My New York exp: Once with husband (we're 56)stayed at CountryInntheCity. Lovely, but a walkup. Next with husband, daughter, granddaughter (14)--stayed in beautiful private 2 bedroom apt, also walk up. Both apts were upper west.

Now: Because granddaughter was lost in shuffle on last trip, I am taking her for two weeks, just the two of us. We need a safe place to stay, a non-scary neighborhood to walk around in at night. We are from Texas. She is not well-travelled. When she was in New York before, she complained that we never did anything she wanted to do. When we asked her what she would like, she said (I'm not joking), "Well, are there any candy stores in New York?" So we took her to Dylans. She likes Gothy, anime, vampire-y stuff, but the very teenage version of all that.

I like good food, and will eat at Craft. We will see Phantom (my 3rd, her 2nd time) and Billy Elliott (1st for both).

We do very well together, when no one else is with us. We like a slow pace. Also, neither of us is fashion crazy.

All suggestions of any kind anticipated with glee. Thanks.

Forgot: elevator or one-floor-up only

I don't believe you mentioned your dates or per night hotel budget, both of which are necessary to make hotel suggestions. NYC is the safest large city in the USA. Look in Manhattan first.

I'd suggest getting your granddaughter a book about New York and let her pick some of the things she would like to see.

Gothic, I'd suggest seeing St. John the Divine, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. Also the Cloisters would probably be of interest, the Met Museums BEST 1300-1500s treasures.

For fun dinner (and yes I know the food is just ok, I've been there myself) Jeckel and Hyde on Madison Ave and 57th St. She will LOVE this place, interactive all dinner long.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, VJP.

Dates: 2 weeks mid-June (not sure yet)
Budget: umm. 5K max for two week accomodation. We need separate bedrooms, hence an apt.

Travelbuff: Thanks, but wrong kind of gothic.

There is a vampire store on Avenue A and about 11th Street. Also take her to St Marks between 2nd and 3rd for some Goth stuff.

You can also tell her that she will not see too many Goths in NYC. They are mainly from the burbs on the weekends.

There are no scary neighborhoods where 99% of visitors stay.

Candy stores include:

Economy Candy. It is on the Lower East Side and has just about every manufactured candy made and at a cheap price. It is old-fashioned funky.

Then there are many places that make their own chocolates, most of which are expensive except Evelyn's on John Street.

I thought Gothic was all about the design of clothing, make up and feeling, which is why I suggested the Cathedral and The Cloisters, lol.

Not much in the way of Goth here as mentioned here it's more about "labels".

NYU and environs like down Broadway might be fun, some of the clothing stores there.

Since she has already done Dylans, you might try Serendipity which is on the same block, or downtown near Union Square Max Brenners the goodies there are wonderful.

Also Cold Stone Creamery for the BEST ice cream on 42nd west of Broadway, would be a BIG hit.

Enjoy!!

Your trip sounds like a fantastic idea. What fun for the 2 of you!

Someone else on the NYC forum was looking for similar lodging. Check into the aparthotels such as RCA, the Affinia's or The Beacon Hotel. It's best to stay away from private apt. rentals as most are being rented illegally.

If the two of you get to Brooklyn one day, (the water taxi from the Seaport downtown is great for this, but check their schedule. I'm not sure if they only run on weekends or not.), you can have a pizza lunch (no slices) at Grimaldi's. It's a touristy thing to do and you'd arguably find better pizza someplace else, but there are still locals who adore the place and I think the pizza is fine.

From there you can get to Jacques Torres candy on Water St. or stop in to have dessert across the street from Jacques Torres at the little cafe. (sorry, the name of the little cafe has fled from my little mind). Lastly, if you're up for it, take a long walk back to Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge for fantastic views.

Thanks, everyone, for all your suggestions. Keep them coming.

She might like the St. Marks area of the village, lots of teen and young shops and places to duck in. My teens love that area.

What about the MTV store, would she be interested in that?

My teen still go to ToysRUs in Times Square to ride the indoor ferris wheel.

I second Economy Candy. My teens love that place, and it is fun for me with all the nostalgia candy from my childhood.

When my daughter was 14 I took her to the Tenement Museum to the Confino Tour, which is led by a young teen girl dressed as and acting as a young immigrant Italian daughter in the Confino family who lived in the very tenement that the tour takes place in.

Don't rule out St John the Divine - I do a lot of tour work for grand/grand parent children -- and in two cases - the kids loved the Church and couldn't stop taking photos

- one - the college grad grandson (from Idaho) who spent a lot of time on his cell phone organizing a mini escape to Boston was offered the chance to explore Columbia on his own but decided to come with us. HE loved it.

- two - The 11 year old granddaughter (Wisconsin) was a theatre nut and she loved it. This was a special trip for the grandfather since he's seen each half of the church under renovation on other trips but hadn't seen the whole place. I was also surprised that this granddaughter really enjoyed AMNH - especially the gems and precious stone area which we visited after she lead us around exploring for a couple of hours.

BTW - would have liked to have been at St John for the concert NYE - told my bus passengers to go but I had standing mellow plans with friends in the West Village.

She will love Evolution on Spring Street. The have skulls, minerals and dead insects.

http://theevolutionstore.com

Maxilla and Mandible

http://maxillaandmandible.com

She probably also like Forbidden Planet filled sci-fi comics and graphic and assocaited junk.

http://www.fpnyc.com

For ice cream the following all make their own

Cones on Bleecker
Chiantown Ice Cream Factory (Also she would probably like Chiantown)
Cones and Sundaes on East 10th

For pastries:

Veniero's.

Here are some suggestions:
Food related:
Candy stores:
Economy Candy: http://www.economycandy.com/
Papabubble (you can watch the candy being made) http://www.yelp.com/biz/papabubble-new-york
Aji Ichiban in Chinatown 167 Hester Street, New York, NY

Ice Cream (sorry but you can get cold stone creamery anywhere):
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory http://www.chinatownicecreamfactory.com/
Emack and Bolio’s
Labatorio del Gelato http://www.laboratoriodelgelato.com/thelab.php
Grom Gelato http://www.yelp.com/biz/grom-gelato-new-york


Chocolate:
Marie Belle
Jacques Torres
Max Brenner

Food related:
Rice to Riches
Russian Tea Room (offers a afternoon tea service for kids for $25)
Ten Ren Tea Store in Chinatown for bubble tea
Shake Shack
Republic
Coffee Shop

Most of these places are in Soho, West Village, Flatiron and the Lower East Side, which might be of interest to your granddaughter.

Things to do/visit:

Forbidden Planet is a comic book/anime store 840 Broadway

Image Anime http://www.imageanime.com/

Sanrio Store (if she likes Hello Kitty)

Take a break in Union Square-always something happening there and it is close to NYU. Good for people watching, likely to see dancers, poets, chess players, people wanting to take over the world, a few sermons, artists, students, business people, yuppies, goth, grunge all crossing paths at Union Square.

A tour of the West Village http://www.nycgv.com/about.asp

Gargoyles of NY architecture tour:
http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/...and-grotesques
http://www.aardvarkelectric.com/gargoyle/walks.html

Watson adventures is also a fun way to see parts of the city
http://watsonadventures.com/new_york.html

A harbor tour

A stroll down St Marks Pl bet 2 and 3rd ave

Absolutely wonderful suggestions! I think she would like Chinatown, also. Anyone know good creepy fortune tellers?

Don't forget the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory right on Water St. near the River Cafe. It's a great spot for a break if you decide to take the water taxi back to Manhattan (rather than the bridge) and all the brides go there for photos on the weekends. It's fun.

Definitely you must visit Central Park - perhaps rent bikes - or do a walk. Go to central park conservancy web site for map and activities list.

Agree Goth is not big in NYC - most kids are more sophisticated and label-oriented.

I would have her look at some of the sudent guides (Rough Guide, Let's GO etc) and she may get some ideas of things she would like to see/do. If she sees more suggestions from a youth pint of view she may pick out a lot more to see/do than candy stores. (At that age my step-daughters were into trendy restaurants where thye could see "some one" - and film festivals - they and their friends seemed to live at the movies. Depending on her interests she might want to see the Bronx Zoo. And perhaps a day trip to the beach or up the Hudson by train.

Be sure to do at least one boat ride - even if only the Staten Island ferry.

You don't mention the current age of your granddaughter, stating only that she was 14 on a previous trip. Assuming she's in her late teens, she'd be too old for some of the suggestions.
If by "Gothy," you mean things Gothic, she might enjoy a half-hour train trip out to Lyndhurst in Tarrytown. It's the former estate of railroad magnate Jay Gould that was the setting for the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.

I agree that the Staten Island Ferry would be great. And it's Free!

Emack and Bolio's is a chain of ice-cream shops. Not terrible, but if you're planning on going to something similar, I'd probably visit Coldstone first.

She also might like Pearl River Mart, as they have an international food section that has lots of Japanese candies and other international candies. My teen daughters always want to stop in that store, lots of cool items and eye shopping for them.

Don't you have Coldstone where you live? (Sorry, but I can't imagine why anyone would choose a chain ice cream shop for a treat in Manhattan, not to mention that I think Coldstone's ice cream is downright awful -- just my opinion .