36-Hour NYC Travel Guide: Essential Tips for First-Time Visitors

My lover had never been to New York as an adult, so I was his tour guide for the 36 hours we were there.

We hopped on a 7 a.m. southwest flight to New York with a short stop at St. Louis. For the first time, and I tell you, it was an extreme sport for me to pack all my travel essentials in a single backpack, but I survived. Because we were flying Southwest, we were entitled to luggage, but because we didn't want to be roaming around New York with our luggage until we found a hotel, we opted for backpacks. And I, in particular, survived, but it was rough.

From La Guardia Airport, we hopped in an expensive ass $80 something dollar Uber to downtown New York, to this fantastic place Patis Bakery, a kosher cafe in Times Square with fresh food. Fueled and ready to begin our whirlwind 36-hour adventure to New York, the next step was to book a hotel.

Now let me say this: because I am a master planner, it was out of character and uncomfortable to book a trip with no hotel reservation ready, but I survived. My lover had put me on to this place called Hotels Tonight, a service that gives you great last-minute hotel deals, and a deal is exactly what we got. We secured a two-day reservation at SpringHill by Marriott downtown Times Square! Since we were already in Times Square, we walked to our hotel. We dropped off our backpacks and set out to paint the city...red.

Things to do in NYC for 36 hours

• Times Square is a must-see! Unbelievably, out of all the times I’d been to NYC, I never ventured to Times Square. Our hotel was in the area, so we saw the bustling street during the day and at night. We got to shop there and see all the giant billboards.

• Walk your ass off! The city is best experienced on foot, especially at night. Our first 9 hours were spent walking around the city, and we got to see so much! The Empire State Building at night (P.S. The best way to see it is from a distance; stand too close, and you won't get to take it all in). We wandered around Broadway, the New World Trade Center, and SoHo (which seemed like the cleanest place so far--everywhere else was littered with trash and smelled really bad). NYC is truly a city that never sleeps.

• Take the New York underground trains. We live in Chicago and hop on the train or bus anytime, so I felt like my lover should at least ride a New York train, too, so we headed underground to the 34 Street Penn Station heading to Brooklyn. At the ticket vestibule, we were bummed we couldn't get a day pass, the Metro started at seven days. I said fuck it, and we just tapped our credit cards and passed through. Since Google is our friend, we learned that the Metrocard was being phased out and replaced with OMNY for transit passes, so we just tapped our cards for the rest of the trip. The train rides cost $2.90 one way.

• We walked the Brooklyn Bridge. Not the entire length, just about halfway, and the bridge was like a zoo! It was so packed I didn't think that through, but we waded through the crowd to the best of our ability to appreciate the city's architecture and view. 

After walking almost 20K steps during our first 9 hours, we were EXHAUSTED, so we slowed down a bit the next day.

• The Statue of Liberty, the icon of New York, is also a must-see for first-timers. It's located off the coast of Manhattan, on Ellis Island, and to see this, you have to hop on the Staten Island Ferry, and it’s free! The first time I saw Lady Liberty, I rode the ferry at night; I think it was the last one at about 11 PM, so it wasn't crowded, and I could appreciate the view at night. This time around with my lover, we went at closing time (about 4 PM), which was a bad idea. My goodness, was it packed! It was impossible to get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, but fewer people were on the ferry on the way back, and we could really take in the view.

Places to eat in New York

• Patis Bakery:

   A kosher place with stores around the city, I visited Times Square's most highly rated one. After traveling for 7 hours, I had a big appetite, and Patis was just what I needed! I had a very yummy croissant, a hot chocolate, and a grilled cheese. The vibe was real nice; they had many sweet baked treats and breads. If I lived in New York (which I never would, but wanted to in my early 20s), I see myself being a regular at Patis.

• Spot Dessert Bar:

  You can’t leave New York without visiting this place. They are the best dessert place in New York. They have two locations, but I always go to one in St.Marks, Bowery. I believe it's an Asian-inspired place. The thing is, you need to get on a waitlist. You will wait, but it will be so worth it!

• Ainslie: 

If you’re new here, one thing you need to know is that I’m a whore for Italian food, so Ainslie was the perfect place for me on a lovely New York night. The cacio e pepe was to die for, and the portion was huge. I finished off the perfect meal with a Honey Deuce cocktail before heading to Spot Dessert Bar.

• In Common: 

We tried to go to Flippers to taste the Japanese-style souffle pancakes, but the waitlist was about 250 minutes before we even left our hotel, so we vetoed that. Walking around the neighborhood of our hotel, I stumbled upon this treasure of a place. This quaint place served a wholesome breakfast, and it was so cute. I had a nice creamy hot chocolate, orange juice, a buttery croissant, and a granola bowl. It was everything I needed, and the host was such a sweetie. I 100% look forward to revisiting it on my next New York trip.

• Miss Lily’s 7A Cafe:

So my lover’s grandmother was (bless her soul) Jamaican, and he always talks about how he misses her cooking and cries about the lack of adequate authentic Jamaican food in Chicago, so I made a reservation at the best Jamaican restaurant in New York, Miss Lily’s. Everything was incredible! The lemonade, the rum cake, the jerk platter, the corn, the rice and beans… all perfect. 

• Lilly’s Shakes & Crepes:

I looooooove me some crepes, and a trip isn't complete without them for me, so I took my ass over to Google and found this place, and it had so many good reviews. I was NOT disappointed at all; it came out so moist. However, I wish they had other topping options besides Nutella or bananas. Still enjoyed my crepe, though!

We almost missed our flight back to Chicago on Tuesday morning, but I made it back in time to attend my 9 AM meeting!

I’ll return to New York soon because 36 hours was not enough. I missed out on seeing this year’s Met costume exhibition and the Harry Potter experience, which needs to be corrected ASAP!

I’ve made it easy for ya’ll by hyperlinking all the important spots. If you want some more juicy deets on my whirlwind New York  trip, click here. Until I book another flight somewhere… who knows where, follow me on Instagram and TikTok for more travel stories, tips, itineraries, and gist.