New York Itinerary: 5 Days in Manhattan and Brooklyn

Doing New York in 5 days lets you see plenty of the biggest attractions in Manhattan plus a slice of Brooklyn, one of New York's most authentic boroughs, which you can walk to across the famous Brooklyn Bridge.

So you make the most of your time, I put together a pretty packed route designed to help you see as much as possible in just a few days.

If you'd rather take it slow, just drop a few stops and save them for next time. Trust me, you'll be back! There's no way to see this endless city in a single trip.

What to do in New York in 5 days

I know AI chatbots are handy for planning itineraries, but I also know they're programs that don't walk anywhere and haven't traveled to New York dozens of times like I have 😆.

What you'll get here is a 5-day New York itinerary written human to human, ordered so you hit the most popular New York attractions first and grouped by how close they are to each other.

The goal is simple: don't waste precious time getting around or fact-checking what a chatbot told you.

If you need more detail on any of the NYC sights I suggest, click the links:

Day 1: The essentials of Manhattan

We'll kick off this 5-day New York trip on famous Fifth Avenue, which many consider the backbone of Manhattan and a street packed with several of the city's headline attractions:

Start early in the morning by heading up to the Empire State observatory, one of the buildings that defines the New York skyline.

The Empire State is always mobbed with tourists, so I'd buy your tickets online. That way you go straight to the elevator line and save valuable time.

Give yourself at least a couple of hours for the Empire State Observatory. When you're done, head north on Fifth Avenue to see St. Patrick's Cathedral and, right across from it, the famous Rockefeller Center, a complex that bundles together several of the top sights in Midtown Manhattan.

There's always something going on at Rockefeller Center, and if you have the time and the appetite for another classic Manhattan observation deck, Top of the Rock is the one.

Depending on the time of year you visit New York, you can go ice skating or roller skating at Rockefeller Plaza, or take a tour of Radio City Music Hall.

After lunch, spend the rest of the afternoon at the MoMA, home to the largest contemporary art collection in the world.

Day 2: From Central Park to Broadway

This day starts in Central Park and ends on Broadway…

Have a good breakfast and head straight to Central Park. In the Central Park guide you'll find the park's most famous spots so you can plan which ones you want to see. It's huge! Fair warning: you won't cover it all in one trip.

From Central Park, you could visit the Met, one of the largest museums in the world, on the east side of the park, or the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum just up the street. You'll have to pick one, because both deserve an unhurried visit.

Either way, it's worth walking over to the Guggenheim to see the exterior and the lobby of architect Frank Lloyd Wright's final great project.

Tickets to both museums are included in the New York Pass, which saves you money and gets you in faster.

The United Nations is another landmark New York building. Monday through Friday there are tours that let you see inside yet another masterpiece of modern architecture.

Honestly, these tours are a bit of a hassle to book, since they depend heavily on the UN's schedule of events. But even just walking up to the entrance will help you understand why so many people call New York the capital of the world.

If you're wondering where I shot this panorama of the UN, it was from Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island, a neighborhood in the middle of the East River you can reach on the Tram, New York's only aerial cable car.

From the UN you're close to the Chrysler Building, another skyscraper New Yorkers adore, where those streamlined gargoyles will stop you in your tracks.

Keep going to Summit at One Vanderbilt, the new New York observatory everyone is talking about. If you have the time, go up! You get a 360º perspective on the city plus some genuinely great interactive installations.

One Vanderbilt was built right next to Grand Central Terminal, another of New York's must-see attractions thanks to its gorgeous architecture.

A short walk from Grand Central Station you'll find the New York Public Library (the spot where Ghostbusters opens) and the small but classic Bryant Park.

From there, keep walking toward Times Square, that intersection full of neon lights, theaters, and shops…

And to end the day like a true New Yorker, how about a Broadway musical? (here are my tips for finding cheaper Broadway tickets).

Day 3: Exploring Lower Manhattan

Today we focus on Lower Manhattan, from the Statue of Liberty to the World Trade Center:

Devote the whole morning to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

One important thing to know: if you want to go up to the crown, you need to buy tickets well in advance (you'll find all the details at the Statue of Liberty link).

If you're happy just landing on the island and seeing the statue from the outside, the tourist discount passes come in handy again, since they include the ferry ride.

Another way to see the Statue of Liberty up close, and for free, is to take the free Staten Island Ferry, which gives you stunning views of Lower Manhattan and passes within yards of the statue.

After lunch, head to the World Trade Center. There you'll see how New York rebuilt itself after the attack on the Twin Towers.

A visit to the 9/11 Memorial is a must, and if you want to go deeper into the history, visit the 9/11 Museum.

Another must is heading up to the observatory at the One World Trade Center, the tallest skyscraper in New York and the fourth tallest in the world.

On your way out of 1WTC, I recommend stepping into the Calatrava Oculus, the station that connects Manhattan with New Jersey. Its bold architecture won't leave you indifferent.

Inside the station you can shop at the Westfield World Trade Center Mall, or how about heading over to New Jersey for one of the best views of the Manhattan skyline?

If you're doing well on time, you can walk the streets of Wall Street and the Financial District, right near the World Trade Center, and get a head start on the next day's itinerary.

Day 4: Manhattan's iconic neighborhoods

Today you'll see a mix of traditional neighborhoods and newer Manhattan attractions:

Starting in the Meatpacking District, you'll walk the High Line Park, the one of a kind park built on an abandoned elevated rail line.

When you finish the walk, you can visit another key New York museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, or check out Little Island, New York's newest park, built over the Hudson River. You'll have to pick one, the museum or the park, or both if you move fast!

If you love art, the Whitney is a must. It gathers work by contemporary American artists (admission is included in the New York Pass).

Another option is to see two of New York's newest attractions at Hudson Yards: the staircase sculpture The Vessel and the city's highest open air observation deck: the Edge Observatory.

If you didn't make it to the Financial District the day before, now is a good time to see Wall Street, the streets of Lower Manhattan where the most important financial institutions in New York and the Western world are concentrated.

In the Financial District you'll see the New York Stock Exchange, and you can visit Federal Hall with its big, much photographed statue of George Washington.

From there you'll be very close to the historic South Street Seaport district, where you can get a sense of what New York looked like in the 19th century.

You'll also get gorgeous views of the Brooklyn Bridge from there, a nice preview of tomorrow, when you'll walk across it.

Then treat yourself to a well earned beer at Fraunces Tavern, running since 1762 in the oldest colonial building still in use in New York. Cheers!

Day 5: Crossing over to Brooklyn

You'll wrap up this 5 day New York itinerary outside Manhattan, getting to know a bit of Brooklyn after walking across New York's most famous bridge:

Get to City Hall nice and early, the starting point of the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian walkway, and start crossing.

Once you reach Brooklyn, wander the streets of DUMBO and head to Brooklyn Bridge Park, where you can see the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges up close, with stunning Manhattan panoramas behind them.

That same park has the NYC Ferry landing, and the route passes under New York's most important bridges, so it's a great chance to admire their structures.

Get off at the Williamsburg pier in Brooklyn to explore this fashionable «hipster» neighborhood, a good spot for lunch or for trying an authentic New York bagel.

Find the nearest NYC subway station and head to Coney Island (the trip is worth it!).

And that's how you'll finish these 5 days in New York, strolling the long seaside boardwalk of a neighborhood frozen in time.

Tips for seeing New York in 5 days

🚇 The subway is the fastest way to travel between the attractions in this 5 day New York itinerary. Learn how to use it with the New York Subway guide.

💵 Tourist discount passes will save you money on admissions and time too (they include skip the line access at the biggest attractions).

🗽 If you've already been to some of these spots, swap them for other New York points of interest.

🌉 Manhattan and Brooklyn are two of the city's 5 boroughs. If you want a quick look at Queens and the Bronx, take the New York contrasts tour.

🛌 If you still haven't decided where to stay in New York, this guide will help you pick the most strategic spot for staying close to the attractions.

Other day by day New York itineraries

Besides this 5 day New York itinerary, these other routes may help:

2️⃣ New York in 2 days itinerary

3️⃣ New York in 3 days itinerary

7️⃣ New York in 7 days itinerary

What to do with more days in New York

If you've already seen several of the attractions I recommended or you have extra days, how about a trip to other cities near New York?

With one extra day you could do a round trip to Washington DC, travel to Philadelphia, Boston, or even Niagara Falls!