Add Boston. I loved it there, and people with kids told me there is even more stuff to do that I didn't do because no kids at the time.

I would disagree with Las Vegas. I recently read an article that LV is shedding its family friendly image because it didn't bring in the dollars and is going for the sleaze factor. Well, they put it a nicer way in the article.

Not to knock LV -- it's a scene! But I wouldn't post it as a top place to go with kids.

It didn't fix my edits:

"Add Boston. I loved it there. I went before I had children, but since then people with kids tell me that there's even more kid-friendly stuff to do."

NYC, definitely. You know a city that never sleeps has to have an infinite number of things to do, and it does.

But Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, DC would all fill 5 days easy. So would a lot of cities, really. Shoot, my hometown of St.Louis could, but of course, that's not a place most people would put at the top of a "best" list.

DC!!! Great for kids, even the zoo (with panda cub) is free!

Which major city for a vacation?

As the resident curmudgeon, I'd answer NONE because I can think of NO "city" I'd ever really want to visit!

Give me the beauty of the countryside and the mountains any day over the noise, smells and busy-busy rushing around of a city.

But that's just me!



Vermonter

We just took our kids to NYC and they loved it. (They are 14 and 17 and age will probably play a big part in your decision)

Seattle is one of the best cities I've visited. There are many outdoor activities for the kids. Plus, I think the weather remains very comfortable in the summer.
Have fun!

I love these West coast cities for kids:
Seattle, Portland, San Francisco & San Diego. Great parks, zoo's, museums, walkable area's, dining, entertainment, etc.

Portland, OR - A great zoo, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (lots of hands-on stuff for the kiddies), Hoyt Park Arboretum for some nature, the finest Japanese garden outside Japan, and lots of great food and drink!

Handsdown, San Francisco! I've lived here 21 years, and other than places in Europe, it's absolutely the best city in the US. Beautiful scenery, a short hop to the Wine Country, a foodie's paradise and the most tolerant people I've encountered anywhere outside of Amsterdam.

Lots of great cities, but for 3-5 days nothing beats NYC. If I had one day, I would go elsewhere because I would being going crazy trying to schedule all there is to do and see. For kids, I think I agree with others, San Diego with younger kids (beaches, aquarium, zoo, weather and much more). Washington D.C. a very close second. With teens, I would pick NYC again. And by the way, my daughter absolutely loved NYC when she was 4 (even more than she did D.C. at 6). She wants to go back badly.