Ok, so I’ve brought the family with me and we’re in Newark for tonight and moving into NYC tomorrow morning. Has anyone got any advice on to-do’s or not to-do’s. Family includes a 2 year old and a 6 year old. of course mum and dad are much older.
New York’s hottest club is Booooooooof.
It’s that thing…
You have a 6-year-old? Go to the Natural History Museum, then take a walk through the Park.
Avoid Times Square.
DINOSAURS!!!
also ancient rodent fossils and stuff
Agreed.
STATEN ISLAND FERRY and I put it in bold and all caps, 'cause it’s just that cool. AND
get this it’s free. It’s a great way to see NY harbour.
And the Empire State Building at night is thrilling. Going up there at midnight (but anytime after dark is OK) and seeing the night lights of NYC is one of the best things in life I ever experienced.
A walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is fun too. The Intrepid Museum I loved. The Guggenheim I didn’t care for the art but the building is cool.
NBC has a great studio tour, I took.
F train to Coney Island…rides and Nathan’s!
Isn’t that the club that asks the question “WHAAAAAAAAAA?”
But will my six year old like it?
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. A Night at the Museum has the family sold!
Anyone willing to recommend the Hayden Planetarium? Is it worth it for kids? I know I would love it but for little ones?
The Water Taxi is allegedly free for the next two weeks.
Jewish Museum at 5th and 92nd has kids’ hands on archeology zone from 12 to 3 pm
Transit Museum in Brooklyn Heights is good if they like trains – you can go through a bunch of antique subway cars and learn how they built the subway system.
Children’s museum of manhattan has play-based stuff for 2’s as well as 6 year olds (but doesn’t actually teach you anything about manhattan.)
Forgot to add: If you are walking through Rockefeller Plaza (famous for ice skating and giant Christmas tree, but not in June) there is a cool Lego store there that has (had?) replicas of NYC landmarks made out of Lego, and also a huge Nintendo World store where you can play games. Toys R Us in Times Square has HUGE Lego models and an indoor ferris wheel. Chinatown is crowded but interesting and you can get cheap food there, like a big container of noodles for a couple dollars.
I highly recommend Max Brenner’s for dinner and dessert. It is a restaurant that is chocolate themed and smells like awesome when you walk in. It is the most amazing experience and for a little kid it is about the closest they will ever come to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. It is on 12th in Union Square.
You guys are awesome! We basically spent two days in and around Central Park, the kids both loved the Zoo. The morning of day two we went to the Natural History Museum however, our two year old started going ballistic right as we were getting to the Hayden Planetarium, which was to be my treat. We did the Time Square thing the kids got a gift each at Toys Я Us. We did get to Chinatown for a feed tonight, we had great cheap food but got absolutely the worst service we’ve ever had. Our day today was finished off with a nickel tour of some of the sight by a Taxi driver who went way above and beyond with stories and information, we were out of time and the kids were tired but the driver made us all feel comfortable took his time and earned a 100% tip for his efforts. All in all we had a great time even though we wished we’d gotten to do a lot more. Thanks to everyone for the help.
Sounds awesome. I love it when NY’ers chime in and share their best ideas like this. There was a thread last year I think about a Doper who was bringing his…3 year old daughter? 4 year old?.. to the city with him for a visit. It was a glorious nod to the best and most positive about my adopted home city.
( Once a Philly boy, always… )
Seconded.
There’s a fantastic Ramen place close by - Ippudo. Might be a perfect combination of sophistication and “kid food.”
ETA: Oh, I see you’ve been and gone. Well, there’s always next time…