NEW YORK CITY

By:  Jennifer Milano, written May 2015, updated September 2016

New York City is where I started my independent, post-graduate school adult life.  It is the city where I had my first real job (i.e., I got paid more than minimum wage).  It is where I met my husband.  Other than when I'm traveling, when I'm in New York I feel my most vibrant self.  Providing so much stimulation, New York electrifies all of the senses and makes you feel completely awake, fully alive. 

As a traveler to the City, New York can often feel more exhausting than invigorating.  Non-urbanite friends would often ask me, "how can you live in New York?  I'm so tired after spending a day there."  The reason is because I had a home there.  I could walk thirty blocks, eat lunch with my friends, do some shopping, take the subway home and relax in my (tiny) living room.  I could recharge, and later go back out.  My favorite part of New York?  You need no itinerary to be entertained.  You can just walk out of your door, and keep going.  You'll stumble upon a street fair, an outdoor performance, a hip coffee shop, a fun shoe store, and many interesting-looking people.  But in case you'd like to make an itinerary, here are some ideas:

What to Do:

• Be a tourist:  take a double decker hop on, hop off city bus tour (check for a Groupon to save on ticket cost).  For views, take the elevator to the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center, up the Empire State Building, or, to the 100th floor of 1 World Trade Center.  Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (if you want to walk only one way, take the 2 or 3 train to Clark Street in Brooklyn Heights, and walk across the bridge toward Manhattan).  Take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (both have great kid-friendly audio tours), but book your tickets online in advance to skip the line.  Or take the highly-affordable Staten Island ferry just for the striking views it offers of Manhattan from the water (ride is free of charge, avoid rush hour for a more serene trip).
• Visit a museum:  my kids' favorites are the Natural History Museum, and the hands-on Children's Museum of the Arts.  When my daughter was 9, she and her friend spent 30 minutes with a musician, creating and mixing a song in a sound studio, while my younger son did a variety of art projects.  I also love the Tenement Museum, which shows you an apartment a typical immigrant would have inhabited in the early 20th century.  The Cloisters has family programs, and admission cost includes a visit to the main Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue.  If you decide to visit The Met, buy your tickets online to avoid the wait, or use Scott and Kristen's secret garage entrance which has no wait!  The Met offers free tours, which we found informative but challenging as we could not hear the tour guide well in our large group.  Information on the new 9/11 Memorial Museum at One World Trade Center can be found if you click here.  There are too many museums in New York to list here, but rest assured that wherever your or your family's interests lie, the City will have a museum for you.
• Explore Central Park:  my kids love climbing the boulders, stalking the poor pigeons, and playing on the playgrounds in Central Park.  They love the Heckscher Playground, located at Central Park South & 7th Ave.  Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on top of the enormous rocks while you watch your kids play.  The Central Park Zoo is popular, too.  Ice skating at Wollman Rink in the winter, or just hanging out and people-watching in Sheep's Meadow in the warmer months, are pretty unbeatable ways to spend an afternoon with your friends or family. Click here for the official website for Central Park.
• See a show:  Broadway and Radio City offer the most famous performances, of course, but tickets are so expensive that you may want to consider waiting in line at TKTS for same-day reduced price admission, or consider an off-Broadway performance.  If you are in New York in the evening during the summer, head to Central Park with a blanket and a picnic to enjoy a free concert, or Shakespeare in the Park.  Like museums, the options for seeing a performance in New York are so numerous that searching your interests online is the best way of finding options that suit you.  Time Out New York offers a comprehensive list of current performances.
• On a rainy day with the kids:  If they are museumed-out, you can hit Fifth Avenue for some window-shopping.  American Girl is located at 49th and 5th.  The Lego Store at Rockefeller Center has color-sorted clear bins of Legos and fun displays. Sadly for the young ones, FAO Schwartz and Build-A-Bear have closed their doors on Fifth Ave.  If you have little basketball players, take them to Niketown on 57th Street between 5th and Madison, where they can try on shoes and try them out in the mini indoor basketball court.  For more exercise, check Chelsea Piers (click here) for programs.  My kids did the 90-minute "Rock-n-Roll" program, a combination of gymnastics and rock climbing in an amazing indoor facility.  Chelsea Piers also offers bowling, batting cages, indoor ice skating, golf and more.  Rain or shine, when my kids were younger their favorite New York activity was to ride the various forms of transportation - subway, bus and taxi.  Let your kids stop and watch the subway performers - it's free entertainment and not something your kids see everyday unless they are city dwellers.
• Pick a neighborhood and be a local:  whether it's the Upper West Side, Soho, Chinatown, the West Village, the Lower East Side or Fifth Avenue, walking New York's streets is always a fun and spontaneous way of experiencing New York.
• Something different:  for my daughter's tenth birthday, I took her and her friend to New York for the day.  Since the girls were cupcake-obsessed, I created a scavenger hunt for the best cupcake in NYC.  I chose three cupcake bakeries (based mainly on location), created maps and clues for finding each one, and let the girls select a cupcake at each bakery.  I made them rating sheets where they could critique the cupcakes.  Not only was it a fun way to pass an afternoon, it gave the girls practice in navigating their way around the City.  (If you're wondering which bakery the girls chose as the winner, it was "Sprinkles".)
• December holidays:   No other city I've known dresses up for the holidays like New York.  In addition to the obligatory visit to the tree at Rockefeller Center and the windows at Saks, Macy's or Lord & Taylor, my kids like to ice skate.  We braved the line at Rockefeller Center once (so we could say we did it).  But the rest of the time, we skate either at Wollman Rink in Central Park or the rink at Bryant Park.  Bryant Park is a lot of fun in December, because not only is there ice skating, but there's also an outdoor holiday market.  Grand Central Station has an indoor version.

Where to Eat:

While you are wandering the City, keep an eye out for these favorite eateries:

• Levain Bakery on 74th Street near Amsterdam Ave. has the best cookies I've tasted in the City.  
• Our friends Scott and Kristen introduced me to Maison Kayser near Columbus Circle, which has yummy pastries that my family gave a 7 t0 8 out of 10.
• Every New Yorker has his or her favorite pizzeria, and my husband's and mine is Lombardi's at 32 Spring Street.  We also love John's Pizza (various locations but John's of Bleecker is our favorite because of the old-school pizzeria atmosphere, great salads, too), and Grimaldi's in Brooklyn.  For grabbing a slice, we like Joe's in the West Village, Mariella Pizza on 55th & 8th, and La Traviata on 68th Street between Columbus and Broadway.
• The best steak is at Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn.  Ask for the bacon to start - it is thick and crispy!
• It's hard to pick one favorite high-end restaurant in New York, because there are dozens that will have you closing your eyes to savor the complex layers of flavor in each bite.  But my favorite is probably Le Bernardin.  I also love Bouley, Gotham Bar & Grill, Grammercy Tavern, Nobu, Daniel and Aureole.  Check Zagat's for ratings and reviews of restaurants in various neighborhoods and by cuisine type.
• For an affordable, delicious tasting menu and adorable atmosphere, try Mario Batali's Po' on Cornelia Street in the West Village. 
• Our favorite breakfast spots are Good Enough to Eat on the Upper West Side and Sarabeth (various locations).
• Joe's Shanghai also owns the less-crowded Joe's Ginger in Chinatown.  They are famous for soup dumplings, and deservedly so.  Our friends Scott and Kristen recently took our suggestion and loved their dinner at Joe's Ginger but pointed out that the restaurant is cash only!  Outside of Chinatown, Shun Lee has great dim sum and other Chinese food.
• Mary's Fish Camp is a tiny gem in the West Village, but be prepared to wait for your fresh, delicious seafood meal.
• For a good lunch on a sunny day, try Rosemary's on the corner of Greenwich Ave. and W. 10th St. in the West Village.  You can snag an outside table, or sit inside by the open windows to watch city life.  The cavatelli with peas and whipped herb ricotta was devine.  Rosemary's also makes fresh juices, and is open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner.  There is even a kids menu!
• Osteria Morini in Soho has amazing homemade pastas (albeit a bit overpriced for the portions).  The Cappelletti was our favorite, although the Stracci and Tagliatelle were also delicious.
• Little Prince is a cute, French bistro on Prince Street in Soho with friendly service.  They are known for their "French Onion Soup Burger", which was delicious.  I thought the hand-cut fries were not crispy enough, and my strawberry and heirloom tomato salad was too chilled.  The ratatouille was very good.
• My husband is a self-proclaimed connoisseur of many things, including New York's best bagels.  He gives top marks to Ess-a-Bagel.  H & H (various locations) is also good.
• Good kid-friendly spots, in addition to the pizzerias, Rosemary's and Mary's Fish Camp,  Rosa Mexicano (various locations) is a good bet.  Eataly is also fun - it's a huge Italian market with four restaurants inside and a number of take-away options.  In Little Italy, we like Il Cortile - ask to sit in the courtyard.  
• Grom (multiple locations) has solid gelato.

Where to Stay:

Hotel stays in New York are usually expensive, especially if you need a room that accommodates four or more people.  We have stayed in many over the years, and don't have a real favorite (except for the guest room in our friends' Susan & Rob's Brooklyn apartment!).  Here are my suggestions:

• Use jetsetter.com, hoteltonight.com or another site to find a deal.
• Cash in your Starwood Preferred Guest points on a New York property, or use your Fairmont Visa free night at The Plaza (click here for more details).
• A Residence Inn by Marriott is a good choice for families, with rooms accommodating four people and a kitchen.  We like the one near Bryant Park/Times Square because of its central location.  If you prefer to be on the east side, the one on 48th Street between 3rd and Lex is clean and comfortable, with views of the Chrysler building from some rooms.
• A more upscale choice for families is The London, where our friends Kristen and Scott always stay.  Centrally located on 54th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, the hotel features large rooms and suites.
• If you want an apartment, try the Affinia Gardens NYC on 64th between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.  Spacious studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments are not luxurious, but have lots of space for a family to stay.  All rooms have full kitchens.

Just remember that whatever you do in New York, you're going to find lots of other people doing the same thing!  Check online to see if you can reserve tickets in advance to your chosen attraction or event, and make restaurant reservations well in advance.  And if you find yourself in New York with no reservations and long lines, do as the locals do and just wander a neighborhood.  I guarantee you will find something interesting to see!