New York City itinerary: 5 days for a first trip
Five days in New York for a first trip, planned so each day stays in one part of the city: the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a Central Park morning and the Natural History museum, Lower Manhattan and Chelsea, a Brooklyn day, then the Met and Hudson Yards.
It's one of the sample trips inside the Wanderjoy app, so you can open this exact plan on your iPhone with code GOTHAM and change anything.
The whole plan on one map
One color per day. Pick a day to see just its route.
How a plan looks in the app
A New York City trip being revealed in Wanderjoy, pin by pin.
Day by day
Day 1Liberty Island · Greenwich Village · Midtown
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island8:30 AM
Take the first ferry from Battery Park to beat crowds. Ellis Island immigration museum is deeply moving.
Joe's Pizza (Greenwich Village)2:00 PM
Quintessential NYC slice joint since 1975 — thin, foldable, perfectly charred. Eat standing on the sidewalk like a real New Yorker.
Empire State Building at Sunset5:30 PM
The 86th floor outdoor deck is the classic experience.
Day 2Central Park · Central Park West · TKTS Booth
Central Park Morning Walk9:00 AM
Enter at 72nd St — walk Bethesda Fountain, The Mall (elm-lined promenade), and Bow Bridge. The Conservatory Water has model sailboats on weekends.
American Museum of Natural History12:00 PM
The blue whale, T-Rex, and planetarium are must-sees. New Gilder Center addition is architecturally stunning.
Broadway Show (TKTS Half-Price)7:00 PM
Day 3Lower Manhattan · SoHo · Chelsea
One World Observatory9:30 AM
102nd floor views from the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The elevator ride simulates 500 years of NYC history.
SoHo Cast Iron District Walk1:00 PM
Walk the cobblestone streets lined with gorgeous cast-iron architecture — the buildings themselves are the attraction. Browse flagship stores and galleries on Greene, Mercer, and Prince Streets.
Chelsea Market4:00 PM
Former Oreo factory turned gourmet food hall — Los Tacos No. 1 (best tacos in Manhattan), Lobster Place (raw bar), Li-Lac Chocolates (since 1923).
Day 4Brooklyn · Avenue J
Brooklyn Botanic Garden10:00 AM
The cranford rose garden has 1,400+ varieties. Less crowded and more peaceful than Central Park.
Brooklyn Museum1:00 PM
NYC's second-largest art museum — Egyptian galleries, American art, and the feminist art center. Walking distance from the botanic garden and Prospect Park.
Di Fara Pizza (Brooklyn Icon)5:30 PM
Legendary Brooklyn pizza since 1965. Worth the trek to Midwood.
Day 5Fifth Avenue · Upper West Side · Hudson Yards
The Metropolitan Museum of Art10:00 AM
Don't try to see everything — pick 2-3 sections (Egyptian Temple of Dendur, European paintings, rooftop garden). The building itself is a masterpiece.
Levain Bakery Cookies2:00 PM
Six-ounce chocolate chip walnut cookies that are crispy outside, molten inside. Get the dark chocolate peanut butter if you want something different.
EDGE at Hudson Yards5:00 PM
The sunset views down the Hudson River are spectacular.
Plan your own New York City trip
Different dates or a different pace? Wanderjoy drafts a plan around yours.
Get this trip on a map in the app
Install Wanderjoy and import trip code GOTHAM: this exact plan opens in the app, ready to change.
On a computer? Open the trip page for a QR code to scan with your iPhone.
Questions
- How do I open this New York City plan in Wanderjoy?
- Install Wanderjoy, then import trip code GOTHAM. The same 5-day plan opens in the app with every stop on the map, and you can change it from there.
- Can I change the plan?
- Yes. Add, edit or reorder stops, switch days around, and keep trip notes next to the plan.
- Can Wanderjoy make a different New York City plan for me?
- Yes. Give Wanderjoy your dates and how you like to travel, and it drafts a day-by-day New York City itinerary on a map for you.
