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My four-year-old daughter and I found ourselves living it up in New York recently when we joined my husband on a business trip. We had a great time eating out, exploring the city on open-top bus tours, and doing museums and Broadway shows, but some of the best things we did really were free (or at least nearly free). Here are my top ten things to do with kids for next to nothing in NYC…
1. Lay out a blanket in Central Park (picnic optional) and soak up the atmosphere. The huge expanse of grass at the Great Lawn is a favourite spot and great for games too.
2. Visit Belvedere Castle in the middle of Central Park at 79th Street. It is the highest point of the park with great views, a visitor centre, walking tours and free educational programs.
3. Attend Saturday morning story time for children of all ages in Central Park at the Hans Christian Anderson Memorial (mid-park from East 73rd entrance. Check for times at www.centralparknyc.org).
4. Visit one of the spectacular toy shops: Toys-R-Us in Times Square or FAO Schwartz (the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South) which has a giant electronic keyboard built into the floor upstairs that children can play with their feet. You can easily spend an hour or more exploring and trying out the display toys without buying a thing.
5. Take the Staten Island ferry. Day or night this is one of the best free (or paid for) boat rides in the world. It takes about half an hour each way. You can get straight off and back on again or spend time on the dockside at Staten Island looking at the distant Manhattan skyline. The ride gives spectacular views of the downtown skyline and the Statue of Liberty, all lit-up to magical effect at night.
6. If it’s a quiet stroll you’re after and you find yourself in Brooklyn, take a walk along the Brooklyn Seafront for a great view of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. (And if you do want to spend a few dollars there is a great ice-cream parlour there too.)
7. Stand in the middle of Times Square for ten minutes and don’t forget to look up.
8. Stand just about anywhere and play how many yellow cabs can you count in a minute?
And if it’s summer…
9. Summerstage (held at Rumsey Playfield near 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue) and Shakespeare in the Park (at the open-air Delacorte Theater near the W81st Street entrance to the park) are two of the most popular summertime programs and both are free. Top-shelf acts and great performances.
10. Fancy a dip? There are 14 miles of public beaches in four of NY’s boroughs: Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Contact General Parks and Recreation Department Information at www.nycparks.completeinet.net for more info.
General info at www.nyctourism.com
Central Park info at www.centralparknyc.org
Summerstage info: www.summerstage.org
More info on Shakespeare in the Park can be found at: www.publictheater.org
Family friendly, great ambience, food and service at reasonable prices.
801 Second Avenue (43rd St), NewYork ,NY 10017
tel 212-878-9600
nearest subway Grand Central Station
Family restaurant, serving wide range of Italian dishes. Great food, service and atmosphere at reasonable prices. Close to UN building and Grand Central station.
801 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017, Tel 212 -878 - 9600, Fax 212 - 880 -9999
Nearest subway Grand Central Station
Staten Island Yankees are a minor-league baseball affiliate of the New York Yankees.
Admittedly, the standard of baseball is not as high as the NY Yankees or NY Mets, but they have a super ballpark.
Take the free Staten Island ferry from lower Manhattan, giving you a perfect view of the Statue of Liberty. 30 minutes later you arrive at Staten Island, right beside the ballpark. From your seat in the ballpark there are fantastic views to Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
The most expensive ticket is $13, while a draught beer is $5. A community atmosphere IS New York City.
Richmond County Ballpark, Staten Island. www.siyanks.com
Forget the mega cash cow that is the Yankees (Manyoo of baseball) as a Mets game helps you get under the skin of US culture and out into New York proper where the locals live and play.
Don't expect a footy crowd atmosphere but do soak up the family-orientated game that combines Mexican waves with drinking overpriced Bud and eating as much saturated fat as you can in three hours. Over 50k in Shea Stadium and even then it didn't seem full. What a great experience!
Get your cap and t-shirt, along with your tickets from the club shop on 42nd St near 6th Ave. Paid about 30 quid for two tickets but they start from only $9 (yes, $9!) depending on where you want to sit.
Brand new stadium being built next door opening in the next couple of years so you better be quick to get a sense of the history of Shea.
Take the 7 subway all the way from either Times Sq/42nd or Grand Central. The express misses out some of the local stops. The return is very simple as they run lots of trains so there's not much jostling to get a train.
Interesting alternative would be the ferry from South Street Seaport. Think it's only about $20 return.
Shea Stadium, Queens.
Take the '7' subway line from Manhattan
Totally customized private tour of New York City. Very personal and personable guide. Before you arrive, they work out an itinerary with you by email. Then, their guide takes you all around. It is much cheaper than you might think. Depending on the number of people in your family or group, it may actually be the best tour bargin in New York.
OK, yeah, you go to London and want to catch a football game and choose, hmmm, Leyton Orient? But hey, why not? The Brooklyn Cyclones, a Class A (think, maybe Conference South) baseball team that is part of the New York Mets organisation plays in this great little stadium on the Boardwalk (and Atlantic Ocean beach) at Coney Island.
Cheap and fun and you can eat hot dogs at Nathan's Famous (at Surf and Stillwell) and splash in the sea on the way. Call 718 449 8497, or email info@brooklyncyclones.com for tickets - put "tourist tickets" in the email subject line.
1904 Surf Avenue, Coney Island, Brooklyn - D,F,Q to Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue, walk west to the stadium.
These hop-on, hop-off tours are a fantastic way to start your sightseeing. Running out of Times Square, Gray Line do tours of Downtown, Uptown, Brooklyn and a night tour. You can buy tickets from the many sellers in Times Square and your best buy is the All Tour pass, which is valid for two days for all the tours at about $46.
Each bus is open top and comes with a tour guide, who is usually true New Yorker and has plenty of information on the places you pass through, as well as plenty of recommendations for restaurants, shops, cafes etc.
The night tour is not to be missed as you go across to Brooklyn shore and get a beautiful view of Lower Manhattan. Be warned that it gets very chilly sitting up top at night, no matter how hot it has been during the day, so take a sweater.
The buses stop at all the major points of interest and run from 8am until 6pm, with the night tour starting around the same time until about 9pm.
Main point:Times Square or any stop
Lasted three hours, costs about the same as the Statue of Liberty trip. We had the same views of the statue plus toured the rest of Manhattan. No x-ray/search as per Statue of Liberty and Empire State so much more enjoyable and relaxed.
It leaves from pier 83, which is right next to the air and space display and concorde so all in all great value plus you don't get the disappointment of finding out after the security etc to get to the Statue of Liberty that you can now only go up the base not the actual statue.
For the real American experience, I highly recommend going to watch a basketball game at Madison Square Garden. To feel like a New Yorker, go to a college game where there are typical Americans all around. I got the full atmosphere by eating a super American hot dog, tasty pretzel and a small (which to us is large!) coke! This really is the place to be and I really had a feel for the American lifestyle, free from tourists and full of life.
Madison Square Garden, 4 Penn Plaza, above 34th Street/Penn station. Tel: 212/465-6741
Visit this museum after Ellis Island and continue in the steps of the immigrants after finally making it onto American soil. The museum is an unrestored tenement building with authentic furnishings and the guided tour gives a fascinating glimpse of the life and hardships faced by the first immigrants. A real treasure of a place.
97 Orchard Street (Delancy Street) www.tenement.org/
Watch the world go by and, if you have the courage, challenge for a game of chess. It is a chilled out park and people watching is the best pastime here. New Yorkers in a nutshell. After spending hours being nosey head down to John's Pizza on Bleeker Street (five minutes away).
When I went to NY I was visiting my partner and all his colleagues said this was the best pizza to be had. I enjoyed it (held to Sicily making the best pizzas but hey-ho) but definitely was part of the NY experience. Gets very busy so be prepared.
MacDougal Street and then a walk down Bleeker Street for dinner.
Bryant Park is a small but very popular park with tourists and New Yorkers. It is situated on 42nd St and behind the Central Library on 5th Av. In the daytime it is a fantastic spot for eating your lunch on a beautiful sunny day and in the evening there is a chance to enjoy a balmy New York evening with a glass of wine Sex and the City style. You can also enjoy an evening cinema classic on certain days throughout the summer. As a regular to New York I love to pass on my little find to others because if you want to take 5 minutes out from the city's fast pace or simply have lunch and people watch then visit Bryant Park.
42nd St and 5th Av behind the Central Library
In winter, the pond in Central Park is turned into an ice skating rink (skate hire is available). Even if you don't want to skate, the viewing platform above the rink is highly recommended - the skyline in the background is familiar from many films.
Central Park, Manhattan
This is theatre just for children, but parents will love it, too. Great for those who may be still too young for Broadway manners. This troupe takes stories, written by children, and sets them to words and music. Very talented group, full of imagination and fun.
Shows on Saturday only.
The Drama Bookshop on 40th Street & 8th Ave, near the major shows; shows are on Saturday only; www.storypirates.com
Do you need to go to Stamford Bridge to watch football in London? No, and you don't need to go to Yankee Stadium, packed with rude suburbanites, to see baseball in New York.
Shea Stadium is out in Flushing, Queens and is the home of the New York Mets. It’s also witnessed two World Series, the birth of Joe Namath as an American football star, papal masses and the Beatles’ most famous concert.
It's cheaper than Yankee Stadium, much more family oriented, and has an interesting feature - jets taking off from LaGuardia airport fly directly over the stadium. Don't expect to hear much except for the loudest yells.
In Flushing Meadow Park on the Number 7 train (from Times Square and Grand Central Station), the station is Willet's Point/Shea Stadium
The Cherry Lawn, the Rose House, Daffodil Hill, the Bonsai Collection, and the Japanese Garden are just some of the highlights of this element of Brooklyn's Culture Park across Flatbush Avenue from the massive Prospect Park (designer Olmstead, annoyed by the Metropolitan Museum in his Central Park, wanted Prospect Park uncompromised by huge buildings). The Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Public Library are adjoining. This is a fantastic visit, incredible in the spring. Admission is $5, students $3, kids under 16 get in free.
1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn - B or Q train to Prospect Park station. (The B train does not run on weekends.) 2 or 3 train to Eastern Parkway
On a bright autumn morning when you need a bit of a breeze, take the subway to Brighton Beach and Coney Island. BB is like a weird time warp and a very different country as it's been colonised by Russians, some a bit gangsterish! Walking along the fabulous boardwalk under that clear wide sky, you are miles from Manhattan. Coney Island was closed for the season (end of Oct) - thankfully -but my 2 streetwise sons were still interested to spot 'old' rides etc and strange signs/names in the desolate site.
At Brighton Beach subway
Free movies in Bryant Park next door to the NYC public library every Monday. It's over for the season, but it'll be back next year. Go early, take a blanket, grab some wine and smoke and enjoy classic movies with like-minded people.
www.bryantpark.org/calendar/film-festival.php. It's on 40th and 42nd Streets & Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Subway station 42nd Street/Bryant Park (F,V,B,D)
Big Onion does thematic walking tours in the city. I've done their immigrant New York, Lower East Side and Central Park walks in the last couple of years, and they are not to be missed if you want to learn about the history and culture of the city. The tours are led by specialists in New York City history and travelers can check the schedule online. you should really try to squeeze one in when you are there.
schedule and tour descriptions at bigonion.com
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