Hi, friends! We just returned from the dreamiest long weekend in New York and I’m so excited to share our itinerary with you. My sister, Anna, planned everything to a tee and I wouldn’t have changed a thing! She also has a blog post on seeing New York in a weekend so you can check that out here.
We woke up early on Thursday morning so we could take a 7:30 am flight out of Atlanta. We arrived at LGA about 9:20. We located our bags and called a Lyft to pick us up. We ended up using Lyft or Taxis the entire time we were in the city. Using the taxi service was more convenient because you could just find one cruising and rarely had to wait. If you’re traveling with a lot of luggage (like us!), you’ll want to be sure you get a mid-sized car to accommodate.
I absolutely love this luggage and would also highly recommend this leather overnight bag I got right before we left! Everything is linked at the bottom of the post for you.
We had the car take us straight to the hotel and we went ahead and checked in early. Our room wasn’t quite ready but they did store our bags for us so we could go ahead and start exploring. We didn’t waste a minute before heading to Rockefeller Center to see the tree! It just happened to be on our way to Melt Shop, where we had lunch. I recommend the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup. SO yummy and the perfect thing to warm your soul after walking outside in the cold.
After lunch we headed to Bryant Park to walk around the Christmas Open Air Market. There are a ton of sweet little shops with unique items and there are also pop up snack shops. Our favorite is the Doughnuttery. They have the most amazing cinnamon sugar donuts! The New York Public Library is right next to Bryant Park so we walked around there for a bit before heading back to our hotel to unpack.
We stayed at The Lotte New York Palace and I honestly wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else. The location is perfect. It’s within walking distance to just about every iconic Christmas spot in the city. The rooms are beautiful and the staff is so helpful. You might even get lucky and run into a celebrity while you’re there. We may or may not have walked past Brett Eldridge in the workout room and Taylor Swift stayed in one of their suites just a few weeks before we were there!
After we got settled into our hotel, we headed to Washington Square Park, grabbed coffeee at Stumptown (so good!), and then headed to dinner at John’s Pizza. We asked a local where the BEST place was for New York pizza, and he told us to go to Johns. It did not disappoint! Truly the most delicious pizza I’ve ever had. I wore this sweet ruffle top, which is kind of perfect for Christmas time!
Since it had gotten chillier, we went back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes and then ordered our tickets for the Top Of The Rock. We did the Sun and Stars option so we could go back the next day while the sun was out. Highly recommend this option.
We had a good nights sleep that night and woke up ready for a full day of exploring Friday morning. The day started with a walk to Sarahbeths at Central Park South. Our table wasn’t quite ready, which gave us plenty of time to walk around the outside of The Plaza. You just can’t beat the ambiance in Sarahbeths! The food is also amazing. Two of us ordered the green eggs and the other two ordered the fat and fluffy French toast so we could have a sweet and savory breakfast.
The restaurant is located right outside the park so it’s the perfect day to meander! A few of our favorite places to see are The Gapstow Bridge, The Bow Bridge, and the Bethesda Terrace. This was our first year to find Bow Bridge. If you make it to Bethesda, just keep walking to the left of the lake and you’ll find it.
I wore this pretty statement necklace at least three times on this trip. It just instantly makes an outfit feel fab. This coat was a great one to bring because it’s not bulky but will definitely still keep you warm!
We did enough walking around the park to justify a trip to Laduree for macarons. I enjoyed the Madison Avenue location because of how sweet the store front is! My favorite flavors are rose, chocolate, and vanilla. You just can’t go wrong with any flavor and I haven’t tasted anything like these before.
These super affordable pink loafers were just as comfortable as my nikes for walking around the city.
After a quick change of clothes, we headed to Top Of The Rock before our passes ran out. This was my first time seeing the view during the day and it was just stunning! I loved the way this metallic skirt looked in the setting sunlight.
Dinner Friday night was at Carmines, which is a wonderful spot for Italian food. The portions are HUGE so you’ll definitely want to choose one dish and split. We had so much left over! We got banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery to go and ended the day by eating dessert snuggled up in our beds.
The next day we woke up and went to The Real Real to tour their showroom. It was so much fun! They have an incredible selection of designer clothes and accessories for a fraction of the retail price. Since we were already in SOHO, we decided to shop around a bit more. We ate a yummy lunch at Shake Shack near the Flatiron building. Even though it’s an outdoor seating only area, they do have heaters hanging over the tables. So it’s not too bad and totally worth it to eat the most amazing burger and fries ever. Yes, we have Shake Shack in Atlanta but somehow it always tastes better in NYC!
Saturday evening we had dinner reservation at The Polo Bar and it was such a fun experience. This is a spot that’s super difficult to get reservations so Anna had to call exactly 30 days before to get us one. It was worth it to experience the ambiance and the food was amazing too. We paired off and split the steak and holy WOW it was so good! Since we ended up having to wait a while for our table, they also brought us a selection of desserts. If you have enough room after dinner, I’d highly recommend the bananas foster cheesecake. It’ll change your life.
I got a lot of wear out of this fur vest. It’s linked below and also comes in a white option and is fully stocked.
Sunday morning, we got fueled up with coffee and then took a car to Brooklyn for the morning. We took a few photos in DUMBO and then walked across the bridge. That was all we had time for in Brooklyn since we had tea planned for the afternoon. We went back to the hotel to change and then took a car to The Plaza for afternoon tea.
This was our best experience at The Plaza! We have enjoyed our experience in the past but something about this time felt especially magical. The food served with the tea is definitely enough to take care of lunch for the day so keep that in mind when planning your time. We explored The Plaza a bit after lunch and then did a little shopping on Fifth Avenue before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
Our dinner reservation that night was at Fig and Olive, which was a new spot for us to try. The ambience was really fun and laid back. Since we had just enjoyed lunch at The Plaza, we decided to split a few appetizers for dinner. We had the cheese board and split a selection of crostini. We enjoyed this so much! It was a lighter dinner but perfect for the day we’d had.
The last morning of our trip, we spent packing and organizing. If you saw how many coats I brought, you can imagine how creative my packing situation was! We took our bags downstairs and checked out early so we could do a bit more sight seeing before heading to the airport. The hotel held our bags for us and we went off for breakfast at The Smith. We took a car because it was such a chilly morning and it’s more than half an hour walk to get there. I would recommend the pancakes at The Smith but the breakfast potatoes and grits are also amazing!
We quickly picked up coffee and then went back for a little more shopping on Fifth Avenue. Before we headed to the airport, we grabbed a quick lunch at The Plaza Food Hall, which is a great spot with lots of options to eat. We all got sushi and then Doughnuttery for dessert, obviously.
It was finally time to head back to the hotel to get our bags and go to the airport. Our flight departed at 5, which gave us plenty of time to enjoy the day in the city without getting home too terribly late.
That was our trip! We had such a magical time and I am already looking forward to going back next Christmas! If you have any questions about our trip, please leave me a comment!
Thanks for reading, friends! Here’s a list of everything I wore while on the trip:
