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New York is a city that never sleeps - including in the depths of winter. New York has an abundance of attractions to enjoy in the winter (after all, most of the attractions in the city are indoors). So if one has only three days in New York, what should one see and do?
Three days are not enough to see all of New York City - not by a long shot, but it is enough to see some of the main highlights of the Big Apple. A three-day tour of NYC will be short and intense but sweet. Still, it would be much better to spend 10 days in New York City.
How To Spend The First Day In NYC - Hop-On, Hop-Off & Broadway Show
Go On A Hop-on, Hop-Off Tour
The first thing one should do after breakfast on one's first day in New York is to enjoy a guided tour. There are scores of excellent guided tours of New York, and these often just explore small aspects of the massive city. Perhaps one of the first things one should do is take a Hop-on Hop-off tour of New York. This will help to introduce first-time visitors and to get an impression of the city.
Big Bus New York offers hop-on hop-off tours. They offer one, two and three-day tickets - perhaps it would be worth it to buy the three-day ticket.
The Hop-on Hop-off tour goes past all the major landmarks of New York.
- One-Day Tour: From $54.00
- Two-Day Tour: From $72.00
- Three-Day Tour: From $90.00
Spend much of the day exploring some top landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, etc. But these can be seen over the course of the three days - so there's no hurry to back them all in on the first day.
For lunch and dinner, consider having dinner at one of New York's top-rated restaurants.
See A Broadway Show
No one should visit New York City without seeing an iconic Broadway Show. Visitors can plan ahead and book their favorite show, or they can be flexible and buy the tickets at the last minute for a discount.
A few shows to consider include:
- The Lion King
- Some Like It Hot
- Beetlejuice
- Chicago
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- Funny Girl
Spend the evening seeing a Broadway Show and going shopping in Times Square.
How To Spend The Second Day In NYC - Ice Skating & Empire State Building
See More Of The Highlights & Go Ice Skating
Day two can be spent exploring more of the highlights - one of the days should include a cruise out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
One of the fun winter attractions is going ice skating at the iconic Rockefeller Center ice skating rink. If one is visiting in the winter during Christmastime, the experience is truly magical. The rink offers ice skating lessons and opens for the winter season on Saturday, November 5.
- Opening Date: November 5
- Address: Rockefeller Plaza between 50th and 49th Street
- Tickets: From $21.00 Per Adult (Includes Rentals)
Visit The Empire State Building & Have Dinner There
In the evening, get a magical bird's eye view of Manhattan from the Empire State Building. It can be visited during the day, but the night brings the magic of its own.
- Opening Hours: 9.00 am to 10.00 pm
- 102nd & 86th Floor Admission: From $77.00 per Adult
Consider having dinner at the State Bar and Grill restaurant in the Empire State Building.
How To Spend The Third Day In NYC - Central Park & Pub Crawl
Explore Central Park & Finish Off The Highlights Of NYC
Keep the third day somewhat flexible for other attractions in the Big Apple that one learned about in the first two days (or perhaps one would have been too tired to have ticked everything off the first two day's itinerary). If one hasn't done so, it really is a must to visit Central Park. There is so much to do in Central Park, and it has plenty of winter activities and attractions.
Discover with the Central Park guided tours. Winter activities in the park include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, visiting the zoo, sledding, and ice staking.
Go On A NYC Pub Crawl
The last night could be spent watching another Broadway Show (one isn't enough) and exploring and shopping in Times Square. Alternatively, wind ones' stay up with a blast and go on a New York City pub crawl.
There are countless excellent ways one could explore the Big Apple at night, but alas, with three nights one can only pick a meager number of options.