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Quick New York City In A Weekend Trip

November 4, 2021 By: Sweet Frugal Life5 Comments

NYC In Three Days

I have always dreamed of visiting New York City.  There is just something about the lights, the buildings, and the hustle and bustle of the big apple that appealed to me.  I’ve talked about this dream with my sister for years and one day she stopped me and said, “Let’s do it! Let’s go visit New York City this year.”  And I said, “Ok!”  We decided to try to keep the budget low and to visit NYC in three days, which wasn’t easy, but we were able to make it work!  I was a little worried that only one weekend in New York City wouldn’t be enough time, but I was wrong.  We were able to see all of our “must sees” and had the time of our lives!  Here are a few tips for a quick New York City in a weekend trip!  

weekend in nyc

Our Quick New York City Weekend Trip

We spent a lot of hours researching and planning our NYC trip.  The first thing we did was make a list of the places we MOST wanted to see.  The statue of liberty and a Broadway show were at the top of that list.

Next, we started researching for the most frugal ways to visit all of our favorite attractions.  Through that process we came up with our budget friendly, quick New York City in a weekend trip itinerary.  Below is everything that we did, and a few frugal tips to help you plan your own trip!

Day 1:  Thursday

We took a direct flight from SLC to Newark airport and landed at about 6pm.  To save money we decided to split an uber ride to our hotel, and cost us about $30 per couple.

Using Priceline we booked the Dylan Hotel located in Midtown Manhattan.  We loved it!  The hotel is located close to a lot of top attractions, it was clean and the price was very reasonable for the location!

*Hotel Money Saving Tip:  We booked out hotel through Priceline because they seemed to have the best deals.  When using Priceline we didn’t get to choose which hotel we booked, but we were able to choose the area and the hotel star rating.  The hotel we got was amazing, exactly what we wanted!  We scored a boutique midtown hotel (with a king bed, which is hard to find) for only $200/night! 

*Hotel Money Saving Tip:  When booking any travel make sure you use Rakuten first, this one simple step gave us an extra 6% cashback on our hotel purchase.

After settling into our hotel we walked down the street to Uncle Pauls Pizza.  The pizza was delicious and only $4/slice, exactly what we wanted!

Once we were full from pizza we walked around and enjoyed some sight seeing.  We visited Grand Central Station, St.Patricks Cathedral, window shopped down 5th Avenue, and ended the night in Times Square.  Everything we saw Thursday night was completely free!

 


  • Related:  20 Things To Do In New York City For Free

 

Day 2:  Friday

On Friday morning we got up early for breakfast.  We went to a small restaurant, across the street from our hotel, Home Front Deli.  It was delicious!  They made the absolute best bagels I tried all weekend!  I highly recommend!

After breakfast we headed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  This was one of my favorite stops of the entire trip!  It is WELL worth the money!  You could spend DAYS in this museum.  We focused on the Egyptian Room, The American Wing, and European Art.  Everything was absolutely incredible!


 

After visiting The Met we rode the bus down to the Top of the Rock and were treated to absolutely amazing views of New York City. 

We chose to visit Top of the Rock, instead of the Empire State Building, because the price was cheaper and the views were better!  I loved that we could see the Empire State Building and Central Park in our view.

 


Next, was lunch at The Halal Guys for the best Gyros I have ever had.  This is seriously a must stop.  The portions were huge and only around $8 for a platter.

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That night we had tickets to go see The Lion King on Broadway.  This was one of our big splurges for the trip and it did not disappoint!  We paid full price for our tickets to The Lion King, but there are ways to get discount Broadway Tickets.

*Broadway Money Saving Tip:  To get discount Broadway tickets stop by the TKTS booth located right in Times Square.  These same day tickets are heavily discounted for a select shows.

Another way to get cheaper tickets for Broadway is to check out the Today Tix website.  We used this service for a Broadway show Saturday night and were very pleased with the discounts we got!

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  • Related:  Kauai on a Budget

 

Day 3:  Saturday

For breakfast on Saturday we went to Zuckers Bagels for another classic NYC bagel.  If I’m being honest, I didn’t enjoy this breakfast quite as much as Home Front Deli, but it was still delicious!

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Immediately after breakfast we headed to the 9/11 museum, this is what I had been most looking forward to. 

We were treated to an amazing museum full of heart wrenching photos, survivor stories and gut wrenching facts.  Total we spent about 3 hours walking around and taking it all in.  But, honestly we could have spent all day there, they had so many exhibits and a lot of great information to look through.


 

After the museum we headed Downtown to hop onto the Staten Island Ferry.  This is a completely FREE ferry that takes you right past the statue of liberty.  It was so simple to walk right on to the ferry.  I recommend going to the very back so that you can also be treated to a view of the NYC skyline.

The views of the Statue of Liberty were even better than we had expected!  Once we arrived in New Jersey, we walked off, went around the corner and walked right onto the next ferry to ride back to Manhattan.  So easy, and you just can’t beat a good view for FREE!

 

Next, we headed to Brooklyn for a walk across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.  It was a wet and stormy day, but we still enjoyed the views on the bridge. The architecture was incredible!


That evening we had dinner at Melt Shop for some gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.  The food was amazing and very budget friendly!

After dinner we headed to another Broadway Show, Waitress.

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This wasn’t my favorite Broadway show, but my sister really enjoyed it, so to each their own!

 

Day 4:  Sunday

Our plane was leaving Sunday afternoon, so we were thrilled to have a few hours left to enjoy the big apple.

We stopped by Wafels and Dinges for breakfast, and I have been dreaming out this place ever since!

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After breakfast we decided it was time for cookies, which is totally normal, right???!?!  We went straight from breakfast to Levain Bakery for the absolute BEST cookie I have EVER had!!!  You MUST, I repeat, MUST stop by Levain Bakery.  Their cookies were absolutely amazing!


We ate our cookies in Central Park and then spent the rest of the morning wandering the paths and enjoying the day.  It truly is a beautiful park with so many unique areas and sights.  I loved strolling through all of the different areas.

 


Our trip was a busy whirlwind, but I wouldn’t change it for anything!  We were able to see everything we wanted to see, and had a lot of fun doing it!  I can’t wait to go back again one day and visit even more of the amazing sights.

Be sure to check out my post 20 Completely Free Things to do in New York City for more budget friendly New York City ideas!

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I hope this gave you some good ideas for your quick New York City in a weekend trip!

20 Free Things To Do In New York City

December 3, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Life5 Comments

Cheap Things To Do In NYC.

Did you see my post about our recent whirlwind of a trip to New York City?  We had so much fun in the big apple!  I fell in love with all of the beautiful buildings and delicious food.  This is a trip I went on with my frugal sister and we both tried to keep costs low.  Fortunately, we were able to find so many things free things to do in New York City.  Yay!  We love FREE!

nyc on a budget

20 Free Things to Do While in NYC

If you are planning a trip to the big apple, make sure to try a few of these free things to do in New York City!  There are so many great options for everyone!

 

Explore a City Park

New York City has so many beautiful, unique parks to explore.  We had so much fun visiting a few of them and can’t wait to see more the next time we visit.  Here are some parks I recommend you visit.

1.  Wander Around Central Park

You could literally spend DAYS in Central Park.  There is SO much to see and do!  We loved wandering around, enjoying the beauty and little sections of the park. 

Be sure to visit The Mall, Belvedere Castle and Bethesda Fountain.  They were all incredible!

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2.  Walk the High Line

The High Line is a beautiful elevated park.  It was made from an old railroad no longer in use. 

This unique park provides miles of walking paths and gardens.  We were sad to miss it on this trip, but will be sure to visit it another time.  I have heard such good things!

3.  Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park has over 9 acres of beauty located in Greenwich Village.  It is well known for the landmark Washington Square Arch. 

This park has many different things to see and do, including some great photo ops!

4.  Bryant Park

Bryant Park is located right in midtown, making it a quick and easy stop. 

We visited Bryant Park in late October and they had their Christmas Shops and ice skating rink set up.  It was so fun to walk around looking through the cute little shops and watching the ice skaters.

It is also conveniently located near the library, for another free must do!

5.  Battery Park

Near the entrance to the free Staten Island Ferry you will find Battery Park. 

This is another large city park with paths, statues and memorials.  A visit to Battery Park will also give you a good view of the Statue of Liberty!  Don’t forget to hop onto the free Staten Island Ferry while you are there!

 

Famous NYC Landmarks

If you are a first timer to New York City, or even if you have been there before, make sure you check out some of it’s famous landmarks.  You know, the famous spots you see in every movie!  They are so fun to see in real life and get to experience them for yourself.

6.  Take the Staten Island Ferry to  View The Statue of Liberty

You may not be able to go visit the Statue of Liberty for free, but you can get a free boat ride that will take you right past Lady Liberty.  

We decided to take the ferry to get a glimpse of lady liberty and I was impressed by how well we could see her!  The Staten Island Ferry is a completely free round trip ride with fantastic views!

7.  Visit Grand Central Station

It only takes a few minutes to pop in and visit Grand Central Station, but it is WORTH it!  The architecture of this building is absolutely breathtaking!  I loved ever minute we spent inside.

 


8.  Walk Across The Brooklyn Bridge

We had so much fun walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, it is such a fun activity to do in New York City for free.

 The architecture is absolutely beautiful and it only takes about 30 minutes to walk across!  The best views are when you walk from Brooklyn into Manhattan, but either direction works just fine!

 


9.  9/11 Memorial Plaza

The incredible 9/11 museum is not free, but walking around the memorial is free!  I really enjoyed the special reverence on the grounds and seeing the twin waterfall pools.

10.  Times Square

There really is nothing quite like Times Square.  A true melting pot of lights, colors, people and sounds.  It’s loud, it’s busy and it is completely free!  A must stop (at least for a few minutes!).

11.  Rockefeller Plaza

Another thing to do in New York City for free is a visit to the famous Rockefeller Plaza.  It’s a fun section of the city to walk around and explore for a few minutes. 

We visited when the ice skating rink was set up and we loved watching the skaters for a few minutes and window shopping past the buildings.

 


12.  Flat Iron Building

The iconic Flat Iron Building is a perfect spot for an Instagram photo!  It is such a unique building and I am so sad we weren’t able to stop and see it this trip.

10.  New York Library

I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t really believe a library was a worthwhile stop on our trip, but I was SO wrong!  This building is absolutely beautiful! 

We spent about 20-30 minutes walking around and viewing the different rooms (be sure to stop by the Rose Reading Room!).  This was one of my favorite buildings we saw.

 


11.  The Charging Bull

If you are in the Wall Street area, you must stop by and see the famous Charging Bull.  It’s another picture perfect spot!

 

 

Free Museums

New York City is home to many amazing museums, and a couple of them are even free!!  Hooray!

12.  Bronx Museum of the Arts

The Bronx Museum of the Arts is the home to many unique art exhibits.  It is large and open and rarely ever crowded.  The best part is it is completely free!  Be sure to stop by if you are in the area!

13.  Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology

If you have any interest in clothing and fashion, you would probably enjoy the free Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.  The exhibits inside all showcase the history and workings of the exciting fashion world.

 

Visit an Old Church

One of my favorite parts of NYC are the old buildings, especially the church’s.   They are all so breathtaking and free to visit!

14.  Trinity Church

A visit to Trinity Church on Wall Street gives you not only a visit to a beautiful old church, but it’s also has an old cemetery on the grounds that’s fun to explore.  In this cemetery you will be able to find a few historical figures buried there, including Alexander Hamilton and his wife, Eliza Hamilton. (any other Hamilton fans?!?!?)

15.  Cathedral of St. John the Divine

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is the largest cathedral in the world and it just so happens to be in the big apple.  With plenty of detail and beautiful stain glass windows, it is definitely worth stopping at!

16.  St. Patrick’s Cathedral

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a must see when in New York City.  I originally thought we would only stop by for a few minutes, but the cathedral was so gorgeous with lots of details to look at, we ended up staying much longer.

 


 

Explore a New Neighborhood

One of my favorite parts of New York City was the new vibe around every corner.  I loved that there was always something different and unique to see.  There are so many fun neighborhoods with different attractions, so take some time to visit a few of them.

18.  Walking Tour

Google “NYC Walking Tour” and you will find countless free guides that tells you exactly where to walk and what to visit in each neighborhood.  One of my favorite parts of New York City was taking in the beauty and uniqueness of each neighborhood.

 


19.  China Town

There is really nothing like visiting China Town.  I love walking through the streets, browsing the shops and taking in all of the sights, sounds, and smells.  China Town is a place you could spend hours in, or just walk through quick, it’s completely up to you!

20.  Window Shop on 5th Avenue

We had so much fun walking down 5th Avenue and peeking in all of the different stores.  This is not shopping for the cheap!  But, it is free (and fun!) to look in all the pretty windows and buildings!

In Conclusion

There really is nowhere like New York City.  You can enjoy this great city, without breaking the bank!  Have I missed any other free things to do in New York City???  Let me know in the comments if you have any other recommendations!

 

Related Articles:

The Best Budget Travel Tips

A New York City Weekend

Our Budget Friendly Disneyland Vacation

 

Pin For Future Reference:

free things new york city - NYC activities for free

New York City (1)

 

I hope this article gave you a few ideas of things to do in New York City for Free!

Hello! I’m Melanie!

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