When was the last time you had real fun? Actual laugh-out-loud, endorphin-filled, forget-you’re-an-adult fun?
This super-charged list of fun things to do in New York City will help you step out of your usual routine, escape the everyday grind, and remind you why you moved to the greatest playground on earth. Think of it as your all-access pass to Disneyland for adults.
Pro Tips:
- Embrace the Silly: Leave your adult inhibitions at the door. The more you lean into the experience, the more fun you’ll have.
- Bring Your Squad: Many of these activities are even better with friends or fellow adventure-seekers. Most of these experiences are kid-friendly, but we recommend checking first.
- Plan a Party: Several venues offer private rooms for hosting your next special event.
- Call Ahead or Read the venue’s FAQs: Always check hours, age restrictions, and booking requirements before you go.
- Capture the Joy: These experiences are Instagram gold. Just remember to put the phone away and remember why you’re doing this… TO HAVE FUN!
IMMERSIVE & INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES
COLOR FACTORY: Voted #1 Best Immersive Art Experience 2024 & 2025
With 14+ vibrant, immersive art exhibits, this is the ultimate celebration of color. Explore a confetti-filled park, sink into the ball pit, and surround yourself with every hue imaginable. It’s like playing inside a rainbow.
251 Spring Street, New York
INTER: Travel to space without leaving the city
If outer space isn’t on your vacation calendar this year, a trip to the Interverse will satiate your inner astronaut. Journey through 10+ immersive exhibitions and zones with AI-responsive environments that react to your movement, sound, and touch. An intergalactic playground for the curious.
415 Broadway, New York
MUSEUM OF ICE CREAM: Free Samples!
Unlimited ice cream treats + a three-story, spiraling indoor slide + a world-famous sprinkle pool = pure childhood bliss. This 20,000-square-foot deliciously colorful wonderland celebrates everyone’s favorite frozen treat across 14+ interactive playscapes.
558 Broadway, New York
MUSEUM OF ILLUSIONS: Experience the impossible
One part visual, one part sensory, one part educational, all parts awesome! Walk on walls, shrink and grow, and take photos that’ll have you questioning reality.
77 Eighth Avenue, New York
SLOOMOO INSTITUTE: The World’s #1 Slime Experience
It’s a slime museum, and yes, it’s as gloriously gooey as it sounds. Stand under a slime waterfall, squish vats of the stuff, and make a slime creation to take home. This 90-minute sensory playground of scrumptious scents and ASMR wonders is the ultimate therapy for your inner child.
475 Broadway, New York
GET YOUR SKATES ON!
XANADU ROLLER ARTS: Indoor roller skating
We won’t guarantee you a good old-fashioned snowball, but we will guarantee a rolling good time at the city’s first new wooden roller rink in over a decade. Bring your skates or rent a pair there, and check the calendar for Xanadu Club Nights featuring a skate session from 7pm-10pm, and a no-skate nightclub dance floor after 10pm.
262 Starr Street, Brooklyn
SKY RINK CHELSEA PIERS: Ice skating year-round
If you can’t wait for the city’s magical winter holiday ice skating season, this huge indoor venue welcomes skaters of all ages and abilities, all year round. Book a general skating session, or level up and take a class or private lesson to wow onlookers at Rockefeller Center or Bryant Park come December.
61 Chelsea Piers, New York
ACTIVE ADVENTURES
PICKLEBALL: Because… why not?
You’ve heard it’s fun, you’ll make new friends, and there are bonus health benefits. So, why not try America’s fastest-growing sport? Join a league, or drop in with friends for a hit and laugh.
Multiple locations: Chelsea Piers, Gotham Pickleball (Queens), Hell’s Kitchen Pickleball Club, NYC Parks, Sportime Pickleball
RPM RACEWAY: Go-karts, video games, and bowling
Fancy yourself as an F1 legend? RPM is the perfect place to live out your Lewis Hamilton or Michael Schumacher dreams. If go-karting is not your thing, book a leisurely game of bowling, or get lost in the endless arcade.
Note: This venue is very loud, so keep that in mind if you’re considering inviting people with sensory sensitivities.
Multiple locations: Jersey City (NJ), Long Island (NY), Stamford (CT), Syracuse (NY)
AREA 53: Indoor adventure park
Love exploring the great outdoors, but hate the bugs and sunburn? This year-round indoor adventure haven offers zip lines, rock climbing walls, aerial ropes courses, roller skating, a ball pit, and a full arcade in a single Brooklyn warehouse. It’s like summer camp for grown-ups who refuse to grow up.
616 Scholes Street, Brooklyn
LAUNCH: Way more than a trampoline park!
Are you the kid who wanted to reach the moon from your backyard trampoline? Launch is just the place for you, with wall-to-wall trampolines, dodgeball, basketball hoops, and foam pits. Make sure to release your inner acrobat BEFORE you visit Krave, the in-house restaurant where you can create your own pizza.
Multiple locations: Brooklyn and Queens
BROADWAY DANCE CENTER: Drop-in dance studio
We all have a tiny dancer in us, some with skills from our younger days, and some who have never experienced the thrill of “5, 6, 7, 8”. Regardless of your experience level, this Broadway institution is perfect for busy New Yorkers who don’t want regular or long-term commitments. When the feeling hits, drop in on one of more than 350 classes offered per week.
322 West 45th Street, New York (Children & Teens @ Lincoln Center, 37 West 65th Street)
MANHATTAN KAYAK CO: Kayaking and Paddleboarding on the Hudson River
When a fun day at the beach is out of reach, this Hudson River water experience is a great substitute. Rent a single or tandem kayak, or stand solo on a paddleboard and paddle your way past the iconic aircraft carrier, Intrepid. And yes, your adventurous canine can join you.
Pier 84 Boathouse, 555 12th Avenue @ West 44th Street
OLD SCHOOL FUN & ENTERTAINMENT
SWINGERS: Crazy golf, ridiculous fun
The crazy golf craze that originated in Shoreditch, London, is now in NoMad, New York City. Cocktails are encouraged, fun is inevitable, and you don’t need a golf handicap to tee off on these nine-hole mini courses.
35 West 29th Street, New York
FAO SCHWARZ BIG PIANO: It’s back!
Channel your inner Tom Hanks from the 1988 movie, Big, and dance on the famous giant floor piano at this iconic three-story toy wonderland. It’s pure joy in musical form, and yes, grown-ups are absolutely encouraged to play.
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York
LUCKY STRIKE: More than just bowling
There’s a childlike thrill that comes with bowling a strike. Even better when the bowling venue also offers billiards and state-of-the-art video games. Bring your socks and A-game.
Check here for a list of locations across NYC and New Jersey.
CELLAR DOG: Pool tables, jazz, and good vibes
If you’ve lived in NYC long enough, you’ll remember this place as the late-night basement gaming joint, Fat Cat. With billiards, ping pong, shuffleboard, foosball, board games, and live jazz every night, this is the place to channel your inner teen and college years.
75 Christopher Street, New York
SPIN: United by ping pong
Everyone remembers the kid in the neighborhood with that paddle-and-ball game everyone wanted to play. Whether you call it ping pong or table tennis, this universal, all-ages social game is great for hand-eye coordination and bragging rights. The kitchen at Spin offers a range of shareable platters, and the bar is ready to help fuel your score.
Two New York locations: 1626 Broadway (Midtown), and 48 East 23rd Street (Flatiron)
ARCADE BARS & RETRO GAMING
BARCADE: The Original Arcade Bar
If your childhood memories include slapping flippers on a pinball machine or blowing your pocket money to reach “best score” on the leaderboard of your favorite video game, this place was made for you. Fuel up with a drink and pub meal, and get your game on with Pac-Man, Galaga, Frogger, Donkey Kong, and many more.
Multiple locations: Manhattan (Chelsea, FiDi, St. Mark’s Place), Brooklyn, and Jersey City
SUNSHINE LAUNDROMAT & PINBALL: Full-service laundry with a secret speakeasy
Who hasn’t dreamed of opening a secret door and finding an exciting surprise inside? This regular-looking laundromat promises a secret escape to a full pinball arcade. It’s like finding Narnia, but with more flippers and high scores.
860 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn
WHIMSICAL RIDES
SEAGLASS CAROUSEL: A carousel like no other
This isn’t your average merry-go-round. Climb inside one of the 30 iridescent fish and float in a magical aquatic dream of movement, music, and light.
The Battery (enter from 17 State Street)
JANE’S CAROUSEL: A 1920s classic
A lovingly restored 1922 carousel, housed in a stunning glass pavilion with breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline, this classic beauty and filmmaker favorite is “Old New York” nostalgia at its best.
DUMBO section of Brooklyn Bridge Park
SWEETS & TREATS
N.Y. CAKE ACADEMY: Bake your cake and eat it too!
If you were the kid who loved helping out in the kitchen and miss living in a space capable of storing more than a mixing bowl and wooden spoon, sign up for a baking and cake decorating class and learn new skills. Pro tip: check the events calendar for kids and teens baking events, and ask about the vegan baking classes.
118 West 22nd Street, New York
SERENDIPITY 3: Home of the world-famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate
Sometimes, feeding the desires of your inner child is as simple as devouring a plate of fries and a three-scoop chocolate sundae. Since 1954, Serendipity 3 has induced sugary happiness among New Yorkers and visitors alike. If you’re feeling naughty, indulge in a Sunday Chicken Dinner Sundae, or sneak a spiked caffé or hot chocolate.
Two Manhattan locations: 225 East 60th Street (original), and 157 West 47th Street, Times Square.
ALICE’S TEA CUP: A New York Wonderland
“New York City’s most whimsical tea house” begs you to fantasize stepping into a classic English fairy tale for scones, tea sandwiches, and of course, pots of tea served in traditional cups and saucers. Bring your imagination, curiosity, and best gossip.
102 West 73rd Street, New York
Make a shortlist, summon your sense of adventure, invite a friend, and rediscover the magic that makes New York City the greatest playground on earth!
AWNY | Australian Women in New York 