Museums

• New York City is home to 150 museums, including the first museum created especially for kids, in 1899, the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Other favorites of youngsters include the American Museum of Natural History and the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Even the Metropolitan Museum of Art caters to families with a downloadable brochure on its website.
  
  

High View

• Kids enjoy getting the big picture of the Big Apple from atop one of the city's greatest icons, the Empire State Building. The New York Skyride, a motion-flight-simulation sightseeing tour of the city, is also available at the Empire State Building.
  
  

The Great Outdoors

• Central Park is an 843-acre oasis and playground in the middle of Manhattan. Depending on the season, families can ice or roller skate, rent bicycles, fish, rock climb, rent a rowboat, ride on one of the nation's largest carousels and visit the polar bears and other animals of the Central Park Zoo.