With summer in full swing, I finally put together my to-do list for the season, filled with ten things I’d love to see, do or explore in the city before Labor Day.

Summer is the season when New York really comes alive. There are countless parades, festivals, shows, markets and things to do. This summer, I want to revisit a few of my favorite things, and check a couple more items of my NYC to-do list.

1. Spend an afternoon lounging in a hammock at Governor’s Island
2. Catch an outside flick at Rooftop Cinema in Bushwick
3. See a show, fingers crossed for Shakespeare in the Park or a broadway lottery
4. Picnic in parks as many times as sunny weekend afternoons allow, Central Park, Prospect Park, Morningside Park are all great options for lounging in the sunshine with cheese & crackers and rosé
5. Run down Park Avenue during Summer Streets
6. Squeeze in a beach trip, preferably to Fire Island
7. Revisit a few of my favorite rooftops to watch the sun set (Northern Territory, The Ides at the Wythe, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Riverside Park, the Frying Pan or Grand Banks, the rooftop at the Met, Brass Monkey and the Press Lounge), and check out a couple of new places
8. Take a day-trip to Dia:Beacon
9. Go to the top of One World Trade Center
10. Visit the city’s museums on free admission days, Cooper:Hewitt has been on my list for a while
    1. Other great options: MoMA, Guggenheim, the Museum of the City of New York, as well as the botanic gardens and Bronx Zoo

If you’re visiting New York this summer, these are a few of my other favorite summertime activities:

• Bask in foodie paradise at Smorgasburg (go early to avoid the crowds) or Arthur Avenue
• Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
• People watch at Washington Square Park or Central Park
• Visit the 9/11 Memorial 
• Visit the Top of the Rock or the top of the Empire State Building
• Walk the beautiful High Line, this historic freight line turned public park is a beautiful (and traffic-free) way to wander from Gansevoort Street in Meatpacking all the way up to 34th Street

• Eat all of the ice cream (favorite spots: Snowdays Shavery, Big Gay, OddFellows, il laboratorio del gelato, Ample Hills, Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, Ice & Vice, Mikey Likes It & Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream)

• Party at MoMA PS1– Warm Up, a daytime dance party is a cool way to spend a Saturday in NYC