I know that there are a lot of NYC bees on here, so I would love if you could all chime in with your favorite places to visit/see/eat! We are living in the area for just under a year and I want to make sure that we have no regrets when we leave! The only parameter is that my toddler and preschooler are coming with. Thank you in advance!
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I just returned from a 9 day trip as a tourist. I loved the Natural History Museum, MOMA, Top of the Rock and walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. I think the 9/11 memorial is important to see if you have not already been there. I really enjoyed Carnegie deli. If you can get a sitter, check out a show on Broadway.
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Things to do:
- visit the highline
- picnic in central park
- see a broadway show (might be difficult with kids?)
- go to something at Lincoln Center (so pretty there, especially at night)
- walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
- visit 9/11 memorial/musuem
- go to the top of the rock
- check out a comedy club downtown
- go to FAO Schwarz
- spend a day in brooklyn Bridge parkPlace to eat:
- Artichoke pizza
- shake shack
- big gay ice cream truck/store
- di fara
- asiate/something in the Time Warner center, and sit near the window!
- central park boathouse (biased since we got married here!)
- ample hills
- momofuku milk barThere are a millllllion other amazing and fun things to do, but these popped into my head first! have fun!
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Just off the top of my head:
Bronx Zoo
NY Aquarium
Coney Island
Yankee Stadium
CitiField
NY Hall of Science + playground
Smorgasburg/LIC Flea
high line
9/11 Memorial
Museums
Times Square (i hate it but you should see it!)
Broadway show
Staten Island ferry
Brooklyn bridge park
Outdoor movie in the summer -
I've lived in NY since I was 13 and I haven't even done half this stuff haha! I think everyone's got it covered really well!
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@Baby Boy Mom: get tickets for the Statue of Liberty crown. It has been closed for so much of the past 10 years and I feel like there will be more closures in the future. So while you *can* actually go up in the crown, you should! Tickets are sold now a couple of months in advance so you have to plan ahead.
You can wear your younger baby but not sure how you would handle your older. Maybe you and your husband could take turns walking up the steps to the crown? And the other one would wait below with the LOs.
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@youboots: @hilsy85: @hotchildinthecity: thank you! adding to my list!
@snowjewelz: LOL! That's what I'm trying to avoid…the "oh we live here now, so it can wait" syndrome.
@Anagram: That is a great tip! I will check it out! -
@Baby Boy Mom: Maybe you could do the Radio City Holiday Show and that could count for your theater outing? (If you're into Christmas & Santa)
--Take the ferry to Governor's Island (though it's closing on the 28th but you could go when it opens back up in May).
--I second the Liberty Science Center, your kids will love that.
--Christmas Tree LightingThe best suggestion I have is to get out of Manhattan and go see what's going on in the other boroughs. Lots of people think Manhattan = NYC and that's not true.
@snowjewelz: I've been here all my life and I've never done a lot of this stuff (or wanted to for that matter).
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Lots of good stuff here already. Others are:
-Governor's Island
-City Island in the Bronx (old school hidden NY)
-Prospect Park
-Catch a really raucous Russian cabaret show in Brighton Beach
-Queens Farm Museum
-Shakespeare in the Park (often someone famous performing)
-Any major summer outdoor concert like the Philharmonic, Summerstage, etc.Too much good food to name.
ETA: Some of mine are not family friendly, but perhaps you can get a babysitter?
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@BKCaribBaby: totally forgot about governor's island! Love it
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@mrsjazz: you can't pay me enough to do some of these things just b/c it's full of tourists lol! I always figure someone will come visit me at some point and I'll have to take them.
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Love this! I'm moving back to NYC after 7 years away and look forward to living like a tourist for a bit while we re-experience some of these things with our kids.
@snowjewelz: haha! I always get excited to have visitors so I can have an excuse to do things I would never do in my own city...then when I go I remember why I never do them!
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@Anagram: Thanks for this tip! I just booked my tickets...I feel like it could be a once in a lifetime kind of thing to go up to the crown!
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Just thought of a couple more that are coming up soon:
Village Halloween Parade
NYC marathonThere are plenty of uncrowded places to watch the marathon. It is one of the coolest things that happens in the city, in my opinion.
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@hotchildinthecity: Yeah...I love Governor's Island. I also love the marathon. It goes past my block every year, and it's a tradition for me to go out and see it. We took LO last year for the first time.
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@mrsjazz: That sounds like it would be awesome... if we celebrated Christmas
Anything in particular on Governor's Island? We went the first week we were here but didn't actually "do" anything. Kids loved the ferry though!@BKCaribBaby: Let's say your BFF is coming into town for one day, where are you eating breakfast, lunch and dinner?
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@Baby Boy Mom: They have those two-person bikes on Governor's Island that you can rent--they look sort of like golf carts with wheels, the kids can sit in the back I think. And go lay in the hammocks.
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@mrsjazz: that does sound fun! I'm gonna put that on our list for spring. Also, can you expand on your previous comment about the boroughs. They are kind of...big...so any specific neighborhood or places I should check out?
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@Baby Boy Mom: a lot of things listed are in boroughs besides manhattan -- bronx zoo, flushing meadows park, the baseball stadiums, bklyn bridge park, smorgasburg, queens farm, Coney Island, etc.
Outer boroughs are also an awesome place to get food!
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@hotchildinthecity: Gotcha! We've actually already done about a quarter of the list, but I'm excited to tackle the rest!
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@Baby Boy Mom:
OK
Breakfast: Clinton Street Baking Company for pancakes. - DON'T go during the weekend! It's a small place with a ridiculously long line then. Weekdays during off hours are best.
Lunch: Parm for the parmigian sandwiches. Simple but so good.
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@Baby Boy Mom: for me, food would be dim sum somewhere (there are tons of choices on yelp in various neighborhoods). Falafel at Taim. Cookies at Levain. Macarons (so many places. Ladurée, La Maison du Macaron, Bisous Ciao ). Sri Lankan food in Staten Island, Indian food in Jackson Heights (or better for you, in Journal Square--so close to where you live..PM me for particulars).
For good food on the NJ side, I could talk for days.
Brunch: J.C.: Skinner's Loft, Satis, 30 Acres, Beechwood Café, Hamilton Inn, Sam AM, Batello
Hoboken: La Isla, Amanda's, Madison's, Anthony David's, Elysian
Mexican: Taqueria in J.C. or Sabores in Hoboken
Indian: several places in Journal Square
Japanese: amazing supermarket and Japanese food court in Edgewater called Mitsuwa Marketplace.
Korean BBq: there's a handful of good places in Fort Lee -
For the Broadway show suggestion, just FYI that most theaters don't allow in any kids under the age of 5... Same with most shows at Lincoln Center.
One "off-Broadway" show they can see though is the Gazillion Bubble Show. We also took our then-preschooler to shows put on by Nick Jr and Disney at Radio City and MSG. We also took the train and saw Disney on Ice in NJ. Yo gabba gabba visits seasonally, usually at the Beacon too. The Rockettes might allow little ones... not sure!
Check out the "family" sections of museums' websites... MoMA has a kids' room called Material Lab, as well as a tour for kids 4 years old + called Tours for Fours. The Met has storytime...
NYPL has story times for kids too... and so do bookstores like Books of Wonder in Chelsea. I took my DD there and we got some great autographed children's books. There's a cafe too and down the street is City Bakery (great hot chocolate place and bakery).
http://www.booksofwonder.com/storytime.php
I'm sure the Scholastic Store in Soho does something similar...
Before moving from NYC, we also visited as many playgrounds as possible, as well as went to touristy spots like the CP Zoo & interactive Children's Zoo, FAO Shwartz (we played on the Big Piano), and TRU in Times Sq (went on the big Ferris wheel!).
Lastly, an afternoon at Bryant Park... Check out the Carousel and at the Library, the Children's Room. When we went two years ago, the original Winnie the Pooh was on display. I think it might still be there.
Definitely check out Time Out NY for Kids for more ideas!
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One more idea: if you don't want to deal with the parade crowds on Thanksgiving, you can also go the day before near AMNH and watch them line up and blow up the balloons. It gets crowded too though, especially at night, so a good time for kids is the afternoon before Thanksgiving. I've also gone super early on Thanksgiving morning and it was nice seeing them and the performers all lined up and ready to go.
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@SAHM0811: wow, thank you! I'm not sure how I missed this last night. These are great suggestions! I think Broadway is probably way out of budget anyway, so it will have to wait. But so many good things to do!
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@Baby Boy Mom: Everyone provided such great suggestions. I've lived in NYC or Westchester for 13 years so I have just a few more suggestions.
*Arthur Avenue in the Bronx (go on a Saturday, it's the real little Italy in NYC
*NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx (great kids programming)
*Overnight camping at the Bronx Zoo (I think your little ones will be old enough
*Metro North trips from Grand Central to anywhere in Westchester County to a park or cute town (Scarsdale, Tuckahoe, Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson)
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