Traveling to New York City…With Kids

It’s crowded. It’s loud. It’s dirty. But New York - what a town!

We gifted our kids a trip to The Big Apple for Christmas and spent our spring break there, joining the ranks of many parents before us who have braved New York City with their children.

One of my best friends lives in the northern suburbs, so we opted for the scenic drive across Pennsylvania and book-ended our trip with visits with him and his family, which was a blast, provided free parking and was a welcomed, peaceful reprieve from the chaos of the big city. 

Our voyage into Manhattan kicked off on a commuter train from the burbs along the Hudson River. My wife and I are longtime, avid bus commuters, so this was a fantastic experience for my kids to see how commuting can vary. 

Grand Central Station was our stop, which is a landmark on its own. From there we hailed a ride to Hotel Edison, which was recommended to us based on its conjoining rooms (yes, we needed two rooms). What I would caution anyone on is its proximity to Times Square. I’ve been to New York enough in my life to tell you if I never step foot in Times Square again, I will be content. Doing it over, I might’ve found an option further from this tourist magnet, although we only had real complaint about the location due to an ill-timed popup Shakira concert.

Below are highlights and recommendations from our 72 hours in the city:
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• Our Times Square priorities were the M&M Store, FAO Schwartz and a walk around Rockefeller Center
• My kids are something like a quarter Italian, so venturing into Little Italy was a priority. I couldn’t have drawn up a more perfect dinner for the occasion, wandering into Lomarbi's, which claims to be America’s first pizzeria. Desert followed at Ferrara, which has roots pre-1900s.
• One World Observatory is absolutely worth the cost. We spent nearly an hour checking out the views from 1,200 feet!
• We walked around the 9/11 Memorial, which the kids really haven’t learned about yet. They were getting emotional from our descriptions of the events. We didn’t budget time for the museum, but an expert tip: it’s free on Tuesday’s from 5-8 pm.
• We rode the Staten Island Ferry, which is free and provides outstanding views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Downtown Manhattan
• As part of their gift, my children got to pick from a handful of activities, and unanimously they made the Museum of Ice Cream their top choice. Not exactly a “museum” in the traditional sense, the kids will tell you this was their favorite part of the trip. I don’t exactly agree, but hey, we ate a lot of ice cream! 
• We also earmarked time for the Sloomoo Institute, as requested by the kids. They had a blast, but my bias would be you could skip this messy destination.
• We weren’t optimistic that many Manhattan restaurants could accommodate my rambunctious party of five, so we targeted diners with their atypical vast menus and were beyond pleased with the Galaxy Diner, just slightly off the beaten path from our hotel
• High Line was a novel walk
• We caught a game at Madison Square Garden, and despite my disdain for New York sports, the hype around this sacred venue is valid

• We took a guided bike tour through Central Park, which was so informative (shoutout to our guide, Smiley!)
• We hung in Bryant Park over drinks and french fries, despite the lawn still being closed from the winter’s ice skating rink recently coming down
• We relied heavily on the subway. One kind police officer informed us kids can sneak under the turnstiles at no cost. Not sure if this is official, but we treated it as gospel.

A jaunt through the American Museum of Natural History and a few parks were on my list that we didn’t make it to. Anyone who has been knows there’s infinite things to do in New York - even for families. You and your kids should never be bored in the city that never sleeps.

-by Steven Michalovich, founder, CBUS Dads