Top 10 Things to do with the Family in NYC
1. Big Apple Greeter
Make this the first item in your trip-planning! Friendly New Yorkers volunteer to show tourists around their favorite town. A great (and free) way to see the city with someone who is passionate about the city they live in.
"Greets" vary with each visitor: visitors are asked about their interests when they sign up or you can simply leave it up to the greeter. One common denominator is that all Greets teach visitors how to use the New York subway system: call it empowerment! Now you can get around town cheaply and conveniently.
Click Here to find out more about the greeter program.
2. Movie Tours
Explore the city through some of its settings for films and tv shows, on a guided tour that matches film clips inside the tour bus with the real-life New York outside.
On Location Tours offers several choices, including a Manhattan TV and Movie Tour that has locations for Friends, Seinfeld, Spiderman, Take photos at the firehouse used in Ghostbusters, and sit on the steps of the Cosby townhouse!
A great way to spend the afternoon viewing some of the most famous locations in TV and Film History.
To Find out more please visit
On Location Tours
3. Lower east side tenement museum
You want your teen to have fun in NYC; but also to learn some history. Those huddled masses who crossed oceans, who toiled in sweatshops: it's all so dramatic, but to a teen...? How to bring history to life?
Take the subway down to the Lower East Side, and walk over to Orchard Street. For almost 200 years, immigrants from 20 different nations crowded into this street.
One-hour guided tours explore the actual apartments where people lived a hundred-odd years ago: see a "sweatshop" where a family raised kids and made their living in the garment industry.
4. Grand Central Station
This Beaux-Arts landmark is in the heart of Manhattan at 42nd and Park and will impress even the most reluctant sightseer. Drop by to admire the giant hall; take a free tour if you have the time.
Definitely head downstairs to the impressive food concourse: join throngs of New Yorkers for lunch, or perhaps simply refuel with a delicious, high-calorie dessert.
5. See a Broadway Play
Speaking of 42nd Street: that was the classic Broadway play I saw with my middle son, at a matinee. Lion King, Hairspray, Rent are long-running choices. Alternatively, you may want to see the play du jour. On a more recent trip with my eldest son, Spamalot -- reprise of Monty Python and the Holy Grail-- was the crowd-pleaser.
By the way: during one visit, we tried buying last-minute seats at Times Square: yes, they're half-price, but the price they're half of is $120. Also, choice plays sell out fast. So we headed to the 42nd Street theater and simply bought seats for 30 bucks. We were "in the gods" but the view was fine.
