Family Friendly Walking Tours of New York City

New York City is one of the most walking friendly cities in the world. While large, New York is dense, and one area of interest flows into another with great ease. It is typical for people who live here to not know how to drive not just because of the excellent public transportation system, but because it is considered perfectly normal to choose to walk a mile or two to work or other destinations even if you're not into physical fitness.

As such, it makes sense that one of the best ways to see New York City is on foot. Luckily, there are hundreds of walking tours available to visitors (and natives looking for more information on one particular aspect of the city) and some of them are just great for keeping the whole family, including kids, entertained.

New York is a city of myth and legend and history. It's larger than life and so are many of its walking tours.

With or without a guide, the Brooklyn Bridge is a spectacular destination with a large, well-developed pedestrian walkway adorned with plagues explaining both the history of the bridge and the technology behind it. The views are amazing and it is worth keeping in mind that when the bridge was completed there were no airplanes or buildings as high. For New Yorkers the opening of the bridge, which allowed them to stand higher than any church steeple, was both a scientific and emotional marvel. It was, in some ways, the first time we left the ground.

New York Talks and Walks offers a series of tours designed to be specifically child friendly. These tours include a tour of the home of the man who founded the Boy Scouts, haunted walking tours, a tour of a matzoh factory on the historically Jewish Lower East Side or a visit to a Buddhist temple in Chinatown.

However, if you're traveling with older children, many other walking tours are equally appropriate, including those that cover the various ethnic neighborhoods in New York or the history of commerce in the city that is (the City of London will gladly fight us for the title) arguably the financial capital of the world).

When looking for walking tours in New York, there are many places to look beyond walking tour companies. For example, the Botanical Gardens offers waking tours that focus on everything from local plant life to explorations of how native plants are used in immigrant cultures throughout the city. With a bit of advance planning it is easy to gain access to walking tours only a native would know about. Using New York to explore multiple cultures or to show children how nature can thrive in urban environments is a great way to engage them in a city that while compelling for children isn't always made for them.