Sunday 16 to Tuesday 18 August. Built around the fixed points, with one neighbourhood anchor per stretch of the day so there is always somewhere to head for.
Straight from the airport. Russ & Daughters, 179 E Houston opens at 8am, so the early landing is an advantage, not a problem. Counter service, bagels and lox.
Everything opens at 11 on a Sunday, so there is no point arriving earlier. One block does the whole list.
Lunch two streets east, then check in at 3 and change for the show.
| 3:00 | Check in, drop bags, change |
| 4:15 | Leave the hotel. 1 train, Canal St → Times Sq–42nd, about 18 minutes |
| 4:45 | Dinner. Joe's Pizza, 1435 Broadway for a fast slice, or Gayle's Broadway Rose, 228 W 47th, which opens at 5 and has the singing servers |
| 5:50 | Walk to the theatre, 124 W 43rd |
| 6:05 | Inside. Find the seats, loo, merch |
| 6:30 | Curtain. Orchestra Row C, seats 9 & 11 |
Out around 9:00 to 9:10. If you don't want to eat nearby, this walk heads one direction, passes three landmarks, and ends at a train that goes straight home. No backtracking.
| 9:10 | Times Square, two minutes away. Look up, take the photo, then leave. It's a place to see, not to linger |
| 9:20 | East on 42nd to Bryant Park and the library lions. Calm, lit, and a complete change of pace after the crowds |
| 9:35 | Grand Central, 89 E 42nd. Open until 2am. The main concourse and its ceiling, nearly empty at that hour, which is when it's best |
| 9:55 | Home from there. 6 train, Grand Central → Canal St, direct |
If she's flagging instead: Times Square, then the 1 train from Times Sq–42nd straight to Canal St. Door to door in about twenty minutes.
If you're hungry after all: Le Parisien, 235 W 46th is open to midnight and is the best-rated thing on the whole list. Joe's runs to 3am, Junior's to midnight.
Separate stores carry separate stock, so hitting all three is not a repeat. Spread across the three days, in the order you'll pass them.
| Sun 11am | 519 Broadway, Soho | The big one. First stop after bag drop |
| Mon 2pm | 61 5th Ave, Flatiron | After Chelsea Market. Breads Bakery is three minutes away |
| Mon 6pm | 1172 3rd Ave, Upper East | Ten minutes from the tram. Do it before the dusk ride, not after |
| Tue 11am | 519 Broadway again | Second pass. Restocked, and she knows what she wants by now |
Start at the Gansevoort Street entrance at the southern end and walk north. It runs about a mile and a half, elevated the whole way.
The High Line passes right by it at 15th Street.
The best free thing on this whole list. Board at 60th & 2nd Ave — it is a normal OMNY tap, no special ticket.
This is the early-shopping window the other days don't have. On a weekday, Princess Polly, Zara, Garage and adidas all open at 10. Brandy still opens 11.
Check out, leave the bags at the desk. You are coming back for them.
Second pass, now knowing what she actually wants. Lunch in Nolita, and this is the slot for anything the Sunday rush missed.
Walk to Whitehall Terminal for the free Staten Island Ferry — 25 minutes each way, straight past the Statue of Liberty, no ticket. Or NYC Ferry across to DUMBO.
The park is two and a half miles long. Trying to "see Central Park" is how you lose three hours and a good mood. Pick a focus and enter at the right corner.
The greatest-hits spine, south to west
Enter at 59th & 5th Ave → Gapstow Bridge (4.8, 2,149 — the pond with the midtown skyline behind it) → The Mall and Literary Walk → Bethesda Terrace & Fountain (4.7, 12,093) → Bow Bridge (4.8, 3,850) → Strawberry Fields (4.6, 9,973) → exit at 72nd & Central Park West.
Every famous shot in one line, no backtracking, and you come out two blocks from Levain at 167 W 74th.
Just the south corner
If you are already at the tram on Monday evening. Enter at 59th & 5th, walk to Gapstow Bridge, come back out. It is the postcard view and it costs you almost nothing. Pairs with Serendipity on the same corner.
The east side, for the Guggenheim
Enter at 5th & 89th. The Guggenheim is open every day 10:30–5:30, including Monday, which is unusual. On during your dates: Guggenheim Pop (Warhol through Cattelan) and the Thannhauser Collection (Van Gogh, Degas, Manet). The Frank Lloyd Wright spiral is half the point.
SummerStage misses you on all three days
Sunday's free show runs 6–10pm, straight into your curtain. Monday it's dark. Tuesday is Chance the Rapper, ticketed, 7–10pm, against your flight. Free Shakespeare in the Park is running Romeo & Juliet through 23 August, but tickets go at noon at the Delacorte and the Public says groups are not guaranteed seats together — a bad trade for a midday queue on a short trip.
Everything with an underline opens in Maps. Store hours are the everyday hours; Sunday runs shorter across most of Soho, which is why Sunday starts at 11 and Tuesday starts at 10. Ratings shown are Google review counts, read 10 August. For anywhere to eat that isn't on this page, see the Snack Map.