NEW YORK IN A DAY

You can spend a lifetime in New York and not see or do everything it has to offer, but the below works pretty well for getting a sense of the place.

Start the day downtown with coffee, eggs and the Sunday New York Times. Brunch is a big deal here and there are lots of good places (another article for another time) but you cant go wrong with either of the Cafe Gitanes. In Winter do the Nolita location (close to the Spring street subway up town) and in Summer the newer version in The Jane Hotel (next to the west side highway so that when you rent a bike you are close to the prettiest way uptown.)

Cafe Gitane, 242 Mott St, Nolita +1 212 334 9552; 113 Jane St (at The Jane Hotel) +1 212 255 4113

By subway or bike, which is a surprisingly easy way to get around, you want to head uptown to Central Park. In Winter you can ice skate and in Summer picnic after stocking up at Wholefoods at the Time Warner Center.  The park is crowded but quintessential. Afterwards  you can head for some culture at The Met, MoMa, Frick or the Guggenheim based on what you are into.

Wholefoods Market, 10 Columbus Circle +1 212 823 9600
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met), 1000 5th Avenue +1 212 535 7710
Museum of Modern Art (MoMa), 11 West 53rd St +1 212 767 1050 ‎
Frick Collection , 1 East 70th Street +1 212 288 0700 ‎
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 5th Avenue +1 212 423 3500

A quick shop on Madison Avenue and a gawp at the crazy face-lifts of the inhabitants of the Upper East and you will have earned yourself a drink. In Winter it should be a splurge at a great hotel bar like Bemelmans at the Carlyle and in Summer an illegal beer on the grass in Sheep’s Meadow, Central Park (pictured above) while you laugh at the people doing Capoeria (that odd Brazilian martial art).

Bemelmans Bar, The Carlyle Hotel, 35 East 76th St +1 212 744 1600

With uptown under your belt you should head down to Grand Central for a visit to the Oyster Bar or via Times Square (don’t stop just view). Then move on to Madison Square Park for a shared burger at Shake Shack or meat and cheese at Eataly (pictured above).

Grand Central Oyster Bar, 768 5th Avenue +1 212 490 6650
Shake Shack, South east corner of Madison Square Park (near Madison Ave and East 23rd Street) +1 212 889 6600
Eataly, 200 5th Ave +1 212 229 2560

From there it is time for another drink at Gramercy Park Hotel (pictured above) or The Standard. Then head south of 14th street for a relaxed Sunday supper at Franks. Homecooked pasta after a well travelled day.

Gramercy Park Hotel, 2 Lexington Avenue +1 212 920 3300
The Standard Hotel, 848 Washington Street +1 212 645 4646
Franks, 88 2nd Avenue, East Village +1 212 420 0106

By Harry Smail