The Ideal New York Day

Five NYC locals share their morning-til-night, bagels-til-Broadway itineraries

Earlier this month, my friend Jenn told me she was coming to New York for her niece’s college graduation, and even though she’d mostly be tied up with family obligations, she said she’d have one day to hang out with me, and maybe even do some New York-y things. My excitement over planning this one perfect New York day was immediately eclipsed by paralysis — how on earth would I choose what to do/see/eat in a city of unlimited doing/seeing/eating? I eventually came up with an hour-by-hour plan that I’m pretty happy with, but I wanted options so reached out to five other in-the-know locals — an award-winning pastry chef, a lifestyle guru, a historian-humorist, a food-writer-novelist, and my daughter — and asked: What’s your ideal New York day? It goes without saying that they all have strong opinions about food and restaurants, but, collectively, they also love the theater, shopping, history, art, design, and exploring hidden-gem neighborhoods.

Here are the five itineraries they came up with — which one should we choose?