We first went to the magnificent outdoor
café on Pier I which you can reach from
Riverside Drive – Riverside Park and walking down the steep steps towards the
river. The café is on about 70th—right next to the pier. Then we
walked down the Hudson River, aiming ultimately for Hudson Yards—the new
shopping/ residential/ business development below 34th Street on the
West side. It’s a beautiful walk even if you’re generally next to the West Side
Highway most of the time. There are a lot of things to do along the walk—there
is free kayaking (on Saturday and..Sunday?); and ferries to New Jersey
(Adventure to come—Hobokon!).
Once you’re in sight on Hudson
Yards ca. 34th Street, you can cross the West Side Highway. This
area is on 34th Street, next to the Javits conference center, is where
the Megabus loads for DC, Boston, etc. Next to the lines of people is a chain
link fence with an entrance to the Highline, which is the elevated train track
“park” developed about 10 years ago, and which will take you to Hudson Yards.
Hudson Yards was just opened in
2019 and has some magnificent buildings, and has an area called the Shed which
has cultural events, and the APEX sculpture, which you need tickets to climb
(but which are free). So, reserve these ahead of time. One of the buildings has
a shopping center of high-end shops and H&M, and cafes to sit down in. We
sat upstairs in a small café and split a delicious sandwich and iced herbal
tea.
We then walked down the High Line
until the end—which ends in Greenwich Village. You can stop anywhere along the
way –eg visit Chelsea (18-24th Streets)—with cute bar and cafes. We
got off and visited the Jane Hotel on the West Side Highway –this is a great
taste of Greenwich Village and has a cute café for brunch. You can then walk east
to any of the various Village cafes around there…or walk towards the Washington
Square Park area and the NYC campus area. Some favorite cafes around there are Café
Reggio, La Lanterna, and further east, Grey Dog Café. We spent our time in a
park with scones and an iced coffee and eventually took the 1 train home. But
there’s so much to do in the Village, you can spend all night here.
OPTIONAL-Walk all the way down the
Hudson to Battery Park (about 1 hour 45 min.)
Optionally—you can do what I did
this August—walk the length of the Hudson River Park all the way down to
Battery Park. From 72nd Street, it’s about a 2 hour walk at most.
Each pier along the way has its own specific activities, and some have restaurants
and cafes). The Intrepid Museum is a favorite with kids and military
buffs—crowded, though; at Chelsea Pier, you can find the schooner company that
offers magnificent rides in their sailboat to the Statue of Liberty (my #1 NYC
tourist experience to this day), bowling, and golf. Pier 40 has the trapeze
experience (made famous by the Sex and the City episode where Carrie “lets go”).
Pier 26 has the City Vineyard restaurant on a boat and free kayaking and then,
eventually, you are in Battery Park, which is where you can see One WTC and
around the boat pier area, and the new-ish Brookfield Place in the old Winter
Garden, which has a wonderful food hall filled with sweet and savory choices;
take your lunch/dinner/ice cream and sit outside and enjoy the view of the
yachts and Statue of Liberty.
And if you are SUPER energetic—you
can walk east, take in the WTC memorial (beautiful but sad), walk through the
Wall Street Area, stop for a drink at Fraunces Tavern (the oldest restaurant in
NYC, where George Washington once stayed, and where, if you’re lucky, you’ll
hear some live Irish music); take in the
NYSE building, and head east to the South Street Seaport. Or—walk to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal,
a bit further down, and take the FREE ferry to Staten Island, depart, and come
back (nothing to see in SI).
