Girls Trip to NYC

Girls Trip! Whoop Whoop! New York City, 4 ladies, and 5 days…. YES PLEASE!

NYC Girls Trip Itinerary

A year ago I took my daughter on a surprise birthday trip to NYC. Our family tradition is that when a kid turns 10, one parent takes that one kid on a trip to an undisclosed location (they find out where when they arrive at the airport) for a birthday adventure they’ll never forget.

For my daughter Gracie, NYC was the place and she & I both fell in LOVE with that city forever. Read all about the trip, details and how to pull off a surprise she’ll never forget in Mother Daughter Trip to NYC.

So when my aunt and cousin asked us to join them for a girl’s trip to NYC, we said yes so fast it made us all laugh out loud!

The Plans… NYC is an incredible town and easy enough to get around but there is so much to see and do. If you don’t spend some time mapping out an itinerary, you’ll spend all your time deciding what to do instead of doing it (you can stray from the list but having a list once you get there is KEY).

NYC Hotel

Last time we stayed just above Times Square (51st and 8th) in a big chain hotel, but this time I wanted to stay further south and in a boutique hotel. In New York, you’ll pay about the same amount for a cool, unique boutique hotel as a major chain you can get anywhere. But this is the big apple and we want something you can only get here!

The Roger Hotel:

• Midtown. Located at Madison Ave & 31st Street.  (virtual tour of the lobby here) 
• Voted one of the best boutique hotels in Manhattan, The Roger is stunning, modern, welcoming, and wonderful in every way.
• Just around the corner from the Empire State Building (in fact we had a wonderful view of the iconic skyscraper from our room), The Roger is a 15 story brick building built in 1930.
• There is an exquisite breakfast available in their chic restaurant space overlooking the lobby and a wonderful complimentary cocktail hour every evening.
• The staff was attentive, warm, cheerful and welcoming. It was perfect.
• Location couldn’t be more ideal, 3 different subway lines steps away and walking distance from Madison Square Park, Flatiron, and Koreatown.

Other Boutique Hotels We Considered…

• Cassa Hotel
• Tryp Hotel that has rooms that sleep up to 6
• Sixty LES

{ Day 1 }

Madison Square Eats

Located in Madison Square Park, grab lunch at the outdoor food truck park called Madison Square Eats (open with an array of amazing culinary pop-ups in peak months of spring, summer & fall).

Madison Square Park Art Installment

Fashion Fix

While waiting for the other ladies to arrive and really start our Girls Trip to NYC, we go explore the Fashion District. My daughter is an avid fan of Project Runway (she’s a bit of a fashionista), so we head to the FIT Fashion Museum and Mood Fabrics.

• The Museum at FIT: Completely FREE! Exhibits rotate (Like the eccentric costumes of the famed New York nightlife icon of the 1980’s Susanne Bartsch called Fashion Underground. Mind blowing outfits showcased on posed mannequins that are styled to the max with hair, makeup and even eyelashes.)

Fashionista getting her fashion fix

“Make It Work” at Mood… Where’s Swatch the Dog?

History & Architecture

With all the girls arrived from their flights and a quick cocktail to celebrate everyone’s arrival, we head out to explore 3 major historical NYC landmarks. All free to the public and definitely awe inspiring in architecture and history alike.

• NY Public Library (5th Ave & 42nd St)
• St. Patrick’s Cathedral (Madison Ave between 50th & 51st Streets) Built in 1879, the iconic church has just undergone a massive renovation. Public welcome even during mass.
• Grand Central Station (42nd St & Park Ave) Make sure to check out the constellations painted on the ceiling! Still an active train terminal too.

Broadway Shows

Broadway shows and the Big Apple go hand in hand! Buying tickets can be very very pricey but you can get discounted tickets either by standing in the incredibly long line at the ticket booth stations or via an online discount site.

My favorite website for discounted broadway shows is called Broadwaybox.com. They have an easy to use app that will tell you all about the show and even show clips. Sales run on different tickets at different times, so if the show you want isn’t on sale right away, give it a moment and you may get lucky. All of the theaters are very cozy and every seat is a good seat despite the price differences. We saw Kinky Boots and Wicked. Amazing!

{ Day 2 }

Brooklyn Baby!

Today is all about Brooklyn!

• If you’re in NYC on a weekend morning, try and fit in time wandering the Brooklyn Flea Markets.
• Get up early and grab a train to the Williamsburg Flea (the location open on Sunday) at 50 Kent Ave betw N 11 & 12 St. (open 10am). The view is fantastic
• Delicious food vendors (best ice cream I’ve ever had at Blue Marble Ice Cream)
• Great shopping! I found some amazing architectural plumbing pieces that I’m going to use in an art piece.
• Make sure to walk to the waterline right by the flea market and soak in the skyline of the city!
• Artists & Fleas (located both in Williamsburg & Chelsea Market) Killer indoor bazaar where handmade and vintage goods are sold by local artists, designers and vendors. (Found the most unique New York necklace from Snash Jewelry)
• Tired and thirsty (cocktail time!), walk a few doors down to Shelter Pizza. Score one of their cozy nooks by the fireplace where the seats are sofas and uber comfy chairs (like a way cool living room in heaven where people bring you cocktails… that’s how it works up there right?).

We grab a taxi to the entrance of the Brooklyn Bridge so we can walk it back to Manhattan. The weather is amazing and I love the view from the bridge.

Next up: Tour the 911 Memorial, Grab Dinner in Chinatown, and end the night walking through the San Gennaro Festival.

The 911 Memorial can take a while to walk through and tickets can be purchased in advance to avoid lines. It can also be very heavy and emotional of course. The fountain outside may be enough for some to reflect upon what happened that day and others may want the full experience of the exhibit inside.

Let’s Eat!… Chinatown & Little Italy

On to Chinatown! Full of shops with jade, handbags, interesting herbs, cheap souvenirs, and a few antique shops… we look around a bit but our main goal is dinner! Then hit Little Italy on our way back to the hotel.

• Nom Wah Tea Parlor (not really a tea parlor but full restaurant). Tiny and hidden in the back of a long alley, Nom Wah has been serving Dim Sum since 1920! Delicious!
• Munchies Paradise Apothecary style Asian treat shop. Candied and cured oddities like baby stingrays, sea cucumbers, etc. They won’t let you take pictures in here so worth the visit.
• Pearl River Mart Huge Asian jewelry, clothing, housewares & gifts paradise
• Wah Yeung Our favorite store to visit! We always bring back something from here. Mulberry (betw Walker & Canal)
• Strolled the streets of Little Italy and the San Gennaro Festival. The streets were crazy packed with people and vendors selling sausage & peppers, cannoli, gelato and other classic Italian dishes.

We Still have 3 more days to go on our Girl’s Trip to NYC…

Check out Days 3, 4 & 5 here (Highlights from Central Park, MoMa, Best Rooftop Bars, The Highline, SoHo, NYC Skyline, plus a WHERE TO EAT hotlist!)

Download The Full Itinerary below

NYC Girls Trip Itinerary