New York City Family Vacations

New York City is a fantastic city for a family vacation, a world-class city with an unbelievable density of iconic museums, landmarks, top-notch entertainment, restaurants, parks, shopping, communities, cultures, and sports (Try to say 'Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets' three times fast.)

It's understandable that parents of rural or suburban or small-town families might find New York intimidating; but most are pleasantly surprised at how navigable and accessible it is. It's the safest city in the United States according to FBI crime states. And kids tend to "click" with its energy. It is a place that can be as loud and fast as they are, a place that can easily feed their need for stimulation - and then some. Like a theme park, but real, New York City is a working, thriving, dynamic place, with incredible diversity on every level and a fascinating history, commerce, and culture. While there are many attractions in NYC's other four boroughs (Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, and the Bronx), we've limited our focus here to Manhattan, which has plenty to offer families for a first-time visit. At times it seems utterly crazy and improbable that there is so much going on such a small island; but, incredibly, somehow, it's true.

NYC's sightseeing highlights are well known. It's hard to pin down a Top Ten list, but The Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and Times Square would likely be there, as would Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Brooklyn Bridge, Chrysler Building, Broadway shows, the neighborhoods of China Town, SoHo, and Greenwich Village, the famous museums (the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Natural History, Museum of Modern Art are the most holy trinity). And in the commercial realm there are the classics: Tiffany, FAO Schwartz, and the Fifth Avenue's flagship department stores. Just for the tip of the iceberg.

Every city has that spot that residents avoid at all costs but tourists flock to. In New York, that spot is Times Square. (South Street Seaport is probably a close second.) Less a square than a convergence of several streets, Times Square is a teeming lure for tourists and all manner of hawkers and hucksters, all under the most mind-boggling assortment of LED signs and blinking lights and high-tech ticker tapes. Which is absolutely why you must experience it (go at night for the full effect). And also absolutely why you must escape as soon as you (or your kids) start to feel anxious amid all the chaos. Like most cheap thrills, the pleasure-quotient of Times Square can fade fast.

Downtown, Chinatown is worth a stroll, though many of its small shops are rapidly giving way to an increasing number of sterile chain banks -- but it is still fun to walk along Canal Street and the various side streets to look at exotic foodstuffs and colorful tourist junk and inauthentic "designer" goods. You can outfit a family of four with classic I {Heart} NY t-shirts for just over $10. Women: prepare to be offered many purses from tiny alleyways and vans and quick-fold tables.

A word about Ground Zero: Many visitors to New York City feel compelled to go. If you need to make a personal pilgrimage, especially if you have older children who have specific recollections of 9/11/01, you should do so. But be aware that Ground Zero is, as "something to see," little more than a large construction site, lots of fencing, and the inevitable exploitation factor (vendors).