The end of the school year is a hectic time. I just realized that I’ll be in New York City with my kids in a few weeks!
In total, we have 2 ½ days in NYC. Sometimes I wish that I was one of those people who could just wing it and not have any solid plans. But at the same time, I hate standing in lines. And, if we don’t have any reservations, I’m afraid my kids (especially my older one) will just want to stay in the hotel room after a few selfies. Not happening!
I asked my kids for input on our plans. But with three kids who have very different opinions, I can’t make everyone happy.
What We’ve Done in NYC Before
I’ve been to NYC twice in the past five years. Once was with our kids, once was without them. Here are the things we’ve already done:
Statue of Liberty—we climbed the pedestal, and my boys and husband climbed to the crown. While we wouldn’t mind seeing the statue again, we don’t need to climb it again.
Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum—we got in free because of a membership at our local science museum. We had a blast, and I highly recommend this place.
Times Square—we rode the Ferris Wheel in the old Toys ‘R Us before it closed. We all loved the Disney Store and the cast of characters posing for photos.
Rockefeller Center—The Nintendo Store was the highlight for my kids. But we also loved the views from Top of the Rock.
Central Park—my husband and I took a pedi-cab tour of Central Park and visited all of the highlights.
American Museum of Natural History—we visited for a few hours, mainly the dinosaur rooms. This museum was so huge and overwhelming!
Brooklyn Bridge—we walked partway across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was super crowded and I felt claustrophobic. I will not be doing that again.
My husband and I also took a harbor cruise, saw a Broadway play and went to the top of the Empire State Building.
Ideas for Upcoming Visit
The great thing about visiting NYC is that many places are not “one and done” type places. We will for sure be returning to Times Square and the Nintendo Store on this visit. But, there are so many other “new-to-us” things we could add to our itinerary. Here are some of my ideas:
One World Observatory—since we’ve been to the Top of the Rock and the Empire State Building, we could switch things up and go to the One World Observatory this time.
9/11 Memorial and Museum—I have very mixed feelings about going to both of these places. My middle son really wants to go, but I’m afraid my daughter will freak out.
Brighton Beach and Coney Island—my boys were adopted from Russia and have dual citizenship. We are having issues scheduling a trip back to Russia, so I thought it would be neat to soak up some Russian/Ukranian culture in Brighton Beach. We could eat at Tatiana and shop at St-Petersburg. Coney Island is a short walk away. I’m watching Groupon to see if any special deals come out for the amusement park rides. I’m also mildly curious to attend the Coney Island Circus Sideshow.
Staten Island Ferry—I’m thinking about riding the Staten Island Ferry both ways to get closer to the Statue of Liberty. It’s free!
Governor’s Island—this will be open when we are there. The boat ride is cheap, and it looks like there are several exhibits during the summer. We could have a picnic with incredible views of the city and the Statue of Liberty.
Roosevelt Island Tramway—I’ve always wanted to take this. We can walk around Roosevelt Island and check out some of these things.
Restaurants
I can’t think about New York City without dreaming about the great restaurants. On our last trip, we visited Ellen’s Stardust Diner. It was a lot of fun, but I’m not sure we will repeat it. We also enjoyed lunch at Junior’s. I’ll definitely be stopping back there for the black and white cookies.
For this upcoming trip, I’m considering taking my kids to dinner at Ninja New York. I think they will get a kick out of the atmosphere and themed food.
Readers, if you’ve been to New York City lately, I’d love to hear your ideas on what we should do and where we should eat. Do you have a favorite place?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Thank you all for the suggestions. If I had a week in NYC, I would hit up all of these!
My recommendations: The Metropolitan Museum, Grand Central Station, 9/11 Memorial (we didn’t go into the museum, but the kids really enjoyed seeing the memorial), and the Nintendo Store. Food: Original Soupman (soup is amazing – we ate there twice), Joe’s Pizza, and Carmine’s (most likely need reservations) – family style Italian restaurant.
@Stephanie I’ve heard great things about Carmines.
9/11 Museum is an absolute must.
Have you considered The High Line?
@Ian I don’t think my kids would fully appreciate The High Line. I wore them out so much on our DC trip. For this trip I’m planning to take more Ubers. 🙂
I am amazed that the Metropolitan Museum of Art isn’t on your to do list. It is incredible and a true American treasure. There are so many amazing artifacts and masterpieces that it can eat up an entire day and leave you wanting more.
The 9/11/ Memorial Museum is worth a visit if you haven’t been, but it is really, really somber.
For food, there’s so much to choose from. You can go to New York’s original pizzeria – Lombardi’s at Mott & Spring. Nearby there is my favorite dessert shop in the world – Little Cupcake Bakeshop. If you like chocolate, you owe it to yourself to get the Brooklyn Blackout cake. It is on another level. My wife is partial to the Dreaming Princess cake, though, which is a little on the lighter / fruity side.
Another great restaurant (if you’ve never had real Polish food before or have been craving it) is Little Poland on 2nd Ave and E 12th St. My wife said that the food tasted just like her great-grandmother (a Polish immigrant) made and I agree it is on point.
We went to see the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on our last visit. It is free if you can get tickets but eats up an afternoon.
The shows on Broadway are always a delight and tickets can be cheap if you get one of those discounted tickets apps.
@Nicholas Thanks for the recommendations. Oooh, Little Cupcake Bakeshop looks good (I just checked out its website).
You are welcome! I wrote a post about our last trip to NYC – it might be helpful as it covers almost everywhere we ate and everything we did. Tacombi is another restaurant I’d recommend if you’re craving tacos. The battered fish ones were excellent.
Joe’s Pizza. Get them by the slice: cheap and oh so good!
@Winnie Sounds good!
Hi Nancy,
I highly recommend going to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Crossing the bridge can be challenging so you can take a boat ride from 34th street to Dumbo. It is a commuter boat but you go under the bridges and my son loves. https://www.ferry.nyc/routes-and-schedules/route/east-river/
You can walk to Jane’s carousel (amazing carousel enclosed in glass – your daughter is going to love it). Get the best chocolate chip cookie at Jacques Torres Chocolate or at One Girl Cookie and the views from Brooklyn to Manhattan are breathtaking.
For your sons you can get a day pass ($11)at The Cliffs climbing. It is outdoor and super fun. https://dumbo.thecliffsclimbing.com/
Please don’t hesitate to ask me any question. I can consider myself a newyorker after 10+ years living here 🙂
Tania
PS. All the comments above are on point as well
Also came here to comment about Brooklyn Bridge Park. It’s absolutely one of my favorite places. We ate at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria.
@Joyce I love Grimaldi’s! Oddly enough, we have one near our home in Dallas.
@Tania Brooklyn Bridge Park sounds like a lovely area!
Little Italy, Greenwich Village, Wall Street, the When-Harry-Met-Sally restaurant by the pond in Central Park, Tavern on the Green – also in Central Park if it’s still there…?
@Talchinsky I ate in Little Italy on a work trip several years ago. It was so delicious! I need more time in NYC just for the food, ha ha!
The 9/11 museum is fascinating and you could spend hours there. However, it is somewhat dark and most likely not a great experience for your kids.
The Staten Island Ferry is a great FREE way to get close to the Statue of Liberty. Make sure that you are getting on a larger ferry with windows and an outside balcony for good viewing.
@Jared I’ll likely skip the 9/11 museum. I’ve never taken the Staten Island Ferry. We will be on a cruise ship leaving out of Bayonne so we will see the statue but we won’t sail right by it.
After visiting Roosevelt Island, walk up (is it 59th St.?) to Serendipity III and enjoy frozen hot chocolate. My kids loved doing these back to back experiences.
@Anonymous I’ve always wanted to try one of those at Serendipity!
The Nintendo Store was the highlight for my teenage son too! 😉
I recommend taking a stroll through the High Line; so fun to see the city from that perspective. The High Line will also take you to the Hudson Yards area. It was still being developed when we visited last summer but it’s now open. There is a huge sculpture/staircase that you can climb. Google “The Vessel” or “New York’s Staircase”. Looks like something out of a sci fi movie.
As for food, we went to a few food halls (Eataly, Chelsea Market, Gansevoort Market) and they were all a hit! My son also enjoyed strolling through Chinatown looking for Bubble Tea 🙂
Never a dull moment in New York, enjoy!
@TropicGal I think our hotel is not far from The Vessel, so we’ll go check it out!
Have you thought about a show on Broadway?
That’s what I was going to say. My dad took me to see Guys and Dolls when I was 16 – loved it!
@HML I’ve thought about it! It would be awesome to get tickets to Hamilton, but I think that would be difficult. I almost bough tickets to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, but then I realized it’s a two-part play over two nights.