Long Weekend in New York City: Bex's Guide

From secret speakeasies and SoHo shops, to magnificent museums and Brooklyn Bridge, New York City is as good at alliteration as bucket-list items. Since I fell in love with the city during the sweltering summer of 1995, I’ve returned once or twice a year. These trips tend to be about four or five days including travel time, but it’s possible to pack a lot in even on short visits. You might not make it to all the major sights and museums, but you’ve got to save something for next time, right?

Following on from the long weekend in London guide I compiled last summer, I’ve put together an itinerary for a four-day weekend in New York. This assumes arrival on a Thursday afternoon and departure on Sunday evening but you can mix things up to suit your own plans. On the agenda are some of my favourite things to do and see, and places to eat, drink, shop and drink coffee. Scroll to the end for even more recommendations, some practical information and a Google Map of each featured place. I hope you find this guide useful — please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or suggestions. You can find all of my NYC-related blog posts here.


THURSDAY

15:00 Jet-lag busting
A morning flight from London can get you to JFK or Newark soon after lunch, and if you take a taxi into town you could be at your hotel by 15:00 local time. I usually head straight out into the daylight and towards coffee. Luckily, NYC has a booming speciality coffee scene and the choice is vast. If you’re in SoHo try Everyman Espresso, in the Flatiron District check out Paper Coffee or in Midtown (via Melbourne) head to Little Collins (pictured). For many other options, click over to my full New York coffee shop guide.

18:00 Casual supper
On my first evening, I like to go to a favourite spot for a low-key dinner. The historic Fanelli Café in SoHo has served food and drink, under various names, since 1847, and is a great spot for comfort food. Likewise, P.J. Clarke’s, whose bustling Midtown East branch (featured in Mad Men) is my favourite, serves a mean burger, and other modern American classics.

20:00 Sunsets and the city
You may be craving your bed but holding out for a glorious sunset from the Top of the Rock could be more rewarding (weather-permitting). I like the view here more than from the top of the Empire State Building, not least because you can see the latter from the Top of the Rock. The space at the top is more open too, which allows for better viewing and photos.

FRIDAY 

07:00 Central Park run
Unless you’re a super sleeper, you will probably wake up early and a run around the 843-acre Central Park is the perfect way to kickstart your morning. There’s a 10km running loop around the park but there are lots of other paths if you’d like a shorter run. Pick up a coffee afterwards from Ninth Street Espresso or Blue Bottle, and perhaps a sweet treat from Milk Bar.

09:00 Take the High Line
Head to the West 34th Street end of the High Line, an art-filled public park constructed on an elevated rail line that runs south to Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District. Stop for coffee along the way at Underline or Intelligentsia, and pop into Chelsea Market for interesting shops and eateries, and Story, a concept store with ever-changing concepts.

11:00 Village shops
The West Village and Greenwich Village together form one of New York’s loveliest areas. It’s fun to pick out your favourite brownstone on the small, characterful streets, and there are wonderful shops. Try Flight 001 for travel goods, Three Lives & Co (one of my all-time favourite bookshops), Marine Layer for ‘absurdly soft’ clothing, Pink Olive for accessories and gifts, and Greenwich Letterpress for beautiful stationery.

13:00 Downtown lunch
You won’t starve in these parts. Lunch options include Corner Bistro, Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque, Dante (pictured) and Jeffrey’s Grocery. I haven’t yet tried the pizzas (or burger) at Emily, but they are supposed to be top notch. For a post-lunch coffee, check out Stumptown’s gorgeous NYC flagship cafe on West 8th (pictured) or the petite but perfectly formed Third Rail Coffee just south of Washington Square.

14:30 South of Houston
Head south into the shopping paradise of SoHo. I prefer this downtown branch of Bloomingdale’s to the stuffier uptown original, and many of the chains I like to visit in the US — Madewell, Lululemon, Patagonia and Sephora — have stores here. Just east of Broadway, you can find the MoMA Design Store, minimalist clothing retailer Everlane, and two great bookshops: Housing Works and McNally Jackson. If you need another coffee, look no further than Cafe Integral, a beautiful cafe that specialises in single-origin Nicaraguan coffees (pictured).

16:00 Tenement tour
The Tenement Museum offers unique insights into the Lower East Side neighbourhood by running tours through restored tenement apartments that bring immigrant stories to life. I’ve taken three tours, one focusing on an Irish family, one on public health and one walking tour with samples of foods typical of various immigrant cuisines. Many tours sell out, so you should book in advance if possible.

19:00 LES dinner and drinks
You can find almost any cuisine in the restaurants of the Lower East Side, from Vanessa’s legendary dumplings, to Mission Chinese Food and Tijuana Picnic. Retire to The Back Room, a Prohibition Era secret speakeasy, for cocktails.


SATURDAY

09:00 Brooklyn breakfast Take the subway to Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant for a cracking breakfast at Golda. With great coffee from Parlor and Middle Eastern-influenced cuisine in a bright and beautifully designed cafe, it’s well worth the trip. If you have time — and especially in cherry blossom season — walk off your breakfast in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

11:30 Williamsburg wander
Ride the subway to hip Williamsburg. Sweatshop on Metropolitan, Toby’s Estate on North 6th and Devoción on Grand are great coffee choices in the area. On Bedford Avenue, shop — and people-watch — your way up to McCarren Park. Then head west to East River State Park, for Smorgasburg, a huge outdoor street food market. It’s there every Saturday from October until April.

15:00 Boat trippin’
The NYC Ferry runs a route that zigzags along the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn from 34th Street to Wall Street. It’s a scenic ride and the fastest, most fun way to travel from Williamsburg to Dumbo. Disembark at Brooklyn Bridge and enjoy the views of the Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn Bridge Park. Then develop more house envy in Brooklyn Heights, a picturesque neighbourhood with historic brownstones and fruit-themed street names.

18:00 A view from the bridge
If you’re lucky, you may hit golden hour or sunset when you take a leisurely stroll across Brooklyn Bridge. This is my favourite walk in the world, and I still get a thrill each time I first set foot upon the iconic bridge’s pedestrian walkway. The experience is better if you walk from Brooklyn to Manhattan; otherwise, you’ll just keep turning around to soak in the stunning Manhattan skyline views, like Orpheus unable to resist the temptation of Eurydice. Don’t rush, take lots of photos and mind the cyclists!

19:00 World-class cocktails
The Brooklyn Bridge walkway leads to City Hall and then it’s a short walk to The Dead Rabbit, which rightly features in numerous lists of the world’s best cocktail bars. Its sister bar, BlackTail (pictured), in Battery Park is just as good.

20:30 Neighbourhood dining
From the Financial District, it’s a short subway ride to North Moore Street in Tribeca, home to one of my favourite New York restaurants. Cosy, intimate and with delicious food and well-mixed cocktails, Smith & Mills is a special place. They don’t take reservations but it’s worth the wait. If the jet lag hasn’t kicked in, go for a nightcap. Mother’s Ruin in SoHo and The Up & Up (pictured) in Greenwich Village are two of my favourite cocktail spots.

SUNDAY 

09:00 Brunch o’clock
Ward off last night’s excesses with a good brekkie. Prune, Ruby’s, Jack’s Wife Freda (pictured) and Bluestone Lane are all excellent choices. It’s worth booking if the eatery accepts reservations.

11:00 Sunday morning culture
Journey to Museum Mile, a section of Fifth Avenue that runs along Central Park’s Eastern flank. The Metropolitan Museum of Art may be on your must-see list, but for a more doable chunk of culture on a short trip, I prefer the Guggenheim (pictured) and the Frick Collection on East 70th — a ‘best-of’ collection of Old Masters. For post-culture coffee, try Flora Bar.

13:00 Pizza the action
If you haven’t yet had your pizza fix, take the subway to Motorino (pictured) in the East Village, which serves supremely tasty Neapolitan pizza; new LES opening Una Pizza Napoletana is also highly rated.

14:30 Getting square
After lunch, wander through the East Village and then up to Union Square. The farmers’ market isn’t open on Sundays, but there are often events and festivals taking place. Walk up Fifth Avenue or Broadway to Madison Square (both stretches are great for shopping — ABC Carpet & Home and quirky crockery purveyor Fishs Eddy are located on Broadway). Madison Square Park often has art and always has superb views of the Flat Iron and Empire State Building. If you skipped lunch, seek sustenance at Shake Shack or Italian food emporium Eataly. If you have time for a last coffee, try Patent (which turns into a cocktail bar at 16:00) or Blank Slate.

FIVE MORE GREAT…

• speciality coffee spots: Black Fox (FiDi), Cafe Grumpy (multiple locations), City of Saints (East Village), Ground Support (SoHo) and Joe (Greenwich Village and other locations); and five more: Culture Espresso (Midtown), Irving Farm (LES and other locations), La Colombe (multiple locations), Terremoto (Chelsea) and Voyager Espresso (FiDi). 
• brunch spots: Cookshop (Chelsea), Egg Shop (Nolita), Nickel & Diner (Chinatown), Sunday in Brooklyn (Williamsburg) and Two Hands (Tribeca). 
• food markets/halls: DeKalb Market Hall (Brooklyn), Essex Street Market (LES), Gotham West Market (Hell’s Kitchen), Turnstyle (Midtown) and Urbanspace Vanderbilt (Midtown) 
• quick eats: Black Seed (Nolita), City Bakery (Flatiron), Los Tacos No 1 (Chelsea), Luke’s Lobster (FiDi) and Mister Dips (Williamsburg). 
• dinner picks: Brindle Room (East Village), Diner (Williamsburg), Five Leaves (Greenpoint), The Spotted Pig (West Village) and Roberta’s (Bushwick). 
• cocktail bars: Bar Goto (LES), Clover Club (Cobble Hill), Employees Only (West Village), Huckleberry Bar (Williamsburg) and Pegu Club (SoHo). 
• unique things to do: cocktails at the Met, kayak in or trapeze over the Hudson, New York guided photo safari or pizza tour, Roosevelt Island Tramway and Staten Island Ferry. 
• parks: Battery Park, Governors Island Park, Hudson River Park, Riverside Park and Washington Square Park (Greenwich Village).
• indie cinemas: Angelika Film Center (NoHo), Film Forum (West Village), IFC (Greenwich Village), The Paris (Midtown) and Nitehawk (Williamsburg). 

Black Fox Coffee

Cookshop

The Spotted Pig

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Accommodation: I’ve stayed in diverse New York accommodations, from youth hostels to the Four Seasons, and everything in between. Recently, I’ve been impressed with the Soho Grand and the Gild Hall (I got a great deal when staying in February). However, given the wealth of options available, I’d suggest searching with sites like booking.com, hotels.com or Airbnb. Neighbourhood-wise, I prefer to stay in SoHo, Nolita or the Flatiron District for maximum flexibility and access to good coffee.

Arriving: From JFK, I usually splurge on a taxi, which is $52 plus tolls to Manhattan. The journey takes around an hour, depending on traffic. You can also take the AirTrain to Howard Beach subway station and then the A train into Manhattan. This costs about $8 and can be done in 1h15. From Newark, I take the AirTrain monorail and then the train to Penn Station, which costs $13 and takes about 50 minutes.

Getting around: I walk a lot when I’m in New York, jumping on the subway when necessary. The subway is generally the most efficient mode of transport, although if you’re travelling from east to west, buses are helpful. Taxis, Uber and Lyft are plentiful.

Money: US currency is the dollar ($). The UK exchange rate has been dire for some time. Credit and debit cards are accepted almost everywhere — even at many street-food stalls. Chip-and-pin and contactless payment options are catching on, although far from universal. Cashpoints (ATMs) are ubiquitous; some charge a fee for withdrawals.

When to come: Apart from July and August, when the city is often unbearably hot and sticky, New York is a delight to visit throughout the year. For busy sight-seeing agendas, spring or autumn are my favourite seasons, even if the weather can be unpredictable. Bring layers — or be prepared to shop. The city is magical during the holiday season and although it can be very cold and snowy, it’s rare that inclement weather causes much disruption.

OTHER NEW YORK RESOURCES

• My four-part NYC guide from 2013
• Time Out New York — things to do, events, culture, food and drink
• New York Magazine — NYC news, culture, lifestyle, food and drink
• Gothamist — news, food, art and events
• Eater — all of the best NYC food and drink news and reviews
• MTA — public transport information
• Citymapper — useful journey-planning website; there's an app too

Found this post useful? Please consider supporting my blog by buying me a coffee.

My Favourite NYC Specialty Coffee Shops (Updated 2024)

For the past two decades, I've visited New York about twice per year and, over the past ten years, I've been exploring the city's now-booming specialty coffee scene and writing about it on this blog and posting accompanying photos on Flickr. Although I've produced coffee guides for various New York neighbourhoods, my last overall NYC coffee guide was published in 2013, when I rounded up ten of my favourite coffee bars. I've been thinking about an update for a while, but as both the scene and my own tastes have evolved considerably, I knew that another top ten would no longer cut it.

Instead, I've created a specialty coffee map, which now includes almost 100 coffee shops and cafés throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, from Abraço to Zibetto. I've visited them all, although I've also been to many more New York coffee shops over the years that aren't included here — some have now closed and others, while good, are no longer all-time favourites. Many of my favourite coffee spots are now part of micro-chains and for the purposes of this guide, I haven't listed every branch (or even every branch I've been to); instead, I've selected my favourite branches and/or those in locations where good-quality specialty coffee can be hard to come by (some parts of Midtown, for instance).

I created this guide in 2017 but I update it regularly with my latest coffee shop discoveries! Last updated: November 2024.

The NYC Caffeine Chronicles: Greenpoint Coffee Guide

I have spent a lot of time in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Williamsburg over the years, including a recent visit to a couple of specialty coffee shops there, but I hadn't really scratched the surface on its northern neighbour, Greenpoint, apart from to go to Five Leaves, a favourite restaurant of mine, which is on the Greenpoint–Williamsburg borders. When carrying out some coffee research for my most recent trip to New York, I realised that there were a fair few Greenpoint coffee spots that were worth a visit and I spent a happy — and caffeinated — morning there last week.

I took the East River Ferry from the Financial District all the way up to the India Street docks (which provides the above vista of the Manhattan skyline), a fast 15-minute journey, which brought me within a five-minute walk of the coffee.

Homecoming
I started my tour at Homecoming, which is located in the "middle-west" of Greenpoint on one of the main north–south drags, Franklin Street. I was attracted both by the prospect of coffee from San Francisco roaster Sightglass (a favourite of mine) and by the fact that Homecoming is a flower shop and lifestyle boutique as well as a coffee shop. The interiors are beautiful, the colourful flowers setting off the minimalist white tiling and light wood flooring.

The exchange rate being what it is, I allowed myself only to browse the shop briefly, before taking a seat at the little bench by the door. The cortado I ordered ($4) was really nice, the barista was lovely and there was a very calming, relaxed ambiance in the cafe during my visit. There are no filter coffee options, although there is a cold brew on the menu, if that's your thing.

107 Franklin Street nr Greenpoint Ave. Website. Twitter. Instagram.

Búðin
As someone who loves to spend time in Nordic cities, I was naturally drawn to the Nordic-influenced Búðin, which is half a block east of Homecoming on Greenpoint Avenue. The cafe has minimalist, industrial-chic décor: blue walls, metal stools and pendant lights. There is plenty of seating around the three sides of the large, central coffee bar and both smaller and communal tables along the side and in the back.

Búðin often offers coffees from Sweden, Norway and Iceland, and there were two coffees from the Swedish Drop Coffee available as a pourover: an El Salvador variety and a Gichathaini from Kenya ($5), which is the one I chose. The pourover was excellent, with the slightly tart and fruity notes of the Gichathaini coming through very nicely. There were quite a few MacBookers on a Monday morning, but with its welcoming, knowledgable baristas and warm atmosphere, Búðin remains a great place to enjoy top-notch coffee.

114 Greenpoint Avenue bet. Franklin St. & Manhattan Ave. Website. Twitter. Instagram.


Champion Coffee
I saw a lot of beautiful espresso machines on this New York trip but one of the loveliest was the cerulean La Marzocco in Champion's Manhattan Avenue coffee bar. In fact, everything Champion do is beautifully designed, from the gallery wall next to the coffee bar to the retail bags of coffee beans. There is plenty of seating in the small-ish cafe and I read that there is also a lovely back garden but it was much too cold a day for that.

I had hoped to sample a hand-brewed filter coffee, but the coffee menu focuses on espresso-based drinks and so I stuck to my usual cortado ($3.75), which was on the long side but tasted nice. I already had lunch plans and couldn't sample the tempting selection of sandwiches.

1107 Manhattan Avenue nr Clay St. Website. Instagram.


Upright Coffee

So petite that only a few people can stand inside at one time, I can confirm that Upright Coffee, further south down Manhattan Avenue from Champion, is indeed appropriately named. There are a couple of stools where you can perch by the front window watching the denizens of Greenpoint walk past but otherwise, Upright is standing room only (and not much of that).

Upright roast their own coffee and the coffee menu was, once again, espresso-based. If I had known pourovers were a rare breed in Greenpoint, I might not have loaded up on two cortados back in Manhattan! The cortado I ordered was also on the long side — the price was the same as for a latte and it probably approached a latte in volume. The coffee, though, was rich and smooth and worked well as a (not-so-)cortado.

860 Manhattan Avenue #2 nr Milton St. Website. Twitter.


On my list for next time:

Odd Fox Coffee (984 Manhattan Avenue nr Huron St.). Website. When I was in Greenpoint — just last week — the airplane-themed Propeller Coffee occupied the shop at 984 Manhattan Avenue. I didn't have time to go in but it has now permanently closed and Odd Fox is its replacement.

Sweetleaf Coffee (159 Freeman Street nr Manhattan Ave.). Website. Twitter. Instagram. They also have coffee shops in Long Island City and Williamsburg.

Variety Coffee Roasters (145 Driggs Avenue nr Russell St.). Website. Instagram.

NYC III:Skyline Views, Greenpoint Gallivanting and a Musical Interlude

Monday was my last free day in New York before heading into our office and happily, the weather had improved greatly after Sunday's sleety wash-out. I donned my running kit and did another loop to Brooklyn via Manhattan Bridge and back over Brooklyn Bridge, stopping for coffee at the hard-to-find (but well worth seeking out) Voyager Espresso, which is located inside Fulton Street subway station (enter through John Street near Gold, and no, you don't need to buy a subway ticket).Voyager is rather futuristic looking with a circular central coffee bar and a stripped down menu: black, white or filter. I had an excellent Costa Rican piccolo and some avocado toast, and then headed back up to my hotel to pack and change.

After taking my suitcase to my work-organised hotel —the DoubleTree, a ten-minute walk from the Gild Hall on Stone Street — I went straight back out to catch the East River Ferry to Greenpoint. I've taken the ferry a few times before, mainly during the summer to get between Williamsburg and Lower Manhattan. It's fast, cheap ($4 for a single in winter) and offers a great view of the Manhattan skyline and all three bridges. The ferries run less frequently in the winter, however, and as I had just missed one, I decided to kill some time at Cafe Grumpy's new Financial District branch, which, conveniently enough, opened up right next to my hotel earlier this month. I had a very good piccolo, admired the sexy orange Synesso espresso machine, chatted with the friendly barista about the Reykjavik coffee scene (we'd both visited recently) and then went to catch the ferry.

The ride to Greenpoint, the northernmost stop on the Brooklyn side, takes only about 15 minutes from Pier 11. I was disappointed when I was told that, unlike in the summer, I couldn't stand outside, but when I stepped off the boat in Greenpoint into the incredibly strong wind, I began to understand. The East River Ferry docks in Williamsburg and Greenpoint are also great places to capture a clear shot of the Manhattan skyline, but after snapping a few quick shots, I sought shelter in-land.

I spent the next few hours exploring some of the speciality coffee shops of Greenpoint, which will be the subject of a future blog post. For now, though, here's a preview of one of my favourites: the Nordic-influenced Búðin.

My Greenpoint coffee tour ended near the northern end of Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, so I spent some time window shopping there before schlepping over to for lunch Bushwick (note: it's a very quick subway ride on the L train, but I usually prefer to walk). My destination was fabled pizzeria Roberta's, which I tried to visit with my family in October, but there was a two-and-a-half hour queue. There was no queue at all at 2 pm on a wintry Monday and I took a seat at one of the tables near the wood-fired pizza oven. The waitress started talking about the day's special — some kind of pimped-up porridge — but the margherita pizza was always going to be the only option. It was really good with creamy buffalo mozzarella and a thin but chewy base. I still don't think I'd wait for two-and-a-half hours for it, but it was delicious.

By this point, I had already had six coffees and didn't really need another but I was so close to Blue Bottle's new Bushwick roastery and cafe that it would have been rude not to stop by. I bought a bag of beans, which have been making my suitcase smell delicious. I can't wait to try it.

Back in the Financial District, the sun was starting to set over Liberty Island and I just had time to drop off my shopping at my hotel before meeting some colleagues at The Growler, a cosy gastropub on Stone Street. I had a lovely gin- and tea-based cocktail and a good burger with bacon marmalade. After dinner, I ended up walking all the way up to Madison Square Park to get a good view of the Empire State Building, which was all lit up in purple and yellow to celebrate the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.

To vary my morning running, I decided to jog through Battery Park and up the West Side to Canal Street before looping back towards my hotel. It was extremely cold but at least the wind had died down. I soon warmed up after an El Salvador pourover and some banana-nut bread from Cafe Grumpy. It was then time to head into the office, where I was met with an incredible view both of the Manhattan skyline and Liberty Island from the 46th floor. By golden hour, the views were even more impressive.

After work, one of my co-workers and I decided to go for Galentine's Day cocktails at BlackTail, a cool Cuban-themed bar in Battery Park (coincidentally, BlackTail popped up in London for three days last week). The cocktails were spectacular, although rather more potent than I was expecting. They also give you an "amuse-bouche" mini daiquiri as a palate cleanser; how wonderful! We sat at the bar so that we could watch the expert bar-tenders work their magic. The drinks weren't cheap but it was a great experience.

I then had a date with Le Poisson Rouge, a music and cabaret venue in Greenwich Village, where, for three days only, they were putting on Cruel Intentions: The Musical. Cruel Intentions is a guilty pleasure of mine: it's one of my favourite trashy '90s movies and I watched it so many times that I used to be able to quote large portions of the dialogue. It's also a very New Yorky film and I've been to a few of the filming locations, including the Ukranian Cultural Center on the Upper East Side, which serves as the Valmont house. The musical was great fun, anyway, with plenty of bonus '90s songs (from N-Sync and Natalie Imbruglia, to Meredith Brooks and TLC) thrown in to complement the classics from the soundtrack (Placebo, Counting Crows and The Cardigans, to name but three). I've seen a lot of shows in New York over the years, including some on Broadway, but this was one of the most fun experiences.

On Wednesday morning, I checked out of my hotel and then went for breakfast at Bluestone Lane's second FiDi location on Water Street. The cafe is Instagram-ready with Bluestone Lane's signature white espresso machine, teal and green accents, and foliage. My piccolo and avocado toast were both very good too. After something of a caffeine crisis on Tuesday afternoon (there was no good coffee in my building), I decided to get in another coffee before going into the office and went back to Black Fox Coffee on Pine Street, this time trying a pourover (an Ethiopian Kayon from 49th Parallel, which was one of the best pourovers I've had in the past few months). After a morning of meetings, I just had time to grab a bagel from Leo's (tasty and huge) before catching the subway to Penn Station for the next part of my trip.