Leon, Sarah and Jonathan Cruickshank at The Guggenheim.
I MOCKED my husband as he checked endless places on the web. But he was right, with a trip to New York, preparation is key.
We’d visited the city before as we spent days walking from one end to the other to see all the places you simply can’t miss.
This time – travelling with our 11-year-old son – we broke our time in the city down into geographical areas and made lists of all the places we’d like to see and eat in. Then, back to the web to check reviews and, more importantly, whether places were still open. There’s nothing worse than arriving at a shop or restaurant and finding it closed or simply gone.
So, given that the whole NYC experience is incredible, here’s our top ten list, in no particular order, of places to go, shop or eat.
At the top of the Rockefeller Center and an alternative to the Empire State Building. Go early and there are no queues.
Huge and perfect for a lazy picnic and for the kids to have a run around. A good place to play spot the favourite dog breeds of NYC.
It’s free and you get great views of the Statue of Liberty.
Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum
THE place to go if you like boats, planes, submarines and Concorde. They have an interactive hall called the Exploreum, where you can try all sorts of fun stuff like clambering into a space pod.
Has almost every toy you could think of and is right next door to the 24 hour Apple Store.
Has more candy and candy related merchandise than you could shake a stick at. There is a café, but the cupcakes, while looking scrummy, actually tasted of nothing.
Food
We visited the Hell’s Kitchen store.A small shop that offered a huge selection of breads, cakes and pastries made on the premises.
Well worth a trip to Brooklyn for the gorgeous pastries.
Important note: J made it his mission to try blueberry muffins from all possible outlets and maintains that the best came from a street cart in Times Square.
Book a table at this delicious barbecue joint (you can do it online before you leave the UK), there were people queuing to eat here.
The boys had pastrami sandwiches and I had real New York chilli and it was fantastic. Well worth the trip for the quality of the food and the atmosphere.
Getting around
Use public transport. Buses and the subway are clean, cheap, easy and save time, avoiding or easing aching feet.
NYC is fantastic with so much to see and do. I've offered you my family's top ten, but would love to hear yours too.
- Check out Sarah's blog on more family adventures at A Life More Lived.
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- A day out at The National Motor Museum: ‘Family-friendly with something for everyone’ by Emily from Babyrambles
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