New York for a 15-year-old

July 17, 2010 8:30 AM

What would French teenage boy like to see in New York?

I have to take a friend of the family around on his last day (today!) in New York. Since I am no longer 15 and was never male nor French, I am not convinced that what I want to see would overlap with what he wants to see. He's already been to the Met, Moma & the Guggenheim. Are there any culturally interesting and teenager-interesting things you would recommend?

posted by MaddyRex to society & culture (15 answers total)

This is only part of a day but this is what I'm coming up with for a 15 year old:

Go to the John Lennon memorial at Central Park if he likes the Beatles at all, continue on to the Apple Store on 5th avenue [this way he's seen the sweetest Apple Store in the world], take the subway to Harlem [this way he can tell his friends he's been in Harlem], walk around a bit, show him the entrance to Apollo Theater.
posted by wolfr at 8:56 AM on July 17, 2010

Does he like basketball? Take him to the NBA store.
posted by dfriedman at 9:03 AM on July 17, 2010

American Museum of Natural History.

MOMA Design Store (two locations). Lots of fun items for teenagers and adults.

If he likes books, Strand. (I assume he speaks English? It's an interesting place even if he doesn't speak English. I was once an 18-year-old boy who loved "the Strand," which is what it's often improperly called.)

Go on a picnic in Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens (just across the river from midtown Manhattan). It might not look very interesting from that website, but it has some huge, funky exhibits, some of them done by kids (at least when I visited last year -- maybe someone else who's been there more recently can verify if they're still there).

Go to the legendary Yonah Schimmel's Knisherie and order a bunch of different kinds of knishes.

Previously.
posted by Jaltcoh at 9:05 AM on July 17, 2010

NBA Store.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:18 AM on July 17, 2010

When I had a 15 year old french boy visit, he was particularly interested in Krispy Cremes. But this was 10 years ago now, so the french may have donuts now.

The Yankees play at 4:00
posted by rakish_yet_centered at 9:22 AM on July 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

Teenagers vary widely, but possibilities are:

- walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (very popular with tourists, and with some locals)
- Statue of Liberty (again, popular with tourists, and a gift from this kid's country)
- the Cloisters (fascinating to anyone with a grain of appreciation for art or history)
- Museum of Natural History (fascinating to anyone with a soul)
- Seinfeld sites like the real-life "Monk's Cafe." (I bet he's an icon even overseas.)
posted by wjm at 9:46 AM on July 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

The Ground Zero crater. (I'm not kidding.)
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:54 AM on July 17, 2010

I would add Staten Island Ferry to wjm's list.
posted by TrialByMedia at 10:03 AM on July 17, 2010

* Good NY style Pizza - a classic
* Times Square - while touristy, it really is a microcosm of people from all over the world in one small space with an amazing amount of over stimulation. I'm not suggesting that you spend hours upon hours there but if you are passing through you might stop and gawk for a bit or wander into the big "experience" stores (like the M&M World). Who doesn't love a 6 foot tall yellow peanut M&M guy? (at least for 15 minutes).
* Speaking of experience stores, if he is a fan of NBC shows and kitsch the NBC store in Rockefeller center will delight him.
posted by mmascolino at 10:08 AM on July 17, 2010

Is the Bodies exhibition still up at the seaport? My 15 year old self would have enjoyed that.
posted by cazoo at 10:09 AM on July 17, 2010

Chinatown/Canal St. + Nolita.
posted by milarepa at 10:18 AM on July 17, 2010

Seconding Ground Zero, Staten Island Ferry, and Museum of Natural History.
posted by Paris Elk at 11:39 AM on July 17, 2010

Here in San Francisco, I usually drive guests all over town, so they can see areas that are varied and interesting, even where there are no "attractions." Instead of driving, take a sightseeing bus tour.
posted by wryly at 4:12 PM on July 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

not a million miles away I know lots of Spanish teens and when I said I'd been to New York, every single one of them asked me about Ground Zero first, then the Empire State building.
posted by Wilder at 2:58 AM on July 19, 2010

This is, of course, too late for this thread, but I'm putting it in for anyone who searches this in the future.

When I lived in New York, a friend of my mother's visited for a day with one of her teenage sons. He was indifferent to museums, the Empire State Building, everything. Except... when we were eating lunch, my bag was stolen. We went to the police station to report it, and he got a Coke from the machine at the police station. He apparently spent months telling his friends about how cool this was, and how it made him feel just like he was on Law & Order.

Your teenage boy may vary.
posted by MsMolly at 5:11 PM on July 23, 2010