Spring Summer Guide

Thursday — Arrival / Flatiron Evening

Dinner options in Flatiron:

• Eataly Flatiron — 200 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010
• Massara — 48 E 26th St, New York, NY 10010
• Audace — 365 Park Ave South, New York, NY 10016

Madison Square Park / Flatiron Building stroll after dinner.  Check out the Lego Store, The Dog Park, The Cool Statue on 23rd Street – Just an Eye but Cool.  Right near Flat Iron is Gramercy Park.

GRAMERCY PARK GUIDE

Friday — Midtown East & Central Park

Morning: SUMMIT One Vanderbilt — 45 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017
The Ascent elevator with skyline projections, Air glass-floored sky boxes, Levitation glass ledges cantilevered over Madison Ave, Affinity mirrored installation, and Après lounge at the top.

Grand Central Terminal — 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017
Things to see:

• The Main Concourse celestial ceiling with its painted constellations (note: the zodiac is reversed)
• The four-faced opal clock atop the information booth
• The Whispering Gallery outside the Oyster Bar (lower level)
• The Tiffany clock on the 42nd Street façade — largest Tiffany glass in the world
  Vanderbilt Hall
• The Apple Store on the east balcony
• Lunch in the Dining Concourse food court (Shake Shack, Magnolia Bakery, Doughnut Plant, Junior’s, etc.)

Afternoon:

Madison Avenue bus uptown to E 86th St Central Park: Catch the M1, M2, M3, or M4 northbound on Madison Ave — exit at E 86th St. Central Park (entering at 5th Ave & E 85th St).  You will walk West to get to Central Park, strolling along some really gorgeous streets.

• Conservatory Water (sailboat pond) — E 72nd–75th St, near 5th Ave
• Alice in Wonderland bronze statue (north end of the pond)
• Bethesda Terrace & Fountain
• Bow Bridge over The Lake
• The Mall (elm tree promenade)
• Strawberry Fields (if you cross to the west side)

Dinner — Central Park (pick one):
The Loeb Boathouse — E 72nd St & Park Drive North, New York, NY 10021 (lakeside, romantic)
Tavern on the Green — Central Park West at W 67th St, New York, NY 10023 (larger, classic)

Saturday — Hudson River Run, Chelsea Piers & Hudson Yards

• Morning: Run down the Hudson River Greenway- The Greenway runs the entire west side of Manhattan. Pick your start point:
• Practical start for visitors: Riverside Park South at W 72nd St & Riverside Blvd — ~3 miles to Chelsea Piers
• Even shorter: W 59th St & 12th Ave (Hudson River Park north end) — ~2 miles to Chelsea Piers

The path is flat, fully separated from traffic, and hugs the water the whole way.

• Chelsea Piers — Pier 59–62, between W 17th and W 23rd Streets at the Hudson
• Lunch at Pier 57 (food/event complex at the southernmost pier) and head up to the rooftop park on top of Pier 57 (just south of Chelsea Piers) for Hudson River views.
• Little Island

Evening: Hudson Yards — 20 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 10001

• The Vessel — climb (or take the elevator partway up) for views
• The Shops at Hudson Yards — a 7-floor mall with luxury and mid-range retail
• Dinner — Hudson Yards (pick your level): Estiatorio Milos — Greek seafood, fine dining, Wild Ink — Asian fusion with Vessel views (The 5th floor also houses Queensyard, though hours and status shift; confirm before booking)

Other Hudson Yards splurges:

• Electric Lemon — 33 Hudson Yards, 24th floor (skyline views)
• Locanda Verde — 50 Hudson Yards (Italian, De Niro’s restaurant group)  OR
• Casual: Mercado Little Spain — 10 Hudson Yards, ground floor (José Andrés Spanish food hall, tapas and paella)
  5th Floor restaurants (the fancier tier):

Sunday — Brooklyn + Broadway Night

• Brooklyn Hip Hop Tour (meeting point per booking)
• Lunch in DUMBO — Front St & Washington St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
• Brooklyn Heights Promenade — Montague St & Pierrepont Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11201
• Walk the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan is an amazing thing to do is take the FERRY to 34th Street.  AMAZING VIEWS.

  FERRY GUIDE

Dinner

• Dinner near the theater (nicer than Ellen’s Stardust):
• Becco — 355 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036 (Lidia Bastianich’s Italian on Restaurant Row, all-you-can-eat pasta tasting, theater-timed service)
• Don Antonio — 309 W 50th St, New York, NY 10019 (elevated Neapolitan pizza, fast and theater-friendly)
• Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Marquis Theatre — 210 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036

Monday— Downtown & Lower Manhattan

• Morning: Battery Park — State St & Battery Pl, New York, NY 10004
  Choose your ferry: Statue of Liberty + Ellis Island (Statue City Cruises) — 1 Battery Park Underpass, NY 10004 (paid, ~4 hours, includes both islands)
• Staten Island Ferry — Whitehall Terminal, 4 South St, NY 10004 (free, ~25 min each way, great Statue of Liberty view from the water)

Wall Street area:

• 9/11 Memorial & Museum — 180 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10007
• One World Observatory  — 117 West St, New York, NY 10007
• Charging Bull — Bowling Green, Broadway & Morris St
• Fearless Girl — opposite the NYSE on Broad St
• Federal Hall — 26 Wall St
• Trinity Church — 89 Broadway

Lunch at South Street Seaport — Pier 17, 89 South St, New York, NY 10038L  Restaurants on the pier with East River and Brooklyn Bridge views;  The cobblestone streets of the historic district are worth wandering.

Afternoon walk to Chinatown

• About a 15-minute walk north of South Street Seaport. Centered around Mott St, Canal St, and Bayard St.  Here are some good places for dinner. Restaurant picks: 
• Or if you prefer, check out the Lower East Side or East Village.  Here are two of my favorite places in that area Le Jardin Bistro and Fossetta
• A very cool bar on the Lower East Side is in the Ludlow Hotel