New York Marriott Marquis Family Activities

Let's be serious. This is Manhattan. If you're in your room other than sleeping, showering, and changing, there's something wrong. Okay, we'll give you a little more time to unwind from the city's frenetic pace and check out the view if you have one of the upper level rooms. But then get out.

I like to take Manhattan in chunks with the family. Take a subway up to the Upper West Side, grab a bagel and lox at that famous gourmet emporium, Zabar's, or the whitefish platter at nearby Barney Greengrass, then make my first stop, the Museum of Natural History. The kids will love seeing the spot where Ben Stiller was chased by dinosaurs in the film, Night at the Museum. The Tyrannosaurus Rex, brontosaurus and other dinosaurs can be found on the fourth floor. Then wander next door to Rose Center for Earth and Space, one of the country's finest planetariums.

Across the street is that urban oasis, Central Park, where the kids can run to their heart's content at a number of playgrounds, rent bikes and pedal the 6-mile road around the park, frolic in the large lawn at Sheep's Meadow, head to the Central Park Zoo to see the animals, and ice skate in winter.

On the Upper East Side is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where you can stop to see the Egyptian Temple of Dendur and view the popular 19th-century works by van Gogh, Monet, and Gauguin at the popular Nineteenth-Century European Paintings and Sculpture galleries. You can also head to the roof of the Museum to get a good view of the park in the warm weather months.

A short walk from Times Square brings you to American Girl Place, The Disney Store, The NBA Store, and the other shops of Fifth Avenue. This is the neighborhood you want to be in during the Holidays, when the stores all have elaborate displays in the windows, the tall Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center is lit up, and you can rent skates and try your double lutz on the rink. Just be forewarned that there might be a few people watching. Down the block is the Radio City Music Hall, which has an annual Christmas Show.

If you continue south on Fifth Avenue, you'll reach the Empire State Building on the corner of 34th Street. You can head to the top of the 102-story building made famous by King Kong, but be sure to check out the 86th floor as well. This is the only stop where they allow you to walk outside and see the view.

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island can be reached via a ferry from Battery Park, at the lower end of Manhattan. If you just want to see these sites without getting off the boat, opt to take a cruise around Manhattan on the Circle Line tours from Midtown Manhattan on the West Side. The ferry also goes under the Brooklyn and George Washington Bridges.

Another good way to get around is on the double-decker buses that make stops around the island during the day. You can leave from Times Square and pretty much go anywhere you want in Manhattan, including the former site of the Twin Towers.

Of course, you can always stay in the Times Square area and look around. A large indoor Ferris Wheel marks the entrance to the Toys R Us store on Broadway. Nearby, on 42nd Street, you can get a good look at the 200 or so lifelike wax figures of celebrities and world leaders at Madame Tussaud's. Also fun for kids are artists who sit behind tables on Broadway and paint your child's name in a colorful pattern using dolphins, pandas, and dragons. Or simply grab a hot pretzel, sit on a bench, and people watch. It's the cheapest form of entertainment in Manhattan.