ok. going to NYC with dh and 3 1/2 y o ds.....top tips and recommendations please!

[Heathcliffscathy]

for example....and i know this is anathema and we WILL absolutely being doing the central park zoo, and museums and staten island ferry etc etc but are there any fab playzones if I get desperate (like gambado if any of you konw that)? I will be alone with ds all day every day for the weekdays of our stay, so am looking for parent friendly, child friendly options iyswim.

We're staying in Murray Hill, dh is working downtown near Hudson St in SoHo and so anywhere is fair game really.

Any tips very gratefully received.

Not expecting many, but would be delighted to get some!

child friendly restaurant recommendations also, what are the equivalents of wagamamas/pizza express/giraffe?

tia

awwwww thanks sweetie

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coooeeeeee....bump!!!

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Make sure you get time off for Shopping

that's it really

soph, how long are you going for?
The time out guides are fantstic as they have a great session of what to do with children...
I think there is a fantastic botanic garden in brooklyn

and yes do shop, it's so convenient at the moment with the pound... actually if you go into american apparel, could you buy me...? just kidding

I can looki into my old time out guide if you want, but it's old (2001) and can't guarantee the places still exist.
park slopes is a child friendly area, or so I'm told.

good plan, will buy TO NYC.

I don't know if I'm going to get time off for shopping....will be a travesty if I don't but hey....if I were to, over here I shop in Hennes, TopShop what are the NYC equivalents i.e. cheap but fashion (if you wade through the nasty bits)?

Will definitely buying trainers...what is their equivalent of Offspring (trainers wing of Office Shoes in cov garden....actually i don't know if offspring even still exists...but hey).

pph went wiht her dd int eh autumn
ill mail her

ta cod. didn't know oyu were a peterandre fan

Do. I find TO guides the best, also with restaurant recommendations, they usually list family-friendly restaurants too.

try banana republic (although I findit a bit conservative), a bit more expensive than hennes, but again the pound is strong. If you are an "urban outfitter" kind of person, try the american one, again, it's probably cheaper than the english one. I fell in love with american apparel for cotton tshirt etc.
an expensive shop, but quite irresistible is anthropologie
here .

If I remember well there's a well equipped children's play area in washington square

I guess you'v already thought of FAO Schwartz (and possibly discounted it!)- there's the huge piano they can dance on at the top of the escalators, and quite a bit to see. Toysrus in Times Square (yes, I know) has a ferris wheel in the middle of it and a good lego display of the Empire State Building and other NY landmarks. Museum of Natural History, of course. I got a New York with children book- Frommer's, maybe? It had lots of restaurant recommendations.

Shops for you- not cheap, but J. Crew and Banana Republic worth a look IME.

Nice playground at Tompkins Square Park in the E village (alphabet city) btw
The swings have the longest chains ever!

This was the book . Several of the recommendations turned out not to start until May (we were there last month) but that was the only thing wrong really.

look at this !
[franca can't hide her ]

For the trainers they usually have footlocker

Bronx zoo was good

Google children's museum of manhattan. It's just a play place (the word museum is over used in the US I think!) but my ds who was 3 and a half when we went had a good time there. It will probably be less busy during the week too.
HTH

ooooo you gorgeous ladies....franca usually i'm not as thick as this, I should have looked online, that TO site is fabulous.

i have the frommers book from last time (we went with ds 17 months...and i know it will be a lot more enjoyable this time....and we had a good time then!).

we are staying in a hotel that does 1 bed suites (2 queen size beds, plus pull out in lounge) with full kitchen so dh and i will get an evening of it and we have majorly flexible sleeping arrangements....

am getting excited now...ds is beside himself about it...i keep reiterating that the journey will be LOOOOONG but we are flying virgin premium economy so should be bearable.

ooooooooo

need more shop recommendations....have lost 2 stone over the last 1 1/2 years so am not the blob that was when last visited!

I don't know if he's too young to be impressed by this, but if you go to Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller they now have lifts with glass ceilings so you can see yourself going up 60 odd floors. There's also a Ben and Jerry's in the basement there, a Banana Republic close by, and a Dean and Deluca's

ah dean and de luca!
Ok, I'd have plenty of recommendations... but nopt sure... ok, I'll confess that I have a passion for really posh places (whre I can't afford anything), but I used to go into Barneys and drool for ages...
there's a fantastic children's bookshop, books of wonder , but also barnes and nobles on union square.
I think that reastaurant in the USA are more child friendly than average. Just been to san francisco with dh, we went to a very posh and trendy place at 8 pm and there was an entire family (with grandparents) at the next table. I love NYC!!

Oh yes i have a top tip re kids and NYC -

LEAVE THEM AT HOME!

Okaaaay - how old?

{I wasn't so brave to suggest that... )

Not really a child restaurant but you have to eat at Balthazar - 80 Spring St, It ROCKS.