New York City & Niagara Falls

New York is the most popular city in the United States and the center of one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world—the New York metropolitan area. The city is referred to as New York City or the City of New York to distinguish it from the State of New York, of which it is a part. A global power city, New York exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world.

Tourism in New York City serves nearly 47 million foreign and American tourists each year including day-trippers. Major destinations include the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, Broadway theater productions, museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other tourist attractions including Central Park, Washington Square Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the Bronx Zoo, Barclays Center, Coney Island, South Street Seaport, New York Botanical Garden, luxury shopping along Fifth and Madison Avenues, and events such as the Tribeca Film Festival, and free performances in Central Park at Summerstage and Delacorte Theater. The Statue of Liberty is a major tourist attraction and one of the most recognizable icons of the United States.

This is a 4 day trip itinerary I have made for people visiting with family and friends. This includes few of the major must-see attractions the area offers for its countless visitors every year. The itinerary is intended to cover the major attractions at a relaxed pace.

Day 1: Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls Illuminations at night.

Cave of the Winds Tour

• Have heavy Breakfast and leave for Niagara Falls.
• There are a lot activities to do here to spend a whole day at Niagara Falls.
• Start by taking Cave of the winds tour, It’s a thrilling walk on Niagara Falls wild side, the spectacular which takes you into a stormy mist zone, where you get completely wet and “soaking up the experience” takes on new meaning. You get a Souvenir rain poncho at the Tickets counter.
• Next, get on the Niagara Falls Maid of the Mist tour. It takes you on an excursion into the basin of Niagara Falls State Park’s Horseshoe Falls. Generations of Niagara Falls visitors have named the Maid of the Mist tour as one of the highlights of their trip.
• Watch the Legends of Adventure, the feature presentation at Niagara Adventure Theater. It’s a captivating story of Niagara Falls explorers and daredevils via historic footage and contemporary, cutting-edge photography
• Every evening beginning at dusk, the Falls are lit in the colors of the rainbow. Don't miss the unmatched beauty of the Falls at night!
• Have Dinner and Relax.

Day 2: New York City

Empire State Building

• Have heavy breakfast and leave early morning for New York City. It takes around 7 hours. Check in at your hotel and relax for some time.
• In the evening leave for Empire State Building. Take the Combo NY SKYRIDE/Observatory ticket. You will get to see a Virtual tour simulator taking you across the skyline on a unique journey around nearly three dozen famous landmarks and you’ll save up to 75% of the Observatory waiting time.
• Walk to the Madame Tussauds wax Museum, take lot of pictures next to your favorite celebrities.
• At night visit the Times Square, iconified as "The Crossroads of the World", is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Have dinner – try roadside meals on wheels, they have amazing kababs, grills and hot dogs, take countless pictures, relax and enjoy.



Times Square at Night

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Head back to the hotel at night if you can ever leave the fun at Times Square.

Day 3: Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

• Have heavy breakfast and head towards the Grand Central train station.
• This is an amazing train station representing a brilliant piece of architecture. A lot of movie shoots have been done here and you can instantly remember all those movies as you step in.
• Take a train from here to Bowling Green station, the one closest to the Statue of Liberty. You can take Trains 4 or 5 and reach the Bowling Green station in around 15 mins from Grand Central. I believe that’s the best way to reach Statue of Liberty. From there it's a short walk to Battery Park where you can get the Liberty Island Ferry.
• There often is a huge waiting line and so it might take a while before you board the ferry. Local street performers keep you entertained as you wait in the lines. You need to go through a detailed security check up before boarding the ferry and you are not allowed to carry big luggage bags, only small backpacks are allowed, so be aware of that.
• Take a lot of pictures of New York skyline while on the ferry, it looks beautiful. There’s a small island where we have the statue of liberty, visit the island, spend some time and same ferry gets you back.



Broadway Shows, NYC

 

• In the evening try to catch a Broadway show. It’s a nice theater and the shows are really   worth the money. If you have never been to a theater this is a must, it will be an amazing   experience.
• Have dinner, relax at your hotel.

Day 4: Central Park

Central Park in Fall

• Have heavy breakfast and head towards the Central Park.
• Once inside the park, follow the map and enjoy walking the different paths and areas to enjoy the scenery (Loeb Boathouse, Great Lawn, Strawberry Fields) and statues (i.e. Alice in Wonderland & Balto). 
• I would highly suggest biking around the park (if you can) to get an idea of the various areas of this park. You can take a horse carriage ride while in the park. Make sure to bring some apple slices with you and feed the carriage horses in the Central Park.You can hire a rowing boat and relax on the lake in the sun. Take a guided tour and see the entire park, visit the carousel if you have kids, great for people watching, laying on grass, walking, resting - whatever takes your fancy.



Central Park in the heart of NYC

• In the evening you have different options with a lot of museums nearby. You can visit the Ground Zero Memorial building, the Smithsonian museum, top of the rock observatory deck, walk in front of the Wall Street, take pictures in front of the famous Bull, relax and have dinner.

The Famous Wall Street Bull

Accommodation:

• Try to find a hotel close to the Theater District, near the Times Square so you can walk to most of the attractions.

Good time to Visit New York:

• Near September Long weekend for excellent weather
• Christmas week for the unbelievable decorations

Hope you have a Wonderful Trip. If you have any suggestions regarding this trip, please add those in the comments below.