Three days in New York adds an Uptown museum day (the Met, Central Park, Upper West Side) plus the High Line and Chelsea Market to the standard Midtown and Lower Manhattan itinerary. The route averages 9-12 km of walking per day with 3-4 subway hops on Days 1-2 and a single 7-train ride plus the High Line walk on Day 3.

Day by day

Day 1: Midtown: Times Square, Rockefeller, Central Park, Empire State

  • Times Square empty-plaza morning walk — 30 min. Free. Subway at 42nd Street.
  • Bryant Park breakfast and the New York Public Library Rose Reading Room — 1 hr. Free entry 10am-6pm.
  • Rockefeller Center plaza and the Channel Gardens — 30 min. Free.
  • Top of the Rock 70th-floor observation deck — 1 hr 15 min. $40 adult, 8am-10pm. Book the 4pm slot for the daylight-to-sunset transition.
  • MoMA — 2 hr. $30 adult, 10:30am-5:30pm. Van Gogh's Starry Night on Level 5; free admission Fri 4-8pm.
  • Rest valve — lunch at The Halal Guys flagship cart at 53rd and 6th — 45 min. Chicken-and-rice platter $10-13.
  • Central Park: the Mall, Bethesda Terrace, Bow Bridge — 1 hr 30 min. Free. Enter at 59th Street and 5th Avenue.
  • Subway 5th Avenue-59th Street N/R/W to 34th Street Herald Square — 8 min. $3 OMNY.
  • Empire State Building Main Deck at night — 1 hr 15 min. $44 adult, last lift at midnight.
  • Walk back to hotel or subway — 10-25 min.
  • Total: ~11 km walking; 1 subway segment.

Day 2: Lower Manhattan: Statue Ferry, 9/11, Brooklyn Bridge

  • Subway to Whitehall Street R/W or South Ferry 1 — 15 min. $3 OMNY.
  • Staten Island Ferry round-trip — 50 min. Free.
  • Battery Park and Castle Clinton — 30 min. Free.
  • 9/11 Memorial outdoor pools — 30 min. Free.
  • Oculus Transportation Hub and the 9/11 Memorial Museum — 2 hr 30 min total. Museum $33 adult, 9am-7pm; the Calatrava-designed Oculus rib structure inside the Westfield mall is free.
  • Rest valve — lunch at Joe's Pizza on Carmine Street (the 1975 original) via the 1 train to Houston Street — 1 hr. Pizza slice $3-5.
  • Walk east through Washington Square Park — 25 min. Free. The 1895 marble arch and the central fountain.
  • Subway 4/5/6 from Astor Place to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall — 8 min. $3 OMNY.
  • Brooklyn Bridge eastbound walk to DUMBO — 35 min. Free.
  • DUMBO: Washington Street tunnel-view, Jane's Carousel, Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1 — 1 hr 30 min. Free; Carousel ride $2.
  • Subway from High Street A/C or York Street F back to Manhattan — 15-25 min. $3 OMNY.
  • Total: ~12 km walking; 3 subway segments + 1 Staten Island Ferry round-trip + 1 bridge crossing.

Day 3: Uptown: The Met, Central Park, Upper West Side, High Line

  • Subway 4/5/6 to 86th Street, walk to the Metropolitan Museum of Art — 15 min. $3 OMNY.
  • The Met — 3 hr 30 min. $30 non-NY adult, 10am-5pm (Fri-Sat to 9pm). Egyptian Temple of Dendur in the Sackler Wing on the ground floor; European Paintings on Level 2; the Cantor Roof Garden at the Astor Hall lift (May-October only) gives the free Central Park canopy view.
  • Rest valve — lunch at the Met Members Dining Room (open to ticket holders) or the food trucks on 5th Avenue at 81st Street — 1 hr. Plates $14-22 at the museum cafe; halal cart platter $10-13 on the corner.
  • Central Park: Belvedere Castle, the Great Lawn, Conservatory Water sailboat pond — 1 hr 30 min. Free.
  • Walk west to Central Park West and the American Museum of Natural History — 25 min. Free walk.
  • American Museum of Natural History (optional, plan a 2 hr block) — 2 hr. $28 adult, 10am-5:30pm. The 28-meter blue whale model in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life; the Hayden Planetarium space show $35 combo.
  • Subway 1 from 79th Street to 14th Street — 20 min. $3 OMNY.
  • High Line south end at Gansevoort Street — 1 hr 30 min walk to 30th Street. Free. The 2.33 km elevated park on the converted 1934 freight rail; planted with 500 native species.
  • Hudson Yards Vessel plaza and the Edge at 30 Hudson Yards lobby (optional Edge $42 separately) — 30 min. Free plaza access.
  • Chelsea Market for dinner — 1 hr. The 1898 Nabisco factory now holds 35 food vendors; fish tacos, Thai noodle, and bagel shops $9-18.
  • Subway A/C/E from 23rd Street back to hotel — 10-25 min.
  • Total: ~12 km walking; 2 subway segments.
Traveller Tips
  • Day 3 Met admission is $30 for non-New-York residents (NY-state residents pay any amount they wish since the 2018 policy change); bring a photo ID with a NY address if you qualify for pay-what-you-wish. Book the timed-entry slot at metmuseum.org 1 day ahead to skip the 5th Avenue door queue.
  • Day 3 the Met Cantor Roof Garden is open May-October only, 10am-4:30pm, and is included in the museum admission with no separate ticket; the lift to the roof is at the Wallace Wing entrance on the right of the Great Hall. The roof bar serves drinks Fri-Sat 4:30-8pm; skip the bar and walk the open terrace for the free Central Park canopy view.
  • Skip the $42 Edge at Hudson Yards observation deck on Day 3; the High Line walk to the Vessel plaza already gives the same Hudson Yards approach at $0 and the High Line's elevated rail-deck angles hold the best foreground for Hudson Yards photos. The Edge is the city's least-essential observation deck for first-time visitors.
  • The Day 3 High Line is crowded between 11am and 4pm Sat-Sun; walk south-to-north (Gansevoort to 30th Street) starting at 8am for the morning quiet and the cleanest Hudson skyline frame from the 26th Street overlook.
  • Carry $40-60 in $5 and $10 notes across all three days for halal-cart tipping ($1-2 per platter), Met Roof Garden purchases (cash-preferred bar), and the Chelsea Market vendor stalls that still skew cash-first.