You cannot “do” New York. You can taste it. This plan keeps one iconic view and fills the rest with streets that locals actually use.
Friday — Downtown energy
Drop bags, walk the High Line south, then cut toward Greenwich Village for dinner. Book one hard-to-get table; keep the rest flexible.
Saturday — Brooklyn day
Subway to Brooklyn Heights Promenade for skyline calm, then Dumbo and a long Prospect Park loop if weather allows. Evening: jazz or a neighborhood wine bar in Fort Greene.
Sunday — Upper reset
- Morning at a museum wing — not the entire Met.
- Central Park ramble toward the Reservoir.
- Late lunch in the Upper West Side before your airport train.
OMNY/contactless payments make the subway painless. Walk more than you think; blocks are the city’s real transit layer.
