NYC 3-Day Itinerary: The Complete New York City Experience

Start Day 2 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Arrive at opening (10 AM) and head to the Egyptian Wing to see the Temple of Dendur. Continue to the European Paintings galleries for Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Van Gogh. Visit the Arms and Armor hall and the American Wing. If the rooftop garden is open (May-October), end with drinks and Central Park views.

Cross Central Park to the American Museum of Natural History. Head to the 4th-floor Fossil Halls for the dinosaurs, visit the Hall of Ocean Life and Hall of Minerals, then grab lunch at Zabar's or Levain Bakery for their famous cookies ($5).

Head downtown to Chelsea Market for lunch — try Los Tacos No. 1 ($4-5/taco) or The Lobster Place. Then walk up to the High Line entrance at 14th Street and stroll north along this elevated park above the streets, enjoying art installations and Hudson River views.

Walk south from the High Line into Greenwich Village. Stroll Washington Square Park, walk MacDougal Street past Bob Dylan's old haunts, and visit the Stonewall Inn. Grab a slice at Joe's Pizza ($3.50) on Carmine Street.

Walk south into SoHo's cobblestone streets and cast-iron architecture. Browse designer boutiques on Broadway and Prince Street. Continue east to Little Italy's Mulberry Street for a cannoli at Ferrara Bakery ($6-8, since 1892) or a pepperoni square at Prince Street Pizza ($5).

Start Day 3 at Grand Central Terminal, one of the most beautiful buildings in America. Enter through the 42nd Street entrance and stand in the center of the Main Concourse — a vast Beaux-Arts hall with a celestial ceiling painted with 2,500 stars. Admire the iconic four-faced opal clock atop the information booth (valued at $10-20 million). Find the whispering gallery outside the Oyster Bar and test the acoustic trick. Browse the Grand Central Market for gourmet food vendors if you need breakfast.

Walk east from Grand Central to the United Nations Headquarters along the East River. If you booked a guided tour ($22, advance reservation required), you will visit the General Assembly Hall, the Security Council Chamber, and see gifts from member nations including a piece of Sputnik and Norman Rockwell's Golden Rule mosaic. Photograph the famous Non-Violence sculpture (the knotted gun barrel) and send a postcard from the UN Post Office with unique UN stamps. Even without a tour, the gardens, sculptures, and river views are worthwhile.

Walk or take the subway to MoMA on 53rd Street. Head straight to the 5th floor for the greatest hits of modern art: Van Gogh's The Starry Night, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Monet's monumental Water Lilies, Dali's The Persistence of Memory, and Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans. Continue to the 4th floor for Pollock, Rothko, and Frida Kahlo. Visit the peaceful Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden with works by Picasso and Rodin. Grab lunch at the Halal Guys cart on 53rd & 6th Avenue ($8-12), a legendary NYC street food experience just two blocks away.

Walk the few blocks from MoMA to Rockefeller Center. Approach from Fifth Avenue through the Channel Gardens to the iconic Lower Plaza. Photograph the gilded Prometheus fountain and the Atlas statue. Walk through the 30 Rock lobby to see the stunning Art Deco murals. If visiting in winter, watch the ice skaters below the famous Christmas tree. Optionally take an NBC Studio Tour ($33) to go behind the scenes of Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show.

Walk north on Fifth Avenue from Rockefeller Center through the world's most famous shopping street. Step inside St. Patrick's Cathedral (free) — a stunning Neo-Gothic masterpiece directly across from Rockefeller Center. Browse Saks Fifth Avenue, admire the Tiffany & Co. Art Deco interior, and photograph the Cartier Beaux-Arts mansion. Continue north past the Apple glass cube, Bergdorf Goodman, and end at The Plaza Hotel on the corner of Central Park. Even if you are not shopping, the window displays and architectural grandeur make this walk exceptional.