For years I've been desperate to visit this amazing place and not so long ago, I returned from my once in a lifetime trip to New York City. Every year, my parents would get me a New York calendar with prints and pictures of the beautiful city and every year I wondered when I'd get the chance to go. I've been to America before but New York was always top of the list. So, on the 11th September 2017, my parents and I woke up at a lovely 2:30am and were on our travels. It was safe to say, by the time I was on my first flight I started drifting off. A 3 hour sleep was not for me.
So after a long day travelling, we eventually arrived in the city of lights. We checked in to the Westin Hotel in Times Square, an amazing hotel, perfect for our stay. The rooms were lovely and the view was amazing. It was right next to Times Square so the location was just right for walking around everyday and getting to places easily. I'm going to admit, we were typical tourists. We wanted to see EVERYTHING! Five days just wasn't enough, which means I can book another trip back, right?
I didn't want to write a post describing every single thing we did on every single day, because I thought I'd probably lose you all by the second point. So, I thought I would summarise my 5-day stay into 6 best bits. In my opinion, these are the most essential things to do in New York, especially if it's your first time in the city or just want to do a bit of sightseeing:
1. Times Square
I mean, it's pretty hard to miss, but you have to walk round Times Square. The main place for all the lights, and of course, to get that perfect Instagram. Wandering round both in the day and night is amazing. In the day, it's packed full of tourists, shoppers and people on their commute to work. It's full of yellow cabs and some weird and wonderful people. The shops are fab. The Forever 21 is about 4 floors and there's a Sephora on every street corner so that was me sorted! At night, it feels like its still daylight. The lights are so bright that you would think you're walking out at 10am, when it's actually 10pm. But it is definitely a sight worth seeing.
2. Rockerfellar Centre
We visited both the Empire State Building and the Rockerfellar Centre, however if I had to choose the best out of the two, I would recommend going to the Top of the Rock. The views are incredible. You can see the entire New York skyline and what is even better, is that you have an amazing view of the Empire State. I would advise either going early in the morning, especially when it's a bit quieter, but also at night when New York shines bright.
3. Central Park
I mean, it's inevitable. Central Park is probably one of the biggest names associated with New York and believe me, you will not be disappointed. The park itself is huge, much bigger than you'd think. We didn't have a specific path to follow which was actually the best way to do it as it allowed us to explore the park and all its nooks and crannies. If you go in the Summer, the weather should be perfect for a nice sunny walk. However, I imagine it would be just as beautiful in Winter when it snows. The Met Museum is also situated in the park, which we actually visited so if you have time and are an art lover, definitely give that a visit. There's so much to do that we just didn't have time to do it all!
4. 9/11 Memorial
I feel like this is a very sensitive topic. Something that reminds us of the horror that occurred on this particular day. However, I could not praise the museum enough for how well they have paid tribute to the many lives lost all those years ago. The memorial is quite an eery place, but nice. It's really hard to explain. I really wanted to visit this, not only to pay my respects but to see the the area and get my head around how this awful attack happened. There are two waterfalls, which represent the two towers, and on each waterfall there are names of each and every person who lost their life on 9/11. The atmosphere changes as soon as you walk into the memorial. It's quiet and you forget about the busy streets around you. Definitely something worth visiting.
5. Circle Line Cruise
A MUST! In my eyes, this was up there as one of my favourite parts of the trip. We took the cruise from Pier 83 and chose to do the best of New York cruise. The cruise lasted 2.5 hours and took us all around New York, even to the Statue of Liberty. We went past Brooklyn, the Bronx and literally every famous landmark of New York. So, if you have time and want to see every part of New York, this is perfect for you, particularly if you want to take loads of photos which we certainly did.
6. Broadway and SHOPPING
I'm pairing these two together because this is what we did on the last day and it was the best way to end our trip. Of course you have to do shopping whilst you're in New York, it was the thing I was most looking forward to! If you're a make-up lover like me, Sephora is everywhere, and I'm not even exaggerating. I went into 3 out of the 5 days I was there. I would definitely recommend going to Macy's, just to experience it. Every shop you could ask for is there and if you're a shopaholic (yes I am one too), this will be heaven for you.
Even if you're not a theatre person, please go and see a Broadway show. They are something else. I can't explain how amazing they are and compared to home, they are on a different level. I am a massive theatre girl so I LOVED it. We saw Kinky Boots, a musical set in Northampton, England. I won't give the storyline away but the whole musical itself is absolutely fabulous. The costumes, the dancing, the singing and oh my days the SHOES. I can't even describe how out of this world it was.
Overall, what can I say. From a person who has been dreaming of going to New York for years now, I was not disappointed. To be honest, I could've spent more time there because you really can't fit everything into five days. I want to thank my parents for taking me because it really was one of the best holidays I've had. Maybe I'll be back soon? (Fingers crossed).
All my love, Charlotte Rose x
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