The Financial District is a booming family neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. Towering office building to high-end condo conversions were followed in short order by family-friendly businesses. There are excellent schools, unique playgrounds, indoor play spaces, and off-the-beaten-path museums.

It’s hard to tell now with all the modern skyscrapers, but the Financial District—aka FiDi—is the oldest settled part of NYC and a great place to learn about the city's storied history. Plus, almost every subway line stops in the Financial District, making it a super-convenient neighborhood to explore. Read on for our top 30 picks for things to do, see, and eat with kids in the Financial District and find more fun neighborhoods to explore in our Manhattan Kids Guide, which includes looks at the nearby enclaves of the South Street Seaport and Battery Park City.

When it comes to indoor playgrounds in NYC, you can never have too many options. Rainbow Playspace recently opened its doors in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and features a gigantic ball pit, slides, swings, obstacle courses, toys, foam blocks, trampolines, and more. It's the perfect place for kids to jump, bounce, run, swing, climb, slide, and play, especially when it's rainy or cold outside.

Read on for all the details and what you need to know about Rainbow Playspace, and find all our top local romping spots on this list of Brooklyn's best indoor play spaces, and visit our comprehensive NYC Kids' Guide to Indoor Play Spaces and Fun Zones for more places to play citywide.

Families in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn have a fantastic new indoor playground to explore. Flying Apple debuted last fall and features swings, soft ball pits, obstacle courses, illuminated slides, and games. It's a great option on bad weather days when your kids need to run around and expend some energy.

We recently visited Flying Apple on a rainy afternoon and the kids had so much fun. Read on to get all the details about this new indoor playground, which has already earned its spot on our list of top indoor play spaces in Brooklyn. Check out our comprehensive NYC Kids' Guide to Indoor Play Spaces and Fun Zones for more romping spots.

If you're looking for the family vacation of a lifetime, consider a trip to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. One of the most beautiful and pristine natural landscapes in the world, the Galapagos Islands offer cruise adventures, breathtaking scenery, close encounters with sea turtles and other animals, and the chance to see flora and fauna that exists nowhere else.

The Galapagos Islands are also a great place for families to witness real conservation work in action and to learn about the revolutionary work of Charles Darwin. While getting to the Galapagos takes a little advance planning, it is is absolutely worth the effort to visit.

Read on to learn all about visiting the Galapagos Islands with kids, including how to get there, the various cruise options, and other tips and tricks. You'll find even more exciting places to visit, from sunny spots in the Caribbean to culture-filled European cities, in our International Travel Guide.

Our list of Manhattan's best drop-in indoor play spaces keeps growing with the debut of Complete Playground in the Financial District.

The brand-new, sprawling play space is one of NYC's largest indoor playgrounds, where kids can run, swing, jump, climb, and twirl in a custom-designed, multi-floor obstacle maze. There’s also rock climbing, a gymnastics studio, interactive trampolines, age-appropriate play areas, and more.

Complete Playground describes itself as an inclusive play center, with activities, programming, and state-of-the-art spaces for neurodiverse and neurotypical kids. Get our need-to-know tips and full review of this enormous play space below, and find more fun places to play in our comprehensive NYC Kids' Guide to Indoor Play Spaces and Fun Zones.

Rock climbing is a great way to keep kids active and busy year-round. While we've long frequented these family-friendly rock climbing gyms in New York City, the Bouldering Project Brooklyn just opened a revamped climbing gym in the Gowanus neighborhood.

The Bouldering Project Brooklyn, previously known as Brooklyn Boulders, reopened at the beginning of the year following a substantial renovation and rebranding. The revamped facility merges bouldering with community-focused spaces and expanded youth programs.

I recently checked out the new climbing gym with two 13-year-olds in tow, and we had a blast. Read on for all the details of this new climbing gym and what you need to know to get started with bouldering with your kids.

New York City has a brand-new ice skating rink, located right under the majestic Brooklyn Bridge in the amenity-filled Brooklyn Bridge Park. Glide is now open for ice skating in NYC and locals and tourists can enjoy ice time alongside stunning views of the Manhattan skyline.

Read on for everything you need to know about Glide, New York's newest ice skating rink, and find more great ice skating rinks in NYC for families here.

The Science Playground has reopened at the New York Hall of Science, and it's now better than ever giving families one more reason to visit NYSCI—one of our favorite, STEM-focused museums for kids.

I recently visited the new Science Playground with my 7-year-old son and his friends, and it was a total hit. The kids loved exploring every inch of the enormous playground and playing with all the STEM-focused structures and exhibitions.

Read on to get the scoop on this awesome playground and find more fun places to play in our Guide to NYC Playgrounds & Parks.