If you’ve been looking for a sign to go to NYC, this is it! I’ve never been, so this summer, one of my best friends Greer and I decided to spend a few days in the city in the fall. We looked up the best times to visit New York, and the end of October was a top choice—now that I’ve been, I totally agree. The weather was gorgeous and we had an amazing time.
Keep reading for my New York City travel guide with ideas of where to eat and drink, what to do and of course, what to wear in the city.
GETTING THERE + TRANSPORTATION
My trip to NYC was my first ever flight alone (and only my third plane trip total!) so I was especially happy that there are direct flights from the Birmingham airport to LaGuardia. Greer had the same luck in Knoxville, so getting to the city was as easy as taking our direct flights and meeting at LGA. From there, we took a taxi to our Airbnb in Brooklyn.
NYC has amazing public transportation, but it definitely takes some getting used to! We used the metro to get everywhere other than the airport. For $35, you can buy a metro card with unlimited rides for a week. Apple Maps and Google Maps luckily have transit directions, so it isn’t too hard to get from one spot to the next. Just be aware that the transit time will affect your plans—if something is just a few miles away, it might be 30 minutes until you get there since you have to consider getting on the subway, making your connections, etc.
Another note that I wish I had thought of before… going to the bathroom in a city like New York becomes such a hassle! After walking for miles, you will want to use the bathroom and may end up buying another $8 coffee just to do so. No shame. Spots like the New York Public Library are a great option to sit for free, charge your phones, use the bathroom and get off your feet for a few minutes.
WHERE TO EAT + DRINK IN NEW YORK CITY
One of my favorite parts of traveling is always eating, and Greer and I had a huge list of restaurants to try! We were able to hit a few on our list, but for the most part, if we were already in an area and hungry, we would look for something near us. We found some amazing spots this way. There are a few spots I would definitely eat at again, but with such a huge culinary scene, you’ll probably be just as lucky finding food in a short radius!
HAAB
We arrived to our Williamsburg apartment in the afternoon on Wednesday, and we decided to just grab a quick bite and found Haab. It serves Mexican cuisine like empanadas, flautas, burritos and more. Note that this spot is cash only, but I’m still thinking about the chicken and cheese empanadas I got, so it was worth it! They were the perfect midday snack with the yummiest garlic mayo.
SUGARFISH
Sugarfish was one of the only spots Greer and I had on our lists that we actually went to—and it was hands down my favorite meal of the trip. If you love sushi, get the “Try Me” menu. For about $50, you’ll get a chef-selected meal with different sashimi, hand rolls and cut rolls. Each course is brought out to you slowly, so you have plenty of time to savor each bite. The fatty tuna sashimi with ponzu and chives was genuinely melt-in-your-mouth buttery soft.
There are no reservations, but Greer and I got there on Thursday around 6:30PM and were seated in less than thirty minutes. I would have waited even longer now that I know how delicious it is!
VIA QUADRONNO
On our day shopping through Manhattan, we were craving Italian so decided to stop for lunch at a place Greer had eaten at before. I went with spaghetti bolognese which was perfect to feel full for a day of walking. We had Italian again at a spot called Ainslie later, and I would choose Ainslie over Via Quadronno!
KAME
Kame is a cute little spot right next to the Fashion Institute of Technology, and Greer and I went for a late lunch/early dinner after museum hopping. I would definitely go for dinner over lunch because we both loved what we ordered but felt too stuffed to finish it! I went with the tonkotsu ramen and Greer ordered a rice bowl with pork belly and lots of other yummy toppings.
TIME OUT MARKET
If you’re heading to the Brooklyn Bridge, check out Time Out Market for tons of different restaurants and an amazing rooftop view of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. Greer went with a classic bagel and I simply couldn’t make up my mind when ordering, so I ended up ordering a steak sandwich—it was delicious but nothing to write home about.
AINSLIE
On our last night in NYC, Greer and I actually grabbed dinner with a blogger friend I’ve never met in person, Francesca! She recommended Ainslie and it was absolutely amazing. I grabbed the penne alla vodka (and added burrata, because why not?), and it was just delicious. It was a huge portion of food and would be a great option to have some leftovers if you ate it earlier in the trip.
I also loved the drink I got, and the atmosphere was just the perfect, fun vibe.
VARIETY
This would not be a Sunnyside New York City travel guide without a ton of coffee shops, right?! We tried a ton and there are so many more we could have done.
Variety is a cute coffee shop in Brooklyn just a few minutes from where we were staying, and we went on our first full day. I went for a basic latte and would definitely go back here. It was full of people with their laptops studying or working from home, and it seems like it’d be the perfect place to get cozy with a book for a few hours.
CHA CHA MATCHA
Greer and I tried to grab Cha Cha Matcha while out and about one day, but the Soho location was closed. Luckily, we stumbled across another location in the Time Out Market! We both went with the iced strawberry matcha — so aesthetically pleasing and delicious. If you match your outfits to your coffee shop vibes, go all out in pink and green. Lucky for me, that’s one of my favorite color combos, so I was perfectly matching.
RALPH’S COFFEE
Ralph’s is definitely one of the most popular spots Greer and I visited, and it was the perfect spot to enjoy our drinks while watching the bustle of Manhattan. Ralph’s is the coffee shop located in Ralph Lauren, and they have table service, but we got drinks to go and luckily found a seat outside. I went with an iced matcha latte, and if I were to go again, I’d add a flavor or honey to sweeten it a bit!
BUSWICK GRIND
This was another spot we hadn’t heard about before searching for coffee near us, but it was one of my favorites! Greer and I both got lattes with their housemade brown sugar cinnamon syrup, and while the syrup was very sweet, it was delicious. If you prefer your coffee less sweet, definitely ask for half the syrup!
LAND TO SEA
Francesca told us Land to Sea is her favorite nearby coffee shop, so we got this on our last day before going to Mass. We both went with the apple cardamom latte (which tasted more strongly of cardamom than apple, if that deters you) and pastries. The coconut bun was so delicious and buttery—it tasted like a cozy hug!
This was definitely my favorite coffee shop we went to because of the atmosphere and menu offerings. If I lived in Brooklyn, it’d be one of my go-to spots.
Save this New York City travel guide for your next trip!
NEW YORK CITY TRAVEL GUIDE: WHAT TO DO
Trust me, you won’t have to worry about finding things to do in New York. It’ll be harder to narrow down what you actually want to do. I got tons of recommendations from friends and followers on TikTok, and a few people recommended choosing a neighborhood and exploring which is a great way to stay open to finding new experiences.
For the most part, Greer and I had a few bucket list items and made the rest of our plans around those “must-do” items while still being flexible. Check a map ahead of time and make sure you’re hitting the places near each other instead of hopping around from Brooklyn to Manhattan to Queens in one day.
Note: There are a lot of very quintessential NYC things that I didn’t do (like seeing the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building). Greer had already done some of them, and there were a few I just didn’t care about as much when it came to making our plans!
CENTRAL PARK
Walking through Central Park in late October was just absolutely beautiful. It was pretty warm on our trip but the leaves were changing and so gorgeous. Central Park is huge, so you could spend as much or as little time as you like. You’ll come across people playing music, artists selling their work and people everywhere. If I lived in New York, I’d love to stop by the park to read or go on walks with friends.
SHOPPING IN MANHATTAN
I am not a huge fan of spending tons of money but I love window shopping, so Greer and I spent time browsing the high end and vintage stores in Manhattan. We ended up buying matching bracelets from Kate Spade as a fun designer memento for the trip, and I’m so glad we did! They weren’t even available in stock funnily enough, so it will be a fun surprise gift to find in the mailbox one day.
BROADWAY OR OFF BROADWAY SHOWS
I am a huge musical theatre fan, but I’ve never seen Little Shop of Horrors. Greer had seen it in New York a few months before, but we decided to go again and loved it. Corbin Bleu (you know, from High School Musical) and Constance Wu were Seymour and Audrey, and the venue was so small that we were right next to the stage in the second row. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me, and I think I’d like to see a show anytime I go to New York in the future!
BROOKLYN + CHELSEA FLEA MARKETS
Greer and I love thrifting, so we had to hit the Brooklyn and Chelsea Flea Markets on Saturday. The Brooklyn Flea Market is a huge open-air flea market under a bridge, and there’s a wide variety of booths selling vintage, secondhand goods and artist-made pieces. I grabbed a few pieces of jewelry and some gorgeous prints.
WALK THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
The Brooklyn Bridge is super crowded, but it was such a highlight to be able to see Manhattan and Brooklyn from the bridge. There are beautiful views and lots of fun photo opps. You’ll see tons of other people taking photos, but that’s all part of the fun.
THE MET
It wouldn’t be a New York City travel guide without a few museums—truly, you could hit up a museum every day on a trip and still feel like you haven’t seen them all. We didn’t want to spend all of our time in museums, so we decided to prioritize The Metropolitan Museum of Art and spent a few hours browsing the galleries.
If you’re looking for the classic “Gossip Girl” pic, you’ll probably have to go at an odd time. When we went around 10AM, the steps were absolutely packed.
FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MUSEUM
There are so many museums in NYC that it’s pretty hard to narrow down which ones you’ll go to, but checking out the FIT Museum was at the top of my list! It’s free and takes less than an hour to look through, so it’s the perfect short indoor break or idea if you’re looking to kill time before a reservation.
COMEDY SHOW AT THE TINY CUPBOARD
Looking for something inexpensive to do in Brooklyn? Greer and I spent $12 to see a comedy show at The Tiny Cupboard and it was a great weeknight option. The venue was small (just about 15 people) and six comics had short sets with lots of crowd work. Some jokes were fun and some totally fell flat, but it was a fun way to spend a few hours that felt less touristy.
WHAT TO WEAR IN NEW YORK CITY IN FALL 2023
The weather for our trip was pretty tricky—I was expecting it to be cold, but while we were there, the temps were actually in the 70s and 80s! It was gorgeous, but it made my suitcase of sweaters feel a little silly. As we were leaving, the temperature dropped quite a bit, so I wouldn’t plan on warmth! Layers will be your friend.
- Tennis shoes: I almost never wear tennis shoes, but trust me when I say you’ll want to wear them throughout your trip. You’ll do so much walking, and even going from one subway to another will feel tricky in heels. I recommend getting a pair of white or neutral sneaks that generally match every outfit—I wore an old pair of white Nikes and felt like I fit right in.
- Long skirts: Greer brought some of the cutest long skirts that felt very Brooklyn—go for long, flowy patterns to fit in in Williamsburg. I wore a fun ruffled tiered skirt for a day in Manhattan and loved the high-low look with tennis shoes.
- Fun pants: Have you seen the TikTok trend that Millenials go for a “cute top and pants” and Gen Z goes for “fun pants and a plain top”?! I for sure lean towards fun pants, and I loved having them throughout the trip. A good pair of fun pants feel like such a statement, and it makes it easier to pack when you know you can rewear neutral tops with your patterned pants. My absolute favorites are the cropped leather pants and these colorful Dazey LA pants.
- Thin sweaters: I love the look of tying a sweater over my top, and it was especially helpful in NYC when it would be warm in the days and then cold at night.
This was the perfect trip and it really came at the perfect time. Whether you’re looking to reconnect with friends or going through a breakup (helloooo to me), NYC just feels vibrant. There’s something about being surrounded by thousands of people living their own lives that puts my own problems in perspective and makes me really excited to experience new things.
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