Taking the Kids: Playground or museum?
Playground or museum? When you are visiting a new city with kids, each can be equally important. At playgrounds, kids not only can let off steam, but they can meet local kids. Parents can meet local parents who can offer valuable tips on spending time in their city. They can point you to favorite restaurants and ice cream shops for a treat.
New York is always tops on kids’ lists of places they want to visit. Listen to all the different languages that people are speaking. The experts say more than 600 different ones, everything from Arabic to Spanish to Chinese, Russian, and Hebrew.
According to new research from Virtuoso®, a global leader in luxury and experiential travel, New York is the third most booked city for leisure travel thus far this year,with bookings 13 percent ahead of 2022.
Remember, New York City is a lot more than Manhattan. Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island are also part of the big city. “Travel to the different boroughs to see what New York is really like,” suggested Jessica, 16, one of the many kids interviewed for the newest edition of my just-published Kid’s Guide to NYC — the fourth edition. Also, check out NYC’s new We Love New York City campaign.
And the city is chock full of museums, zoos, as well as playgrounds. “Go to the parks, they are always relaxing,” suggested Sam, 13, a young New Yorker interviewed for my book.
At the Children’s Zoo at the huge Bronx Zoo, open April through October, kids can climb into child-size heron nests, walk through a prairie dog tunnel or climb a 20-foot spider web made of rope, among other adventures. It’s also a center for conservation and part of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the world’s largest network of urban wildlife parks, including the Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and New York Aquarium.
The Brooklyn Bridge Park on the waterfront has become a mecca for families. Prospect Park, in the heart of Brooklyn, has everything from boating, biking, summer concerts, carousel and the innovative play area, the Zucker Natural Exploration Area.
The High Line is the famous 1.45 mile-long elevated park that runs from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street that offers restaurants, a public app and the Diller-Von Furstenberg Sundeck and Water Feature kids love in summer.
There is a carousel and skatepark at Pier 62 on the Hudson River, part of a nine-acre park. There’s also mini golf, basketball, trapeze, tennis, baseball, beach volleyball, public art, playgrounds, and kayaks and bikes for rent.
There are 21 different playgrounds in Central Park, including its oldest and biggest. The Heckscher Playground is Central Park’s oldest, built nearly a century ago and complete with a water play area and climbing maze. Kids also love the Ancient Playground near the Metropolitan Museum with its pyramid-style climbing structures.
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