Manhattan / Broadway for kids
 

Will be spending 8 days in Manhattan in the Time's Square/Broadway area. I have a 13-year-old daughter and looking for unique, maybe off the beaten path things to do. Ideas welcome!

Have you seen the beaten path? There are world class museums, food from all over the world, American and world history, remarkable architecture, ethnic neighborhood, unusual stores, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway.

Please do not take this as rude, if you wanted unique and off the beaten path, you should not stay in the Times Square area.

I don't see what difference at all it makes where their hotel is, I don't know anyone who can't venture outside the few blocks around their hotel. That's a convenient central location.

I'd suggest the Tenement Museum. It's not that offbeat, but a bit different and in a different part of town than the usual museums around Central Park. I took the sweatshop tour a few months ago, that was a good one.

When we have younger visitors they usually like Greenwich Village including Washington Square Park. Dim Sum in Chinatown at either Golden Unicorn or Jing Fong followed by Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. The High line and Chelsea Market. But I would take her to either MoMA or Met Museum. We have taken many kids there and with an explanation of the art, their world has widened.

Also take the Staten Island Ferry after dark. Go out of the right side and return on the left and you will pass the Statue of Liberty. And you will see the lights of NY grow upon your return. Or go to the Brooklyn Heights promenade where you will see the shot of Manhattan, shown millions of times in movies and TV shows.

Broadway shows, I recommend aside from the usual that kids that age would like (obviously Lion King, Anastasia, etc) I would highly recommend The Play That Goes Wrong and Puffs (but only if she likes Harry Potter).

Did you guys like Men in Black the movie? Go to the park where the end of the movie was filmed, Flushing Meadows Park, and see the "UFOs." While in Queens, why not go to the Museum of the Moving Image. Other stuff off the top of my head: The Cloisters/Ft. Tryon park, the northern area of Central Park and the conservatory garden, which much much less tourists go to than the southern part, and literally any museum that is not the Met, Natural History, Guggenheim, or MOMA, there are literally hundreds.

New York has everything, and so I would suggest thinking of something you are really interested in and seeing if New York has an area that specializes in that thing. For example if you are interested in a specific country or culture, there's a literal 99% chance there is a big area where you can see a lot of that culture here. If you like a certain kind of toy or dancing or movie or show, you might find a ton of stuff concerning that thing here. Honestly, New York for me has been a city of experiences and events rather than sightseeing.

The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens is fantastic and so much fun. Highly recommended. i believe the "R" train from Times Squre goes there. Short subway ride.

Get away from Times Square if you want off the beaten path. It's crazy packed with tourists.