NYC with pre-teens

[Anonymous]

Recommendations for what to do in NYC on a girls trip (two moms and our 9 and 7 year old girls) over Columbus weekend? We're going to see Wicked and have nothing else planned. Staying in UES.

[Anonymous]

We did the observation deck at One World Trade Center. Boat ride to see the Statue of Liberty. Several fun meals. Walk anywhere and everywhere.

It didn't work for our schedule (also visiting family), but the Met would be great at those ages.

[Anonymous]

the met, Central Park, maybe the Central Park zoo. touristy shops in Times Square if you are into that, ride the wooden escalator at Macys. Empire State Building or top of the rock. those are all kind of central to what you are doing. the natural history museum is also great and statue of liberty are good choices too. or you can just ride the Staten Island ferry out and back.

[Anonymous]

Go to tea at a place like Bergdorf Goodman
Visit FAO Schwartz
Get pizza at Lombardi's and rice pudding at Rice to Riches
Walk through Little Italy and get a cannoli

[Anonymous]

Chelsea Pier
The high line
Ice cream experience
Color factory
Mercer lab
See a show
Sloomoo
Math museum (much cooler than it sounds)

[Anonymous]

From experience: I would recommend setting expectations in advance. Does one family walk more vs. Uber/taxi/subway? Are the kids okay splitting up, or is one expecting to be together the whole time when the other would rather see their preferred sites and meet up later if they don't want to see the same things? How will you choose where to go? Are they interested in specific touristy/historical sites or just wandering? Foods specific to NY or just eating because it's meal time and moving on?

I think everyone should see Times Square once, but other than that, I'd let my kid help decide what to see because I've been many times. They might like Miniso.

[Anonymous]

Jellycat Diner at FAO Schwartz

[Anonymous]

Tiffany to see jewels up close
Second Museum of Math
Bryant Park
Bottom floor of NY Historical is for kids
Carousel
Central Park zoo
Strand bookstore upstairs is for kids
Second High Line and Chelsea Market
Free ferry to Staten Island and back to pass by Statue of Liberty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jellycat Diner at FAO Schwartz

This is huge for tween/teens right now and also get reservations for serendipity.

My kids, same age loved the circle line tour so we could see the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, skyline, etc.

[Anonymous]

The math museum was fun- was being renovated when we went, but we probably spent an hour or so there. it's on the ASCT (science center reciprocal) as was the intrepid.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to DCUM we did the hard hat tour at Ellis Island and my daughter loved it. Also enjoyed the Tea Around Town bus.
Hokey, but fun. Oh, and someone else mentioned Sloomoo—she loooved it. We als just spent a lot of time going into stores around Times Square.

[Anonymous]

My niece is 10 and when they visit us here they do stuff like sloomoo, color factory, ice cream museum. Also Clinton Street Baking for pancakes.

[Anonymous]

We started taking our daughter on an annual weekend trip to NYC around 7 years old (and have continued the tradition into middle school) and here are things she loved when she was younger:

Hotel: Stay in Midtown—near Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, or Times Square.

Museums: The Met, MoA, Whitney—at least one of those will have an exhibit or activities that are of interest to them.

Central Park: Take a carriage ride down to the boathouse and do the rowboats, followed by lunch, brunch or dinner at the boathouse restaurant. They will appreciate this experience because of all the cultural references in tv shows and movies.

Statue of Liberty: Do the Circle Line boat tour.
Saves time and you get great close up photos without the lines, and a nice boat ride. Very good for the 7-year old in particular.

Afternoon tea: The Plaza is great for younger kids because they have the Eloise book theme.
Serendipity is great for a more casual experience.

Broadway: Wicked, Lion King, Harry Potter are all good starting points for Broadway.

Forego the subway (unless you’re a native/former NYC resident) and take taxis or Uber, and just build in time for traffic if traveling at peak hours. So much easier with younger kids.

Sarabeths is great for family brunch. Lots of locations around the city.

There are lots of fun nail salons that take kid customers, and that can be a very fun activity with girls.

FAO Schwartz is good. They have a section of the store where you can “adopt” a babydoll and it’s quite a production (almost worth the $$).

Times Square is worth seeing, but it can get stressful and overwhelming for kids later into the evening.

[Anonymous]

Kids do think riding in a taxi is fun, but the traffic makes it maddening sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Go to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and become National Park Junior Rangers at both!