2 days · short-trip · New York City
Two days is the sweet spot for New York. You can hit the icons and sneak in some hidden stuff without feeling like you're in a race.
**DAY 1 — Manhattan Classics**
Morning: Start at Central Park. Enter at 72nd and Central Park West (the Dakota). Walk through Strawberry Fields, cross Bow Bridge, wander the Ramble. Exit on the east side at 79th Street for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Spend 2-3 hours. Don't try to see it all.
Lunch: The Met has a decent museum cafe, or walk two blocks east to JG Melon for a classic burger.
Afternoon: Walk down 5th Avenue to the New York Public Library (free to enter — the Rose Reading Room is jaw-dropping). Cross to Bryant Park. Walk west to Times Square to check it off the list (don't linger; it's not that great).
Sunset: Top of the Rock for the city panorama.
Evening: Dinner and a show. Broadway tickets day-of at the TKTS booth in Times Square for 30-50% off. Pre-show: pizza at John's of Times Square or Don Angie for pasta.
**DAY 2 — Downtown & Brooklyn**
Morning: Start at Washington Square Park and the Village. Walk west through the West Village — Bleecker, Grove Street (Friends exterior), Christopher Street. Head south into SoHo. Walk Greene and Mercer Streets for cast-iron architecture.
Lunch: Katz's Deli on Houston for pastrami (Lower East Side).
Afternoon: Walk the Brooklyn Bridge (from the Manhattan side entrance near City Hall). DUMBO on the other side, then Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Evening: Dinner in Williamsburg. Peter Luger if you booked ahead (steak), or Lilia (pasta), or just grab pizza and beer at a rooftop bar. L train back to Manhattan.
**You've seen the icons, walked about 10 miles total, and had a real New York weekend.**