When to go to New York?
The best time to visit New York is anytime! Early fall temperatures can still be pleasant, in November temperatures ushers lower, but at least you’ll enjoy Thanksgiving. There’s nothing like Christmas in New York. Temperatures can be freezing in winter, but ice-skating at the Rockfeller Center is a unique experience! In spring temperatures can be warmer, but be sure you pack rain boots and an umbrella. Summertime is the hottest season in New York, but so it is in lots of places! Enjoy!
What to eat in New York?
When it comes to food, you can quite literally try any cuisine in New York. You can have Turkish for breakfast, Thai for lunch, Mexican for dinner and end your day in a Japanese sake bar. But of course, New York has its own specialties too! Bagels, thin crust pizza and pastrami on rye are some of New York’s must-try dishes.
Remember that in NYC, tipping is essential. This is because waiters get paid very little and rely almost entirely on tips to afford living in this expensive city. You should never tip less than 15%, unless the service or meal was absolutely terrible. In general, New Yorkers tip 15 - 20%. Usually, sales taxes are not included on restaurant menus and prices in shops. So don’t forget that you have to include a tax rate of 8.875% to your purchase. Pro-tip for restaurant tipping: don’t want to calculate a 15-20% tip? Simply double the tax amount (this amount is noted separately on your ticket), which should be the equivalent of a 17.75% tip!
Tips from the staff: how to spend 5 days in New York City with your children
Story and pictures from Ada, a colleague from the webteam and a trying-to-do-her-best mum
Finally the day has come and you are making your dream come true: you are going to NYC! You are already packing different outfits, one for a night out in one of the hottest clubs of the city, one for going to a Broadway show, one for dinner in this gorgeous rooftop restaurant, when you feel a little presence behind you and suddenly realize: I have a child and he is coming to New York with me! So what? No clubbing, no concerts, no Broadway shows? Don’t panic: New York is a great venue for families with children. There are so many things to do that you won’t regret (or maybe just a little) having come with your little ones. And don’t forget that New Yorkers have kids as well! So, don’t hesitate to take your children to restaurants, shows and museums!
Some tips before you get started:
- Pack comfortable shoes: you are going to be walking and walking, so spend a minute thinking what you and your kids will be wearing all day.
- Check the weather forecasts for New York during your holiday and pack clothes accordingly. But remember: best time to visit New York is anytime!
- Think about bringing a travel health kit for your children, but also consider that the city is packed with pharmacies where you will find everything you might need.
- Don’t underestimate jetlag. Travelling to a different time zone can be challenging for both adults and children and if you are staying in New York for a limited time, you need to enjoy every moment. Here are a couple of tips:
- If you take the morning flight, you will have a full day ahead you when you arrive. Try to sleep during the flight to save energy. And try to stay awake until bedtime.
- As soon as you arrive, put your watch forward, but keep the original time on your phone (or vice versa). This way you can keep track of your child’s regular eating and sleeping patterns.
- Daylight regulates the body clock. So even if you feel exhausted, take your kids out for a walk or let them play outside in a playground.
- Make sure your kids eat before going to bed. Often it’s hunger that wakes you up when you change time zone because your body thinks it’s time for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
- Try to get your kids back to sleep if they wake up too early. If this is not an option, let them play or watch TV and then get up. New York at dawn is awesome and waking up early can have its advantages: no queues at any attraction and no crowd at popular places!
- Be careful with naps: you just want to lay down a minute and you end up sleeping for hours. This is definitely not helping your biorhythm.
- Prepare you kids: explain to them that you will be going to a very big city and that they would need to stay close to you all the time. If they are not used to public transport, consider taking local public transport with them once or twice.
Day 1 - Let your holiday in New York begin
Even if you can’t wait and want to see everything from the moment you land at New York JFK airport, don’t overdo the first day. You and your kids will be tired from the flight. Take it easy, explore the neighborhood of your hotel or your apartment, maybe find a playground and try out public transport. If you really can’t wait, consider getting on board one of the hop-on hop-off buses (multi-days tickets are available) to get first impressions of the city.
Day 2 - Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty
There are many iconic buildings in New York, but the Statue of the Liberty is undoubtedly one of the most famous. If you don’t feel like visiting the museum, then the Staten Island Ferry is a good option, and furthermore it’s free! During this 20-minutes cruise you will get great views of the Statue, the harbour and lower Manhattan. After that, you’ll feel ready to conquer New York!
Since you will be in lower Manhattan, you will be able to walk through the Financial District, Wall Street (yes, many kids will be keeping an eye open for Spider Man) and Trinity Church. If you wish to tell your kids about September 11, then you can head to Ground Zero nearby.
Afterwards rest in the nice garden around the City Hall. Your kids will probably have their first encounter with the popular New York squirrels! Feeling hungry? Then it’s time to head to neighbouring Little Italy and Chinatown.
After some nice spring rolls or a pizza and gelato, you will feel ready for the last sprint of the day: fancy Soho and eclectic Tribeca.
Day 3 - Manhattan and Central Park
Today, it’s time to head to the heart of Manhattan and finally see Times Square. Usually very crowded, if jetlag happens to take you there early in the morning, you will discover another face of this iconic place and have the opportunity to take selfies and pictures undisturbed.
A visit to New York is not complete without climbing to one of the observation decks on top of famous skyscrapers. You can climb to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building (watch out for King Kong, though!), the 71st floor of the Chrysler Building, the 70th floor of the Rockefeller Center (Top of the Rock) or the 102nd floor of the World Trade Center. They all offer great views over the Manhattan skyline and an unforgettable experience. Whether you want to climb only one or the four of them, we advise you to book your tickets online in advance. Just in front of the Rockefeller Center you will find the famous ice-skating rink (from October to April), surrounded by about 200 flags (revise your geography if you do not want your kids to make a fool of you!).
And now, you are ready for another iconic landmark: Central Park. Enter from the Children’s Gate and enjoy the famous zoo (don’t miss the famous Madagascar Penguins), ride one of the horses at the ancient carrousel or take a boat ride. Parents could look for Strawberry fields (dedicated to John Lennon) and try to recognize all possible movie locations!
Day 4 - Things to do with your kids in New York
Ok kids, let’s do a museum today! Which one? Here comes the difficult part: New York is home to hundreds of museums and most of them have things for kids. Just to mention a few: The American Museum of Natural History (don’t miss the dinosaur gallery), The New Public Library (check out the Winnie-the-Pooh area), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (offering workshops for kids), The Museum of Modern Art - MoMa (offering family day and family activities), The Guggenheim Museum (although children will love this funny circular building, explain to them it’s not a huge slide), The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (with a special “Dora the Explorer” play area), The Brooklyn’s Children Museum (discover world cultures and nature at the world’s first museum for children), The New York Hall of Science (in summer you’ll find an outdoor science playground and a mini-golf), Discover Times Square (exhibition center offering limited-run exhibitions –Star Wars exhibition is over, sorry!), The Museum of the Moving Image (including several playable video games), Madame Tussauds New York (world-famous wax museum).
We visited 2 of the above-listed museums, guess which ones?
Day 5 - Coney Island
It’s your last day in New York. You are all a little bit tired of so much walking, sightseeing and a lot of dos (stay close, give me your hand, stay seated…) and don’ts (don’t run, don’t climb there, don’t spill your $6 apple juice over this $3000 suit…). Do you want to see the smile back on your children faces? Then bring them to Coney Island and they’ll have the best time of their lives!
The amusement park includes more than 50 attractions, among them the Cyclone, a historic roller coaster opened in 1927. If you are on for a walk, you can take the Riegelman wooden walk, the longest in the world, breathing fresh sea air and maybe listening to Lou Reed’s album “Coney Island Baby” or just quickly to Tom Waits’ song with the same title if your children are too demanding.
Alternatively, you can visit the famous New York Aquarium and enjoy the sea-lion show and see a lot of sharks. If you are into animals, the Bronx Zoo is also an option: it’s simply the biggest zoo in the world! If only nature works for you, then head either to the New York Botanical Garden or the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
That’s all folks! It’s time to head to the airport and fly back home. Have a good flight back and start thinking about your next family trip with Brussels Airlines. It was fun, wasn’t it?