New York City is one of the world's great travel destinations — a city of extraordinary energy, culture, food, and architecture. Seven days gives you enough time to explore Manhattan's iconic neighbourhoods, cross the Brooklyn Bridge, visit world-class museums, and experience the city's legendary food scene. Here is the definitive week-long itinerary.
Day 1: Midtown Manhattan
Morning: Start at the Empire State Building (book in advance). The 86th-floor observation deck offers the classic New York panorama. Go early to beat the queues.
Afternoon: Walk south along Fifth Avenue — the New York Public Library, Bryant Park, and the Chrysler Building are all within easy walking distance. Head to the Top of the Rock at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for a different perspective on the skyline (and a view of the Empire State Building itself).
Evening: Times Square at night — overwhelming, chaotic, and unmissable. Dinner in the Theater District or Hell's Kitchen (excellent and more affordable than Midtown restaurants).
Day 2: Central Park & the Upper West Side
Morning: Central Park — enter at the south end and walk north. The Bethesda Fountain, the Bow Bridge, the Ramble, and Strawberry Fields (the John Lennon memorial) are the highlights. Rent a bike for a faster exploration.
Afternoon: The American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side — one of the world's great natural history museums. The dinosaur halls and the Rose Center for Earth and Space are exceptional. Allow 2–3 hours.
Evening: Dinner on the Upper West Side — Columbus Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue have excellent restaurants at all price points.
Day 3: MoMA & Chelsea
Morning: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) — one of the world's greatest collections of modern and contemporary art. Van Gogh's Starry Night, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans. Allow 3 hours minimum. Book tickets in advance.
Afternoon: The High Line — a 2.3km elevated park built on a disused railway line through Chelsea and the Meatpacking District. One of New York's great urban design achievements. Walk the full length and explore the galleries and restaurants below.
Evening: Dinner in the Meatpacking District or West Village — some of New York's best restaurants are in this area.
Day 4: Lower Manhattan & the Brooklyn Bridge
Morning: The 9/11 Memorial and Museum — a profoundly moving tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks. The reflecting pools in the footprints of the Twin Towers are extraordinarily powerful. Book tickets in advance.
Afternoon: Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge — one of the great urban walks in the world. The views of the Manhattan skyline from the bridge are iconic. Allow 45 minutes for the crossing.
Evening: Explore DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) — one of Brooklyn's most photogenic neighbourhoods, with excellent restaurants and the famous view of the Manhattan Bridge framing the Empire State Building.
Day 5: Brooklyn
Morning: Brooklyn Heights Promenade — the best view of the Manhattan skyline in New York. Walk south to Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens for excellent brunch options.
Afternoon: Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum — Brooklyn's answer to Central Park and the Met. The Brooklyn Museum's Egyptian collection and American art galleries are outstanding.
Evening: Williamsburg — Brooklyn's most vibrant neighbourhood. Excellent restaurants, bars, and live music venues. The rooftop bars along the waterfront offer spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline.
Day 6: The Metropolitan Museum & Upper East Side
Morning and afternoon: The Metropolitan Museum of Art — one of the world's greatest museums, with a collection spanning 5,000 years of human history. The Egyptian Temple of Dendur, the European paintings galleries, the American Wing, and the rooftop sculpture garden are all unmissable. Allow a full day — you will not see everything.
Evening: Dinner on the Upper East Side or in the East Village — the East Village has some of New York's best value restaurants.
Day 7: Greenwich Village & SoHo
Morning: Greenwich Village — Washington Square Park, the winding streets of the West Village, and the excellent independent bookshops and cafés of Bleecker Street.
Afternoon: SoHo — the cast-iron architecture, the galleries, and the shopping. The New York Earth Room (a permanent art installation by Walter De Maria — a room filled with 280,000 pounds of earth) is one of New York's strangest and most memorable experiences. Free admission.
Evening: Final dinner in the East Village or Lower East Side — some of New York's most exciting and affordable restaurants are in these neighbourhoods. End with a cocktail at one of the area's excellent bars.
New York Budget Breakdown
Here is a realistic budget for a 7-day New York trip (per person, based on mid-range travel):
- •Flights (return from London): £350–£700
- •Accommodation (7 nights): £700–£1,400 (£100–£200/night)
- •Empire State Building: £35
- •Top of the Rock: £35
- •MoMA: £25
- •9/11 Memorial & Museum: £25
- •Metropolitan Museum: £30 (suggested donation)
- •Food & drink: £420–£700 (£60–£100/day)
- •Local transport (MetroCard): £30–£50
Total: £1,650–£3,000 per person
Budget travellers staying in hostels and eating at delis, food halls, and affordable restaurants can do this trip for around £1,200–£1,600. Luxury travellers in Midtown hotels should budget £3,500–£6,000+.
