Arriv guide · New York
New York first-timer weekend
New York, NY · 3-day weekend getaway · 13 places
By ArrivLast checked
The first-timer list, walked in an order that keeps the subway rides short. Short trips fail by trying to cover the whole city, because transit eats the day and you remember the subway. 3 days in New York, spent in one part of town at a time, so the walking between stops stays under fifteen minutes. Arrive Friday afternoon if you can make the flights work, because a full Saturday is the whole payoff. The first evening then goes to dinner and a walk, which is a better start than a supermarket run. This guide maps 13 hand-picked places across the icons, eat like a local, and neighborhood wandering in New York, NY, grouped the way you would use them once you are on the ground. Open the map before you commit to the order, because two stops that read as neighbors in a list can sit forty minutes apart. Duplicate the trip in Arriv when you want to move them around and send the link on.
Stays on this map
Hotels and rentals near these pins.
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How to use this New York guide
- Follow the day-by-day order as a starting spine, because it already accounts for what sits near what. 3 days is the intended pace, and once you duplicate the trip you can stretch it or compress it to fit the flights.
- Day 1 assumes you are checked in and moving, so the first big block starts on a morning that is already yours. Land the night before if the schedule allows it.
- 13 stops carry a note about reservations, timing, or where to eat after the main event. Read those first, because they are the ones that change what you end up booking.
- The lists are themed on purpose, which is why they hold together as sets: The icons, Eat like a local, Neighborhood wandering, and more. Use them when you have finished the scheduled stops and still have an evening to fill.
- Pin the map so you have it on your phone at the airport. Duplicate into Arriv when you are ready to lock dates, add hotels, and share the plan with everyone coming to New York.
3-day New York itinerary
Tap a stop to see it on the map. Adjust freely once it’s your trip.
Day 1Arrive + Central Park + Midtown icons
Levain Bakery
4.7
167 W 74th St, New York, NY 10023, USA
Tip — Cookie for breakfast, no regrets
Central Park
4.8
New York, NY, USA
Tip — Loop down to Bethesda Fountain
The Met
4.8
1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028, USA
Tip — Two wings max
Top of the Rock
4.7
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112, USA
Tip — Sunset slot — book it
Joe's Pizza
4.4
7 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014, USA
Tip — Slice for dinner
Comedy Cellar
4.8
117 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012, USA
Tip — Late show
Day 2High Line + Village + Katz's
Chelsea Market
4.6
75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011, USA
Tip — Graze breakfast
The High Line
4.7
New York, NY 10011, USA
Tip — Walk north to Hudson Yards
Washington Square Park
4.6
New York, NY 10012, USA
Tip — Street pianos, chess hustlers, and NYU energy, which is worth twenty minutes on a bench before you move on.
Katz's Delicatessen
4.5
205 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002, USA
Tip — Late-lunch pastrami
Attaboy
4.2
134 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002, USA
Tip — Bartender's choice
Day 3Brooklyn Bridge + DUMBO
Brooklyn Bridge
4.8
New York, NY 10038, USA
Tip — Before the crowds
DUMBO
Washington St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
Tip — Coffee + the bridge photo
Where to go in New York
13 places across 4 themed lists — use these when you want options beyond the day plan.
The icons
New York, NY, USA
Enter at 59th & 5th and wander up to Bethesda Terrace, which is about as much park as a first visit needs.
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112, USA
Better than the Empire State Building, because from up here you can see the Empire State Building.
New York, NY 10038, USA
Walk it toward Manhattan, because that way the skyline sits ahead of you the whole crossing.
1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028, USA
Pick two wings and leave, because the Met rewards a short focused visit far more than a long one. Stay four hours and you will remember none of it.
Eat like a local
205 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002, USA
Pastrami on rye at the counter, and do not lose your ticket, because they will charge you for it if you do.
7 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014, USA
The classic fold-and-walk slice, which is the correct way to eat it.
167 W 74th St, New York, NY 10023, USA
The chocolate chip walnut cookie, which is worth the line even when the line goes around the corner.
75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011, USA
Graze the stalls, and then walk the High Line, which runs directly above the market.
Neighborhood wandering
New York, NY 10011, USA
An elevated park built on old rail tracks, and the entrance you want is at Gansevoort St, which puts the walk ahead of you.
New York, NY 10012, USA
Street pianos, chess hustlers, and NYU energy, which is worth twenty minutes on a bench before you move on.
Washington St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
The Manhattan Bridge photo everybody comes for, and then the waterfront once you have taken it.
Nights
134 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002, USA
There is no menu, so you tell the bartender what you like and they build it from there.
117 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012, USA
Book ahead, because surprise drop-ins happen and the room is small.
Make this New York trip yours
Use this guide to duplicate the itinerary into your trips. Set dates, swap stops, invite your crew — then continue planning on the web or take it on the go in the Arriv app.