ita

Hoping to take my grandchildren (5,8,9) to NYC for a day to see the Christmas sights. What should we include in the day? Is there anything special about staying to see things in the dark?

travelbuff

The holidays in NY are when the city REALLY shines and I mean that figuratively and litterally.

Of the sites to see for the little ones, there's Rock Center Tree,
Macy's Santa, Museum of Natural History Oragami Tree, Windows at Macy's, Lord and Taylor and Saks. Lots of decorated windows all the way up 5th Ave.

Time Square there's ToysRUs and on 5th and 57th is FAO Swartz (spelling).

Bryant Park, Rock Center, Woolman Rink and the Museum of Natural History all have ice skating and you can rent skates at each location. (Bryant Park is the only FREE rink)

entral Park Zoo is also decorated for the holidays and if you are traveling by car the Bronx Zoo has well over 1 MILLION lights all over the park, and alot of the exhibits are open until I think 9pm. Some nights there are special events for the kids, check the their website for more info.

I'm sure I am forgetting alot but I know you will get lots more ideas from our other friends here.

Hope this helps and have a great holiday.

ita

I think my question now ishould we see the windows and the other sites in the dark as opposed to the daytime? The kids can only walk for a certain period of time. We are coming from Baltimore on the megabus and have to schedule it.

HowardR

No question, do it at night, when NYC is a wonderland at Christmastime.

mclaurie

I think the 5 yr old will have a problem if you try to do too much. You can take a holiday lights bus tour. http://www.onboardnewyorktours.com/c...new-york-city/

travelbuff

Trying to see it all in one evening with at least 6 hours of bus travel (3 each way), that is a REALLY long day for little ones. You might think about getting a hotel room for the night and then you can take them skating in the morning, maybe see Macy's Santa and then head back home later in the day.

nytraveler

Agree that a day that long is an awful lot for such little kid s- even if they sleep on the bus on the way back. If you can I would stay one night - come up in the am the first day, see as much as you can, stay one night - then spend most of the second day and head back after an early dinner. I think the kids would enjoy a lot more - and be much less cranky.

ita

I heed your advice. Maybe we should stay over. Can you find me a hotel that is less than $200 per night?

ita

thanks again Fodorites, we are staying overnight-it will be their Chanukah present-it will give us time to see the lights, go to the top of Rockefeller Centre to see The Statue of Liberty and go skating at the rink.

It took some thought for the 8 year old to decide if this was a fair exchange for an actual gift. Of course a visit to New York would not be complete without souvenirs-especially if we are to visit the toy stores. Grandmothers are a soft touch

sf7307

I know it's hard for an 8-year old to believe, but a trip to New York is a GREAT Chanukah present!

travelbuff

Oh you guys are going to have a GREAT time.

To see the Statue of Liberty you might take the Staten Island ferry just at dusk on your first day, and get a really great view of the lady on your way to Staten Island, once there you go to the waiting room for a few minutes and then take the ferry back. It's a really nice way to see the skyline and all the lights.

Downtown, you might also see the South St. Seaport and some of the shops there, the kids will love the tall ships on display. Check the Seaport website for activities that might be aimed for kids. They used to have a singing Christmas Tree, (one of the large choruses in town up on rafters in the shape of a tree), but don't know if they still do that over the holidays.

Also a special treat would be a trip to the Bronx Zoo, with over 1 Million lights and activities nightly for kids.

My favorite spot for skating is Bryant Park, the rink there is large and well kept and hot chocolate is closeby at all times. Rental skates are available for a small fee and the rink is FREE.

ita

thanks for all your ideas, but we are going to be in NY for less than 24 hours so can't do it all. We will have to see the Statue of Liberty from the top of a building. Should it be Rockefeller Centre and is it best view of the statue during the day or evening?

doug_stallings

No, you don't get a good view of the Statue of Liberty from Top of the Rock (or the Empire State Building). You can see it (even with the naked eye), but even using the telescope, it's not a great view. So I'd just forget that. But it's great to be up there at dusk to see the city light up. That is magical and well worth it.

It's good that you are staying overnight, though as I noted in your other post, your budget is simply not adequate. It's going to be a minimum of $250 and perhaps $300.

Good luck, it's a great time to be in the city if you can deal with the crowds. Just don't overplan. They're young, and you're right that they will tire. Leave enough downtime.

travelbuff

The State of Liberty from Midtown is a probably around 10 miles away, including being out in New York Harbor, so you won't get to see it from top of the Rock.

If you really want to see it, take the ferry over and back, the kids will love the ride, probably more than going to the top of the Rock.

Don't go to the Empire State Building, you will be spending most of your time here in line to go to the top, the lines this time of year are the worst.

I forgot to mention a couple more things, there are 3 carousels in Manhattan, Central Park, Bryant Park and ToysRUs in Times Square, you might want to do one of them.

ita

is the Staten Island Ferry the place you have to go throuh all the security? How do I get to it from the Times Square area? How long will the trip there and back take? Maybe I should have written this on a new post.

Cringo

Take the R train from Times Square to Whitehall Street. When you walk out of the train station, you will see the ferry terminal.

On a different note, if grandDAUGHTERS are with you, check the American Girl store in the Rockefeller Center area.

doug_stallings

There is no security on the Staten Island Ferry. It's about a 20 minute ride down from Times Square on the R or 1 train, and then the ferry itself takes about 25 minutes. It runs at least every half-hour all day long, so you rarely have to wait more than 10 minutes. It is possible (but difficult) to walk onto the next ferry going back, but sometimes the next ferry leaving isn't the same one you arrived on, and in that case with 3 kids it's not really possible. But it's free, and you need to allow at least 2 to 2-1/2 hours for the full trip from Times Square. With only one day I'm not sure it's worth it unless you want to do some additional sightseeing in the Financial District.

But the Museum of Jewish Heritage is actually quite moving and if you're in town on a day other than Saturday, it's well worth your time (about a 5-minute walk (perhaps 10 minutes with 3 kids) from the ferry terminal. I'm not sure the 5-year old would get the picture, but the two older kids would.

sf7307

Doug, where is the Museum of Jewish Heritage?

ellenem

Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC

http://www.mjhnyc.org/

tuscanlifeedit

I have seen a huge drop in prices lately for NY. We couldn't find a thing in early November, but have suddenly been overwhelmed by decent prices. We have booked The Muse for 239 a night, with a $50 food and beverage credit per night, Christmas week. I'm shocked but just checking the regular hotel booking websites turned up some decent deals. Good luck!