NYC rookies here
 

My family and I are staying at the Embassy Suites in Manhattan. (I believe it overlooks the Hudson River?) Anyway, if we are arriving by AMTRAK at Penn Station, what's the best and most affordable way to get to our hotel? Do we need to rent a car if we're there for four days? Or, is easier just to walk places? We have three kids ages 10-15, too. Is this neighborhood relatively family friendly? Safe? Help us! Thanks ...

You definitely do NOT want to rent a car for your stay in the city. If your destination is not within walking distance, the subways and buses can easily get you to wherever you want to go.

Start with searching this forum for tons of great information about New York.

<b>You do NOT need to rent a car.</b>

Gotcha. No car. How far is Penn Station from the Embassy Suites, though?

Plan to take 2 taxis from Penn Station to your hotel. It won't be the cheapest but it will be the easiest. (limit is 4pers/taxi).

Cheapest way is to take the #20 bus which will run from Penn Station right by the hotel.

The #2, 3 subway line will get you close, but it'll still be a couple block walk from WTS to hotel.

Take taxis since you have luggage and will not yet have your bearings.

Do not rent car. To get around town take the bus or subway.

see the MTA website for public transit info including maps.
www.mta.nyc.ny.us

It's about 3miles from Penn Station to lower Manhattan, where the Embassy Suites is located.

A car is useless in Manhattan - traffic is awful and parking is very expensive - like $20 for a couple of hours.

You should plan on walking as much as possible - to get the flavor of the city - and since it's often the fastest. most efficient way. After that go for the subway (there are lots of buses - but very slow due to traffic and stopping every couple of blocks).

If you go to the MTA web site (mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/submap.htm)you can download an interactive subway map to familiarize yourself with the lines, stops near where you want to go before you leave. Once you arrive you can get hard copies in the subway.

For Penn Sta to the hotel I would do 2 cabs - City cabs are limited to 4 passsengers - to avoid having to deal with luggage on the subway. If you have only a ittle the subway is OK - but you can run into long passageways and lots of stairs in some cases.

Every tourist area of NYC is safe. Don't know that area is particularly family friendly - I would have done the upper west side, so have access to Central Park - but your kids aren't small so that shouldn't be much of an issue.

I looked at the website and the Embassy Suites is in Battery Park, which is downtown. You have two options, you can take the subway, or a cab. Depending on how many you are, you may have to take multiple cabs. I would call the hotel and ask them for directions via subway, or approx how much a cab will cost from Penn Station. Or maybe they have some kind of free shuttle service. DO NOT RENT A CAR!!!!

Thanks for all the suggestions! You have all been very helpful. Now ... one last question: if I have only five places I have time to visit while in lower Manhattan (restaurants, theatres, museums, landmarks, etc.), what would you definitely suggest that this rookie should see? Or, where do I get the most bang for my buck?

OK, I'm pretty sure that now fitz knows not to rent a car ;-)

Fitz, try searching on NYC teens or new york city family and you'll find threads that cover just about everything: what Broadway shows are appropriate, what restaurants are fun, what things to see. Then come back and post whatever questions you've got.

Relax and have fun!

If you take a subway you'll have to wal a couple of blocks with your luggage. I think you should split up into 2 taxis as already sugeested (4 is the passenger limit).

Yes, the area is family friendly and safe, in fact the battery park city area is VERY kid friendly. There are parks stretching all along the hudson river. You can rent bicycles or roller blades and ride up and down the path along the river. There's also a variety of activities along the river, from pier to pier. Everything from trapeze school to kayaking to batting cages to tennis courts. Some are public and some are private.

If your kids are into sports, you'll see pickup and league games in the parks nearby.

You are also a short work to Tribeca where you will find lots of restaurant options. You also aren't too far from little italy and chinatown.

I do suggest you invest in metro cards for the trips in order to ride the subways and busses while you are there.

You should visit Ellis Island. Also worth seeing is Museum of the American Indian, Museum of Jewish Heritage, I think there is also a NYPD and FDNY museum down there, the looby of the woolworth building, city hall area, battery park, fraunces Tavern, federal hall (lovely rotunda inside), south street seport, century 21 (if you are into bargain shopping), Trinity CHurch, St. Paul's (with 9/11 exhibit) and ground zero.

It's hard to prioritize 5 things. Some of these would be quick visits, others are more time consuming.

You will not find an major theaters in lower manhattan. There are many off-broadway theaters once you get into the village area, some with good family friendly shows. And of course there's broadway but that's not in lower manhattan.

I hate to say it, but the Museum of the American Indian is NOT worth seeing. Not even close. The Smithsonian's museum in D.C. <i>is</i> worth a visit, but the small collection at Bowling Green (which cannot leave NY due to the donator's will) is not worth the admission fee (which if FREE).

New York's four best museums are the obvious -- Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA (the Munch exhibit it great), American Museum of Natural History, and Guggenheim.

fitz,

With 4 days, you'll have time to see other areas of Manhatten beside Lower Manhatten.

Best bang for the buck would include:

The Staten Island ferry round trip. It's <b>free</b> and offers close up views of the Statue of Liberty and nice views of the Manhatten skyline.

A walk across the Brooklyn bridge from Brooklyn toward Manhatten - more great views. <b>Free</b>.

Then buy some same day 1/2 price Broadway show tickets at the South Street Seaport ticket booth (very close to the Manhatten side of the Brooklyn Bridge). Don't skip seeing a show while in NYC. Take a look now at what's playing, make a list of choices, then try to get same-day 1/2 price tickets once in NYC. http://www.broadway.com/gen/concierge.aspx

Hop the subway and then walk some neighborhoods: Greenwich Village, Times Square, the lower end of Central Park, Upper East Side, Soho. Walks are <b>free</b>. Only cost is subway fare.

Jeez, years ago I took my kids to the Inidian museum and we liked it amd I love the building (the old custom house). I use to sneak in there when the museum was under contruction.

and yes the museums Gekko mentioned are NY's finest but they aren't in lower manhattan.

From what I understand, &quot;years ago&quot; the American Indian museum had a larger collection, which has since been moved to D.C.

Last week, when I toured the museum, it was a colossal disappointment and, given all the options in New York, a waste of time.

I would read the destinations section on this forum and pick up a NYC guidebook to help narrow down five places to visit. I would put the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island tour towards the top of the list especially when visiting with kids. Everyone's tops are subjective, but I would also include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Broadway play, the World Trade Center site (Ground Zero) and the Empire State Building (if the line isn't too long.)

Have a great trip!

Fitz - are you looking for the top 5 places to visit in lower manhattan or all of manhattan? My answer was specifically lower, but if all of manhattan, than the other responses make more sense.

The area the hotel is in is safe but not central. You are in the financial district (near Wall St.) You are also near the former WTC site, not far from Chinatown, Tribeca, Soho. You're very near the Staten Island ferry, also the ferry that goes to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (very worthwhile but very time consuming). Why don't you tell us how long you're staying and what YOU'D like to see?

Not sure why you want to stick with lower Manhattan. Most theaters are midtown, many of the major museums and Central Park are uptown - and shopping is everywhere.

I would choose based on what really interests you rather than location.