Recently, my friend from Instagram and YouTube, Britt Lyons, was in town here in NYC with her husband! Essentially, it was a daytrip to NYC but the amount we got done in one day was absolutely unbelievable!

We vlogged the whole experience, but I wanted to share with you all the journey of what we did, how we got everywhere, and my list of top places to visit when you’re here in the city! To get us started, I’ll include an embedded video of my vlog from the day with Britt:

Here’s a quick recap of what we did and why!

day 1 (half-day)

Britt got into the city at 4, and we met up at 4:30PM to start her ‘daytrip to NYC’.

We started out at Alice’s Teacup, my favorite place for tea and scones in the city. This is one of the places I would recommend to anyone. Their scones are the best, and the décor and menu styled after Alice in Wonderland is just too cute! They have 3 locations: one in the Upper West Side, one in the Upper East Side by the 60s, and one they’re newly opening in Brooklyn.

The third location actually used to be right by where I live in the Upper East Side (the 80s), which was how I discovered this amazing spot!

My favorite menu items are the Mad Hatter, Large Pot of Tea and Scones (their pumpkin scones and blueberry scones are to DIE for), and my favorite tea, BY FAR, is Faerie Potion. If you want something with a bit more kick to it, Mikhail loves their Chocolate Chait tea.

We walked around Central Park, the Met, Madison Avenue, and Park Avenue a bit after we got tea and scones. Mostly, we concentrated on taking some outfit photos. I also  got to show Britt and her husband, Matt, the iconic Upper East Side locations. A daytrip to NYC is not complete unless you hit all of the Upper East Side locations, in my opinion. There really is nothing better than taking pictures in front of the Met and just being in awe at how beautiful the building is.

Even though we took it easy the first day, we managed to squeeze in a lot!

day 2 (10AM to 9PM)

The second day was a full day and super tiring at the end. For a daytrip to NYC, Britt and Matt sure did a lot as I showed them around!

After we filmed a video at her hotel in the morning, we headed down to brunch at The Daisy. This brunch spot is, by far, my favorite. This is one of my favorite spots for a few of reasons. First, they have amazing service. Second, their food is pretty darn good. Third, they have bottomless brunch!

They recently redid their brunch menu so that it mimicked Mean Girls and I absolutely LOVE IT! The Daisy is also located right near a CVS, Five Mile Stone (another great spot), and Two Little Red Hens (an amazing bakery).

the highline in chelsea

We headed down to Chelsea to visit the Highline after brunch, and I wish we could have had more time to roam around! The weather outside was unbearable that day. Temperature was in the 100s, and we were MELTING! After cooling down at a Starbucks, we walked the length of the Highline, finishing at the entrance by the Standard.

The Highline is one of my favorite places to bring newcomers to the city. It is definitely one of the spots I’d recommend visiting if you are considering your own daytrip to NYC. It has the big city feel of downtown mixed with an oasis of greenery. There are vendors selling water, popsicles, or musicians entertaining the people.

At the end of the Highline by the Standard hotel, there are several stores, some dessert spots, an outdoor beer garden for watching sports and relaxing, and several awesome spots to chill. We did have to spend some time cooling down in a Starbucks because it was too hot. If the weather was agreeable, we definitely could have spent all afternoon there!

the world trade center

Before going to dinner, I wanted to head down to the World Trade Center. I don’t believe a trip (even a daytrip to NYC) is complete without visiting the WTC. The Memorial Pool always takes my breathe away, and you cannot visit New York without going to see Ground Zero.

They also built an indoor mall with stores and restaurants right next to the memorial, by the entrances to the Path station and at the edge of the Fulton Center subway station. The mall, called The Oculus, is pretty iconic with its architecture. My favorite store at the Oculus would definitely have to be Sephora and Sugarfina!

We didn’t spend too long here, other than taking a look around. Britt isn’t a huge shopping person, and I personally prefer to shop online. Not to mention, our feet were tired after walking around everywhere!

sooooo… dinner?

Our dinner place was definitely not my first choice; there are so many other places I would have chosen other than Hard Rock Café. However, Matt (Britt’s husband) really loves Hard Rock, and of course, we had to go there. Depending on what you’re looking for, I would definitely recommend one of the ten million other restaurants in New York City for dinner. Times Square at any time is not fun.

getting around new York city

Okay you guys, I hate the subway. I won’t even try to hide it by telling you how easy it is to get around the city in the subway. I absolutely hate the subway. It stinks, it is unreliable, and did I mention it stinks? Just… no.

Instead, I get around by cars.

No, I don’t mean taxis. Taxis are not comfortable to ride in (because the cars are super old), and they’re actually also pretty stinky (because the car is old). They also charge a $2.50 flat fee on top of your ride fare, and you have to tip unless you want them to yell at you.

I use Uber, Lyft, Via, and Juno. Those four riding apps have changed my life. Instead of taking a private ride, I take a pool. What this means is you are essentially sharing the car with other riders who are going in the same direction. The ride fare is cheaper, and although it takes a little longer, sometimes you get lucky and wind up with no other riders.

Uber Pool, a Lyft Pool (called Shared), and Via are my primary form of pool riding. Juno, at the moment, does not offer pool rides. All of the pool rides typically are around $5 per person for a pool ride, which is pretty darn incredible!

HERE ARE THE STEPS FOR HOW TO GET AROUND FOR CHEAP WITHOUT TAKING THE SUBWAY:

1. Use Pool
2. Download Uber, Lyft, and Via (don’t recommend downloading Juno – not worth it)
3. Use a discount code to get around for cheap:
   1. Uber: claireh81 for a free ride
      1. I get $5 in ride credit when you use that code
   2. Lyft: claire352991 for a free ride
      1. I get $10 in ride credit when you use that code
   3. Via: claire9d7 for $10 in ride credit
      1. I get $10 in ride credit when you use that code

Britt and Matt used these codes to get free rides, and because they used my code, I also got free rides. This meant that we were able to accumulate enough credit amongst all of us in order to get rides everywhere for a couple of bucks at most!

For example, Britt downloaded Via and spent $10 for her and Matt to get to brunch. That means I got $10 in credit. I used my $10 in ride credit to get down to Chelsea (spent about $5 in total). Matt downloaded Via, received $10 in ride credit, and he ended up paying about $5 for getting all three of us from Chelsea to WTC.

If you are taking a daytrip to NYC, then you have to download these apps. I literally cannot recommend them enough!

That is it for this post! I hope that this was helpful for those of you looking to take either a full vacation or a daytrip to NYC! It is such an amazing place to visit, and I hope I gave you some tips that was helpful!

Let me know what your favorite spots in the city are!