It’s travel season now that the pandemic is “over.” There are so many places to go: downtown, Europe, the grocery store, the corner deli, grandma’s house.

So when I had an opportunity to work in New York City – and it corresponded with SCHOOL BREAK – we decided to take the boys to the Big Apple. For the first time. For THREE days.

It was TERRIBLE and AMAZING. And I’m here for you if you want to attempt this journey with your own kiddos.

The itinerary

We all flew in on Thursday evening and #RockStarDad herded the boys home on Monday morning. (I stayed for a few more days to work. Solo mom time!)

THURSDAY

Evening arrival.
Checked into hotel. Highly recommend the super fab Mint House at 70 Pine Street in the Financial District.
Bed time.

FRIDAY

Breakfast. Coffee shop with chocolate croissants, yogurt parfaits, and sticky buns.
Times Square. Utter craziness. SO MANY BLINKING LIGHTS AND BILLBOARDS AND SMELLS AND PEOPLE AND CAR HORNS. In other words, all things New York City captured in one street corner. Also: Spiderman, Elmo, and the big-headed Mickey and Minnie Mouse want you to take their picture – for tips. (Run away!)
Shopping. Delightful time was had by all at the Lego store and FAO Schwarz at Rockefeller Center. Plus, window shopping at Kate Spade, Tiffany’s, and Anthropologie.
Lunch. Attempted to eat fancy at Sarabeth’s on Park Avenue. ($160 meal heavily scrutinized by food-skeptics, aka, the children.)
Afternoon break. Scrapped the rest of the day’s itinerary for QUIET time at the hotel. (To play with newly acquired Legos.)
Dinner. Chipotle. Because who doesn’t want to eat Chipotle in the world’s most famous restaurant city? (Also: see Lunch above.)
Early to bed.

SATURDAY

Breakfast. Coffee shop on repeat.
Museum visit. Toured the American Museum of Natural History. BIG HIT with the whole fam! Get tickets ahead of time and use the Rose Center for Earth & Space entrance to avoid the lines.
Lunch. Museum food court. (Bring your water bottles, a can of soda is $5.)
More shopping. Indulged the book lovers with a visit to the Strand Bookstore. It’s got 4 levels of books – and gets CROWDED on a rainy day.
Dinner. Whole Foods hot bar. Because we are boring NYC diners.
Early to bed.

SUNDAY

Breakfast. See all previous days.
9/11 Memorial. We skipped the museum, because I’ve heard the content is a bit emotionally tough to absorb for elementary-aged kids. The memorial is beautiful and moving and creates a moment for good conversation and reflection.
Art exhibit. Toured the SO FUN interactive and artist-fueled space, the Color Factory. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! They give you ice cream! You play in a giant ball pit! Get tickets ahead of time.
Lunch. At the giant food court, Chelsea Market. Pizza, Jamaican, German sausages, tacos, Chinese, etc. etc. etc. Also, it’s VERY LOUD, so be forewarned if your kids have sensory issues.
Afternoon break. Scrapped the afternoon itinerary for QUIET time at the hotel.
Dinner. Burgers and shakes at the Shake Shack. Boys rated it BETTER than 5 Guys.
Sunset tour. Watched the sun go down and city lights come up at the Edge at Hudson Yard. This skyscraper has 101+ floors and is CHEAPER than the Empire State Building. Highly recommend! Get tickets ahead of time and ARRIVE EARLY!! You can even rappel off the building – we did NOT do this, I DO NOT NEED TO BE A HERO!!

MONDAY

Breakfast. Yes, coffee shops for life!
Staten Island Ferry. Catch a FREE ride to VIEW the Statue of Liberty. Check ferry schedule beforehand and arrive early. The ride is 25 minutes each way. This is not a tour of Liberty Island. It is a drive-by situation. (And may you also be treated to New Yorkers randomly shouting about Jesus during your trip.)
Lunch. At the airport.
Fly home.

Decisions, decisions

You probably noticed some themes: coffee shops, easy breakfasts on the go, cheaper meals the boys were familiar with, changing our plans mid-day, scrapping large portions of our itinerary…

Yep, I crowd-sourced this trip and got an INCREDIBLE LIST of suggestions (see below). Then I made lots of cuts. I researched each item to determine if the boys would enjoy it and did lots of cost comparisons. Like did we want to take a bus tour OR just rely on the subway and Lyft – we chose the latter. I also Google-Earthed things to determine what stops were close together.

Dining notes

We mostly avoided restaurants. I’d been to Sarabeth’s years ago and knew it was good, but it turns out that salmon and crab omelets aren’t too appealing to children who mostly eat PBJ. We are boring. Congrats to you if your children are adventurous eaters. That must be a nice life.

Skipping out on Broadway

To Broadway play or not to Broadway play – that was the question. We ruled it out. Tickets are pricey. Plays are long. And children get tired. Also, we can watch plays another time. Because we will be back.

And the next time, New York City won’t feel so overwhelming and LOUD. The boys might even eat dim sum and ramen and pot stickers and street hot dogs. They will more than survive 3 days in New York City. They will conquer it – although they will probably still want to take a break in the middle of the day and simply play with Legos.

Comment below or share your own New York City survival tips on Facebook at MothersRest.

Other NY itinerary suggestions

Huge shout-out to all the mommas who recommended so many great sights.

PLACES TO EAT:

Penelope – 159 Lexington Ave, breakfast
Tick Tock Diner – 481 8th Avenue, breakfast 24/7
Milk Bar – 1196 Broadway at 29th St., gluten-free truffles and cookies
Ellen’s Stardust Diner – 1650 Broadway, overpriced tourist trap but musical entertainment, breakfast from 7am to midnight
Time Out Market – 55 Water Street in Brooklyn, industrial food court
Tavern on the Green – enjoy brunch in Central Park
The Plaza – indulge in afternoon tea, it’s a 100-year tradition
Mogador for lunch
Yonah Schimmel’s for knishes and cream soda
Pastis for breakfast
Big Gay Ice Cream
Serendipity 3, frozen hot chocolate
Ivan Ramen
Noreetuh
Fig and Olive
Ess-a-bagel
Korean food: go to Her Name is Han or Frank’s in the East Village

SIGHTS TO SEE:

One Vanderbilt – Summit observation deck
Empire State Building
Harry Potter Experience
Harry Potter Store
Nintendo Store
M&M’s store in Times square
Public Library with its iconic lions
Grand Central Station – very historic, with shopping and dining
Wall Street with its bull

PLACES TO GO:

Take the train to Brooklyn Bridge, explore the Dumbo area, then walk back across the bridge
Cool neighborhoods: China town, Little Guyana (Queens), Little Odessa (Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach), Little Italy, Koreatown (Manhattan), Little India (Jackson Heights, Queens), Greenwich Village
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island – get tickets months in advance if you want to go all the way to the top
Walk down Bleeker and across town to Tompkins Sq Park
Chelsea Piers

MUSEUMS TO EXPLORE:

SlooMoo Museum – interactive slime museum
Museum of Ice Cream
MoMA – education center with art activities
Tenement Museum and Food Tour
Whitney Museum
Guggenheim

PARKS TO VISIT:

Central Park – granite slide in Billy Johnson playground and the Central Park Zoo
The High Line park
Battery Park playground and Seaglass carousel