jumpsuit. bag. sandals. (similar here.) sunglasses. The girls rompers. Ava’s sandals.
New York is one of my all-time favorite cities, especially to explore with kids. In fact, when we were deciding whether or not to move to New England one of the driving factors was that we would be only a short drive/train ride away from the city. I love that in the 2.5 years since we’ve moved here my kids have fallen in love with the city too. We love taking our kids into New York, it’s really fun to experience the city through a child’s eyes, to watch them enjoy the scale of it, to experience the diverse neighborhoods, the different kinds of people and foods and smells. New York is such a sensory experience and I love watching them experience that. It’s also fun to switch it up to a quicker pace. We live out in the country as you know, which means most days are peaceful and calm but in the city there’s just a whole different pace, and it’s nice to give my kids the chance to walk like New Yorkers, ride the subway and run all over Manhattan. New York is fun year-round but every season has its unique opportunities and lots of fun things to do with kids in the city. Here are our favorite things to do in New York City in the summer with kids.
The first thing you need to know about NYC in the summer is that it is insanely hot and humid, so make sure you dress appropriately and prepare mentally. Also, drink lots of water…
Central Park. There are tons of great things you can do with kids in the park during the summer here are our favorites (marked with a **):
**Heckscher playground this is the most amazing playground ever. It’s huge, with lots of different age appropriate playground options inside, with swings and huge rock areas to climb, it’s kind of magical. In the summer they have a splash pad which is great for cooling off in the humid New York City heat. You enter through an archway and the whole think is fenced so it’s easier to keep track of your kids. There are also bathrooms at the archway, great for moms that need to change diapers or little kids that need to go, it’s not always easy to find bathrooms in the city, so it’s nice that you can find them here. The whole area is a great way to take a little break in the middle of a busy city day and let the kids just play out their energy or cool off in the splash pad.
**Mini sailboats on the pond in Central Park. You can rent mini sailboats for $11 for half an hour on the little pond in Central Park near the Alice in wonderland area and it’s really fun easy thing for kids to do. There’s a few different food options around the pond so you can grab a treat sit in the shade and sail the boat around the pond. It’s an expensive and a fun way to spend some time I the park. Also, the boats are legit wind-powered so you’ll get a little science lesson in there as well.
**Belvedere Castle. This place is super cool and you can actually climb up to the top. It used to be a weather station and there’s a beautiful view of central park and the city. The whole experience is just really fun for kids to explore. We took Ava for the first time when she was four and she’s called it Sleeping Beauty‘s castle.
Museum of natural history. This is my kids favorite museum in the city. (The Met is mine.) They’ve been a few times now and every time they love it. They are obsessed with the dinosaur section of the museum, but they also love all the animals from the different continents and other early people exhibits. The great thing about the museum in the summer is that you can go in and cool off when it’s extra hot they also have a hidden splash pad on top.
FAO Schwartz. Just imagine the giant piano from “BIG” or any other number of dream come true moments in terms of toy stores, and that is FAO Schwartz. It’s a great place for kids to go in and play with toys and cool off in an air-conditioned area when the heat is intense. You can find it right in the middle of the Rockefeller center.
Get a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3. Serendipity 3 is such a fun little quirky restaurant on the upper East side and our favorite thing to do is to go in and get frozen hot chocolate. Their frozen hot chocolate is legend and they are huge, big enough for 2 kids to share. It’s a fun way to cool off with a sweet treat. We like to order a couple sides of fries as well (fair warning, the fries sides are not big, you might need to order 2-3).
See a broadway show. There is nothing like seeing a show on broadway, and there are tons of options for kids right now. Disney has a whole line up, but Wicked and Phantom are both kid-friendly shows as well. If you’re worried about late nights or the cost, consider grabbing tickets to one of the matinee showings, the tickets are usually cheaper and the hour works better for little ones with earlier bed times.
Ride the subway. It’s just fun to do with kids, especially if they’re normally in a car. Keep a tight hold on those hands getting on and off the train, and I always coach my kids beforehand on what to do if we got separated on the subway.
Grab a hot dog or a sandwich and sit down to eat in one of the city parks. We did this all over Europe and it’s the easiest, most convenient (and inexpensive) ways to feed kids in the city. Takes away all the stress of trying to get kids to keep it down in a restaurant, plus you get to people watch. Bryant Park, Madison Square park, Riverside park, and the high line are all great options.
Grand Central. We always spend time in Grand Central because most of the time we arrive through there. It’s such an amazing building, and we love grabbing shake shack in the dining concourse and we always grab magnolia cupcakes for the train ride home.
Do you have different favorites for taking your children in the fall? We are visiting NY in October 2020 for my husbands class reunion. I can’t wait to share the city with our 4 kiddos.