Before Kansas City (and its football team) stole Taylor Swift’s heart, she was in a long-term, committed relationship with New York City. After moving to NYC in March 2014, she kicked off her album 1989 with a track wholly dedicated to the city’s revitalizing energy, crediting it as “an important landscape and location for the story of my life.”

The days of regularly spotting the Life of a Showgirl singer out and about in Manhattan may have ended, but despite Swift’s recent penchant for the Midwest, she still spends plenty of time in NYC. Of course, after over a decade of living in the city, she has compiled quite the list of go-to spots, from exclusive restaurants to quaint streets.

I’m a longtime Swiftie, but with one exception (more on that below), I’ve never really gone out of my way to visit her favorite places — even though they’re in my metaphorical backyard. This spring, I made it my mission to change that, devoting one week to a Swift-inspired itinerary with *range*, from a long morning walk in the West Village to late-night martinis at the Chelsea Hotel.

Here’s a full breakdown of this Swiftie’s guide to NYC — and I promise that each and every location will get “Welcome to New York” stuck in your head.

A Thursday Nightcap at Lovers of TodayHannah Kerns

Lovers of Today is rumored to be the “dive bar on the East Side” referenced in “Delicate,” one of the most romantic songs on Swift’s snake-themed album Reputation.

Since moving to the city in 2022, I’ve been a big fan of Lovers of Today. The bar is right across the street from Tompkins Square Park, tucked into a quiet street with a neon heart sign marking the entrance. The speakeasy-style lounge is full of specialty cocktails (with rock-and-roll names like Astral Plane and Handsome Devil) and plenty of cozy leather seats.

The downstairs usually gets crowded, so I tend to walk through the back patio to get upstairs, which has a connected bar called 96 Tears. My go-to drink is an extra dirty vodka martini — an order that’s extremely hit or miss here. (I’ve had some of the best and some of the worst, depending who is bartending.) This time around, I chose to get a Modelo on draft instead — safe and consistent, and not too heavy for a Thursday.

Friday on the High Line & Dinner at The Waverly Inn

Swift gave NYC’s High Line — an elevated park, converted from a 1930s rail structure — a shoutout in “Cardigan” on Folklore. In the track, she sings: “I knew you / Your heartbeat on the High Line / Once in 20 lifetimes.” As a Folklore stan, it only felt right to bring my heartbeat to the High Line for a pre-work morning coffee walk.

That night, I kept the Swift theme going with dinner at The Waverly Inn, a cozy West Village restaurant where she’s been spotted having dinner with Gigi Hadid and a date night with Travis Kelce. My roommate scored an 8:30 p.m. reservation for her birthday dinner, so we headed over there to celebrate with an impressive spread, including tuna tartare, Caesar salad, kale salad, burgers, and roast chicken. Martinis were the obvious choice for drinks.

Saturday Night Drinks at the Chelsea Hotel

Even though I live just 10 minutes away from the Chelsea Hotel, I’ve never checked out the Lobby Bar — a travesty for a Swiftie like me. Swift sings about the spot in the title track from The Tortured Poets Department: “I laughed in your face and said / ‘You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith’ / This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel, we’re modern idiots.” (Thomas and Smith both famously lived at the hotel.)

I had plans with a friend to grab drinks on Saturday night and asked if she’d be down to make the Chelsea Hotel our first stop. Lucky for me, she was up for it. We put our names on the list and grabbed $25 (ouch) martinis at the bar. Less than 30 minutes later, we were led to an enclosed patio area in the back, where we continued to sip our cocktails and snack on the complimentary bar nuts. It was the perfect kickoff for our night out — lively enough to keep the energy up, and comfortable enough to enjoy ourselves. Plus, I peeped Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley on our way out. (It was the Saturday before Met Monday, after all.)

A Sunday Morning Stroll by the Central Park Lake

On Sunday, I headed uptown to see the Lake in Central Park. Swift references the landmark in “The Bolter” to illustrate the romantic beginning of a relationship: “When it’s all roses, portrait poses / Central Park Lake in tiny rowboats / What a charming Saturday.”

It may not have been a Saturday, but the vibes were still rosy. I was even debating renting a rowboat myself, but it was a bit too windy and chilly — way too brisk for a rowing workout on the water. Still, I spotted some couples braving the weather in the name of romance.

A Tuesday Morning Meander & Breakfast at the Bus Stop Cafe

I woke up bright and early on Tuesday morning and took the subway down to Tribeca to scope out Swift’s Franklin Street apartment — the same spot she lent out to Sophie Turner after the Game of Thrones star’s divorce from Joe Jonas. I scoped out the spot (no black SUVs were outside, so it seemed unoccupied) before heading north to the West Village.

I got to Cornelia Street, where Swift used to rent an apartment, about 20 minutes later. After four years of living in the city, I think this is the first time I’ve actually walked down the most famous Swiftie thoroughfare. For the occasion, I listened to “Cornelia Street (Live from Paris).” As I strolled, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a restaurant and bar called Donna at the end of the block. (No, it’s not named after Donna Kelce, but still.)

From Cornelia Street, I walked over to Electric Lady Studios, the iconic recording studio commissioned by Jimi Hendrix in 1968, which Swift frequents. She went there to record cuts for several albums, including Lover, Evermore, and The Tortured Poets Department.

From there, I headed to the Bus Stop Cafe, an all-day breakfast spot in the West Village. Fans think that Swift referenced the restaurant — which strikes a perfect balance between sunlit and cozy — in “The 1,” when she sings, “I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn’t though.” The café’s service was great, and their BLT really hit the spot — the perfect end to a morning exploring.

A Wednesday Trip to the Housing Works Bookstore Before Dinner at BondST

For the last day of my Swiftie-inspired New York City tour, I made an early-bird reservation at BondST, one of Swift’s go-to restaurants in Manhattan. When she’s in the city, she’s often photographed walking down the restaurant steps — usually surrounded by other celebs like Selena Gomez and Jack Antonoff — before making her way over to the private members club Zero Bond.

Before dinner, I stopped in to see another Swift-approved spot, the Housing Works Bookstore. The nonprofit shop, which has secondhand books, clothes, and a café in the back, raises money to provide services for low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS. Swift used the space for the closing scene of her “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” music video, where she played the role of an author at a book signing.

After a quick browse around the shop, which had plenty of Swift-themed merch, I walked over to BondST for a sushi dinner. I sat at the counter in the back, where I got a front-row view of the chefs’ dinner preparations. Plus, one of the chefs offered a complimentary taste of a roll he was making, Hot Eel Dice. At first, the menu was a little jarring — it seemed like every single item was $30 or more, but once I got past the sticker shock, I got to ordering.

Dinner included a glass of white wine, a free bowl of edamame, and a selection of customer-favorite menu items: Big Eye Tuna Tarts, Red Snapper Tacos, Tuna Crispy Rice, and Short Rib Foie Gras Gyoza. Everything was delicious, but the crispy rice stole the show, IMO, and for $34, it better have.

My week in Swift’s New York City — excluding Met Gala Monday, where I was glued to the red carpet coverage — was one to remember. She’s a tastemaker, through and through, and her go-to spots are proof, even if some of them can test the budget.

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