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How to get the most out of New York City with kids
Visiting New York City with your children is taxing – and utterly wonderful. Here are the best things to do in NYC with kids, of every age range.
New York City quickens the pulses of visitors of all ages – including the youngest ones.
In this world capital, you can enjoy fascinating museums, beautiful parks and food you’ll never forget – all of which (with a little planning) kids can enjoy as much as adults. Read on for the best things to do in New York City with children.
Is New York City good for kids?
Yes. Even though the city’s long blocks, crowded restaurants and horn-blaring traffic will surely tucker out children – and parents, too – exploring NYC’s streets and sights with the kids is a magical experience, one that lets grown-ups experience one of the world’s most famous places through new eyes. Yet not every attraction is right for every child. Read on for some age-appropriate ideas for your family, all over the city.
Best things to do in New York City with babies and toddlers
Choose your own adventure in Central Park
The 843-acre oasis of Central Park is a breathtaking slice of urban nature, a center for recreation, a marvel of landscape architecture – and an absolute treasure for anyone with young children. Numerous lawns, knolls and rocky outcrops allow little ones to run around and let off steam. An amazing 21 playgrounds provide a wide variety of swings, jungle gyms, catwalks and slides for play. Add in unique, picture-perfect amenities like the so-cute-it’s-almost-twee Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater; the Conservatory Water, plied by model sailboats; and the enchanting Alice in Wonderland sculpture, which made for clambering, and you have the makings of a memorable family day in one of the most famous green spaces in the world.
Spend the day at any of the city’s five (yes, five) zoos
You think New York would settle for just one zoological park? The world-famous Bronx Zoo is simply unmissable for any mini animal lover, its 265-acre campus home to some 6000 creatures who populate popular exhibits like Congo Gorilla Forest, JungleWorld and Madagascar!. But don’t sleep on the small yet mighty Central Park Zoo, whose pavilions house penguins, grizzly bears, tropical birds and even a snow leopard. Kids (and most adults) will love petting goats in the children’s area, and watching the sea lions sing for their supper during multiple daily feedings.
The charming Prospect Park Zoo (in Brooklyn) and the Queens Zoo both also feature hungry sea lions, pettable critters galore, and a modest, kid-friendly scale. And the Staten Island Zoo is not only home to a world-class collection of reptiles (for those kids who really love the creepiest animals, it has a particularly wide array of rattlesnakes): it’s also where the groundhog Staten Island Chuck (no relation to Punxsutawney Phil) decides how long the winter will last each February 2.
Play in a kid-size neighborhood at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum
A gem in the leafy neighborhood of Crown Heights, this beloved institution is the oldest museum just for kids in the entire US. Why has it delighted families for 125 years and running? It gets the balance between facts and fun – between the wonder of education and the joy of play – just right. The youngest visitors will love the baby- and toddler-only play areas, where they can bang on drums and chimes, and splash around at a multi-level water table. For kids a bit older, a pit filled with throwable, jumpable, extra-squishy foam blocks sits next to a maze of compressed-air tubes that toss around – then expel – soft balls and scarves, to Wonka-esque effect.
Yet what puts the “Brooklyn” in this particular children’s museum? An urban neighborhood imagined as a play land for kids. Watch the little ones’ faces as they make pies with beanbag crusts and pepperoni at the “pizzeria”; play the steel drums at the West Indian “travel agency”; and ring up the toy vegetables and canned foods at checkout at the “bodega.” You’ll be in for hours of joy – all in a New York minute.
Best things to do in New York City with elementary school–aged children
Take a spin on the SeaGlass Carousel
Near Manhattan’s lower tip, the mesmerizing SeaGlass Carousel is a vision of aquamarine, pink and coral spinning under a spiral-domed pavilion. The fiberglass fish are best seen at night, when a light show is projected against the walls, creating the feeling of being underwater. Kids can choose from a dozen types of fish to ride; instead of moving around the carousel just on a single axis, the fish spin on individual turntables, only adding to the ethereal experience.
See at show at the New Victory Theater
Few visitors to New York City can resist its spectacular selection of Broadway shows – but kids don’t always have the stamina for two-hour-plus productions, and the outlay for tickets may not seem worth it if you end up in the lobby with a rambunctious child midway through the first act. Enter the New Victory Theater – in the heart of Times Square yet one of NYC’s best-kept secrets.
This nonprofit venue produces shows geared exclusively toward kids and families. Each performance has a suggested target age, ranging from babies to older kids, making it easy for parents to plan. Once the house lights go down, spectators will be captivated by the theatrical fare of the highest quality, which might include puppets, fairy tales, magic shows and more – all at an affordable price point. Since the theater takes inclusion seriously, sensory-friendly performances are often also available.
Take in nature’s wonders at the American Museum of Natural History
You can spend a lifetime exploring this world-famous palace of wonders. Founded in the 19th century, the institution is a cutting-edge center for scientific research as well as a can’t-miss hit for kids. Among its many highlights are the dozens of dimly lit, life-sized and utterly captivating dioramas of African mammals, birds of prey, primates and other wondrous creatures that remain much as they looked a century ago. The always-astounding Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life contains interactive lessons about marine food chains – all under a suspended, 94ft-long replica of a blue whale.
Containing exhibits on insects, an interactive video experience, a butterfly vivarium filled with fluttering live specimens and more, the new Gilder Center is already a smash hit with visitors. Other museum highlights include the glittering collection of gems and minerals, exhibits on Indigenous peoples from around the world, and the Rose Center for Earth & Space, whose spherical theater will transport you to faraway galaxies. Oh, and did we mention the hundreds of dinosaur fossils? They’re on the top floor – and sure to inspire the inner paleontologist in visitors of all ages.
Best things to do in New York City with tweens and teens
Make it a beach day on Coney Island
Taking the subway to Coney Island has a summer rite of passage for New Yorkers of all stripes and ages for over a century. At the tip of Brooklyn and looking out to the Atlantic beyond, this only–in–New York spot boasts two amusement parks along a glorious beachfront boardwalk, which draws tens, even hundreds, of thousands of New Yorkers of every age, creed and background on hot summer days.
In addition to the sand and surf, teens will love the rides at Luna Park – in particular the (separately owned and operated) 150ft-high Wonder Wheel – and a hot dog from Nathan’s. The must-try attraction (for anyone 4'6" and taller, at least) is the Cyclone, a wooden roller coaster that’s been generating screams of (we think) delight since 1927. Stay late on Friday nights for a weekly fireworks show.
Join the urban tableau at Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Since Queens might be the most international place on Earth, it’s fitting that the world’s biggest globe sits smack dab in the middle of its best-loved park. At 120ft high and weighing 380 tons, the stainless-steel Unisphere is indeed iconic – and a magnet for any teen who wants a memorable background for their TikTok feed.
This 1225-acre park has endless appeal, with pick-up soccer games, food trucks and a lively tableau of New Yorkers who fill its fields and pathways. And no matter how pouty your adolescent might seem, they won’t be able to resist the Panorama of the City of New York at the Queens Museum (located across from the Unisphere). As you admire this miniature model of Gotham you from above, you’ll feel like Gulliver on a fantastic adventure – and inevitably smile.
See, smell and taste your way around Chinatown
With its signs in many languages, crowded markets that spill onto the sidewalks (look for still-flapping fish and even the occasional frog), incense-scented storefront temples, and residents playing dominoes and perfecting tai chi poses at Columbus Park, Chinatown will surely amaze even the most jaded teen. If the incomparable street scenes here aren’t stimulating enough, bookish kids can learn more about the neighborhood and the Chinese American community at the Museum of Chinese in America – while anyone will love the unexpected flavors on offer at the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.
For a unique meal, families should stop by the spacious and ornate dining rooms of Golden Unicorn – a multi-floor Cantonese dim-sum restaurant that’s as much a cultural experience as a place to fuel up. Steaming carts whiz past tables as customers make their selections, choosing from dumplings in the shape of pigs, pork buns, sweet sesame balls and more. Even picky eaters will find something to love here.
Where to stay in New York City with kids
New York’s wonderful neighborhoods have hotel options catering to all price points and interests. (Alas, Airbnb rentals have been all but banned in the five boroughs since 2003.) Visiting families often choose to stay on the Upper West Side, which offers easy access to restaurants, museums and glorious Central Park. At the other end of Manhattan, the area around South Street Seaport beckons with historic streets and plenty of playgrounds. In Brooklyn’s Dumbo, cobblestone streets (with few cars) meet the East River under the shadow of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges overhead.
The eco-friendly 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge is an ideal (if far from budget) option for families. Kids are welcome all over the property, including at the rooftop plunge pool, with its view of the Manhattan skyline; and the cafe, which has a kids’ menu. (Pets are also welcome, so feel free to bring furry little ones, too.)
The hotel is situated within Brooklyn Bridge Park, a sprawling waterfront green space offering sports fields, playgrounds, lawns and even kayaking. Kids of all ages will love riding the restored Jane’s Carousel, a 101-year-old merry-go-round, today housed in a glass enclosed pavilion that offers views of Manhattan across the river.
How to get around New York City with kids
There’s no better way to get around New York City with kids than on the subway, whose lines crisscross central Manhattan and Brooklyn before spreading out into the boroughs. It’s also economical, as children under 44" (112cm) can ride for free when accompanied by an adult (up to three kids per adult). Not all subway stops have elevators, so parents with strollers should take heed.
Parents still on diaper duty will be happy to know all new public buildings and gathering spaces like restaurants, retail spaces and movie theaters are now required to provide diaper-changing stations – helping you avoid improvisation during…delicate moments.
