How to Visit New York City with Teens
Traveling anywhere with teenagers in tow can be challenging and stressful, and with a city as busy and large as New York, it can be even more so. The trick to seeing New York with teens is finding something that appeals to both of you.
Instructions
Attractions, Shops and Shows
Visit the pier. Take your teens downtown for a half-day or more at the Chelsea Piers Sports Complex at 23rd Street and Hudson River. This gargantuan complex has a rock-climbing wall, a driving range, indoor soccer fields, a 150,000-square-foot health club, basketball courts, ice-skating rinks, inline skating rinks, a pool, a bowling alley and a spa. Check online for schedules and drop-in programs. Take thrill-seeking teens to the Circle Line's SHARK Speedboat Thrill Ride, if you're visiting during the warmer months. The Shark is a huge sightseeing motorboat that leaves the South Street Seaport's Pier 16 behind in a spray and takes you to the Statue of Liberty in no time. The half-hour thrill ride accommodates 149 passengers. Riders must be at least 40 inches tall, and kids must be able to sit in their own seats. Go to the Trapeze School New York at 518 West 39th St. The school offers a two-hour class in which your teen can learn moves like the knee-hang before possibly graduating to catching someone else. Make reservations online or at the facility because classes fill quickly. There is a one-time registration fee, and the cost of trapeze classes varies, depending on the day of the week. Combine entertainment with cultural enrichment. Call or go online to Ticketmaster and reserve seats for a Broadway show. Do this well in advance of coming to New York since many shows sell out. If you want bargains, stand in line at TKTS for discounted seats -- from 25 percent to 50 percent -- to some of the biggest shows in town. You'll find the TKTS booth at Duffy Square on 47th and Broadway. It's open from Monday to Saturday, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. for evening shows, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for Saturday and Wednesday matinees and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Sunday matinee and evening performances. You must buy the tickets on the same day as the performances and credit cards are not accepted. Visit Niketown to pay homage to sports and sneakers. The emporium is filled with eye-catching footwear and you'll find showcases displaying footwear worn by rich and famous athletes and celebrities. These items can be expensive, but it doesn't cost anything to browse. You'll find Niketown at 6 East 57th Street. Send the teens to the huge Apple store on Fifth Avenue, recognizable by its iridescent above-ground cube, which is merely the entrance to an underground wonderland of IPods, IPhones and Macs. The store is located on the block between 58th and 59th streets. This is a store for teens and adults, so work it into your schedule. Teen-Oriented Tours
Take the teens on a "Sex and the City" tour, which focuses on the TV show, its characters and the famous places where the female protagonists dined, drank, shopped and gossiped. "On Location" tour guides will take your teen to the stoop where Carrie sat, the bakery where Carrie and Miranda enjoyed cupcakes, the Soho gallery where Charlotte worked and around 30 more locations. Take your teen to a free public tour of Grand Central Station, which are given on Wednesdays and Fridays at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday tours meet at the Round Information Booth and are given by the Municipal Art Society. The Friday tours meet outside Grand Central on 42nd Street in front of the Phillip Morris Building/Whitney Museum entrance across the street and are given by the Grand Central Partnership. No need to reserve tickets. Ask your teen in advance about this one, but the Historic Walking Tour of Lower Manhattan is an educational experience. The WTC Memorial Tour operates on Saturdays at 9 a.m., as of publication, while the FREEDOM Comprehensive Tour - Ground Zero, National 9/11 Memorial and Statue of Liberty operates daily at 9 a.m.
