Sticking Around During the Long Weekend? Check Out These Date Ideas.

Wait, Memorial Day is this weekend? Whether you didn’t get the memo about summer’s inaugural holiday, or just don’t feel like joining the upcoming NYC exodus, there’s no shame in sticking around during the upcoming three-day break. In fact, the hoards of New Yorkers heading for the Hamptons and other such destinations makes it prime time to take experience the Big Apple in a rare state of (relative) calm. Talk about a great situation for enjoying your city with a date. Which, speaking of… If you haven’t yet scoped out a potential new match, now’s the time. Then schedule some time for the two of you to get to know each other with any of these great Memorial Day weekend date ideas:

Boating in Central Park

Can you think of anything cuter than a boat ride out on the Central Park Lake? Um, we can’t. Should the weather hold up this weekend, take your date over the Loeb Boat House (located near 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue in the park) and rent a row boat for just $15 an hour. It’s the perfect, not-creepily-romantic spot to enjoy nice conversation and beautiful scenery. Don’t like your mate? Just throw ‘em overboard (just kidding!).

ISO Symphonic Band Concert

A first date at a cemetery–how’s that for a story? This Monday afternoon, forgo a trip to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park for the nearby Green-Wood Cemetery. There, the ISO Symphonic Band will be performing works of the cemetery’s ‘permanent residents,’ including Fred Ebb, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Leonard Bernstein, and others. Be sure to bring a blanket so you can kick back, relax, and listen to lovely sounds with your potential love.

Rooftop Bar

Ok, so maybe cemeteries aren’t exactly your thing. We understand. For a more traditional date–you know, with cocktails–check out the rooftop terrace at The Skylark. Yes, it’s in midtown, but with panoramic views that include the Hudson River and Empire State Building, it’s totally worth it. Plus interesting cocktails like the Aztec Empire (with silver tequila, cumin liqueur, chocolate bitters, cinnamon, red jalapeno, and lime) are bound to alleviate any early relationship awkwardness.