WELCOME TO NEW YORK

Alexia Santamaria takes small bites of the Big Apple

New York — such an iconic city. The inspiration for countless musicians, poets and writers and the setting of so many films featuring those distinctive yellow taxis, sky-scraping buildings, streets of retail therapy and brash, confident attitude. It’s a place everyone should visit at least once in their lives.

The good news is, if you missed doing it in your youth — hanging out in fabulous bars, eating everything imaginable, thrashing your credit card and soaking up the art and culture — it’s still a great place to visit with kids in tow.

Here are some ideas if the Big Apple is part of your family travel plans for 2020.

Hit up the museums

There is a museum for almost every kid’s taste in this city. Don’t miss the American Museum of Natural History, which attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world every year and of course, The Met (ask for their free family guides).

There’s also the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, the Strong National Museum of Play, New York Hall of Science, New York Transit Museum and so many more.

Eat everything

You will never starve in this city, that’s for sure. From sushi to tacos to floppy thin-crust pizza, pastrami sandwiches and of course, classic New York hot dogs, there really is something to please everyone.

If you are there over a weekend, Smorgasburg — the largest weekly open-air food market in America with more than 100 local vendors — is a must.

If your kids (and maybe even you?) are dessert fans, you may also want to check out Ample Hills Creamery, CoolMess, Blue Marble Ice Cream, Eddie’s Sweet Shop or Morgenstern’s for sweet treats.

Indulge in the joys of Broadway

Seeing a show on Broadway is a very New York experience and there are many kids will love such as Aladdin, The Lion King and of course Frozen .If theatre is their thing, you can even take a behindthe-scenes tour of the production of Wicked or of Disney’s New Amsterdam Theatre so they can see what goes into creating huge live shows.

Walk the city

There are plenty of great places to wander — not just Central Park. Walk the Williamsburg Bridge and end up in Domino Park or take the ferry to Governor’s Island and meander the winding paths stopping at food trucks and playzones (check dates before going).

The High Line — built on an abandoned train track — is great for strolling with views of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea.

Coming soon

There will definitely be kids who are pretty excited that 2020 will see the opening of a huge Harry Potter Flagship store with the largestever collection of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts product, and the opening of the biggest Legoland yet — Legoland New York Resort.

International phenomenon KidZania will also open its doors in 2020 in New York. This city just keeps getting better.