Teenage Boy in NYC
 

Hi there,

We have our nephew visiting from Oklahoma and his one request is to visit the Statue of Liberty. Well as it turns out you need tickets!! So Im planning that trip for a few weeks from now when I could get a ticket (to the pedestal at least).

Meanwhile in my ignorance we had already planned to go into the city on Saturday (and have a babysitter scheduled for our kids)..... so..... we need a new plan. We are planning on some of the typical sites, Empire State, Central Park, general walk around. (are there any of these that should be paired with statue of liberty?).

Wondering if there are any particular sites/things a teenage boy might really enjoy. I've been innundated with ads for Spiderman Turn off the Dark and tickets are available. Has anyone seen it? Would a 17 year old boy enjoy it? Any other suggestions?
Thanks!!

I'm sure a 17 year-old would enjoy Spiderman or Book of Mormon (especially if he likes South Park), though the latter tickets may be out of reach if you haven't planned ahead. There are so many tourists these days that you do need to do a little pre-planning to save time and money.

Without knowing anything of his interests, it's so hard to k now if he'd like certain things. If he's a military buff, then certainly the Intrepid is worthwhile. If he likes trains, the Transit Museum in Brooklyn. If he's into art, we have some of the best museums in the world (though in my experience, very few teens from Oklahoma are great art lovers).

If he's a history buff, then you might indeed want to go downtown to the Financial District and visit some of the historic sites like Trinity Church (Federal Hall is, sadly, closed on weekends). You could easily go over to the South Street Seaport or Chinatown after or before the Statue.

He is 17, so I'd also let him get out and wander around the city on his own on a weekday. I think he could handle it. Just give him directions on how to get into Manhattan by train or bus and let him explore a bit. Make sure he has a cell phone and a time to get back home.

I'd urge you to buy some kind of guidebook and let him peruse it to give both you and him a sense of what kinds of things interests him. Top of the Rock is an all-around favorite, though I'm shocked at how expensive it's become. The Harry Potter exhibit in Times Square might interest him if he's a fan of the books or movies.

Depends on his level of sophistication and general knowledge.

I would add to the list just on GP's

Forbidden Planet
Evolution on Spring Street
Madison Square Garden
Paragon's sporting goods
Grey's Papaya
Corner Bistro
One of the whole pie pizza places
Chelsea Piers, the sporting complex
Wall Street area
Times Square at night
High Line
Central Park including Strawberry Field and the areas for people watching
Washington Square Park for people watching and the nearby record stores
Veniero's for dessert (We once took a niece there from LA and gave her tiramisu and she had 7 pieces in the enxt 48 hours.)

One of my favorite hidden treasures in NYC is the Federal Reserve Bank. You view a short video and tour the exhibit area, then they take you downstairs to the vault. It's the only one in the US that stores gold bars that are on deposit by foreign governments and banks. The vault floor is the bedrock that's under Manhattan.

It's only open on weekdays and you need advance reservations, but it's interesting. Check their site at www.newyorkfed.org, then go to "About the Fed" and "Visiting".

We just returned from NYC with our kids, one of them being a 17 year old boy. I just asked him for his top things and he said:
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe(My son basically grew up with the whole Harry Potter scene). The show was great for all of us. We loved it! The humor is perfect for that age.
Harry Potter Exhibit at the Discovery Center in Times Square
Nintendo Store at the corner of NBS studios
Mets game at Citi Field - My boys really though Citi Field was amazing. They ate at Shack Shake there and bought a ton of candy at their candy store. The overall experience was great.

Without knowing the young man's interests its' hard to be specific - but my lead ideas would be:

Top of the Rock (not ESB which can have lines hours long)

Staten Island ferry - great views of the SoL and the city on the way back (consider doing it to come back after dark when the lights are on)

Museum of Natural History (I stlll love it as do my adult friends AND their kids)

Consider the Met (but just don't go - look at the web site to see what dept'ts he might like - Egyptian/Temple of Dendur or Arms 7 Armor or ?)

Wander around Central Park (to see some of the team activities as well as the musicians and street performers)

Consider touring the Intrepid

If he really likes music consider visiting some of the music stores downtown and in the Village - which have things not found elsewhere

Have dinner in a sidewalk cafe somewhere in a trendy area - for people watching as well as the big city experience

But really kids that age often have very specific interests that you will want to let hm explore (perhaps the Apple Store on fifth ave or something related to his favorite hobby)

My teenage grandsons favorite thing in NYC was the NBC StudioTour..You visit the sets of Saturday Night Live, NBC News/Brian Williams,, Jimmy Fallon and more. While there do Top of the Rock.
Walk up 5th Ave to NBA Store and Apple Store.

Thank you thank you thank you! I am never dissapointed with the wonderful advice I hear here. Its been a while since I was 17 and I really appreciate the excellent suggestions!

Suggestions for dinner? Somewhere on the nicer side - but with simple food that a picky eater would like?

Forgot to say...
We decided to stay central.
We'll do The Empire State, Time Square (he was very excited to hear about the Harry Potter exhibit) and Rockefeller (he was even more excited about the Nintendo store) and a NBC Studio tour.

So a restaurant somewhere in the general vicinity....

hmmmm,,,,, tempted to take him to Lombardi's pizza (he loves pizza). How bad would it be getting down there at dinner time on a Sunday? and do they do reservations.....

any other suggestions welcome

?

Not sure what budget you mean by "on the nicer side".

Also - what types of food he likes or dislikes. Picky eater covers a wide range - from people who don;t like certain cuisines (no sushi) of specific foods - no organ meats. Or do you mean he eats only burgers and chicken fingers?

How about The Tenement Museum. My 15-year old Grandson wants to go after I told him about it.

GrammyN, the posting was from 5 years ago. The kid is 22 now,