Five days in New York adds a Brooklyn deep day (Williamsburg, Prospect Park, Park Slope) and an outer-borough food day (Astoria-Queens or Flushing) to the standard Manhattan-core itinerary. The route averages 8-12 km of walking per day with 3-5 subway hops on Days 1-3, an East River Ferry plus L train on Day 4, and a 7-train ride to Flushing on Day 5.

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 and the New York Public Library Rose Reading Room — 1 hr. Free.
  • Top of the Rock 70th-floor observation deck — 1 hr 15 min. $40 adult.
  • MoMA — 2 hr. $30 adult.
  • Rest valve — lunch at The Halal Guys flagship cart at 53rd and 6th — 45 min. Chicken-and-rice $10-13.
  • Central Park: the Mall, Bethesda Terrace, Bow Bridge — 1 hr 30 min. Free.
  • Subway 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.
  • Total: ~11 km walking; 1 subway segment.

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

  • Subway to Whitehall Street — 15 min. $3 OMNY.
  • Staten Island Ferry round-trip — 50 min. Free.
  • Battery Park and Castle Clinton — 30 min. Free.
  • 9/11 Memorial pools (outdoor) — 30 min. Free.
  • 9/11 Memorial Museum — 2 hr. $33 adult.
  • Oculus and the Stone Street pedestrian alley — 45 min. Free.
  • Rest valve — lunch at Joe's Pizza on Carmine Street via the 1 train — 1 hr. Slice $3-5.
  • Washington Square Park — 25 min. Free.
  • Subway 4/5/6 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.
  • Subway back to Manhattan from High Street — 15-25 min.
  • Total: ~12 km walking; 3 subway + 1 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 — 15 min. $3 OMNY.
  • The Met — 3 hr 30 min. $30 non-NY adult.
  • Rest valve — lunch at the Met Members Dining Room or the 5th Avenue 81st Street food trucks — 1 hr. $10-22.
  • Central Park: Belvedere Castle, Great Lawn, Conservatory Water — 1 hr 30 min. Free.
  • American Museum of Natural History (optional) — 2 hr. $28 adult.
  • Subway 1 from 79th Street to 14th Street — 20 min. $3 OMNY.
  • High Line Gansevoort to 30th Street — 1 hr 30 min. Free.
  • Hudson Yards Vessel plaza — 30 min. Free.
  • Chelsea Market dinner — 1 hr. $9-18.
  • Subway A/C/E back to hotel — 10-25 min.
  • Total: ~12 km walking; 2 subway segments.

Day 4: Brooklyn: Williamsburg, Prospect Park, Park Slope

  • East River Ferry from Wall Street/Pier 11 to North Williamsburg — 22 min. $4.50 OMNY.
  • Williamsburg waterfront and Domino Park on Kent Avenue — 1 hr. Free. The 30,000 m² park on the former Domino Sugar refinery; the south-end observation tower gives the cleanest Manhattan-bridge skyline frame in Brooklyn.
  • Williamsburg North 6th Street and Bedford Avenue food strip — 1 hr. Sushi, falafel, Detroit-style pizza, Mexican tacos $8-22 per dish.
  • Smorgasburg open-air food market at East River State Park (Sat) or Prospect Park (Sun) — 1 hr 30 min. Free entry; 80+ vendor stalls; plates $9-18.
  • Rest valve — coffee at Devoción on Grand Street in Williamsburg — 45 min. The Colombian roastery interior is the city's most-photographed cafe space.
  • L train from Bedford Avenue to Union Square — 15 min. $3 OMNY.
  • Subway 2/3 from Union Square to Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn — 25 min. $3 OMNY.
  • Prospect Park: Long Meadow, the Boathouse, the Audubon Center — 1 hr 30 min. Free. Olmsted and Vaux's 1867 follow-up to Central Park; 213 hectares with the city's only forest.
  • Park Slope brownstone walk on 7th Avenue from 9th Street to Garfield Place — 1 hr. Free.
  • Subway F/G from 7th Avenue back to Manhattan — 25-40 min.
  • Total: ~10 km walking; 1 ferry, 3 subway segments.

Day 5: Outer borough food: Astoria-Queens and the Cloisters

  • Subway A train to 190th Street, walk through Fort Tryon Park — 50 min. $3 OMNY.
  • The Cloisters (Met branch museum of medieval European art) — 2 hr. $30 non-NY adult; same ticket as the Met main building if visited within 3 days. 9am-5pm. The 1938 Rockefeller-funded museum holds the Unicorn Tapestries and assembled medieval cloister architecture from southern France.
  • Fort Tryon Park overlook of the Hudson and the Palisades cliffs — 30 min. Free. The city's quietest large park.
  • Subway A back to Columbus Circle, transfer to N/W to Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard — 50 min. $3 OMNY.
  • Rest valve — late lunch at Mombar or Kabab Cafe on Steinway Street, Astoria — 1 hr. Egyptian, Lebanese, and Yemeni dishes $14-26.
  • Astoria 30th Avenue food strip walk: Greek bakeries, Egyptian fuul stalls, Yemeni mandi, Brazilian açaí — 1 hr 30 min. Plates $6-18 across multiple stops.
  • Astoria Park East River promenade and the Hell Gate Bridge view — 45 min. Free.
  • (Optional 7-train extension to Flushing for Chinese food.) Subway N/W to Times Square, then 7 to Flushing-Main Street — 1 hr round-trip. Flushing Chinatown is denser and cheaper than Manhattan Chinatown; New World Mall food court runs Sichuan, Taiwanese, Northeast Chinese plates $7-15.
  • Subway N/W back to Manhattan — 20-30 min.
  • Total: ~9 km walking across two boroughs; 4 subway segments.
Traveller Tips
  • Day 4 Smorgasburg runs Saturdays at East River State Park in Williamsburg (April-October) and Sundays at Breeze Hill in Prospect Park (April-October); the winter indoor edition shifts to Industry City in Sunset Park. Check smorgasburg.com on the morning of for the day's vendor list; arrive at 11am opening for the shortest queues at the headline stalls (Big Mozz, Mao's Bao chicken, Burmese Bites).
  • Day 4 East River Ferry from Wall Street/Pier 11 to North Williamsburg ($4.50) is the most scenic route into Williamsburg and runs every 15-30 min. Skip the L train direct from 14th Street for the inbound leg; take the L train back to Manhattan after the Park Slope walk for the speed advantage on the return.
  • Day 5 Cloisters subway: take the A train (NOT the 1 train) to 190th Street; the 190th Street A platform exits into Fort Tryon Park via an elevator and a 10-minute woodland path. The 1 train at Dyckman Street drops you on the opposite side of Broadway and adds a 25-min walk and a steep hill.
  • Day 5 Astoria food strip rewards a multi-stop crawl: order one plate per restaurant, walk 200-300 meters to the next, and budget $30-50 across 3-4 stops instead of a $40 sit-down at one venue. The Steinway Street and 30th Avenue blocks hold the densest Middle Eastern restaurant strip outside the Middle East.
  • Carry $50-80 in $5 and $10 notes across Days 4-5 for ferry-pier vendors, Astoria street stalls (cash-first at the older Greek and Egyptian bakeries), and Flushing food-court counters (some New World Mall stalls add a 3% credit-card surcharge above the menu price).