Transatlantic flights from the UK usually land in the afternoon at JFK or Newark. From JFK, the AirTrain links to the subway (E line from Jamaica into Midtown) for around $11 / £9 all in, or a taxi is a flat $70 / £55 into Manhattan plus tolls and tip. From Newark, the AirTrain connects to a New Jersey Transit train into Penn Station. Note the city has fully switched to OMNY contactless: just tap a bank card or phone at the gates, no MetroCard needed, and fares are capped at $35 a week. Book flights →

Basing yourselves in Midtown, roughly between Bryant Park and Central Park South, keeps almost everything on this trip a short subway ride away and puts you on top of the major lines. Drop the bags and head straight out on foot rather than trying to do too much on a jet-lagged first evening. Search hotels →

This calm green square behind the library is the gentlest possible first stop, with cafe kiosks and chairs to sit and land. The grand main library beside it, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue, is free to enter and worth a look inside at the Rose Main Reading Room, though note it closes at 6pm and keeps only limited Sunday hours (closed Sundays through the summer), so save it for a weekday if your first evening falls then.

Rather than eat in the crush around Times Square, walk a few blocks west to Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen, a long run of relaxed, good-value restaurants covering just about every cuisine. It is an easy, unhurried first dinner without needing a reservation.

See it once, at night, when the lights are the whole point, then move on. It is a short walk back towards Midtown and a fitting, low-effort end to the arrival day before an early night to reset the clock.