What to do (and avoid) on a trip to New York?

A discussion: come join in with the comments!

My boyfriend and I celebrate our 10-year anniversary soon (we’re as surprised as anyone), so we’ve booked flights to New York to toast a decade of excessive pasta consumption and mutual avoidance of washing the dishes.

I’ve been to the city eight times before, so it’s familiar enough to saunter around without a map, but my last trip was in December 2018, so I assume all of my previous shopping and restaurant reccos will be out of date now.

We go in April and we’ve booked a longer stay than usual (the potential cost of feeding ourselves for 10 days is giving me anxiety) as we plan to spend part of our trip Upstate, where we’ve been once before, back in 2017.

You all strike me as a well-travelled bunch, so I’d appreciate your insider intel to help me plan our trip! I’ve shared this as a post (rather than starting a chat thread) because I’d love it to become a resource that anyone can add to or save for later.

I’m keen to hear about the best interiors shops (vintage or new), places to discover brands that I don’t see on every high street at home, interesting architecture, museums and galleries, beautiful walks, great coffee, bakeries, good (but not necessarily fancy) food, plus out-of-the-ordinary things to do.

• If you had 10 days in New York, how many of those would you spend Upstate?

• Which hotels or areas would you recommend? We stayed in Hudson before.

• Shops, coffee shops and restaurants that you love (either in Manhattan or Upstate)

• Favourite buildings to see or places to walk to?

• What’s the tipping situation these days?

• Where to avoid because it’s tourist hell or is overhyped?

• Hidden gems or unusual things to do that visitors might not know about?

• Where’s a great cheap eat?

• Best pizza?

• Where isn’t worth the money?

• Best places for vintage shopping?

• Your fave ‘only in New York’ experience?

• Practical things to know?

I’d love you to leave any advice and thoughts in the comments below. Even if it’s just a sentence or a few quick links – I appreciate it all!

I can’t wait to hear what you think. Please consider liking and/or sharing this post so people outside my network can read it.

Thanks – you’re all the best and I hope we can create something useful!

E xx