In an Empire State of Mind
If you haven’t guessed from the title of this blog, my friends and I visited New York City last week! It was incredible, and I left with a ton of memories (and Frank Sinatra’s New York New York playing on repeat in my head). Here’s everything we did, complete with some recommendations for everyone planning a “Christmas in NY” trip in years to come. Bet it’s more of a popular destination than Le Mars, Iowa, so at least I’ve got that going for me!
Nyack, NY (my friend lives here but hey, we were told people actually do tourism here so maybe one of these spots will be helpful one day & it was a pretty cute town!)
Turiellos’s Pizza
Art Cafe
Big red books
Bangkok Station
Nyack Pier
Nyack Memorial Park
Nyack Beach state park
Patisserie Didier Dumas
Strawberry Place
Scott & Joe
Tree of Chocolatw
Knitting Nation
Crystals on the Rocks
NYC (what everyone whose reading is reading for)
Food that slapped
Gayle’s Broadway Rose - both great food & a cool thing we did because the servers sing to you! This was the perfect stop before our first show and the ambience in here was legendary. Just note that they kick you out after an hour 15 minutes and they definitely sing songs that aren’t just broadway. Still such a fun time!
Gatsby’s landing (bar)
Cool things we did
Shopping on 5th Avenue
See the Rockefeller Tree (and go ice skating there if you have a reservation and enjoy scary large crowds)
See grand central station (channel your inner Serena vanderwoodsen)
Jaw drop at St Patrick’s Cathedral (absolutely stunning)
Go see two NEW broadway shows
Maybe Happy Ending: super interesting show! This one is brand new and was just the winner of multiple Tony awards. The tech and backdrops were insane and the cast was incredible. Special shoutout to Darren Criss (aka Blaine from Glee) that we waited about an hour in the freezing cold to see to no avail)
Chicago: That’s right, we opted for the irony of seeing Chicago in NY! This musical seriously has everything - a catchy soundtrack, amazing theatrical numbers, a dramatic story, and a great cast. Would definitely recommend for more of a classic musical you’ll remember forever! And Witney Leavitt from secret lives/ DWTS is joining the cast in February, so that’s a huge plus too!
Bryant Park Winter Village: a super festive market in midtown with a ton of art/jewelry/gift booths perfect for doing your holiday shopping. Warning: this has gone super viral and the crowds on the weekends are crazy, especially at some food booths. We went to the truffle cheesesteak place and I can say I definitely fell victim to vitality over quality there.
Marie’s Crisis: this is a super amazing piano bar in Greenwich Village that— get this— features exclusively show tunes! The crowd there is incredible, and random bonus: Thomas Payne also randomly died there on site, so it’s also kind of a historical landmark? BIG FAN
Brooklyn! Honestly so much less touristy, especially during these crazy winter months near Christmas. Cobble Hill was super cute for shopping! We didn’t have time, but Donna (my NY friend who is qualified because she lived in Brooklyn) also recommends Brooklyn Heights for amazing views of the bridge, Statue of Liberty, and Hudson River.
Accommodation
Hyatt Grand Central: this was super centrally located and great if you want to take the train in!
Tips I have
Hold tight to your phone! The only not fantastic part of this vacation was having my phone stolen on my way to walk around Central Park and eat popup bagels… which is really unfortunate. Popup bagels are great, but I bet they taste better on a bench in Central Park than an NYPD precinct while filing a report lol.
Be careful with the gimmicky tourist scams, I will be the first to admit we should’ve done Bryant Park on a weekday and gone to some more hole in the wall booths.
DEFINITELY get your discounted rush tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square day of. 11-2 for Matinee performances and 3-8 for evening ones! We got our Chicago tickets for $69 apiece two hours before and they were good seats!
If you plan on waiting for a performer to come out (aka if you’re a Gleek like me), find the stage door and slip out immediately after the show. It’s very hit or miss (we were told Darren left while we were standing there through a back exit) but a super cool experience if your favorite does come out! (And a good way to make me jealous)
Stop what you’re doing right now and book a Christmas trip with your best friends. I promise it’s the best seratonin out there. Love you guys❤️
Well that’s all from me for now! Hope everyone has an absolutely beautiful holiday season, and is able to enjoy some time away celebrating with family and friends. I’ll be back for one more entry, my 2025 wrapped on New Year’s Eve, this year. It’s hard to believe 2026 is just a couple weeks away— time really does fly!
Sincerely,
Sharon