I'm off to New York with DC. What should we do?

[MintIcecreams]

After having to cancel and rebook twice we are finally going to NYC for 4 nights. DC are 7 and 10. What do we need to see?

We're thinking top of the rock, statue of liberty and some shopping. Would love to hear about some great things to do with kids.

Also, my DD is coeliac so any recommendations for food would be great. We are staying in a tiny apartment.

Oh and definitely do Ellen's stardust diner! It's amazing.

The show tips are great. Thank you!

We took the kids to New York aquarium on Coney Island and it was brilliant!

2 great free things:

1. Walk over The Brooklyn Bridge and wander around Brooklyn Bridge Park, take pics of the Manhattan skyline.
2. Staten Island Ferry.

Top of The Rock is fabulous
Hudson Yards is worth a visit
Grand Central Station is a must

I lived in New York, it's a fabulous place!

And yes to Ellen’s stardust diner.

also, Central Park has actual park playground bits which are well worth it for letting them run off a bit of steam.

Go to the bronx zoo if you can
liberty bagels for rainbow bagels
Definitely do top of the rock and Central Park

Yes I got a New York pass when I went. It was a big cost upfront but it took pressure off how much spending money to bring as literally almost everything is included in the pass. I bought it a couple of months before we went. Then made a list of all the places I wanted to go, grouped them together to what was near each other, then looked at what subway to get and what stop to get off at etc. I made a full on itinerary for the whole trip with every day planned from start to finish 😂 yes I'm very organised lol but we fit in soo much into our trip. Was knackering though. Favourite things I did was Empire State Building, Rockefeller centre (but I went at Christmas), ground zero museum was incredible, statue od liberty, the met, the Guggenheim, and Aladdin on broadway. I got tickets way in advance for that by the way

Not really.
Brooklyn is easier and better imo. A great walk over the bridge, little shops/park/views on Manhattan skyline.

@MintIcecreams
I've seen this recommended on previous New York threads

experiencetheride.com

Looks particularly good if you've got children with you!

our kids love NY! We know it well but always start with the hop on hop off bus…

With kids we have done Empire State, Staten Island Ferry, walk the Highline, Grand Central and New York public library. Check when they are offering free tickets at MOMA, ours love that! Sea Carousel and battery Park.. Central Park obviously, zoo is cute too. We did a helicopter ride once too which they loved but was a bit expensive! Pizza in Little Italy.. visit the hidden gem of Elizabeth St Garden and support them.

you’ll have a great time!

Parts of New Jersey are very close but there’s nothing especially worth visiting if you’re only there for a few days.

For the food, I’d recommend carrying some snacks with you that are suitable for your DD. Most sit down restaurants will have good options for coeliacs but a lot of the fast food places that you will find in the tourist attractions are less suitable than you’d get in the UK.

It’s worth booking things like the Statue of Liberty ferry and top of the rock in advance.

The intrepid air and space museum is very cool if either of your dc like planes, and the temple of dendur and the weapons and armour exhibits at the Met are both very good for kids.

If you can afford it the plaza for afternoon tea?
It's in sooo many films esp home alone.

Top empire state and don't forget the fraunces tavern.

I went with dc the same ages - it was a great holiday!

In addition to what others have said:

Get the subway over to Brooklyn and do the bridge walk from there back over to Manhattan. Amazing views doing it that way.

also the Highline park is a great way to see a lot.

We went to a Yankees baseball game too.

And a chocolate restaurant called “Max Brenner chocolate bar “ was great!

Came back from New York for 3 nights in December. Did the Statue of Liberty boat tour which was great. Went to the 911 museum and had a tour there which was well worth the money. Went to a balletv( pre booked )

42 street, broadway and 5th avenue were all horrendous as so busy. You could queue for show tickets but the queues were ridiculous.

Now I love a bit of shopping and we went into a fab independent store, the rest of shops I saw were Adidas, Zara etc and because the dollar isn’t very good at the moment, were expensive and the same as at home .

we did the subway which was ok, watch taxi drivers as a couple tried to rip us off. You can pay by card in them. Didn’t spend any $$$ except for tips for meals.

it was bloody cold and very very busy - because it was near to Christmas. Wear comfortable footwear as we walked 13 miles the first day and 8 the second!

Keste has incredibly good gluten free pizza if you are in South Street Seaport or downtown.

Ellens Stardust Diner is a great shout for kids (and adults who like musicals!)

Personally wouldnt bother with the city passes as we went post-covid and lots of stuff not included/hard to book so was easier to just pick the things we wanted to do and book them separately

Central park is fab and you can hire bikes cheaply for few hours to explore... high line and Brooklyn bridge nice free walks to do, and definitely get the free Staten Island ferry to see the statue of liberty rather than paying for a tour

Four nights is not really long enough can you squeeze one more in? If not look at your list and half it honestly you wont enjoy it if you are racing from one place to another. Save it for your next trip. Cos you will be back. It gets under your skin.

What neighborhood are you staying in?

Do they have any favourite films or TV shows set in NY? They might like seeing some of the
locations.

The Met is amazing, particularly the Temple of Dendur.
Definitely don't bother with New Jersey (what was the attraction?).

Ice hockey game 👍
statue of liberty boat ride
Central Park
empire state

We're recently back from NYC with similar age DC, it's great fun and so much to do! If you're thinking of a show, definitely consider the Blue Man Group; my ds LOVED it and laughed so much. He loved the lift up to the Top of the Rock and the Natural Hustory Museum is worth a visit particularly for the dinosaurs. Everything, particularly food, seemed much more expensive than when we were last there so be prepared to spend!

Thanks for all these suggestions. I wish we could go for longer! It was booked originally during covid as something to look forward to and a kind of test trip for long haul flights and coping with my DD's diet abroad. We are all very excited and will probably end up wanting to go back.

We are staying near broadway.