store on Fifth Avenue. Apple fans, go crazy 😀 

#2 MoMA

We have visited many museums in Europe. Frankly, after seeing so many “Mother and Child” paintings and sculptures, they are all starting to look the same. We are only casual art appreciators. We had time in NY for only one museum visit, and the Museum of Modern Art appealed to us.

Remember to check-in your coats and bags, but bring along your phone and earbuds. MoMA has a free self-guided audio resource that you can access on their website using their free wifi connection. You get to hear recordings of people’s interpretation of the different art pieces on exhibit. It also invites you to take time to contemplate, reflect and appreciate art during your visit. We managed to check out the following art exhibits at MoMA:

• Claude Monet - Water Lilies

• Vincent van Gogh - The Starry Night

• Salvador Dalí - The Persistence of Memory

• Andy Warhol - Campbell's Soup Cans

• Any Many Many More!

#3 SUMMIT ONE Vanderbilt

Opened in Oct 2021, SUMMIT ONE Vanderbilt is the tallest commercial skyscraper (at 427m) in Midtown Manhattan and among the top 30 tallest buildings in the world. The observation decks (2 levels) provide a stunning panoramic view of New York city, and offers a different experience from your average panoramic decks. We highly recommend it to get a bird’s-eye view of the city. There are also many fun areas for instagram-worthy pictures too.

They limit the number of visitors for each time slot, so book early to secure your desired time, the queue (line) for entry starts 30mins before your ticket time, so go early.

There was a WOW factor the moment we stepped on the observation deck, the views were stunning, and we quickly took out our phones for pictures. But walk in a little further and you will find many more opportunities to take pictures of the panoramic views. No rush, take your time to soak it all in.

Getting Around In New York

Like most cities we visit, the subway is the easiest way to get around. We were too tired to cycle, so we didn’t manage to try NY’s bike-sharing solutions.

You can pretty much find all your direction needs using Google Maps. We were also impressed with the information MTA had on their website that Google doesn’t provide. If you appreciate a good old subway map or need to find out which are the accessible stations (not all stations are accessible), check out the MTA Maps.

Fares for subways and buses cost $2.75, and you can pay using your contactless credit card/Google Pay/Apple Pay via the OMNY turnstiles, no need to tap when you get out. You get one free transfer within two hours of paying your fare. You can transfer from subway to bus, bus to subway, or bus to bus, NOT subway to subway. We used our Wise physical and virtual cards for this and all the fares get deducted from the same account.

If you are spending more days in New York, you can use the same credit card from Monday through Sunday, take 12 paid trips, and enjoy free trips the rest of the week! No need to buy 7-days unlimited pass. More fare information on MTA website.

Public transport to LaGuardia Airport is only available via the free bus service Q70, there is no subway option.

We also walked along The High Line, took a free ferry to see 🗽, watched a Broadway musical, shopped at the “World’s Largest Store” and tried different F&B. Check them all out on our New York Map.

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