New York with Janet

Author, broadcaster and Just You Brand Ambassador, Janet Ellis joined us to see the sights of New York City in just four days - which is more doable than you might think, as she discovered in May 2025.

With the company of Holiday Director, Kristina, and Just You travel companions to share some of the most memorable experiences with, here's some of Janet's favourite moments on tour…

Welcome to the Big Apple

While I have been to New York in the past, it was for work and so of course it always hits a bit differently when you’re seeing the sights purely for leisure time, rather than trying to shoehorn some sightseeing in between your work schedule.

I chose this tour as I was curious to see if you can really fit in all these incredible places in just four days, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. We didn’t allow ourselves much downtime, but one of the reasons I think this short break worked so well was because our hotel, the Marriott Marquis, was perfectly located right in the middle of Times Square. It was wonderful to be in the thick of the atmosphere of flashing billboards and being so close to Broadway too, made it much easier to go out in the evening for a little entertainment.

And hats off to our Holiday Director, Kristina. It’s one thing having your itinerary all planned out for you but having an expert there to guide it all, so you don’t have to think too much is worth its weight in gold, especially when you’re navigating a city as monumental as New York.

Sensational sights

On Day Two, we were all excited for a day of adventure with a local guide, Christine, who promised to take us to all the hotspots. She was a native New Yorker and really excited to introduce us to her home town. Her enthusiasm was infectious! We started with a true New York icon, Grand Central Station. The rail terminal is an architectural delight and, as you step inside, it feels instantly familiar as it has featured so many times on the silver screen! Step outside and to the left is the Art Deco Chrysler Building and suddenly the whole place feels like a film set...

Our next stop was more sobering. Visiting the One World Trade Center was a privilege and we all paid our respects together quietly. It’s been developed into a beautiful and relatively quiet space and we all thoroughly enjoyed being there.

Taking to the water

After a morning of stomping around Manhattan, we were all very much looking forward to our lunchtime cruise to see yet more sights from the water, with a welcome cool breeze in the air. 

You can forget that the city has a coastline, and observing the city skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge from the water gave us a fantastic perspective of these much-revered sights. And we were really spoiled with a great lunch onboard too, as we cruised past the Statue of Liberty – she is a sight to behold and a reminder of the diversity that makes this city so special.

Who you gonna call...?

With free time in the afternoon, we took a stroll through Greenwich Village which has a very laid-back feel to it and whilst we were tempted to stop at pretty much every cafe along the way, we walked on into Tribeca to visit Ghostbusters HQ. Not many people would have this on their list of NYC’s iconic sights but when you’re passing by it’s rude not to strike a pose. 

There are many museums and attractions in New York so it’s hard to choose just one or two to visit when there’s free time to explore but the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side comes highly recommended. The museum is centred around the historically recreated homes of immigrants, migrants and refugees to New York from the late 1800s to early 1980s. They share the stories of the families that used to live there, and we spent a fascinating hour learning about the Meat Boycott of 1902. 

Our motto of the trip was “When in New York” so as we made our way back towards our hotel, we felt duty-bound to pop into a bar and sip on a refreshing and restorative Cosmopolitan... Our hotel was right on Broadway so several of our group decided to make the most of that location and took in a show on our second evening. Kristina was on hand to advise the best kiosk to buy our tickets from, and being a short stroll from the hotel, it was the perfect chance for us to head out and enjoy an evening out to ourselves, without having to wander too far. It proved to be the perfect way to finish day two which has all been about the city's history, food, and culture - a great day was had by all!

A green oasis 

On our third day, New York’s backyard, also known as Central Park, awaited us and what better way to reach it than via the subway (another must-do ticked off). Some might say it's just a walk in the park but to others, it's more than that.

We started by the Dakota Building, once home to John Lennon and Yoko Ono. As we entered the park, we were greeted by an early morning busker and we all took time to stop, pause and reflect at the iconic Strawberry Fields site dedicated to John Lennon.

I'm a huge fan of the film 'Enchanted' and I've now been to where they filmed the song 'That’s How You Know', ticking off another thing on my NYC list! I really enjoyed learning about the history of this remarkable place. During our visit, our local guide, Christine told us all about the development of this 6-mile oasis, its place in New Yorkers lives and about all those who have contributed to the park. 

At the end of our tour with Christine I chose a bench to pause and take in the sights around me, only to see it was a memorial bench dedicated to a former, long-ago head of parks and recreation. The broadcaster in me wondered what it was like having such a big influence on Central Park itself, New Yorkers and the countless visitors and what they would make of the park today. In New York, things are always changing, and life moves fast, but here, I got the sense that the park remains timeless and the pace slows.

We had the afternoon free to explore at our leisure, and Kristina was on hand to provide some recommendations of where to go. 

With limited time and so much still to see, we headed down 5th Avenue towards the Rockerfeller Center, where we travelled up 70 floors to Top of the Rock for some incredible 360-degree views of the city. It was then back to earth for a visit to Macy’s and their floral window displays, which were stunning and an attraction in their own right. 

Dinner was a short walk to Hell’s Kitchen and a fabulous Sicilian restaurant where the welcome was warm, and the food, drink and company was excellent!

High Line and Highlights

Visiting the High Line on our final morning was a genius idea. It's not a very long walk however it's very beautifully done and is another blissful reminder that New York is a port city - you're never far from the water.

This elevated public park is a self-seeded landscape which grew wild for 25 years after the trains stopped running on the rail line. The gardens were designed by Piet Oudolf, and while some of the park has been left for nature to do its thing, part of it has been designed and nurtured by a talented team of gardeners.

I’m so glad that we saved this until our last day as it is figuratively and literally one of the city’s coolest spots. So much so these green gardens in the sky are believed to be 7.2°F cooler than its surrounding neighbourhoods. All I can say is if I was a native New Yorker, I’d definitely be spending a lot of time here.

We'd seen and done so much in just a few days, but as we approached home time, I'd left a very specific and important experience until last – tasting New York cheesecake. There are no words, it is so much better than any cheesecake I’ve tasted anywhere else! 

You simply need to come and devour all that the Big Apple has to offer for yourself, and best of all, with Just You, it’s done in bite-sized chunks so you can really make the most of it.

And you’ll have a bunch of new friends to share the experience and - in our case- to sing and dance, with, too. I challenge you to not to tap a toe and join in when you hear the familiar strains of New York, New York. Like the city itself, it’s huge fun and you won’t be able to resist it.