New York is truly wonderful in small doses – I think I’ve aged out of wanting to live in the city, but it’s an excellent place to visit. I’ve grouped activities and cultural destinations in a central block, followed by hotels/dining organized by neighborhood. 

Full map available here.

Activities and Cultural Destinations

New York has so many wonderful museums. Come with deep pockets – they run about $25+ per museum.

• ***The Cloisters (part of the Met): wonderful! One of the best collections of medieval art in the world, including major buildings reconstructed on site. It’s a journey to get here, but make the time. I revisited in 2024 and it’s as lovely as I remembered, a special place.
• **The Cooper-Hewitt: a good space, with variable exhibitions. While this isn’t the first museum I run to, it’s conveniently located near “museum mile” and worth a stop.
• ***The Frick is one of my favorite collections, ever. It’s a wonderful space with a very personal (and excellent) selection of work. Not to be missed.
• ***Grand Central Station: take a tour! This was a highlight of my most recent trip. Book online through the official sources – they employ NY actors to guide, and it’s high energy and informative. For next time – make a stop at the stunning Campbell Bar.
• The **Guggenheim Museum is as good as what’s on at the moment. It’s a great design, even more charming if you have been to the Fiat factory in Turin to understand the inspiration.
• **The High Line: a believe-the-hype place to go – it’s a gorgeous place for a walk and a fine work of urban reclamation.
• **Metropolitan Museum of Art: world class. Not my first choice for museums on a quick visit due to the huge scale, but it’s one of the world’s great collections.
• The **Morgan Library is worth seeking out: a very modern space today, built over and around the original, highly ornate personal library. The collections are world-class, the original spaces remarkable. Very good gift shop.
• The **Morris-Jumel Mansion is an interesting find. It’s the oldest house in Manhattan, built in 1765 by British military officer Roger Morris, home to the family of socialite Eliza Jumel in the 19th century (who briefly married Aaron Burr). George Washington lived in the building for a time. It’s not in great shape – the exterior close to a ruin – but there have clearly been attempts to try to update certain elements. It’s more interesting in historical terms than experiential, but if you have the time, do go, and walk around the neighborhood to see some very impressive architecture.
• *Museum of the City of New York: The Colonial-style structure near the top of Central Park was built specifically to house the Museum of the City of New York in 1932. The collection reportedly has over 1.5 million pieces. I was underwhelmed and a bit annoyed but the overdone styling; it’s a lot of graphics and perspectives, getting in the way of the content. The exception to all of this is the video room on the top level, telling the story through film clips. Very good!
• **Museum of Modern Art: along similar lines, I find this museum overwhelming, but it’s very impressive and worthwhile.
• **Neue Galerie Museum: I’ll give this a ‘soft’ fine – it’s not a bad museum, but in a city of greats it doesn’t particularly stand out.
• Founded in 1804, the **New-York Historical Society is New York City’s first museum. It’s a massive collection (and a very large museum) with impressive works. Exhibitions change fairly regularly. I doubt this is on the top of most visitor lists, but it is quite good, worth seeking out. Beautiful building.
• **The Tenement Museum has been on my list forever – it’s a worthwhile, planned stop. They offer a variety of different tours (I did “family owned”) exploring different areas, different contexts. I was a little disappointed to find digital/interactive displays; the analog, guided aspects in the historical spaces were more compelling.

Food and Lodging

Uptown

Dining

• **El Paso Restaurante Tacos y Ceviches (110th street) has been around a long time – they claim 1923. When I visited, it wasn’t bustling, but the food and drinks were excellent.

Midtown

Hotels

• *The Hotel at Fifth Avenue is rather grim and dated, with small, tired rooms. I wouldn’t stay again, but in its favor, the pricing is reasonable, the bed comfortable, and I really did like being in the middle of lively Koreatown. The rooftop bar is small and sad.
• **The Muse: a favorite from my Chronicle years, haven’t been back in ages but I remember it fondly and it’s a good location for midtown.
• **Le Méridien New York, Central Park: elegant, has a pool, very nice (Marriott property)

Dining

• **BCD Tofu House is extremely popular – long lines out the door, though the interior is large and they keep things moving quickly. It was fine, nothing I’d overtly seek out again.
• *Benoit New York has an elegant French bistro setting, but the very expensive food and wine is not good enough – I’d call it “wedding food,” quality ingredients but mass produced.
• *Ess-a-Bagel, near Penn Station, was the worst bagel I had in several days of bagel-binging. Too dense, cream cheese texture too thick. Very popular to judge by the crowds, though.
• **Grabstein’s Bagels: a decent bagel option next to the Method office.
• **The Grand Brasserie in Central Station is gorgeous, and the food was perfectly good. A classic.
• **Grand Central Oyster Bar, also in Grand Central Station, is excellent – a step back to a different era, in a highly efficient, bustling, packed space. It’s a historic destination, worth seeking out. The menu is almost overwhelming, but in a fun way.
• **miss KOREA BBQ was an opportunistic find near my hotel. It’s more expensive than you’d guess from the outside – Korean BBQ, running about $50+/person. I ate on my own, didn’t go for the whole menu, and can’t really comment on what it’s like. Service was excellent though, and the guests seemed happy. 
• **Osamil is very popular (call ahead), with high end Korean/California cuisine dishes and $20 cocktails. It’s a nice setting, if a bit loud, and the bar area near the door is cold. Service could be better.
• **UDON Lab (32nd street) worked for me – a mix of Korean and Japanese options, friendly and attentive service, good vibe.

South of 14th Street

Hotels

• *The Gansevortt (meatpacking district). Dingy and loud.
• **Nomo Soho: very hip, small but clean and stylish rooms. Lively restaurant, and gorgeous entryway. Fairly quiet rooms, though thin walls, and noisy neighbors would be a problem. Neighborhood very central.
• **The Standard, East Village: another hotel from my younger days, I remember it being painfully hip and having comfortable beds.
• *Walker Hotel Greenwich Village: don’t love it. Rooms are tiny, walls are thin, staff a bit indifferent. Really expensive and they up-charge for everything, doesn’t include breakfast.

Food

• **La Contenta Oeste: another hipster Mexican option. Not sure about the food (I had nachos, they were typical nachos), but the cocktails are very good, staff friendly, good atmosphere.
• **Dell’Amina: Amazing Italian food. I went to the small 8th ave location; it’s now a large spot on 11th ave (and a second location I think?).
• **La Esquina: hipster tacos, great cocktails, fun setting. Can be hard to get into, reserve.
• **Jack’s Wife Freda, 224 Lafayette: people keep bringing me back here. Good food, nice service, not too fancy.
• **Mercer Kitchen: a classic, good food, excellent service
• **Murray’s Bagels: a classic, all the fixings, very doughy NY-style bagels
• **Russ & Daughters is one of the most classic Jewish delis – it’s pitch perfect inside, styled and elegant (there are several, I went to the Houston street location). The cream cheese and salmon were world class, bagel itself could have been better.
• **Tacombi: good, spicy tacos in a casual-ish setting. Multiple locations, I’ve been to the Elizabeth street restaurant.