They say New York is never a mistake, and having just returned home I wholeheartedly agree.

My daughter and I spent 72 hours in New York City last week while she toured colleges.

We flew into JFK, stayed in Lower Manhattan, and used the gaps between tours to eat our way through the lower end of the city. Here’s a rundown of where we stayed, how we got around, and where we ate.

Trip at a Glance

  • Dates: September 17-20
  • Where we stayed: Moxy Downtown, Ann Street, Lower Manhattan
  • Flights: Delta Air Lines in to JFK, out of LaGuardia
  • Getting around: Subway and walking, Ubers to/from the airport

Where to Stay

We stayed at the Moxy Downtown on Ann Street.

View toward Brooklyn from Moxy Downtown

I chose the Moxy for two reasons. It was close to one of the schools we were visiting, and it made getting to Brooklyn easy, where my oldest daughter lives.

The Moxy Downtown is tucked onto a side street and can be easy to miss if you don’t know where you’re going.

We had a nice room on a high floor with a great city view. I’d definitely stay there again.

One thing to know about this hotel: the guest elevators are on the 3rd floor inside the big bar/lounge space. From the hotel entrance, take the elevators to the 3rd floor, and the guest elevators will be on the right on the 3rd floor.

Another note: Ann Street is narrow and the neighborhood gets congested during peak hours. If you’re catching an Uber to a reservation, show, or flight you might want to choose a pickup spot just down the block on Broadway so your driver doesn’t get trapped.

Getting Around

From JFK. Our flight landed at 10:30 a.m. and we had a 2:00 p.m. tour on the Upper East Side, so the timeline to get downtown, drop our bags, and get uptown for the tour was tight (if you’re a dad who likes to have lots of extra time.)

It took an hour and 15 minutes to get from the airport to the hotel.

To LaGuardia. The difference between the two airports is striking, and LaGuardia is my preferred airport by a wide margin. Our flight was early, so at 5:00 a.m. it took about 25 minutes by Uber from door to door.

In the city. We used the subway and walked. The Moxy Downtown gives you easy access to Brooklyn-bound trains and from City Hall Park it’s easy to catch trains heading uptown.

Day 1: September 17

We dropped our bags at the hotel and crossed the street to City Hall Park, where we got gyros from a food truck. We were careful not to get any on our clothes before the tour at Northeastern University’s NYC campus.

We found the right trains and had an easy ride uptown, arriving 30 minutes early.

We used the time to get coffee at Caffe Baccio on 3rd Avenue, a good neighborhood coffee shop. After the tour, we walked through Central Park and took a train uptown to Columbia University.

Columbia’s campus is gated, so we walked around the bookstore and explored the surrounding neighborhood, then took a train back downtown to crash at the hotel. The 3:30 a.m. wake up time to catch our flights took its toll.

That night we went to Scarr’s Pizza on the Lower East Side on a friend’s recommendation. We split a small pepperoni pizza and the focaccia with whipped ricotta and hot honey. I’d go again. It was an easy train ride and walk back to the hotel.

Day 2: September 18

We walked to Harry’s Bagels near the World Trade Center for bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, then walked to our next tour at Pace University.

After the tour, we took the train to Brooklyn to meet my oldest daughter, who was on a break from a project. We ate at Homemade Taqueria in Bushwick.

From there we went to the West Village for coffee at Rhythm Zero. The drink of choice seemed to be a blackberry jam matcha, but we passed on it and grabbed a couple iced lattes. It’s a cool spot regardless.

We walked to Washington Square Park and around NYU, then down through SoHo, where my daughter stocked up on some pieces from fp movement, and went back to the hotel to rest.

In the late afternoon we had a slice at a shop near the hotel. I’m sad to say I didn’t catch the name, but it was a classic NYC slice shop. The pizza was terrific.

That evening we met my oldest daughter at Essex Market, then went to Chinatown for noodles at Xi’an Famous Foods. I’m not 100% sure what I ordered, but what I got was a beautiful plate full of hand-pulled noodles, ground pork, cabbage and a salty, spicy sauce. I’d do it again.

Day 3: September 19

We started at the Chelsea Flea Market before the day’s NYU tour. We had a good time browsing. Whatever you’re looking for, whether it’s art, jewelry, vintage clothes, or old cameras, it’s a great way to start a weekend morning.

We walked through Flatiron and stopped at Eataly for coffee and a pastry. After the NYU tour we met my oldest daughter again and had a long open-air lunch at Fossetta.

That night on our way to L’Industrie Pizza in Little Italy we came across the Feast of San Gennaro by accident and got stuck in a full city block of shoulder-to-shoulder crowd insanity. It was a little too people-y for me, but the spectacle was fun to take in.

We walked a few blocks for something quieter and had dinner at Crazy Pizza, which is more elevated than the name suggests. The girls had penna ala vodka and cacio e pepe, I had a delicious chicken parm.

Where We Ate and Drank

Final Thoughts

If you’re planning something similar, staying downtown and getting around by subway worked well for us.