Recently my daughter and I took a trip to New York City. We squeezed so much into our quick weekend trip. Last week I showed you how to take a family friendly, budget friendly tour of New York City starting at Penn Station and ending at Grand Central Terminal. Today I’m going to show you how to see the sites of Manhattan up closer to Central Park.

New York City Walking Tour: Manhattan

We could easily have walked from Grand Central Terminal up to Central Park but we decided that part of the days experience was taking public transportation. Since this was a brand new experience, we did the smartest thing. We entered Grand Central Terminal and asked for help!

We started with the information booth at Grand Central Terminal and were told that our best option was to take the subway shuttle up to 81st street. But getting our Metro Ticket was a bit of a daunting experience.

You know what we discovered? New York locals are friendly people who have no problem helping two city tourists. When we didn’t know how much to put on the metrocard, we asked a young lady. She kindly showed us how to buy the card, put $2.75 (x2) on the card, gave us a smile and a wave and headed on her day!

New York City Subway

All that was left after that was figuring out how to swipe the metrocard and enter the subway system. It is possible to only use one card for 2-3 people. Just add enough money to the card so you can share the card.

Riding the subway in New York City was an adventure all its own. We heard many subway musicians and were energized by the steady stream of people.

This was my first experience riding the NYC subway system and I really expected to see graffiti and feel nervous and unsafe. But surprisingly, it was the opposite experience. We didn’t see even one bit of graffiti on any walls and not once were we in a position that we felt like we should be concerned for our safety.

While on our New York City adventure, we were also able to take a subway ride with some of my friends and coworkers!

New York Style Pizza for Lunch
One of the things we wanted to eat while in the city was some New York style pizza. When we got off the subway at 81st street, we bought 2 pieces of Saba’s Pizza and enjoyed a quick picnic break at Theodore Roosevelt Park.

Museum of Natural History

One of the must-see highlights of our trip was the Museum of Natural History. We have seen the Night at the Museum multiple times and wanted to at least step inside the museum and see the famous dinosaur bones. To our surprise, we discovered that the dinosaurs in the main lobby are different than the ones in the movie. We look forward to going back and actually taking a full tour of the Museum on another visit.

Central Park

Right across from the Museum of Natural History is an entrance to Central Park. I do say “an entrance” not “the” entrance. I was under the mistaken impression that Central Park was a small green spot in New York City. I was wrong! Central Park is 843 acres with meandering trails all throughout. The landscape is absolutely gorgeous and not something I ever expected to find in the middle of New York City!

We took a break about halfway through to ride the Carousel. (Cost: $3.00)

Once you finally exit the park, you can walk right past Carnegie Hall. If you stay on your path a few more blocks you will have come full circle and be back at Times Square.

Or you can go up one block and catch the Subway to Lower Manhattan for the rest of your tour! Be watching for that part of the trip next week!

Have you ever thought about taking a walking tour of Manhattan? What is your favorite part of the city? Got a favorite restaurant? I’d love to hear!

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