This article is the second part in a series about visiting New York with children:
Part 1 | General Travel Guide
Part 3 | Downtown & Beyond

Traipsing around the funky adult playground of Greenwich Village as a twenty-something kid, I didn’t give Manhattan above 42nd Street a whole lot of respect.

Yet this time around I discovered that — beyond the wide sidewalks and gentler housing prices — uptown has a lot to offer former party girls with broods of their own.

Perhaps the most spectacular of these attractions is…

Central Park

In summer, the Park is a constantly unfolding carnival:  around every bend is a musician plunking an instrument you’ve never heard, grown-up children playing a sport you hadn’t thought of, and entertainers of all ages luring you to stop and gape.

All this creative human activity competes with the trees bursting into bloom, horse and buggies clopping along the rolling paths, balloon and ice cream vendors calling out their wares, and artists painting for profit and for fun.

Add on top the Park’s official attractions that offer organized entertainment year-round.  Here are some of my favorites, although there are many, many more.

Rent a rowboat at the Central Park Boathouse and tool around the lake for only $12 per hour.  The boathouse also organizes bike rentals (including kids bikes) starting at $6 an hour.

Horse and buggy rides will put you back about 50 clams, but you can ride the musical kind on the Central Park Carousel (mid-park at 64th St.) for only $2.

We’ve never rented a tiny sailboat, but we love just hanging around the toy boat pond (Conservatory Water) for its picnic-perfect surroundings, including the climb-able Alice in Wonderland statue, the old-world brick and stone cafe’ and gelato stand, and glimpses of Central Park’s resident red-tailed hawk, Pale Male, against the backdrop of fancy Fifth Avenue residences.

But my favorite kid- and wallet-friendly place to eat in the City is the Boathouse’s Express Cafe’:  an outdoor eatery behind the swanky Loeb boathouse restaurant.  For just $3 to $7 for hamburgers and hotdogs, salads and sandwiches, we love the experience of chowing down under a canopy of trees.  The cafe’ is open year-round and indoor tables have views of the lake.  (Please note that the summer hours are advertised as 8 am to 8 pm, but the place has shut on us at 6 pm a few times, so best arrive early.)

Central Park’s playgrounds are some of the best you’ll find anywhere, with unusual materials, themes and some fantastic views (like the vistas of midtown skyscrapers from Heckscher Playground).  In summertime, bring your suits since most New York playgrounds have sprinklers for cooling off.  (Find out more about the Park’s 21 playgrounds.)

After plenty of fresh-air exercise, the whole family can rest their piggies in the dollhouse-like Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater for a puppet show, one of the cheapest productions you’ll find in the Big Apple ($5-10).  Make sure you reserve ahead of time.

Good but not Cheap

Although ticket prices can add up for a whole family, the Central Park Zoo is darling and surprisingly diverse (seals, polar bears, monkeys, penguins).

We also love Victorian Gardens, where our kids’ school carnival was held each year.  This fantastically whimsical mini-amusement park takes over Wollman Rink from late May to mid-September.  Admission and rides are not a bargain, but at least kids under 36″ tall get in free.

From October to April, the area becomes the most picturesque ice skating arena:  Wollman Rink.  While Wollman does charge an admission fee — unlike the Pond at Bryant Park —  it’s still less expensive than skating at Rockefeller Center.

Upper West Side

The Upper West Side is home to the famous American Museum of Natural History, with its dinosaur bones, colorful gems, ocean room with giant squid replica, and planetarium.  One could spend all day here, but if  children get restless, check out the hands-on activities in the Discovery Room.  Visits are scheduled in 40-minute slots, so go first in case you need to sign up.  While suggested admission is $16 for adults, $9 for kids 2-12, you can pay as you wish.

Nearby is the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (83rd Street between Amsterdam Ave and Broadway).  While I never schlepped my kids over there, the museum gets good reviews and is free on the first Friday of the month from 5–8 pm.

In the warmer months, we love eating at the Boat Basin Cafe’, a super-casual restaurant overlooking the bobbing boats on the Hudson River.  The West 79th Street Boat Basin marina, with its docks and nautical vibe, will make you forget for a moment you’re in the city.  Both the cafe’ and marina are nestled in Riverside Park, a four-mile stretch of athletic fields, bike riding trails, and tons of playgrounds.

See the last section on the Upper East Side (below), for more family restaurants with Upper West Side locations.  Time Out Kids New York also suggests the Popover Café (551 Amsterdam Ave at 86th St) for an oversized sweet brunch or the “cavernous, elegant” Dean’s Pizzeria (215 W 85th St between Amsterdam Ave and Broadway) for classic round or extra-thin square pies.

Midtown

I guess I’m a sucker for glitz and glamour, because one of my favorite corners in the city is 5th Avenue and 57th Street.  You can just feel the wealth oozing out of every sidewalk crack in this home to new and old money:  from the Plaza Hotel to Trump Tower, and St. Patrick’s ornate cathedral to the house music booming from Abercrombie & Fitch.

The problem is, once you’re here, how do you avoid spending your inheritance?  Here are some free or low-cost diversions.

Get to Carnegie Hall (57th Street and 7th Avenue) without even practicing by attending their delightful yet super-cheap concerts for kids.
Reserve tickets online to these fantastically creative musical adventures offered in the fall and winter:   CarnegieKids ($6 FREE interactive concerts for pre-K to kindergarten-age kids) and Family Concerts ($9 concerts for 5- to 12-year-olds).

We also love the Museum of Modern Art’s free family tours. These guided interactive talks are specifically oriented toward 4-year-olds (Tours for Fours), 5- to 10-year-olds (A Closer Look for Kids), and tweens.  The best part?  At tour’s end they give you a free family pass for another visit!

While the family tours are currently offered in fall and winter, you can always visit the MoMA gratis during their year-round free hours: Fridays from 4–8 pm.  Also free on Fridays from 5:30–7:30 pm is the American Folk Art Museum (53rd St between Fifth and Sixth Aves).

I’m a bit of a luddite, so I can’t say I have personal experience with the free Sony Wonder Technology Lab (Madison Ave between 55th and 56th Streets), but I’ve heard it’s an entertaining way spend a few hours on a frigid or sweltering day.

You don’t have to risk breathing the expensive air in stores like Henry Bendel to gawk at their glittering window displays at Christmastime. Start with the creme de la creme — Bergdorf Goodman at 58th Street and 5th Avenue — and work your way down to Rockefeller Center (49th and 5th Avenue), where gazing at the ginormous tree won’t cost you a dime (and is just as mouth-dropping).

Finding someplace to eat in this area with character and ambience that won’t break the bank is an almost impossible feat. Restaurants are either super-fancy or windowless cafeterias. Now would be a perfect time to try one of those New York hot dogs or soft pretzels from a street-side vendor.

Pass by American Girl Place at your own risk, and head down 5th Avenue to 42nd Street for the delightful Bryant Park.   This green oasis in Midtown behind the main library (with the lions) turns into an ice skating rink in winter:  The Pond at Bryant Park.  Admission is free, and skates can be rented onsite.  Around the rink, bunches of colorful holiday shops set up during the season.

In the summer, Bryant Park is famous for its free Monday film series, but it’s a little too late for our kids (movies begin at dusk).  The park is still a great place to have a picnic, ride the carousel ($2), or grab a gourmet sandwich at the ‘Wichcraft kiosk.

While you’re there, you must dip inside the main public library to marvel at its extremely ornate and refined interiors.  The famous Reading Room is not a place for chatty kids (take a peek anyway), but I’ve heard the library has a great Children’s Center on the first floor.

Times Square

If you love Las Vegas, you’ll love Times Square.  You just can’t get more over-the-top, loud and boisterous than this famous intersection of commerce and spectacle.

Hold on tight to your little ones’ hands and do like everyone else:  walk really slow and gape at the flashing billboards and animated giant LCDs.

If you need shelter, agree on a closed-purse trip into the mega Toys ‘R Us store.  The racks of blaring plastic trinkets you can find anywhere:  head upstairs for the Lego sculptures and animated dinosaur, or to the lower level for the giant neon ferris wheel ($4).

Good but Not Cheap

Every trip has a splurge factor, and for our extended New York vacation, that was Broadway.

If you’re willing to sit way back, tickets can be had for as low as $30 for some shows like Mary Poppins.  If you want to get closer, try searching for discount codes on the pricier seats at sites like Playbill.com or BroadwayBox.com.

The TKTS booth (right in Times Square and also at South Street Seaport) offers half-price last-minute tickets to shows that have not sold out (forget Lion King).  See the New York Times’ insider tips at Broadway Bargains:  Secrets of the TKTS Booth.

While you won’t get multi-million dollar Disney productions, the New Victory Theater is known for its unique shows geared for kids and the ticket prices are shorter too.

Due to Times Square being colonized by tourists, it’s difficult to find a homey and inexpensive place to eat.  However, head west a block or two to 9th or 10th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen (don’t let the name scare you — like the once-seedy Times Square, the place is perfectly respectable now).  You’ll find plenty of atmospheric and delicious restaurants:  search the New York Times Dining Section online ahead of time for places in Midtown West.

On the other hand, I totally get it if you want to bask in the charged neon glow in the heart of it all.  To stay on budget, you might have to settle for one of the many franchises you’ll recognize — Chevy’s and Red Lobster come to mind.  True to chains, they won’t offer any surprises — except for some Times Square dazzle.

Upper East Side

The Upper East Side is home to Museum Mile and the most elegant stone mansions you’ll see anywhere in the City.  Until Tribeca surpassed it as the most expensive zip code, the UES was THE place for rich people to live.

Walking around the historic district (from Central Park to Lexington Avenue) and admiring the imposing architecture is free, but anything near Madison Avenue is going to cost you a pretty penny (and some hoity looks if you’ve got sticky, disheveled and noisy kids in tow).

To avoid going straight to jail, head east of Lexington for more affordable (and less glamorous) places to eat and shop. Try Patsy’s Pizzeria on 2nd Avenue and 69th, Big Daddy’s Diner on 2nd and 83rd Street, or the open-air Mexican, Cilantro, on 1st and 71st.

Alice’s Teacup, a deliciously whimsical cafe’, has a couple of Upper East locations including 81st and 3rd Avenue, not too far from the Met.  A decidedly girlie place, the hostesses will offer to lend your young companions a pair of fairy wings and will give you a free sprinkle of fairy dust.  (All of the above four eateries have locations on the Upper West Side too.)

Alice’s has another outpost (64th and Lexington) closer to a kind of FAO Schwarz for the tongue:  Dylan’s Candy Bar.  Not a place I’d go every day after school, but what the hell:  how often do you get to experience a modern-day Willy Wonka factory?

There is plenty of nostalgia candy for parents, but if sugar is not your thing, Bloomingdale’s is right across the street.  If you are from out-of-town, stop by the customer service desk on the first floor balcony for a visitor discount or special gift.  When my parents were here, Bloomie’s gave anyone with an out-of-state driver’s license an 11% discount pass.  (You’ll need a whole lot more than that, though, to make this elegant institution a bargain.)

As for the Upper East Side’s famous museums, it’s hard to keep a straight face when I remember our first trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (free for children under 12 and $20 recommended admission for adults).  We wandered into the Greek and Roman statue section and suddenly the theme of our family’s tour became “butts and wieners.” (That was before we put the kibosh on potty talk.)

Your kids are probably much more refined than mine, but even if you suffer from the same giggle-triggers, the Met has plenty of fully-clothed exhibits that kids will find fascinating, including the Medieval knight armor, the giant wooden canoes, and the Egyptian mummies.  (By the way, the museum has a cafe’ on the lower level, but we got away with eating our own picnic food at one of their tables.)

Most kids like wild and weird stuff, like elephants with 16 arms, so they’d probably also tolerate a swing through the Asia Society museum (Park Avenue at 70th St.) which is free on Fridays 6-9 pm.

This article is the second part in a series about visiting New York with children:
Part 1 | General Travel Guide
Part 3 | Downtown & Beyond