24 hours in New York City

Having visited NYC more than 15 years ago, we were excited to visit it again even if it was only on a 24 hour layover. With just one day to explore, we chose three stops that we felt captured a mix of the city's charm, energy, and beauty:

• DUMBO, Brooklyn

• Rockefeller Center

• Central Park

DUMBO is short for: Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, this trendy neighbourhood offers some of the best views of the Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn Bridge. Take a stroll along the waterfront and through Brooklyn Bridge Park with a coffee or pastry to go. After soaking in the views, walk across Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan.

After that we made our way to Central Park by subway. It's a green oasis in the heart of Manhattan and surprisingly, it drowns out the buzz from the city. We found it really calm and peaceful. It’s the perfect spot to walk off your bagel, relax among the trees, or people watch and take in the contrast between city and nature. If you want to see the whole park, it’s worth renting a bike. The park spans a massive 843 acres (3.41 square km). For perspective, the entire country of Monaco is just 514 acres (2.1 square km)!

Make your way to Rockefeller Center, a classic Midtown landmark that gives you that “you’re really in New York” feeling. We made sure to visit Top of the Rock, where the 360 degree views from the observation deck are absolutely worth it. There are three levels of observation decks, offering different vantage points of the city. From here, you’ll get a fantastic view of landmarks like the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. The edge is lined with glass panels, but there are gaps that allow for clear, unobstructed photos with your camera or phone. If you’re up for something extra, the Skylift takes you even higher for a unique perspective (has a separate ticket price). If you need a break and would like more time to enjoy the view, there's a café where you can grab a drink and sit outside before heading back out into the city.

If you're not short on time, we would also recommend:

• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

• Intrepid Museum

• Staten Island Ferry (to see the Statue of Liberty from a distance and for free)

• The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)

• SUMMIT one Vanderbilt

Good to know:

• Official language: English.

• Currency: American Dollars (USD).

• Foreign credit cards acceptance: We had no problem using our foreign credit cards. It can be useful to carry some cash on you.

• Population: 8.3 million and 20.1 million in its metropolitan statistical area.

• Tipping culture: 15-20% with the higher end being more of the norm.

• Pre-book tickets to the Rockefeller centre, especially if you're going around holiday season as they sell out.

• There is an easy train connection from Newark airport to NYC called AirTrain which connects Newark Airport to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan via New Jersey Transit trains in around 30 minutes.

How to get around:

• Walk

• Subway

• Taxi (Uber)

• Bike (rental or bikeshare)

For the foodies:

Breakfast/coffee

• Clinton St. Baking Company - Time Out Market (they have an extensive breakfast menu but we went for the blueberry cheesecake which was divine!)

• Arabica - Brooklyn (it's become a pretty main stream specialty coffee chain since we first tried it in Japan but it's still one of our favourites, especially when we're abroad. It can be quite hard to find decent coffee when you're travelling)

Lunch/snacks

• Broad Nosh Bagels & Deli - 58th street (for some of the best bagels, we've ever had. There's endless possibilities but we'd recommend going for some kind of cream cheese spread. Be prepared to queue, we came in at around 10:00 and it already had a pretty big queue. We were in and out within 20 minutes so don't let it put you off! Also, the only place we visited that didn't standard add a tip onto your bill)