Solo in the City: Things To Do Alone in and Around Times Square

Traveling alone in New York City comes with a certain freedom. You can spend an hour in a concept store because you feel like it, grab the last seat at the bar without a reservation, see a Broadway show on a whim, or walk 20 blocks in the wrong direction because something caught your eye.

And when you stay at Aliz Hotel Times Square, you can do all of that from one of the most connected corners of Manhattan. Times Square, Bryant Park, Broadway, the Garment District, Hudson Yards, and Rockefeller Center are all within walking distance, while nearby subway lines make the rest of the city easy to reach. Back at the hotel, your room is entirely your own, and there’s always the option of a cocktail 40 stories above Manhattan at Dear Irving on Hudson.

If you're planning some solo traveling in Midtown Manhattan, start here:

Browse a Bookstore With Nowhere Else to Be

One of the great luxuries of traveling alone? Nobody can rush you out of a bookstore. Start around the corner from Aliz at The Drama Book Shop, a New York institution specializing in plays, theater books, biographies, and performing arts titles. The shop has been around since 1917, though its current West 39th Street home is newer, with a café and a dramatic centerpiece made from thousands of books. Lin-Manuel Miranda and several of his Hamilton collaborators are among its owners, which feels fitting for a bookstore sitting just blocks from Broadway.

A few avenues east, Kinokuniya New York faces Bryant Park. Give yourself time here. The three-story Japanese bookstore carries English-language books, Japanese literature, art and design titles, manga, magazines, stationery, gifts, and enough pens and notebooks to make you reconsider the contents of your suitcase.

Heading toward Rockefeller Center? Stop into McNally Jackson for another impeccably curated selection of fiction, nonfiction, magazines, and literary finds.

Make Lunch a Solo Sport

Dining alone in New York has its advantages. A table for one is often easier to come by, that last open bar seat is all yours, and there’s no debating where to eat or what to order. Settle in for a long lunch, grab something quick at the counter, or change your mind when you pass a place that looks better than whatever you had planned.

ICHIRAN takes that idea literally. The Japanese ramen restaurant is famous for its individual "flavor concentration booths," where partitions separate each seat and your bowl of tonkotsu ramen arrives through an opening in front of you. It's solo dining without even pretending otherwise.

For something a little more leisurely, grab a seat at Mermaid Oyster Bar on West 43rd Street. Oysters and a glass of wine make a pretty great solo meal, especially with the Theater District crowd passing by outside.

Give Yourself an Afternoon at the Museum

Museums might be the ultimate solo activity. Nobody is waiting for you to finish reading the wall text, and nobody can make you leave the gallery you love because they're ready for lunch.

The Museum of Modern Art is an easy walk from Times Square and holds enough to fill an entire afternoon. See van Gogh's The Starry Night, find your favorite Warhol, wander through photography and design, catch a film, or head into the sculpture garden when you need a break.

For something smaller, take a walk down Fifth Avenue to The Morgan Library & Museum. What began as financier J. Pierpont Morgan's private library is now one of the city's most beautiful cultural spaces, with rare books, manuscripts, drawings, and rotating exhibitions housed alongside Morgan's extraordinary original library.

The best approach to either? Don't try to see everything. Pick what interests you and take your time.

Hang Out at the Library (Even If You Don't Need a Book)

Just behind Bryant Park, the New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is free to visit and much more than a photo stop with the lions out front. Inside, you'll find soaring Beaux-Arts interiors and the ongoing Polonsky Exhibition of the library's treasures, which draws from a collection of more than 56 million items. Free docent-led building tours are also offered on select days, with advance reservations.

Then, cross Fifth Avenue to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library. Browse five levels of books before heading upstairs to one of Midtown's better-kept secrets: a free public rooftop terrace with open-air seating and views across the neighborhood.

Bring a book you just picked up, or just enjoy the magic of The Big Apple. You've got nowhere else to be.

See What's Happening in Bryant Park

Bryant Park is worth checking more than once during your stay because what you find depends entirely on the season.

You might stumble onto a concert, an outdoor movie, dance class, reading room, market, game night, or simply an empty chair in the sun. Summer brings free Picnic Performances spanning jazz, opera, theater, and dance, while colder months turn the park into its annual Winter Village.

Or skip the schedule altogether. Grab a coffee, find a table, and spend half an hour watching New York pass by.

Dig Through the Record Bins at Rough Trade

Rockefeller Center has plenty of famous attractions, but music fans should head downstairs.

Rough Trade has two spaces at Rockefeller Center devoted to records and music culture. Browse new and used vinyl, books, band tees, A24 merch, turntables, and whatever else catches your eye. Rough Trade Below also hosts live events, signings, and performances, so check the calendar before your trip.

Then take your time wandering Rockefeller Center itself. Beyond the familiar Prometheus statue and plaza, the complex has an extensive collection of Art Deco murals, mosaics, reliefs, and sculptures, plus rotating contemporary installations that transform public spaces into an ever-changing open-air gallery.

See a Broadway Show on Your Own

Going to Broadway solo has one very practical advantage: you only need one ticket. That can make last-minute plans considerably easier. Check the TKTS booth in Times Square for same-day discounted performances, or see what seats are available directly through a show's box office.

Then lean into the experience. Pick the musical nobody back home wanted to see. Buy yourself a drink at intermission. Read every word of the Playbill. Aliz Hotel Times Square sits in the Theater District, so when the curtain comes down, your room is only a short walk away.

Spend an Evening at a Jazz Club

If sitting alone at a restaurant feels a little intimidating, book dinner at a place where everyone is facing the stage.

The Pocket opened on West 46th Street earlier this year and brings serious jazz back into the heart of Times Square. The subterranean club hosts two sets most evenings, with artists including the Mingus Big Band and Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra among its regular performers. Dinner and cocktails are served during the show, so your entire evening is taken care of once you find your seat.

There's also Birdland Jazz Club, the legendary Midtown venue with history stretching back to 1949. Check who's playing, book a table, and let the music carry you away for a couple of hours.

Let Times Square Surprise You

Yes, you should see the billboards. But Times Square gets much more interesting once you know what else to look for.

Times Square Arts regularly brings installations, performances, and contemporary art into the neighborhood's public spaces. During warmer months, TSQ LIVE adds free music, DJ sets, dance, and other performances right in the plazas.

The one event you can count on almost every night is Midnight Moment. From 11:57PM until midnight, more than 90 digital displays from 41st to 49th Streets synchronize to show the work of a contemporary artist. A different artist takes over each month, turning three minutes of prime advertising space into one enormous public exhibition.

Walk Somewhere Without an Agenda

Some of the best solo hours in New York begin without a reservation.

Walk west from Aliz Hotel toward Hudson Yards and climb onto The High Line for an elevated stroll through gardens, public art, architecture, and views down Manhattan's cross streets. Keep going south into Chelsea if you're enjoying yourself.

Head east instead and you can cut through Bryant Park, wander Fifth Avenue, explore Grand Central Terminal, or continue toward the East River.

And if you see a store, gallery, bakery, record shop, or side street that looks interesting along the way, go in. There's nobody else's itinerary to consult.

End the Night 40 Stories Up

You don't have to leave Aliz for one of the best solo nightcaps in the neighborhood.

Take the elevator to Dear Irving on Hudson, Aliz Hotel's rooftop cocktail lounge on the 40th and 41st floors. Grab a seat, order a classic martini, and watch Manhattan light up below you. 

Doing NYC Your Way

Solo travel in New York doesn't need to be packed from morning until midnight. That's the point. See the show you want to see. Eat when you're hungry. Spend too long in a bookstore. Change neighborhoods halfway through the afternoon. Call it an early night, or stay out until Times Square's billboards turn into art.

With some of Midtown's best cultural stops within easy reach, Aliz Hotel Times Square gives you a home base that makes exploring on your own really that simple.

Book your stay and discover New York the way that makes your heart sing.