Itinerary: Best Candy Stores in New York City for Kids

Want a fun outing that your kids will REALLY love? How about a tour of some of the best candy stores in New York City? The Lower East Side is chock full of unique and fun candy stores and you can hit them all in one day for a super treat on Valentines Day or any day you want to be the bestest parent EVER! Find your inner child, turn off that parenting voice and have fun going crazy for candy with your kids, if only for one day.

Start at Papabubble which is the furthest west and probably closest to your subway stop. Papabubble is a gourmet candy show which makes it's fruit flavored hard candies in house every day. You can watch them make the candy right in the store (another good reason to hit it first is if you just missed the candy-making then you can swing by on your way back again.) The process is long and you won't want to watch the whole thing, but kids will love digging into the free samples they have out in jars and if you're lucky they'll be happy with that because this delicious stuff comes at a price.

Once you get your fill of watching and sampling candy, head east to Economy Candy. Economy Candy is one of the most fun candy experiences you can have. Economy Candy is like your crazy old grandma-who-never-throws-anything-away's, but instead of mangy cats, Franklin Mint collector plates, and old copies of the Post, the place is jam-packed with CANDY. Your kids will love it and spend ages trying to pick out what to get, meanwhile you'll be finding your favorite candy from when you were a kid that you didn't think they made any more. Sigh. Check out the video of our visit to Economy Candy.

If you still have energy left you can head over to The Sweet Life, which is where Martha Stewart goes for sweets. You'll find handmade chocolate covered marshmallows and other to-die-for treats, but it's not as fun for kids as the other too.

If you've had your fill and candy and are ready to grab some real food head back up to Spring and Mott for some delicious pizza at Lombardi's. Right down the block is a little playground where your kids can run off their sugar highs before you jump back on the train and back to real life. (If Lombardi's is super busy, get your pizza to go and eat it in the park too.)

Check out our other Lower East Side itinerary for kids.