Have you ever wondered about Things To Do in NYC with Teenagers? New York City calls my name. It’s a place I love. It’s a place I feel comfortable. It’s a place that I used to call home. I had 2 of my sons in NYC… my William and my Alex. They were both little when we moved out, so I know they don’t remember ANYTHING at all about it. The best part is that they both love NYC, too. They’re New Yorker’s – well, according to their birth certificate.
Things To Do in NYC with Teenagers
I posted about bringing William to NYC last week to get some special, one on one time with JUST him. I think it’s important to do things like this with your kids and to continuously make it special for them. NYC is such a spot that William loves that I thought it was the perfect place to bring him for a weekend away!
The big question for us when we were on our way was – Things To Do in NYC with Teenagers??
There were a few factors working against us:
1. The weather. NYC was due for some massive rain (which they did get!).
2. I had to work on Saturday from 1:30-6:30PM
Other than that, we were open to anything! William didn’t want to do museums or shop (so basically all my ideas were out the window!). He wanted to walk around and explore and see as much as he could from when we used to live there so many years ago. We’ve done the Statue of Liberty tour and the Bus Tour and exploring certain hot spots that you would normally visit, he didn’t want to do any of that again.
So what did we do in NYC with William? Our 13 year old teen?
That’s right!! We mastered the Things To Do in NYC with Teenagers! I wasn’t going to let him sit in the hotel and do nothing! I swear he just wanted to do room service and chill. He was game on doing anything I wanted to do, so we did the next best thing. YOU PICK!
What did William pick? Just about everything that he’s been wanting to do for so long!
1. Korean BBQ! If you’re looking for something yummy to try in NYC, Korean BBQ is a GREAT thing to try!! The boys went to Wonjo!! They loved it. My husband said that if you’re looking for Korean BBQ, this is the place.
2. Take the SUBWAY like the locals!! Don’t rely on cabs and uber, get out there and explore!! When William was a little boy his foot actually got stuck on a subway platform. I freaked and started to panic. I knew that his entire foot could get crushed. I literally needed to sit down for a second after it happened because I was terrified. The subway is LIFE in NYC. Definitely make sure you ride it! It doesn’t smell great in the summer, so be careful!
3. Times Square AT NIGHT!! We went around 9:30PM and it was AWESOME!! I swear the best time and only time a tourist should go is at night! There’s not need to go during the day. The lights are amazing at night and you really can’t quite believe that you’re actually here in NYC!
4. Central Park near the Boathouse. This is such a prime place because there’s so many cool and different spots to explore! When William was little we used to go out on the boats whenever someone came to visit us from out of town. We hadn’t done it in years, but we have fun watching them.
5. Little Italy! William loves Italian food, so we jetted downtown for him to eat there with us! I was thrilled William wanted to venture “downtown” for dinner. The meal was incredible and it was so much fun to be down there with the guys.
6. Street Fairs!! You just don’t get a street fair in RI like you do in NYC!! It’s fabulous!! I’m telling you – when we lived in NYC years ago we had very little money. We were at our 1st jobs in NYC making very little, so we needed to find fun things to do for free. Street fairs were so much fun to walk around and explore. We didn’t buy much, but we had fun!
7. M&M Store. I mean… if you love Chocolate, you need to check it out!! This was a must stop for William! He’s never been without his brothers and I loved having him be able to walk around and just really explore.
8. Time Warner Building… we lived right across the street when it was going up, so we wanted to check it out! I used to stroll William every single night in that building until he feel asleep. It still makes me smile. I love that building because it was so big and a great place to walk and stroll.
9. Greasy Spoon Diner somewhere uptown or downtown… this is where the actual locals go!! We went to a local diner we used to always go to when he was a baby called The Flame! GREAT food at GREAT prices!
10. Rooftop access somewhere! William doesn’t love heights, but we got him to the 18th floor of our hotel for a good view of the City!! He was a little nervous, but we kept telling him that he was OK and that we were there with him! It was cute seeing him take some photos too and really enjoy the NYC sights.
Definitely check out our video for some FUN and see what we did!!
What do you love about NYC? What am I missing? Do you feel like something I missed would be great for teens? Please drop it below! We’re heading back to NYC this summer and I want to make sure I add everything in that should be there. I know each kid is different. This was William’s top list. I love that he had ideas already and that he was excited to tackle his list!
