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New York City always seems to be one of those places that are on everyone’s top 10 list of cities to visit. During my time living in Washington DC, I always dreamed of living in New York for a few years in my 20s, but sadly I missed the boat on that one (Blog Post: A look at my hometown of Washington DC).

Nonetheless, it was always a fun (albeit expensive) city to visit from time to time. Now that I live in Europe, trips to NYC are much harder to come by. Needless to say, I would recommend a solid 4 days minimum in NYC to get the most out of it. However, we were there for 12 hours on a layover before our flight back to Stockholm.

To make the most of this time, we planned ahead with regards to our transportation and baggage and the order of what to see in order to maximize our time. And I shall discuss all these juicy details in the entirely of this blog post.

Furthermore, it is important to note that NYC is serviced by three airports: LaGuardia (LGA), John F. Kennedy International (JFK), and Newark Liberty International (EWR). We flew into and out of JFK so I will talk about our journey with that airport as our home point.

Lastly, we managed to do this layover completely cashless so no need to pay for expensive currency conversion fees via the ATM or through a service. Here is a teaser on the route we took and the attractions we saw (summarizes more below):

JFK Terminal 4 → DUMBO → Brooklyn Bridge → 9/11 Memorial → Freedom Tower → Katz Delicatessen → Dominique Ansel Bakery → Times Square → SummitONE Vanderbilt → Central Park → JFK Terminal 4

So here goes…you have landed! Now you want to start your journey into the city. This is what you do next…

Taking Care of Extra Bags

Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t check our roller cabin bags through to our final destination so we had them with us after getting off the plane at JFK. Luckily there is a bag storage service just outside of the security area of Terminal 4. The storage is open 24 hours a day and the rates are extremely reasonable. For example, two bags for up to 24 hours was about $32. This is a small price to pay for peace of mind. Plus, it’s just so much easier to go through NYC without having to lug around a bag with you (some places also don’t allow these types of bags upon entry). You can find a link with more information here.

Getting to the city from JFK airport

With the luggage out of the way, we knew we wanted to start our trip in Brooklyn, to the South of Manhattan. Our plan was to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and head north all the way to Central Park.

To do this we took the JFK Airtrain from terminal 4 to Howard Beach Station (more info here). The train runs 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Once you reach Howard Beach Station, you need to pay the required $8 to exit the station and catch a ride on the NYC Subway. Also, this has to be paid only using a Metrocard, which are easily purchased at many kiosks at the station. I would recommend adding about $25 to a Metrocard to take care of this $8 fee, to and from the airport, as well as any subway rides in the middle of the day.

From here, you can take the A train from Howard Beach Station to Fulton Street Subway Station. This will drop you off just minutes away from Brooklyn bridge. My very small knowledge of this area led me to first check out the Manhattan Bridge from the small neighborhood also known as DUMBO. This area is ripe with warehouse apartments and nice bars and restaurants. If you find yourself on Washington St. you will get a great view of the Manhattan Bridge…you can’t miss it.

Also be sure to walk towards the water when in this area, you will find a nice park and viewing platform for that perfect instagram worthy pic of Manhattan!

The Brooklyn Bridge is perhaps one of the most iconic landmarks of NYC, so it deserves to be seen on your layover. There is an entrance to the top side of the bridge from just below it and walking across it takes about 25 minutes, depending on how busy it is. Be prepared for a slight cacophony of cars and people throughout the walk, but try to take it all in stride, this is New York after all.

The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable/suspension hybrid bridge that connects Manhattan to Brooklyn and was opened back in 1883 and spans nearly 1600 feet. It has been given the distinction of being a National Historic Landmark, an NYC landmark, and National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

To me, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum (also known as the National September 11 Memorial and Museum) is absolutely a place that should not be missed. Everyone remembers where they were on September 11, 2001.

After getting off the Brooklyn Bridge and getting to Manhattan, it was just a 15 minute walk east towards Ground Zero. The memorials themselves take the shape of two giant, square-shaped water features, where the twin towers once stood. The names of those lost are seen all throughout the memorial. It is a rather sobering place, especially when you consider the scale of the tragedy.

The museum is operated by a non-profit institution and is juxtaposed to the two square memorials in the complex. Also, for every anniversary of the attacks, the city uses two large lights that beam up from the pools to give a silhouette effect of the two towers that once stood. Truly moving.

One World Trade Center otherwise known as the Freedom Tower, is the new World trade center tower. It is most noticeable by its bluish facade and is the tallest building in the United States and currently the 7th tallest in the world (I am very well aware that this statistic will probably change every few years thanks to Dubai). Its height is a symbolic 1776 feet high, in honor of the year of the founding of the United States and was opened on November 3, 2014.

There is an observatory in the building as well, but we opted to go to an observatory towards the end of our layover (more on that below). But from this point, we were getting quite hungry so we jumped on the subway and made our ways to Katz.

We first learned about Katz Delicatessen via a YouTube video. I absolutely love a good deli and pastrami on rye so this was an obvious choice for lunch. It is considered to be one of New York’s best deli’s as they serve up to 15,000 pounds of pastrami on a weekly basis.

They hand you a ticket when you go inside, and depending on what food you would like, you line up at a different section along the counter. Then the employee will mark your ticket with what you have ordered and you can find yourself a seat in the front of the deli. If you want table service, you head right to the back of the Deli.

They also recently starting taking credit cards, which is welcome news for those not wanting to take out any cash on this layover. You pay in card near the back of the deli, while if you pay in cash, you pay by the small kiosk near the exit door.

Now of course there is plenty to sample at Katz, but for first timer’s, I suggest the pastrami on rye. It was delightful.

Another place we wanted to see, but didn’t get a chance to was the Dominique Ansel Bakery, which has made the Cronut famous, a portmanteau of ‘Croissant’ and ‘Donut’. Dominique Ansel is a world renowned pastry chef and perfectly this recipe over the years. Now, people wait in long lines just to get a taste of his culinary treats. You can also order your Cronuts online in advance, but sadly they were all sold out the day we were there. Better luck next time!

Times Square is the most famous part of NYC, let’s be honest. For me personally, it is nice to pass through but not to loiter for too long. The bright lights and signage make for a great spectacle but that’s all it really is. The photo I have posted is actually from many years ago, when care were allowed to pass through it. Now it is purely a pedestrian area.

The Square draws nearly 50 million visitors annually with 330,000 people passing through it on a daily basis. It will certainly feel that way on your trip there, which is why it is a nice stopover for better things on your NYC layover.

Continuing North, you will eventually reach SummitONE Vanderbilt. I had seen the viewing point of this relatively new exhibit on Instagram so I decided to give it a try. There are many ticket varieties but we went with the cheapest option. The tickets also increase in value if you go around sunset times.

The lines were long but they moved rather fast. Also, this is def. a place where roller bags are not allowed, so try to bring a small backpack, which they will most likely search. After making your way through many stations in the line, then you get on the elevator to the top floors. The exhibit starts off in a 3 floor room with expansive views of the NYC skyline. There are also mirrors everywhere which make the experience a bit trippy, but fun.

Making your way to the 2nd floor, you will encounter a room with a lot of balls/balloons! It’s extremely fun, especially when you throw them at your friends. Who knew silver colored balls would do this to an adult. Nonetheless, the third floor has a cafe and outdoor area you can partake in while there.

All in all, I would say we are glad that we did this, but we wouldn’t do it again. We would perhaps try a different viewpoint.

Central Park was the last stop before heading back to the airport. Despite its size, it’s actually the fifth largest park in the city, but most visited in the entire US and most filmed location in the world. All superlatives aside, the park itself has a ton of attractions like an Ice Rink, a zoo, a carousel, as well as a variety of biologically diverse spaces with several hundreds of plants species.

Since it was January during the time of our visit, we go mostly bare trees, but the warmer than expected weather turned out everyone to the park. I would love to return in the fall when there is colors galore on the trees. After such a long day, this was a perfect place to unwind at before our 1.5 hour long slog back to the airport.

As far as getting back, Google Maps and an active internet connection will tell you the best way to go. For us, we went back the way we came by taking the subway down to Fulton St. Station in Brooklyn, then the subway to Howard Beach, then the AirTrain to Terminal 4.

We couldn’t be more satisfied with how much we saw in our trip and what we accomplished. We arrived back to the airport with 2.5 hours to spare and spent it trying to stay awake, delaying our sleep for the transatlantic flight. If you have any questions as to the specifics of our journey, just drop me a line in the comments.

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