My husband and I visited the Big Apple frequently, back in our DINK (dual income no kid) days. There’s something about New York that makes us feel alive. It’s the city that never sleeps and we fit in well there.
To say my kid was ecstatic about our trip is an understatement. We hit our local library to find New York books, watched YouTube tourist videos and viewed photos from previous trips. Since he had already researched “things to do” in New York, my husband and I decided to let him create our itinerary. Below is my 5 year old’s list of “must do” activities while in the city.
Visit the Times Square Toys R Us and ride the Ferris Wheel
FAO Schwarz
Central Park
Central Park Zoo
Go to the top of the Empire State Building
See the Statue of Liberty
Unfortunately, the island is closed due to damage from Hurricane Sandy so we viewed from Battery Park. It is scheduled to re-open on July 4th so we will get closer on our next trip.
Eat cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery
We did notice a few Magnolia Bakery shops around town (near Rockefeller and in Grand Central Terminal), but these photos are from the original shop in Greenwich Village (our favorite location)!
Eat a cannoli and NY Pizza
The cannoli was replaced with Junior’s cheesecake (we tried raspberry swirl, cherry, strawberry & blueberry…OMG, so delicious)!
Ride the Subway
He also wanted to visit museums and the NY library but we decided to do those items on our next trip. We hit the Central Park Zoo on two separate days trying to see the Snow Leopards. We also added some items to his list (Grand Central Station, World Trade Center Site, 5th Avenue shopping, Columbus Circle, Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, Greenwich Village, SOHO, Union Square Farmer’s Market and lots of fun stores in Times Square).
We thoroughly enjoyed our 5 nights in the city (stayed 2 nights at the Westin Grand Central and then transferred to the W Times Square for the remainder of our trip)!
All in all, we had an amazing time. On our last day, my son begged us to sell our Florida home and move to New York (not joking). He has been in a New York state of mind since we left and keeps asking when we are visiting again.