New York City with kids – the possibilities are endless, and it can be overwhelming. NYC is big, it’s loud, it’s full of fabulous culinary, cultural, and frivolous experiences.
We are taking our third trip to New York City with the kids over Spring Break. As I started planning our itinerary, I realized I was going to have to dig harder this time to come up with activities; we’ve done many of the top tourist attractions in NYC.
Our first visit to New York City with the kids was a summertime trip when they were 9 and 6 years old. We stayed in the Hilton Garden Inn Times Square, which is actually right outside of Time Square. Here was our itinerary:
Day One (arrival in early afternoon):
American Museum of Natural History The kids loved seeing all of the animals, as well as the dinosaurs and gems. I think this is the best of the big museums for younger kids, and a perfect first museum for any visitor to NYC.
Dinner at Ruby Foo’s A Pan Asian restaurant with plenty to choose from for even the pickiest (my kids) eaters.
Lots of walking today; the kids enjoyed getting a feel for the big city. They never let go of our hands, though – the hustle and bustle was a bit overwhelming!
Day Two
Grayline double decker bus tour The tickets were good for 48 hours, and today we explored lower Manhattan. We got off the bus whenever we wanted, and picked another one up again when we were done sightseeing. We stopped at Ground Zero (this was during the construction phase) and walked around for a bit, then we took the free Staten Island Ferry so the kids could see the Statue of Liberty. That evening we took a night tour of the city on the double decker bus. My 9 year old loved it, and my 6 year old fell asleep.
Day Three
Today we boarded the bus again, focusing on mid and upper Manhattan. We stopped at the Central Park Zoo, which is great for little ones because it’s relatively small. It’s also cool to be in the middle of lush and green Central Park and see the city towering all around you.
After walking around the upper East side, we visited Dylan’s Candy Shop and loaded up on sugar before heading to Rockefeller Center. We made the obligatory visit to the American Girl Doll store for my daughter, so we then had to visit the huge Toys ‘R Us in Times Square for my son.
Day Four (departed around noon)
A stroll to the New York Public Library and Bryant Park before heading home. Although there is so much to do in NYC, the kids were citied out by this point.
While I can now look back on the trip fondly, at the time my kids really ticked me off with their whining and complaining. They only wanted to do what they wanted, and lacked the maturity to make compromises without pitching a fit. Matt and I grumbled about how selfish they were being, but I think our expectations were a bit too high. If you are planning a trip to New York City with kids, particularly kids under 10, keep this in mind. Two nights is probably wiser than three. Our next trip four years later was much different, because the kids had more stamina, more interests, and were able to hang with us with less complaining.
I’ll post details of our second trip soon: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, walking the Brooklyn Bridge, the Met, Top of the Rock, Tenement Museum…we did it all! But in the meantime, if you have any must see/do activities in NYC, let me know!
Update: Here’s the link to our second trip – New York City with Kids: Part Two.
Love love love NYC! Cannot wait to take my kids when they are a little older.
It’s such a different experience with kids, and each time we’ve gone we’ve done things that are age appropriate for our kids. Have a blast when you go!
For the kids? Hm… it’s easier for me to think of things for adults.
But there are tons of museums. Try the Brooklyn Museum (they have lot’s of kid friendly things) or the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (it’s built in to the name!) the Hall of Science (it used to be in Queens but it’s moved and I have no idea where it is now)… they’d get a kick out of the funny shape of the Guggenheim… there’s the Bronx Zoo… the south street seaport… the port authority arcade/bowling alley… um, okay that’s all I can think of right now.
Hope I helped. 🙂
Oh, and happy sharefest.
Great suggestions, thanks! I’ll have to get some more suggestions from you when we go without the kids.
I love NYC. I would love to take my husband to visit but he doesn’t seem interested. I was last there Super Bowl weekend 2008. I stayed at the Marriott in Times Square. Ahhhh… I’d live there if I could.
Me too! I’d love to sublet for a few months and experience the city as a local instead of a visitor. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi visiting from the blog hop, thank you for this list! My husband and I are planning to visit and this is a great help.
http://fitandbeyond40.com
My pleasure. We did so much more on our next trip, so check back for the second installment 🙂
That sounds like a fantastic trip! And I loved your photo at the top- great collage!
Thanks, Stephanie!
Fun! Been to NYC many times, but haven’t had the chance to really show it to my son (we were there last summer, but for a funeral). It’s always good to have food recommendations too! Looking forward to reading about your 2nd trip!
Food is always the hardest with the kids since they aren’t great eaters, but we try our best. Thanks for reading!
Great ideas! we did the museum of natural history but we need to go again. That place is the best!
Since you’ll have a car, you could go outside the downtown area and visit the neighborhoods where your parents grew up. Might be interesting for your children to get a glimpse of a bit of their heritage along with seeing other areas of Manhattan.