Things to do — New York City

In New York City, classic 5-day programme:

Day 1 — Iconic Manhattan: Times Square (morning before crowds), Empire State Building ($47, 86th floor observation, sunset for double day-night view, 30-45 min queue) OR Top of the Rock ($40, 70 floors, better view including Empire State and Central Park, fewer people) OR One World Observatory ($44, 102 floors World Trade Center, 60-sec historical projection elevator), Bryant Park (public park behind Library), New York Public Library (free, Rose Reading Room), Madison Square Park (original Shake Shack), Flatiron Building (1902 emblematic). Evening: Broadway musical ($80-300, TKTS booth Times Square for day-of -30/50% tickets).

Day 2 — Lower Manhattan + Brooklyn: Statue of Liberty + Ellis Island ($25 ferry, half day, Battery Park departure, 2-3 week-ahead booking, crown climb requires 3-month booking), 9/11 Memorial & Museum (free Memorial + $28 Museum, moving), Wall Street + Charging Bull (free), Federal Hall, Trinity Church, Brooklyn Bridge (30-min walk, spectacular Manhattan skyline view, depart from Park Row), DUMBO Brooklyn (iconic Manhattan views, Washington Street + Manhattan Bridge photo), Brooklyn Bridge Park, Time Out Market Brooklyn or Juliana's Pizza.

Day 3 — Upper East Side Museums + Central Park: Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET, $30, plan 4-6h, one of world's 5 largest museums, 1.4 million works — Egyptian collection with Dendur Temple, European painting Vermeer/Van Gogh/Caravaggio, American art, medieval art, Costume Institute). Lunch Central Park (Loeb Boathouse rowing $30/h) or MET rooftop (summer only). Afternoon Central Park (340 ha, Bethesda Fountain, Bow Bridge, Strawberry Fields Lennon tribute, Sheep Meadow, Belvedere Castle, Conservatory Garden, Wollman Rink winter ice skating). Optional evening museum (Guggenheim $25 for 1959 Frank Lloyd Wright spiral building).

Day 4 — Midtown + Greenwich Village + SoHo: MoMA ($25, plan 3-4h, modern art 1880-today — Van Gogh Starry Night, Picasso Demoiselles d'Avignon, Warhol Soup Cans, Pollock). Lunch Eleven Madison Park or The Smith. Afternoon High Line (free, elevated former rail line 2.5 km converted to park 2009, from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street), Chelsea Market (food hall), Meatpacking District (Whitney Museum $25, American art), Greenwich Village (Washington Square Park, NYU, Bleecker Street folk music, 1969 Stonewall Inn LGBTQ movement birthplace), SoHo (fashion boutiques, galleries, 1905 Lombardi's America's first pizzeria).

Day 5 — Brooklyn + Lower East Side + Harlem: morning Brooklyn Williamsburg (Domino Park East River and Manhattan view, Brooklyn Brewery breweries, Saturday Smorgasburg food). Lunch Peter Luger Steak House ($160/person, since 1887, legendary porterhouse steak) or Lilia (modern Italian) or Roberta's pizza. Afternoon Lower East Side ($30 Tenement Museum guided immigration tour, 1888 Katz's Delicatessen for Sex and the City pastrami sandwich $30, ethnic markets). Optional Harlem (125th Street, Apollo Theater, Sylvia's soul food, Sunday morning gospel churches recommended guided tour).

Excursions: Coney Island (1h subway D or F line, beach, 1903 historic Luna Park, 1916 Nathan's Famous hot dog stand), Long Island Hamptons (summer only, 2-3h train or car, elite beaches, premium prices), Hudson Valley (1-2h train or car, Storm King Art Center, Hyde Park FDR Library, charming Cold Spring village, October foliage).