New York City is one of my most favorite places on earth, so for years I’ve dreamed about taking Iris. Although we certainly could have gone earlier, I waited until she was almost 10 because I wanted her to be old enough to 1) appreciate it and 2) be able to keep up with all the walking. And I must say, this was the most perfect time to introduce her to the city. She was old enough to learn and and understand about the places we visited, but still young enough to want to play at every playground we passed. I feel that we went during this magical window of her life where she was as amazed with the little things (she really loved the pigeons), as much as she was the bigger things (visiting the Statue of Liberty).

We stayed four nights, with the first night at the Citizen M Times Square Hotel, and the other three nights at the Citizen M Bowery Hotel. I wrestled with whether or not we should change hotels during our stay, but am glad that we did. I knew that I wanted a full 24 hours to explore the area around Central Park and for Iris to see Times Square at night, but almost everything else on our itinerary was in Lower Manhattan.

I ended up going with Citizen M off of a recommendation of a friend, but also because it was the most affordable/nicest option with a king size bed. The locations were exactly in my desired areas too. Every room is the same: tiny, yet efficient. They only allow two people per room, including kids, and you should be very comfortable around whoever you are bunking with. It’s that small.

I shared our adventures in my Instagram Stories, which were so plentiful that I had to make two separate highlights, but I also wanted to share a list of all the places we went, along with a few of my thoughts about them. So, here we go!

Times Square
We got lucky because there was a pop-up ferris wheel right smack in the middle of Times Square. The line was non-existent, so we bought our tickets and hopped on. This was literally the first thing we did and it made for a great way to kick off the trip.

As I made our itinerary, I tried to keep in mind that, while I might be jaded about some of the touristy places in New York, Iris has never experienced them. And if I thought about it, those are likely the things that really appeal to a kid her age. So with that, we explored the Hershey and M&M stores in Times Square, and also ventured over to FAO Schwarz at Rock Center. And of course we made sure to see the Times Square lights at night, because I think everyone should experience that once in their life.

Serendipity III
Famous for their frozen hot chocolate (and for the movie, which was filmed there), I knew Serendipity III was a must for Iris whose favorite thing in the world is desserts. They serve diner-style food, so it was easy finding something she’d like to eat, followed by a huge s’mores flavored frozen hot chocolate that we shared (and still couldn’t finish). I’m sure this goes without saying, but be prepared to spend more on each meal than you’re used to back home. It’s New York, so everything is going to be more expensive. Also, look to see if you can make reservations in advance. We did with this one and were able to get seated right away.

Central Park
The great thing about Citizen M is that you can pay a little extra for a late, 6 pm check out. Not having to worry about packing up our things before we moved to our next hotel, we were able to get an early start to our first full day in NYC. After stopping for a quick donut from the flagship Krispy Kreme store in Times Square (home of the world’s largest Hot Light!), we walked the few blocks to Central Park.

Not really having a plan, here are some of our favorite things we ended up visiting in Central Park:
Alice & Wonderland statue, Heckscher Playground (Iris LOVED this), Bethesda Terrace and Fountain (great photo spot), seeing the modal boats, pitstop at the Loeb Boathouse Express Cafe (pro tip: they sell WINE).

The Met
Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit The Met, but our walk in Central Park took us to the famous steps for a quick Gossip Girl style photo.

Afternoon Tea at The Plaza Hotel
We’re both big fans of Home Alone, so visiting The Plaza Hotel was high on our bucket list. While we can’t afford to actually stay there (it’s literally $1,000 per night), we did splurge on afternoon tea at The Palm Court inside the hotel. You order from just a couple options and the three courses are served all at once, which feels very decadent. The best part is that they have an Eloise tea option for kids, which was perfect for Iris. It was all very cute and we had fun pretending to be fancy for a minute. While overpriced, it’s one of those things that’s fun to do once in your life. And duh, get the option with the glass of champagne. We made reservations for this one too, but watch out – if you cancel less than a couple days out they might charge you a fee.

Economy Candy
Once we cabbed it over to our new hotel in the Lower East Side, we walked around the neighborhood and visited Economy Candy. I liked that it wasn’t one of those chain, trendy candy shops. Instead, this place won my heart with its old-school, classic candy shop feel (along with the very unique and large selection). Iris found about a million things she wanted to buy while I was intrigued by the candies from all over the world.

Little Italy
We were in New York for four nights and we ate in Little Italy for two of them. That should tell you enough, but man – not only was it delicious, it was so lively, fun, and adorable. No need for reservations, we just wandered the streets until a place felt right. NYC has some amazing outdoor dining options currently and we took full advantage.

Museum of Ice Cream
Located in the heart of Soho, the Museum of Ice Cream was one of the top attractions Iris was most excited about. We bought tickets in advance for opening time, which was great because at some points we had some areas all to ourselves. Iris really loved the room where she could jump and play in the sprinkles, and I loved all the photo ops. An Instagram dream! And yes, of course there’s ice cream on this journey! They would give you scoops and popsicles throughout the exhibits, but towards the end we stopped accepting them because, believe it or not, we were sick of ice cream.

Sloomoo Institute
This slime experience is in Soho just around the corner from The Museum of Ice Cream, so we planned these back-to-back. I’ve been to a slime studio before, but the Sloomoo Institute is was a completely different experience. They have tons of slime around the building, so as you work through the exhibits, you can play with all different kids. There’s a slime slingshot, an ASMR station, just to name a few. You also get to design your own slime to take home (even mom!) – complete with cute little charms. The grand finale is an obstacle course where kids can walk through a huge thing of slime. All in all, this was not my favorite because it was so overwhelming (and frankly, I don’t really get the whole slime sensation), but Iris LOVED it. It really is perfect for any slime lover.

West Village
I finally got to visit one of my most favorite kid brands IRL – Pink Chicken on Bleecker. We walked to the West Village for lunch (okay, and maybe to also see the Friends apartment and Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment) and popped in for a little shopping. I love this neighborhood so much, so it was fun to have an excuse to explore. As for our lunch spot, we had a quick taco (and a marg for me) at Tacombi which was perfection.

Statue of Liberty
Once again, I bought the very opening ticket for something – the Statue of Liberty. We took the subway to Battery Park, were we were on the first ferry of the day. We paid a little extra for the peddle reserve ticket, so we were able to walk about halfway up the statue. Due to Covid, we couldn’t go in the crown, but I was happy that we at least got to go inside the base of the statue, up to the landing that looked out. The views of Manhattan from the ferry and and Liberty Island unreal. I highly recommend doing this, especially on the first ferry of the day because it was so empty.

9/11 Memorial
Once our ferry docked back on Manhattan, we walked over to the 9/11 Memorial. In sixth grade I took a class trip to NYC where we went to the top of the World Trade Center. This was my first time being back to the exact spot. It was very powerful to see, and to share with Iris, who has a totally different perspective on such a pivotal moment in our history than we do as adults. It was nice to be able to share it with her – a good way to really start the dialog about what happened that day.

One World Trade Center
Just next door, One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the United States. The 360 views from the observatory are simply stunning and make you feel like you are on top of the world. I highly recommend going to the top and drinking a glass of champagne. I mean, how often can you do that? And don’t fall for the extra charge for better tickets like I did – there’s no such thing. There was no wait for the elevator and once you’re up there, it’s all the same. Before you leave the building, head over to the Oculus, which is connected to One World Trade Center. It’s worth seeing in real life, plus the photo ops are pretty cool.

Harry Potter Store
There’s a subway stop in The Oculus that took us straight to the newly opened Harry Potter Store. Silly me thought we could just walk straight into the store and start shopping. Oh boy, was I wrong. I should have done a little more research because there’s a QR code that you need to scan at the store to hold your place in line just to ENTER the store. When we arrived mid-afternoon, there was a FOUR HOUR wait. The good news is that you don’t have to stand there. They text when it’s your turn and you have a full hour to get back to the store. We actually had a pretty open afternoon, so it ended up working out just fine. We ate some lunch, checked out the nearby Leggo store, saw the Flat Iron building, and also toured Empire State Building. When it was finally our turn, it was super easy to enter and there was a lot to explore. We didn’t really buy much, as it’s all pretty pricey, but personally I really enjoyed a glass of Butterbeer from the Butterbeer Bar.

Empire State Building
I had never been to the Empire State Building and didn’t really plan on going this trip either. I figured with the views from One World Trade Center, this just wasn’t really necessary. But when we found ourselves with some extra time, and with it being so close to the Harry Potter Store, we wandered over and went right in. It wasn’t crowded at all, so again we got some really great photographs – ones that I will cherish forever. I also really loved that with this amazing view, we were able to be outside – and in one of the most iconic spots in the world. I am so glad we ended up doing this one.

A Few Last Bites
On our last evening, we were completely wiped from all the adventures and all the miles we’d clocked walking. We kept it low-key and ended our trip with ramen at another fabulous outdoor dining spot that we just happened to stroll past. A few other spots that we enjoyed on our trip are Levain Bakery for their famous chocolate chip cookies, Black Seed Bagels because there’s nothing like a New York bagel & schmear, and of course no trip to New York is complete without a stop on the street for a hot dog.

After this trip, I realized that I’ve been to NYC every year for the last four years. I’m pretty sure it would be a crime to break that streak, so hopefully next year Iris and I can return. There were of course plenty of places that I had on my list, but it’s impossible to see it all. ‘Til next time, New York!