New York is a huge city, depending on the time we have, it is important to become a guide with the best route to not miss anything that includes some of the many things to see and do in New York, that will make us know and approach to the city, both to its most touristic part and to its least known places.
In this case we propose a route through New York in one day, ideal if you only have one day in the Big Apple or do a long stopover of 1 day in New York on any of your flights.
Requirements to travel to New York
The first step before traveling to New York is to take out the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), a mandatory electronic form for traveling to the United States and New York.
The best and cheapest way to process it is through the official website, where after choosing the language, you only have to click on “New request”And follow the steps. The price is $ 14 per person and is valid for two years.
How to go from the airport to downtown New York
Most flights land at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Once here you have several options to get from the airport to downtown New York or to the hotel:
- Air Train + Metro: This is the cheapest option. The price is $ 7.75 that is paid upon arrival at the subway station (before you must take the Air train which is freeuntil you reach the subway station. If you go to the Midtown (Times Square area) you must go to Jamaica Station and then take the subway line that leaves you closer to the accommodation. Initially it may seem a bit messy, but it only takes a few minutes to get the map of the subway lines and understand the lines and their routes.
- Cab: A more comfortable option with a good price, especially if you travel with more people. The price is approximately $ 52 plus tolls and tips, so the whole trip will be about $ 75.
- Private transport: With an approximate price to the taxi, this is the most comfortable option of all and faster. Being a service door to doorThey wait for you at the airport and take you directly to the chosen hotel or destination. Being a closed price you will avoid costs and you can also book the round trip. You can book it here.
Save in New York
There are several cards that allow you to enjoy discounts and save time by skipping the lines of the most important attractions in New York.
- Booking the New York Explorer Pass allows you to enter 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 of the main attractions with great flexibility being able to choose the tickets among the 58 available attractions, until the last minute.
Extended information in this post about the New York Explorer Pass: how it works, what it includes and prices. - Booking the CityPass will allow you to enter 6 of the most visited attractions in New York at a price 42% cheaper.
More information in this post about the New York CityPASS: how it works, what it includes and prices. - Booking the New York Pass allows you to enter more than 80 attractions in New York, you can take the 1,2,3,5,7 or 10 days.
You can complete the information with this post about the New York Pass: how it works, what it includes and prices. - Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions. - If you want to have internet in New York, a good option is to buy a Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, several GB of data, keeping your WhatsApp number and support service in Spanish. You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.
For more recommendations you can consult this post of tips for traveling to New York essential.
New York guide in one day
Times Square is the area in which we recommend staying if you are also going to spend the night in the city. Although it is a little more expensive than the other areas of the Big Apple, the advantages of having the most tourist places nearby, more than compensates, especially when we have a few days to get to know the city. On the trip to New York in 11 days, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Times Square, right in the center, with stunning views of the Empire State Building from the last floors, which was one of the greatest successes of the trip.
Having little time, in this New York route in 1 day We will focus on the Midtown area, located in the center of the island of Manhattan, which is the most tourist area of the city and the perfect place to have a first view of New York and to know the most emblematic places.
A good option if it is your first time in the city and you have little time is to book this one-day guided tour in Spanish to see some of the most interesting places in the city knowing its history and curiosities.
New York guide in one day
The route begins in one of the most symbolic places in New York: Times Square. We recommend that you come early in the morning to be able to enjoy it without too many people and see, as the minutes pass, the place begins to wake up next to New Yorkers with their inseparable glasses of coffee in hand. To have the best views, a good option is to climb the TKTS red ladder from where you can take the best photos of Times Square, with a unique perspective. And of course, take advantage that you are here to enter some of its famous stores such as M & M's or Disney, practically places of worship in the city.
Times Square from TKTS
From Times Square you must enter the emblematic Broadway Street, the longest street in New York, direction Columbus Circle, one of the entrance gates to Central Park, while on the way you can see the design of the Hearst Tower, by the famous architect Norman Foster.
You have to keep in mind that Central Park is immense, having a short time it is best to focus on some of its main points such as The Rock, Strawberry Fields, the memorial of John Lennon, the Lake, the statue of Alice In Wonderland, The Pound or The Mall. A good option especially if you one-day route through New York It is in the hottest months, it is buying takeaway food and having a picnic in Central Park.
Central park
One of the closest places is the well-known Gray's Papaya, where you can buy what they say (and we corroborate), are the New York hot dogs With some delicious juice, which you can eat both in the premises and in Central Park, a few meters from the premises. For desserts you can not stop to buy the best hot cookies in Levain Bakery, very close to Gray's Papaya.
Gray's Papaya
After crossing Central Park you route through New York in one day It will take you to Fifth Avenue, the most famous shopping avenue in New York, where you can entertain yourself between shop window and shop window until you reach the St. Patrick's Cathedral, which contrasts between the skyscrapers. Although Fifth Avenue is known as the Millionaire Avenueand it may be too commercial for a first visit to New York, we believe it is worth a visit because in it you will not only be able to see many luxury stores such as Tiffany & Co or Bergdorf Goodman or the well-known Apple store, but also places of great interest such as those discussed below.
The fifth Avenue
When you reach the Cathedral of St. Patrick, where you can visit the interior, you will see just in front of the Rockfeller Center, with the famous sculpture of the Atlas, where the contrast of the Cathedral with the skyscrapers that surround it is very curious.
St. Patrick's Cathedral
At this point you can take a walk through the Rockfeller Center building complex, without missing the Lego store and if your visit coincides with the Christmas season, you can always spend an hour skating on its ice rink and see the spectacular tree Christmas that is located here at this time of year.
In this area you should also know that it is located at number 70 of the General Electric skyscraper of the Rockfeller Center, one of the New York's best looks: the Top of the Rock. If you want to go up and have one of the best views of the city we recommend that you buy the entrance as soon as possible, since they sell out very quickly, especially if you want to make it coincide with some special moment of the day such as sunset. A good option is to buy the City Pass that includes admission to the Top of the Rock if your visit to New York includes more days or more visits that are included. If you do not have the card you can book the ticket here in advance. In these two cases you will skip the lines, something very important if you do not want to waste time and make the most of the day.
As we said, this viewpoint is perfect for watching the sunset as you will have views of almost all of Manhattan with the Empire State Building on one side and Central Park on the other. In the Top of the Rock you can take one of the best photos of New York.
Top of the Rock
To end this New York in one day You should return to Times Square, one of the most emblematic places in New York, which looks spectacular at night and where the atmosphere, at this time of night is a mixture of chaos and order only possible in a city like New York. Strolling surrounded by screens and lights that announce musicals and Broadway plays, crossing people dressed as comics, cartoons or even a naked cowboy are just some of the things that will happen to you in Times Square.
Times Square at night
And after this tour of New York in 1 dayYou can't do anything but look for a good place to have dinner. Being a one-day visit, we would recommend you go to some tourist place, one of the best known as Hard Rock Café, Bubba Gump or Planet Hollywood, which although they are not better in quality they are the best options for live The whole city.
If you are going to spend the night in the city or your plane leaves at dawn, one of the things you can do is go to Madison Square Garden to see a New York Knicks NBA game. It is advisable to reserve the ticket in time as they sell out quite quickly. A good option to do so is through Ticketnetwork.
Another good plan is to go see a Broadway musical. In the end we decided on Aladdin, one of the most recommended and we have to say that we loved it. Other of the best Broadway shows They are: The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Blue Man Group, Cats, Wicked, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chicago, Anastasia or School of Rock
We do not want to finish this article without saying that we understand how complicated it is to choose the visits to do if you only have 1 day in New York, especially considering that there are as many trips as travelers and that everything depends on the tastes of each person, although we think that this we leave you can be a good route for a first contact with the city, with which we are sure , you will only say goodbye to the city with an idea in mind: come back as soon as possible.
If you have another day you can consult this New York guide in two days.
Do you want to organize this trip about what to see in New York in 1 day?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to New York here
The best hotels at the best prices in New York here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book the best tours and excursions in New York in Spanish here
Book your transfer Airport⇆New York here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
New York guide in 2 days
The best offers of Flights to New York here
The best hotels at the best prices in New York here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book the best tours and excursions in New York in Spanish here
Book your transfer Airport⇆New York here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
New York guide in 2 days
