How to spend 12 hours in New York

Start your morning with a walk on Manhattan’s futuristic “floating” greenspace, Little Island, with a coffee in hand, no doubt. The verdant oasis opens at 6am (if you’re an eager early bird) and inside you'll find the park is filled with open lawns, colorful shrubs, 40-foot trees and a secret garden. It would be remiss not to get a photo op of the Hudson River in all of its morning glory light. When else are you up this early, New York? Entry is free to the park anytime of day, but if you oversleep, make sure to make a reservation after noon.

Slink into a booth for a meal at the new S & P, a restaurant located in the former home of Eisenberg’s, one of Manhattan’s last old-school lunch counters. Choose from the roughly three dozen sandwiches on the menu. With the owners of Court Street Grocers at the helm of this opening, every sandwich feels like a treat from the tuna melt, to rueben, or their new signature, peanut-butter and bacon. If you're hungry enough, don’t miss out on the matzo-ball soup either.

The 200-foot-long Doyers Street complete with colorful murals is one of the most famous blocks in town, located in Chinatown, intersecting with Pell Street at its very end. Shop for Chinese treasures such as vibrant pottery and tchotchkes at Wing on Wo & Co. a century-old business that is all about protecting the nabe’s creative culture and pulse. Finish up your visit by refueling at Nom Wah Tea Parlor, the oldest dim sum parlor in the city that began as a humble tea shop in 1920. 

Walking through the corridors of a Chinatown mini-mall at 75 East Broadway, past knick-knacks stalls and shoe shops, you might think you’re at the wrong address for a gallery. But the fun is in the surprise upstairs. On floor two, behind giant glass windows like a vitrine, is a new art space called Superhouse. Here you’ll find work from some of New York’s shiniest up-and-comers that are bending status quo in contemporary art and design. Exhibitions hone in on inclusivity of artists across gender, culture, and age. Come for pop-ups of color and stay for some biomorphic-shaped furniture.

The theme here is to get that butterfly feeling as many times as possible while trotting around town. One of the best locations, and best kept secrets, for viewing the Statue of Liberty without throngs of crowds is at Redhook Pier. After, walk over to a spot that feels like a great classic tavern of New York, but just opened in 2019 by the force behind Hometown Bar-B-Que.  People listen when a new burger arrives in town, and when this tavernous joint opened, it truly proved its juicy pub burger makes it a necessary visit.

Just down the block is Sunny's, a waterfront saloon with a big New York reputation. After you pay a visit to the eccentric neighborhood bar you'll wish you had one just like it nearby, too. Sculptures and quirky collectibles line the walls and shelves, at this bar that's been passed down in the Sunny Balzano family for over a century. Its unmatched buzz has made it a Brooklyn staple, and today, you'll find groups across generations, from  middle-aged to local hipsters sipping on PBR and mixed drinks like Dark & Stormys and Manhattans. Live music from bluegrass jams to bossa nova starts at 8pm. 

To end the night on the best of notes, take a car to the Upper East Side, we promise it will be worth the end goal. For your like-a-movie New York moment, sip on masterpiece martinis under the Madeline murals at Bemelmans Bar in the Carlyle Hotel. This 1940s- era bar emanates that nostalgic feel that only still exists in some pockets of New York. Settle into the dark leather banquettes for the evening, live piano music is performed nightly.