New York City: What to see in 2 days

What to see in 2 days in New York City. NYC is a big place and has many things to do and see. Two days is not enough to see everything on your bucket list so you will need to prioritize! Read on to see what we decided to see while we were there.

We stayed in an Airbnb in Newark, New Jersey. It was about a 15 minute walk to the Newark Penn Station. We picked up the train to the World Trade Center each day. It was about a 50 minute ride.

The World Trade Center is a transportation hub for almost all of your connections in the city.

How I planned out the two days

One of us had problems walking long distances so I grouped our activities based on how close they were. I thought of how close in proximity the buildings were and also how close the building was to a subway station.

Day 1:

Day one looks very packed but it didn’t feel overwhelming as to how the day was laid out. From the World Trade Center station we took a train up midtown right next to the Natural History Museum. Central Park was right next to the museum. We got back on the train and took it down to a stop near the Empire State Building. St’ Patrick’s Cathedal, the Lego Store and the Nintendo Store were are close to each other. We ate dinner which helped us walk to the Gershwin Theater to watch Wicked the Musical.

American Museum of Natural History

We were there when close to when it opened. This is a museum well worth your money. It is packed with great exhibits. Perfect for any age. You read more about this museum, in a post I wrote called, “What you will seen in the NYC Natural History Museum.”

Central Park

We spent a little time here. My kids wanted to come back later if we had time. There are many spots in Central Park that are iconic. If it is a priority of yours, you should go as it is a wonderful park.

Empire State Building

We paid the extra money to go to the 102 floor. It was a fantastic experience! On the 102 floor you can see all the way around through the glass windows. Looking at the two pictures below you can see more of Central Park from the 102 floor. I would recommend this if you can afford it!

Here is a picture of the needle from the 86th floor:

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a beautiful church. It is also very large. When we were there in the afternoon it was very crowded! We were tired from walking and were able to sit a while. I decided to get up and walk around. Here is what I saw:

The Lego Store

The Lego Store is always on our list. It is very close to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

We are big lego fans! Which is why I went to the Lego Store in Milan, Italy. The cool thing they have is the ability to make a personalized lego mini figure. You get to design your own lego mini figure for about $15 dollars. Plus, the store has large lego creations that you can take a picture with. I thought the Marvel lego wall was pretty cool.

Nintendo Store

The kids ended up going to the Nintendo Store on the day the Switch 2 was being released. My father and I went to a pub to rest and get a drink. Boy, did my kids loved the store! A definite place to stop as it is close to the Lego Store.

Wicked the Musical

We got our tickets for this musical, months in advance. You can read about how to get musical tickets in a post I wrote called, “10 Tips for traveling to New York City.”

The show was fantastic! Elphaba was played by the understudy. She was absolutely fantastic! Something I didn’t know was, until my older daughter told me, was that the person playing Fiyero was from the original cast..

At the end of day 2 we walked to the subway station that took us back to the World Trade Center station. Do know if you come to this station after 9:30 pm, the bathrooms are closed!

We arrived back on the Jersy side and walked the 15 minutes to our Airbnb. Even though I placed things together so there would be less walking. There still was a lot of walking I hadn’t anticipated, like the 15 minute walk to and from the Airbnb.

Day 2

Today we stayed in lower Manhattan or the Financial District. Most of the walking was in the morning. After the State of Liberty we got on the subway and headed up to Time Square where we would had dinner and went to another musical.

9/11 Memorial Pools

The 9/11 Memorial was our first stop due to the proximity to the subway station. We walked around the pools and found a name of someone my husband knew in the South Tower. We decided not to do the museum on this trip. I have gone through the museum and it’s like being back in time. I remember most of the things that are in the exhibit. It was very strange to be in a museum that I lived through.

Trinity Church

We walked down to Trinity Church. The episcopal church opened in 1846. Hamilton the Musical fans go there to see Alexander Hamilton’s grave. For my kids, it was something they didn’t feel like seeing. So we took some pictures and then headed to our next stop.

Federal Hall National Memorial

Federal Hall is the first capital building which housed all three branch of the US government. This is where George Washington took his oath as the first president of the United States. It opened in 1842. This is part of the National Parks and so can get your National Parks Passport stamp here.

Fraunce’s Tavern

It was at Fraunce’s Tavern where George Washington said good by to his officers after they won the Revolutionary War. A perfect place to see in conjunction with Federal Hall.

On our way from Federal Hall to Battery Park we stopped at Fraunces. Our plan was to have lunch but the restaurant doesn’t open up until 11:30 and that would bring us too close to our Statue of Liberty tour.

Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island

Our plan was to spend our afternoon on these two islands. I wrote some tips about going to the Statue of Liberty in another post called, “Great tips for visiting the Statue of Liberty.“

I recommend going up to the Crown. This means that you need to get tickets before you come. As you will get your tickets early, you will need to plan what day and time works best. It is nice to have an event or two that have hard timed reservations in your itinerary. Plan no more than two and NOT back to back or you will be overwhelmed!

My father wanted to check on his mother’s entry into the United States. He wanted to make sure she didn’t come through Ellis Island. There is a place inside the Ellis Island where you can get help checking on relatives.

Time Square

Time Square is a very busy place. There are big screens, lots of buildings and lots of people to scamming people. Be very aware when you are in this area. I talk about how to be safe in New York City in the post, “10 Tips for traveling to New York City.”

Maybe, Happy, Ending the Musical

My older daughter and her husband are friends with one of the understudies in this musical. They really wanted us to see it, so they got the tickets while we were in the city.

This musical was up for about 7 Tony’s which was happening the up coming weekend we were there. They swept the Tony’s! Very cool!!

If you were wondering about seeing this musical, I would say, definitely go. The story line is original and the singing is fantastic.

My kids’ friend was very gracious to bring us back stage. That was very, very cool!

What do you think of my choices? What places would you recommend if you had 2 days in New York City? Write them in the comments below!