NYC Vacation with Young Girls

“Perfect Princess” Girls Weekend in New York City

Kimberly’s NYC Vacation with young girls was a hit! As the founder of GlobeAware, a nonprofit that develops short-term volunteer programs all over the world, Kimberly has visited the nooks and crannies of countries most of us have never even heard of! She also knows the best vacations are when you immerse yourself in the local culture and that is exactly what she did with her two-day September weekend in NYC, with her daughters, ages 3 and 5.

Day 1 – Friday Night

Mulberry Street (Little Italy) Apartment Check In

We checked into our charming apartment on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, which we chose because after doing our research on NYC Insider Guide, we knew it was the weekend of the San Gennaro Festival and wanted to be in the center of the action. The apartment was quaint and we lived like real New Yorkers all weekend, including our little balcony on the fire escape.

We booked it through VRBO, which we’ve used before in NYC, and paid under $200 per night for a perfect location right in the middle of such a fun festival!

Little Italy Vacation Rental

San Gennaro Festival

We dropped our bags and headed right back out, smack into the middle of the Feast of San Gennaro and the Bounce House. All the restaurants had outdoor tables and the streets were filled with entertainment and the smell of authentic Italian food. The balloon guy was a scream, doing magic tricks and following us around to give endless balloon animals and swords to play with…

Back to top of NYC vacation with young girls

Day 2 – NYC Vacation with young girls

Breakfast at Balthazar Restaurant & Bakery

Balthazar Restaurant & Bakery We woke up and walked 10 minutes to Balthazar, my favorite breakfast/brunch spot. Scrambled eggs in a puff pastry, brioche french toast, homemade oatmeal..mmmm. Balthazar is one of those quintessential NYC restaurants that scores the trifecta – great décor, service and food! All the decorations have been shipped straight from France, so you feel like you’re in a Paris café, but with a definite NYC edge…it’s also a great place for lunch and dinner if you’re browsing art galleries or shopping at all the boutiques in SoHo.

80 Spring Street (Broadway and Crosby)

Subway: C, E at Spring St. or N, R, W at Prince St.

Scholastic Book Store in SoHo – Closed

Scholastic Book Store in SoHo (Now Closed) We walked right around the corner, and went to the huge (over 6,000 feet) children’s bookstore, where the girls wandered and played for a bit. Scholastic Store is the entire ground floor of the Scholastic Publishing headquarters, who introduced Harry Potter to the US.

They had a great selection of kid’s books as well as tons of of games, craft kits, toys and educational stuff. There was a huge amount of Harry Potter things, a 12-foot high doghouse with a huge Clifford and a long Magic School Bus the kids can pretend to drive.

557 Broadway (Prince and Spring St.)
Subway: C, E at Spring St. or N, R, W at Prince St.

NYC Insider Note: Since it was a beautiful day, they walked 15 minutes through Greenwich Village from Scholastic to the Orpheum Theater for Stomp, but could have taken the R/W subway one stop Uptown to 8th Street.

STOMP – Off Broadway Show

STOMP - Off Broadway Show Thanks to NYC Insider Guide, we got $39 tickets to see STOMP. The girls thought STOMP was wonderful fun, though they did begin to wiggle the last 10 minutes, which is also when it gets really loud. Basically, there’s no speaking, except a “Yeah” here and there, but the performers “talk” to each other with their made-up instruments, such as garbage can lids, brooms, buckets, sticks and even the kitchen sink. The show takes place in a junkyard where workers in coveralls are all sweeping at the same time, but eventually start to get a rhythm and use all the junkyard objects to make music, Zippo lighters, garbage cans, newspapers, plastic jugs, hubcaps, running water.

See a preview of Stomp on YouTube or read more about Stomp at New York Off Broadway Shows.
Orpheum Theatre, 126 Second Ave (7th and St. Marks place, equivalent of 8th Street)

Walk The Highline (Meatpacking District)

The Highline was a Highlight! We LOVE THE HIGHLINE, New York City’s above-ground public park, in the Meatpacking District, along the water. It is an elevated walkway, above street level, made from converted railroad tracks. The benches are hooked up to the original train tracks and move sideways along the tracks. The girls climbed and jumped around on the benches and loved pressing their faces against the glass in the amphitheater overlooking 9th Avenue. We couldn’t pull them away from here.

Walk The Highline (Meatpacking District)

Dinner at Puglia in Little Italy

Dinner at Puglia in Little Italy What kids would NOT love standing on their seats, twirling their napkins and dancing and singing throughout the meal? This is not a part of our normal dinner routine, so it sure made it fun. Apparently, it IS the normal routine at Puglia!

This was my favorite part of our weekend. It was extra-special for us, since it was during the San Gennaro Festival, so we had the added bonus of sitting outside on the street under a tent, and there were so many smiling, happy, shiny people watching from outside the restaurant waiting to get in, we really felt like we were in the center of all the action, which we were. The restaurant is named for “Puglia”, a region in Southern Italy.

189 Hester St (at Mulberry St)

Back to top of NYC vacation with young girls

More NYC Vacation with Young Girls

Check out Day 3 of this NYC vacation at One Day in NYC with Kids itinerary. The girls continue their whirlwind NYC tour and have a great day, jam-packed with the Statue of Liberty, lunch at Serendipity, Dylan’s Candy Bar, FAO Schwarz, Plaza Hotel and Central Park.

Five year old Maggie called it “the BEST day of her life.”

Back to top of NYC Vacation with Young Girls

New York With Kids

Top New York City Attractions for Kids

One of the best parts of NYC is that what is fun for kids is usually just as much fun for adults.

Back to top of One Day in NYC with Kids Itinerary

New York City Trip Reports