We will be travelling to the United States with our 12 year old granddaughter early October 2005 We have the West Coast more or less sorted out but we will arrive in New York for approx. 5 days and thought about including an overnight to the Niagra Falls with a tour company and having 3 nights in the Big Apple to get in as much as possible. We are looking for suggestions for our trip to Niagra as well as "musts" for a 12 year old visiting the United States for the first time.

I know there are different POVs on this - but IMHO Niagara Falls, while mildly interesting, is not something I would spend time on unless I were going to be in Toronto - even with a child. You would lose at least 2 full days out of your limited time in NYC.

If you want to spend time outside of the city you might do better to do some leaf-peeping up the Hudson - which has very dramatic scenery, especially around Storm King - and might be combined with a visit to West Point - at the cost of only one day.

As to the musts - 12 year olds can vary tremendously - some are quite sophisticated (steady boyfriends, rock concerts and when can I have the car) while others are much younger (some still apparently are in love with this American Girl phenom). If you tell us more about yours (maturity, interests etc) people can give specific suggestions.

Thanks for your suggestion. Our granddaughter is not sophisticated at all. She loves anything to do with dance (she takes 5 various dancing classes weekly) so we could use suggestions for a Broadway Show which would really 'blow her mind' especially if it included tap. - As English is not her mother tongue, it would be nice if it is a show now requiring much understanding as she would have to concentrate too much on what is being said rather than enjoying the music and dancing. What are the special sites in NYCITY that are musts.

I completely agree with nytraveler that going to Niagara Falls is a long diversion you don’t need as you only have 5 days in total. The drive up takes about 5 hours each way, you will spend much more time in the bus than actually seeing the falls. I also agree that in October, going to the nearby areas of the Hudson River valley is a much better idea. I would recommend doing a tour of one of the historic homes along the Hudson, such as the Vanderbilt Mansion or Kykuit the old Rockefeller Mansion. These and other homes of the "robber barons" of the late 19th and early 20th century are along the Hudson. Huge homes and acres of gardens and woodlands. Take a look at http://www.hudsonvalley.org/web/kyku-main.html. A great way to do this would be by boat from Manhattan. You would see the skyline of Manhattan and once you past the tip of Manhattan, there are wooded hillsides on both sides, which would be very pretty in October. Take a look at www.nywaterway.com, click on "Sightseeing Cruises" and "Full Day Cruises". You can go for 1.5 hours, 2-3 hours or a full day. (Some of their shorter cruises are actually listed under "Full Day Cruises", so check all the tours offered.)

For dance, especially tap, Broadway plays to consider would be “Thoroughly Modern Mille”, and “42nd Street”. You don’t need to understand much English to enjoy either, as the music and dance are the whole point. I am a huge fan of “Stomp” (off-Broadway) and think a child would enjoy it, but sit far back as it is very loud. Take a look at playbill.com for listings of Broadway and off-Broadway productions.


Also take a look at the City Center (http://www.citycenter.org) and Lincoln Center (http://www.lincolncenter.org) websites, as they often offer dance programs. Do a web search for “tap dance and New York City” on the web and you should come up with a number of other options. I found one at http://www.ny.com/dance that looks interesting.

A Circle Line or NY Waterway boat trip around Manhattan would be fun, esp around dusk as the lights are coming up. Take a look at http://www.circleline42.com/index.ihtml and www.nywaterway.com.

Beyond the obvious Empire State Building, 5th Avenue, etc. there are dozens of museums, many of which have programs for children. A guidebook would give you particulars. Fodors has a good book called “Around New York City with Kids” that might be very useful to you.

Thank you Cicerone for all your useful information. Have printed up your recommendations and will check out the sites you recommend. Appreciate your advice.

A couple of other things you might be interested in:

The Museum of the City of New York has a massive collection and rotating exhibitions on the theater - including some material on dance I'm sure. Don;t know what they will be showing when you're here but you might check it out.

Also, Lincoln Center frequently offers backstage tours - and she might be interested in one on the ballet. Again not sure exactly what they wil have next fall.

Another show that is primarily music and dance is Moving Out - choreagraphed by Twyla Tharp.

Hope this helps.