A Perfect Afternoon in My Favorite NYC Neighborhood!

A special little mini-itinerary, too for a perfect way to spend an NYC day

Neil Patrick Harris is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Wondercade. In his spare time he also acts — fairly well, too, as his Tony and Emmy Awards can attest.

May 17, 2023 3:59 pm

It’s nice to be proud of where you’re from. I was born and raised in New Mexico, and a more ardent lover of swoon-worthy desert scenes and Hatch green chiles you never will meet. But hometowns aren’t just where you were homegrown. They’re also places you plant yourself on your own volition — places you choose to take root; where you choose to blossom. (Side note: why are there so many gardening metaphors for describing where one lives? It’s kinda weird…like, what would fertilizer represent?) Anywho, I’m proud of both where I come from, and where I am now — and for me, the latter is none other than the Big Apple: New York City.

Today, you’re getting a handpicked-by-Harris rec for doing it up in New York. You may love this so much, you could very well end up moving here. (That’d be awesome. Let’s get brunch sometime.)

If you’re unacquainted with the High Line, this urban achievement of architecture and railroad repurposing, allow me the honor of introducing it to you. The nearly 1.5-mile-long walkable park built atop an old elevated train track in the Meatpacking District spans some 20 city blocks. In it you’ll find tree-lined groves and tiny gardens with native flora, impromptu outdoor art galleries and markets, picturesque vignettes of Manhattan’s varied and textured high-rise buildings…and tons of cool stuff on the streets right off the park.

View of Little Island in NYC — Little Island leaves a big impression

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Before I start exploring the park itself, I like to take advantage of the cultural institutions that surround it. I often spend an hour or two at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The Whitney’s got paintings by seminal American greats like Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe and Jasper Johns. I also love wandering around a little at Little Island: a man-made island in the Hudson River that’s a cross between Dr. Seuss and the Shire, with an amphitheater, playground and more. Another option I think you’ll dig is the nearby Museum of Illusions. (I mean…I’m an illusionist, I can’t not recommend this one!)

After you wrap your first stop, it’s time to climb a set of stairs and start your actual stroll through the High Line. I like to begin at the park’s southernmost entrance, near 14th Street (just across from the Whitney), and walk uptown. Take in the sights. Stop to smell the roses. (Depending upon when you visit, there are literal roses!) Soon, you’ll pass Chelsea Market. Take a bop in and browse the market’s artisanal groceries and restaurants, and find food that’ll fuel your feet for the rest of your afternoon. There’s everything from lobster to doughnuts to hand-pulled Chinese noodles. Or hold out a bit longer and descend the High Line at 20th Street to dine at yet another one of my favorite little gems: Cookshop. Grab a farm-to-table lunch and savor your good fortune. (Lifehack: Don’t worry about pigging out at Chelsea Market or Cookshop…you’ll be walking off those calories!)

View of a stand in Chelsea Market — Eating at Chelsea Market is a feast for all your senses

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Finally, continue onward, and you’ll be, as Michelle Branch once said, makin’ your way downtown. (Okay, you’re actually doing the opposite, but humor my Michelle reference here, please.) Toward the end of your journey, you’ll enter prime proximity to what’s one of my — hands down — favorite places in New York, if not the world: The McKittrick Hotel, located on 27th Street. I’ve gushed about this place before in this very newsletter: It’s a 5-story hotel (‘cept it’s not really a hotel) home to a 1920s-style jazz cocktail bar, the Manderley, as well as Sleep No More, the most definitive interactive theatrical experience on Earth, as far as I’m concerned. It combines Shakespeare, film noir and a choose-your-own-adventure game. That’s all kinda nightlife stuff, though — for the endpoint of this High Line walking itinerary, I want you to go and head up to the McKittrick’s lush garden rooftop restaurant and bar, Gallow Green, which has just opened for the summer. (FYI, it’s great at night too though. In fact, the whole High Line is. It closes at 10 p.m.)