Travel Guide // A Weekend in NYC

Lately, we have been getting countless questions about visiting New York City. What to pack, where to stay, where to make reservations and where to shop?

So we (Beth Tomashoff & Nan Philip ) decided to team up and give you a breakdown of all our favorite spots in Manhattan!

Listen or watch our podcast episode to hear all our thoughts on hotels, the best restaurants, what neighborhoods to go shopping in (and what areas to skip) and so much more.

• Nan’s Tip: Save everything to Google Maps: your hotel, the restaurants, the stores you just want to pop into. Once it’s all dropped in, you can see the clusters and plan your days by neighborhood instead of crisscrossing the city.

• Beth’s Tip: Get a blowout! There are tons of small salons you can just walk into and if you pay with cash you can usually get a good blowout for less than $50.

Grouped by category and location so you can build your own weekend!!

A few spots may have moved or changed, so be sure to double-check locations, hours and if you need a reservation.

• Top Suggestions: The Surrey // The Mark // The Lowell

• Others to consider: The Carlyle // The Whitby // Waldorf Astoria // The Aman New York

Restaurants & Bars:

• Casual: JG Melon // Match 65

• Nice: Sant Ambroeus // Cafe Commerce // Casa Tua // La Goulue // Dear Margaux

• Fancier: Harry Cipriani // Chez Fifi // The Polo Bar // Monkey Bar // The Grill // Marcel

• Old School Italian: Bella Blu // Sette Mezzo // Lusardi’s // Campagnola //

• Bar / Cocktails: Bemelmans Bar

Coffee, Bakeries & Sweet Treats:

• Ralph’s Coffee // Birley Bakery // Butterfield Market // Madison Fare // Bon Bon // Glace // (Mimi’s is opening uptown soon!)

Shopping:

• Department Stores: Bergdorf Goodman

• Designer Brands:

  • Starting on 59th street and going up Madison Ave.

  • Celine // Hermes // Manolo Blahnik // Attersee (make an appointment) // Chanel // Khaite // Toteme // Marina Rinaldi (designer plus size) // The Row // Gabriela Hearst // Kallmeyer //

• Contemporary Brands:

  • starting on 65th street and going up Madison

  • Frank & Eileen // Still Here // Frame // Frances Valentine // Ann + Sid Mashburn // Me+Em // Tanya Taylor // Veronica Beard // La Ligne // Doen // J.Crew (feels nicer than their other stores) // Jenni Kayne // Tuckernuck // Nili Lotan // Alex Mill //

• Muli-Brand Retailers / Boutiques

  • starting on 71st and going up Madison Ave.

  • The RealReal // Ludivine // Elyse Walker // Kirna Zabête // The Westside // The Edit

• Beauty:

  • Zitomer Pharmacy // Violet Grey // Knockout Beauty

• Home Decor:

  • Matouk // KRB (this is on Lex not Madison)

• Other: The Corner Bookstore

Share Nan's Notebook

Where to stay // Hotels Downtown:

• Our Favorites: The Crosby Street Hotel // The Bowery Hotel

• Better Pricing: The Marlton // Hotel Chelsea

• Others to consider: Nine Orchard // Fouquet’s // The Greenwich Hotel // The Standard Highline // RH Guesthouse //

Coffee, bakeries and sweet treats, Downtown

• Savory: Apollo Bagel // Joe’s Pizza // Emmett’s on Grove // Mary O’s // Hani Bakery

• Sweet: Mimi’s Fro-Yo // Magnolia Bakery // From Lucie // AirMail Cafe // Cafe Panna

Restaurants and bars, West Village and Downtown

• Casual or Everyday Place: Cafe Cluny // Buvette // Cecchi’s // Thai Diner // Rubirosa

• Fancier / Harder Reservation: I Sodi // Via Carota // Don Angie

• Bars: Bar Pisellino // People’s // Elvis // Stars

Shopping, Flatiron

• Mainly Bigger Brands: J.Crew // Zara // Aritzia // Sephora // and many more!

Shopping, West Village

• Brands: Doen // Posse // Leset // La Ligne // Loeffler Randall

• Jewelry: Trove // Hart // Pippin Vintage Jewelry

• Beauty: CO Bigelow

Shopping, Noho / Bond Street:

• Nickey Kehoe // Rosemary Home // John Derian // Reformation // Goop // LuisaViaRoma // Ulla Johnson // Away

Shopping, Nolita:

• Still Here // Sézane // Abbode // Credo Beauty // Loeffler Randall // Rothy’s // Cuyana // Diptyque

Shopping, Orchard Street / Lower East Side:

• Auto Photo // The Consistency Project // Kallmeyer // The Vintage Twin // Pêche // Bode Men’s // Desert Vintage // Beverly // Suzie Kondi

• *we also mentioned Lenny Jeans - they do popups in NYC but are not in NY full time

• Museums:

  • The Met // The Frick // Guggenheim // The MOMA // The Whitney // 9/11 Memorial and Museum // and more!

• Parks / Gardens / Outside:

  • Central Park // The High Line // Little Island // Walk the West Side Highway // Walk the Brooklyn Bridge // Take the ferry to Brooklyn

• The Flower Market (28th Street between 6th and 7th; go around 7am)

• Shows: Broadway shows and Concerts

• Spa: Spencers (Soho), Rescue Spa (Union Square), Sage + Sound (UES),

• Get a Blowout: tons of small salons around the city (usually $40 to $60, cash)

• Go to a workout class

As we all know, Manhattan is huge and there are countless amazing spots within the city. This list really just scratches the surface and is focused on our personal favorites.

What did we miss? What hotels, restaurants and shops do you love to go to when you are in the city? We always love learning of new spots!

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