If you are in New York City for under 24 hours, planning an itinerary that allows for the most out of your Big Apple trip can seem like a daunting task. With so much to do and so little time, you’ll need to develop a solid travel plan. Fortunately, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of things you can do on one short day in the Concrete Jungle.

However, making the most of a single day in New York City will require a few things: First, be ready for an action-filled day and wear good walking shoes as you’ll likely be walking over 10 miles.
You’ll be venturing all over the island of Manhattan, and the best way to do that is via NYC’s public transit network, which requires a MetroCard; you can purchase an unlimited day-pass at any MTA subway station. We’d also recommend you pick up a New York City street map—it just makes getting around a little easier.

Visiting the Rockefeller Center, a national historic landmark in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. Where you can shop, dine and explore at one of New York’s most inspiring locations from its own located at the top of the city. You can go from breakfast at H&H Bagels to a morning exploring the many museums, and exploring parks of Manhattan to an NYC pizza lunch and afternoon perusing the shops and attractions of Greenwich Village, read over the following itinerary and plan your trip to the city.

Morning Itinerary: Breakfast, Museums, and a Bus Tour
One of New York City’s signature breakfasts is the bagel and New York City is filled with great bagels, though you’d be hard-pressed to find two New Yorkers who agree about which one is the best. To make the most of your day in New York City, we highly recommend starting out at H & H Bagels at 80th Street and Broadway—not only do they have great bagels, their location on the Upper West Side is the perfect place to begin your day.

Getting There: With your MetroCard, take the 1 (red line) train to the 79th Street station. You’ll walk one block north on Broadway and H & H Bagels is on the corner.

One day is certainly not long enough to explore all of New York City’s fabulous museums, but with this one-day itinerary, you can choose to spend your morning either at the American Museum of Natural History or the Metropolitan Museum of Art (be aware: the Metropolitan Museum of Art is closed most Mondays).
These two museums could be explored for weeks or months, but you’ll just have a few hours at either one. We’d suggest you try the “Museum Highlights Tour” which is free with admission at both museums. Consult the schedule for AMNH Highlights Tour and Metropolitan Highlights Tour if you’re altering your plans or if you’re visiting on a weekend.

Getting There: From H & H Bagels, you’ll want to walk north one block and then east three blocks on 81st Street. This will put you at the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History. If you’re heading to the Metropolitan, you’ll want to enter Central Park at 81st Street and walk East across Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum, which is located on Fifth Avenue (which runs along the East Side of the Park) and 82nd Street. Watch your map closely, as the winding paths make it easy to head in the wrong direction. This walk should take you by the Shakespeare Garden, Delacorte Theater, the Great Lawn, the Obelisk and you can exit at either 79th or 85th Street.

Afternoon Itinerary: NYC Pizza and Greenwich Village
Regardless of which museum you visited, you should make your way to Fifth Avenue, where you can catch the M1 bus downtown using your unlimited daily MetroCard.