The NYC Bucket List: 50 Things You Absolutely Have to Do in the City

Things you’ve probably done in New York: killed a cockroach, overpaid for a craft cocktail, waited for a delayed train on an A/C-less platform. But whether you’ve lived here your entire life or just hit the five-year mark, there’s absolutely no way you’ve conquered even half of what makes this city worth all the credit-card debt, subway-induced stress, and permanent lack of sleep. From late-night karaoke in K-Town to gospel brunch in Harlem, these are the 50 things you absolutely have to do in NYC before you die (or move to Jersey City).

katz's
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

1. Eat pastrami while waiting for a pastrami sandwich at Katz's

You probably already know not to lose your ticket at Katz’s, but you probably don’t know that when you make it up to the counter at the famed Jewish deli, you’ll be rewarded with a small taste of pastrami as your carver puts your sandwich together.

azul rooftop
Courtesy of Azul Rooftop

2. Spend the entire afternoon drinking on a rooftop

Yes, you’ll spend $15 on a cocktail and have to contend for standing room with hordes of out-of-towners, but no New Yorker is too jaded to appreciate sweeping skyline views and a nice breeze with a cocktail in hand at a rooftop bar. Bonus points if you’ve done this and drank on a friend’s questionably safe apartment roof.

3. Check out one of NYC’s abandoned subway stations

Momentarily forget all your grievances towards the MTA, and sneak a look at the fancy old City Hall train station from 1904, which boasts tiled ceilings, brass fixtures, and skylights. If you take the 6 heading downtown to the final stop (Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall) and stay on, the train will loop through the famed old station as it U-turns back uptown.

4. Go gallery-hopping (and score free wine) in Chelsea

Thursday night is opening night for galleries, meaning you can hop around from place to place, pretend you know things about art, and drink plenty of free wine in the process.

hajji's
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

5. Eat a late-night chopped cheese

A bacon, egg, and cheese from the place on your corner will always do the trick at the end of the night, but the pinnacle of bodega eating is a 2am chopped cheese with ground beef, American, peppers, onions, and lettuce on a pressed hero, preferably from Hajji’s in Harlem.

6. Do 3am karaoke in K-Town

Your rendition of Toto’s “Africa” sounds best at top volume inside a K-Town karaoke venue (Gagopa is always a good choice).

brighton supper club
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

7. Go to a Russian supper club in Brighton Beach

Prepare for a vodka-fueled night of dancing, acrobatics, and far more borscht than you knew you wanted.

8. See a show at Radio City Music Hall

While the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular is certainly a viable option, plenty of your favorite Spotify-friendly artists should also lure you into a red velvet seat at this classic theater.

ess-a-bagel
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

9. Get a freshly baked bagel at Ess-a-Bagel

Don’t you dare get it toasted.

10. Hear live jazz in Harlem

There are a number of reasons you should be hanging out uptown, chief among them: listening to live music in the neighborhood where modern jazz truly came into its own. Hit Bill’s Place, Shrine, or Minton’s (currently under renovations) to experience the venues where performers like Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday shaped Harlem as a destination for music.

Duryea's
JASON PENNEY

11. Spend an obnoxious weekend in the Hamptons

Sleep on the floor of your coworker's girlfriend's 15-person share house, spend way too much money on rosé, go on a lobster roll crawl through Montauk, or just hang out at the beach -- but don’t let all your summers in New York go by without experiencing the over-the-top weekender destination that is the Hamptons.

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12. Spend a less-obnoxious weekend on City Island

Take the 6 train up to this quaint fishing village for a little taste of Cape Cod in the Bronx (that includes fresh seafood).

russ & daughters
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

13. Wait in line for lox at Russ & Daughters

The over-a-century-old Jewish appetizing store still commands a sizable line (particularly on the weekends) but the payoff -- a bagel with the city's best lox (or just a half pound of lox alone, since that’s really what you’re here for) -- more than makes up for it.

cyclone
Osugi/Shutterstock

14. Ride the Cyclone in Coney Island

... despite how terrifyingly rickety it may be.

brooklyn bridge park
Valerii Lavtushenko/Shutterstock.com

15. Hang out in Brooklyn Bridge Park on a weekend afternoon

Play basketball, grill, check out Smorgasburg -- all with the backdrop of the skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge.

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Thrillist Video

16. Ride the train out to Rockaway Beach

It’s not summer in NYC unless you spend at least one hungover Sunday riding the A train out to Rockaway for some beach time and tacos. For the more adventurous, surf lessons are highly recommended.

angel's share
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

17. Have a drink at a (real) hidden bar

These days, the city is full of pseudo-speakeasies that are more of a marketing technique than a true homage to Prohibition-style drinking, but plenty of the real deals (like Angel’s Share, PDT, and Little Branch) are still around for you to sip a craft cocktail in secret.

brooklyn botanic garden
T photography/Shutterstock.com

18. See the cherry blossoms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Spring in NYC is unofficially marked by the blooming cherry blossoms that arrive at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden around March each year (and the subsequent flood of Instagram posts that come along with them).

gray's papaya
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

19. Get a Recession Special from Gray's Papaya

The flagship Gray’s at Broadway and 72nd is the only one left standing (another location will open in midtown in spring 2017) but its Recession Special -- aka two hot dogs and a drink -- remains intact. (As with all things New York, there have been some price increases throughout the years, but the meal still costs under $5).

citi field
Alan Tan Photograph/Shutterstock.com

20. Go to a baseball game in the middle of summer

It really doesn’t matter if you hate sports -- it’s a summer rite of passage in New York to hit a Mets or Yankees game, drink overpriced beers, and get irrationally mad at the rival team’s fans sitting next to you, whether you actually know the rules or not.

21. Eat a meal you really can’t afford

The good news is, there are plenty of opportunities for hacking your way to an affordable meal at many of the city’s Michelin-starred restaurants.

ground zero memorial
IndustryAndTravel/Shutterstock.com

22. Visit the 9/11 Memorial

Take pride in the city’s resilience at this historic museum and memorial ground.

roberta's
Courtesy of Roberta's

23. Travel for some of the city’s best pizza

A slice at Joe’s is a perfectly fine choice, but to experience the city’s very best pizza (Di Fara, L&B Spumoni Gardens, Roberta’s) you’ll need to go a little out of your way.

24. Go to a live TV show taping

For exactly $0 you can make your mom supremely jealous by seeing Late Night with Seth Meyers, Good Morning America, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbertfilmed live.

veselka
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

25. Hit a 24-hour spot at 5am to soak up the booze

Your chances of waking up without a hangover are far higher after eating a plate of late-night pierogi at Veselka.

26. Cruise past the Statue of Liberty on the free IKEA ferry

Since there’s no way you’re actually going to the Statue of Liberty, grab a glimpse of her (and the skyline) aboard the IKEA ferry (which you can take for free on weekends).

27. Get made fun of by a comedian at the Comedy Cellar

Sitting front row at one of these shows is a brave thing, but it’s worth it for the experience (and the character-building ridicule), especially since actually big stars like Amy Schumer, Dave Chappelle, and Chris Rock have been known to drop by unannounced.

peep show
Flickr/Alan Turkus

28. Got to one of the last remaining peep shows in Times Square

Scoot past the inappropriate Elmos and make your way to one of the last remaining relics of pre-Giuliani Times Square (“GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS” signs included).

Bronx arthur ave
Chris Crowley

29. Visit NYC’s real Little Italy and get Bolognese

If you’re looking for honest-to-Italian-American-God red sauce, you won’t find it in lower Manhattan -- it’s on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. Stop by Casa Della Mozzarella for fresh burrata and Calabria Pork Store for cured meats, then cap the day off with lasagna bolognese at Tra Di Noi.

central park waterfall
John A. Anderson/Shutterstock.com

30. Explore Central Park’s secret waterfalls

You’ve definitely already picnicked in Sheep Meadow, but one of the best ways to experience Central Park is to seek out the waterfalls hidden in the North Woods. Just try to refrain from making TLC jokes.

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31. Eat dumplings at Tianjin Dumpling House in Flushing

There are countless places to eat dumplings in NYC’s better Chinatown, but the very best may be from Tianjin Dumpling House, a tiny counter in the basement of the Golden Mall, where you can get 12 dumplings for just $5 (opt for the famed lamb and green squash variety).

32. Have a pint at an old-school dive bar

McSorley’s, Billymark's West, 7B, and Jeremy’s Ale House in Manhattan are all decent options, but for the true NYC dive bar experience (complete with charmingly gruff bartenders, loyal regulars, and dirt-cheap beers) you’ll want to head outside the borough to places like Connolly’s in Rockaway and Mother Pug's in Staten Island.

33. Eat a black & white cookie

And quote Seinfeld as you do it.

madison sq garden
littleny/Shutterstock.com

34. Go to a concert at Madison Square Garden

Bonus points if it’s Billy Joel.

St. Regis Hotel
Courtesy of the St. Regis Hotel

35. Have a fancy cocktail and pretend you’re a member of New York high society at a hotel bar

The King Cole Bar at the St. Regis is a great choice if you like Bloody Marys (they were invented here) but there are plenty of others full of intricate murals, chandeliers, leather banquettes, and well-dressed people with expense accounts.

dekalb market hall
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

36. Hit a food hall and try several different cuisines at once

Downtown Brooklyn’s Dekalb Market Hall alone will offer you an impressive global spread -- you’ll get access to Katz’s pastrami, Jianbang Company’s Shanghai crepes, and Pierogi Boys’ peorgi -- but there are countless others to explore as well.

staten island ferry
Drop of Light/Shutterstock.com

37. Drink your own booze on the Staten Island Ferry

Forget chain booze cruises with $200 tickets -- the only booze cruise you need to go on in NYC takes place on the Staten Island ferry, with a BYO bottle of whatever the hell you want.

38. Visit all the museums on Museum Mile that you’ve never gotten around to

You’ve checked the Met off your list, but what about all those other major museums along Fifth Avenue’s Museum Mile that you keep meaning to go to? Spend a weekend afternoon actually committing to a visit (or check out when they have free days).

rolf's
Andrew Zimmer/Thrillist

39. Celebrate Christmas at Rolf’s

The German restaurant/bar’s completely over-the-top holiday decorations (and brats and steins) put your stepmom's ornaments to shame. Lucky for you, the lights stay up for six months.

40. Score cheap Broadway tickets

OK, so you may not get to see Hamilton, but it’s entirely possible to get tickets to plenty of other big Broadway shows without selling a non-vital organ.

Sylvia's
Sylvia's

41. Go to Gospel Sunday brunch at Sylvia’s

There’s absolutely no better way to spend a Sunday morning than eating fried chicken and waffles while listening to a live gospel music performance.  

house of yes
Courtesy of House of Yes

42. Dance and get weird at the House of Yes

The Bushwick club/performance venue/bar is known for throwing over-the-top events involving everything from aerialists to burlesque performers. Many of the events are free, but you’re most likely to get in (and get the most out of the experience) if you come dressed on-theme (think ‘80s roller disco).

the strand
Flickr/Kevin Harber

43. Sell (and then browse) books at the Strand

Before you shop your way around this famed bookstore (home to 18 miles of reading), sell some of those books that have been taking up valuable real estate in your closet-sized apartment.

biking over bridge
J.D. Rogers/Shutterstock

44. Get a Citi Bike and ride over the Brooklyn Bridge

Just make sure you go early enough to avoid tourist foot traffic. And don’t forget to return the bike on the other side.

hometown bbq
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

45. Explore Red Hook, Brooklyn

It make seem like a trek, but hopping on the ferry from Wall Street and exploring this waterfront South Brooklyn neighborhood (filled with plenty of mom-and-pop shops and some of the city’s best BBQ) makes for a perfect weekend afternoon. Plus, chances are fairly high you need a new coffee table from IKEA...

letchworth state park
Zack Frank/Shutterstock

46. Head upstate to Letchworth State Park

The “Grand Canyon of the East” (located around 5.5 hours from the city) is home to three waterfalls, 66 miles of hiking trails, and plenty of opportunities for out-of-a-movie hot-air balloon rides and kayaking down the Genesee River.

The Brooklyn Barge
The Brooklyn Barge

47. Drink on a boat (or barge) in the summer

The skyline views from spots like Greenpoint’s Brooklyn Barge or Tribeca’s Grand Banks will balance out the potential for seasickness.

green-wood cemetery
A Katz/Shutterstock.com

48. Wander around Green-Wood Cemetery

For starters, Bill the Butcher is buried there. But there’s also landmark architecture, plenty of greenery, and a far cooler calendar of events than your average cemetery.

Brooklyn Grange
Brooklyn Grange

49. Buy produce from a rooftop farm

You may not associate NYC with farming, but the city is actually home to a handful of fully functioning rooftop farms (including Brooklyn Grange in Long Island City and the Brooklyn Navy Yard) that offer sweeping skyline views and plenty of fresh produce.

BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival
BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival

50. Picnic in Prospect Park

It’s quieter and more lush than Central Park, and you can plan your picnic around a Celebrate Brooklyn concert in the summer (park yourself close to the 15th Street entrance and you’ll be able to hear the live music without paying for tickets and expensive beers). Be sure to avoid the bike valet.

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