krisnmikenkids

We've booked our flights but that's it. We still need to book our hotel and itinerary. Two hotels have been recommended to us - The Muse and Hilton Times Square. Both look very nice. We'd be open to other suggestions or your opinion on either of these hotels. We think that we'd like to see some shows (probably musicals) and see all the sights like The Met, Central Park, Greenwich Village, etc. This is our daughter's first visit to the city and my husband and I haven't been in over 15 years. We're very open to any and all suggestions! Thank you!

mclaurie

Both of those hotels are nice. The Muse is more of a boutique hotel while the Hilton as you would imagine is large and offers some views. Depends on what you like. Both are in the Times Square area so convenient for theater. I think both of these only have rooms with 2 double beds for 3 people. The Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square is all 1 bedroom suites so lots more space and if you wanted, you could get a queen or king bed and daughter could use the sofabed in the living room. The Westin, also in Times Square has some corner king rooms with sofabed. The Hilton Garden Inn Times Square and the Hampton Inn Times Square North are a step down from these in star level but offer rooms with 2 queens which is rarer in NYC and are well run and well liked by families. There are also other suite hotels besides the Doubletree that offer 1 bedroom suites. A few have 2 queen beds in the bedroom too, but these are not in Times Square. Oyster.com is a website that has photos of a lot of these hotels that might make deciding easier. Tripadvisor.com has reviews and "travelers photos" on the review page. You might double check prices on a few different websites before booking. Booking.com kayak.com quikbook.com are some others to check.

Wicked is the most popular musical for teen girls. It's never discounted and regularly sells out so if you want to go, buy those tickets asap. How to Succeed is being revived with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) in the lead and has gotten good word of mouth. That might be available on discount. Playbill.com lists discounts when you register there for free and broadwaybox.com has discounts on their left column. There are a bunch of new shows in previews or not yet opened (Sister Act, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Wonderland etc.)

kenav

Take your daughter to Soho. Take the "R" train to Prince street or the "F", "D", or "B" trains to Broadway-Lafayette. Walk on the side streets towards West Broadway. Lots of high end shops that are fun to look in or window shop. Some art galleries too. Also lots of street venders with people selling their own created stuff. Funky buildings. Think your 14 year old would have a lot of fun. Very different from the Times Square usual stuff.

Try to do this on a weekday. Weekends can be crazy busy and the subway is always an adventure on the weekends (not a good one) as the routes change due to work being done.

volcanogirl

We did one of those food tours of Greenwich Village and loved it. Includes several stops, and we got to try different foods along the way like pizza, rice balls, cannoli and things like that. It includes a few pop culture references like seeing the "Friends" apartment building and the stoop from Sex and the City. It's such a pretty area; we really enjoyed walking around there. If you have time, I'd throw in a trip to the Statue of Liberty. I still remember climbing all the stairs with my dad as a kid. You can do Elllis Island too if you think your daughter would be interested.
Staybridge Suites Times Square is a great place to stay - brand new and includes free breakast; it has a very contemporary feel and a full kitchen in the room.

hazel1

volcanogirl - which food tour did you go on. the Foods of NY one or something else? I'm trying to decide on a food tour and haven't quite figured out which one to sign up for.

volcanogirl

Hi, h - yes, that's the one that we did. We picked it based on all the positive reviews. It even included a trip to an Italian deli and a little bakery. It was great. If you get the chocolate chip cookies at the bakery, be sure to buy some of their milk - it's organic and tastes so much better than regular milk and pairs nicely with the cookies. The food portions are generous, definitely enough to fill you up for lunch, and the guide was really informative and fun.

lantana

krisnmikenkids - you are going to have a great time!
I took my daughter last summer and am thinking about taking her again in May. She's 14 too

Last summer we took one of the tours at the Tenement Museum and really enjoyed it. I highly recommend taking your daughter, particularly if she is at all interested in history. You will tour restored apartments in a tenement building and learn about some of the families who lived there. We did the "Getting By" tour and loved it. I've read that each tour is very good. I've never read a negative review of the place. http://www.tenement.org/

We also got tickets in advance and went to Ellis Island and toured the Immigration Museum. We did not get off the ferry to climb the Statue of Liberty but went straight to the Immigration Museum. Statue of Liberty/Ellis Is. is a time-consuming (5+ hours) "attraction" but very worthwhile IMO.

I took my daughter to see "Phantom of the Opera" b/c she'd been in a performance at school and it was her #1 choice. We were not disappointed. Definitely go to a show! Just walking around the Times Square area will be very exciting for your daughter (although i wouldn't want to stay there).

One afternoon we went to visit the NY Public Library and when we left, found ourselves in the fabulous Bryant Park, which is behind the library. Wow. I think your daughter would get a big kick out of this amazing park. It's incredible - and, on a gorgeous summer day will be filled w/ people! http://www.bryantpark.org/

Another day, we took the subway to the Upper West Side and got off around 72d St.. We were able to walk into the Park and visit Strawberry Fields and the "Imagine" mosaic. We then walked through/across the park (probably my favorite part of the entire trip!)to the Met Museum, where we spent much of the day. My daughter LOVED the Period Rooms there.

Oh - and jump right in and use the subway from the start of your trip. It is so easy and fun, once you "figure it out". It was another highlight for us, being from SC

Also: Lots of fun window/shopping in TriBeCa and SoHo

elimac

Try to eat at Ellen's Stardust Diner near Time Square. We took our girls there. It is just diner food, but the wait staff sing and dance and entertain while you eat. My daughter was about that age and loved it!! Great place before a show.

nytraveler

What are your daughter's special interests? There are incredible resources her that don;t exist many other places - and you may be able to identify something she would love (like a backstage tour at Lincoln Center, visit to one of the fashion institutes, a culinary school or a tour of art galleries).

travelbuff

For a Hip feel hotel try The Ace, it is new and really nicely done and you might get a celeb siteing there as well. I took a tour of the hotel not long ago and loved the way the rooms are laid out, each room has a real guitar so she might even pick up a new interest. It is located on W 29th St close to shopping and there is an excellent restaurant on the bottom floor.

Since this is her first trip, get a book or two and let her pick things that she might like to see, that way you get her involved with the planning and she gets to "own" the trip too.

She might enjoy the Central Park Zoo and/or the Bronx Zoo and/or the Aquarium at Coney Island. If you join the Conservency you get free admittance to all 3 for a year, AND get their magazine sent home so you have a reminder of the trip for a whole year. I think you can even sign up online to make it easier for you.

Hope this helps and have a great time while you are here.

lia_b

If she likes waffles, follow the Wafles and Dinges truck on twitter. My 14 year old loves to hunt them down when we go to the city. They are at a different location everyday,and tweet their location daily. It is a treat to find them. They have the best belgium waffles and the nicest people serving them.

Another vote for Soho, they have the best Converse store down there. Stop by the MacBar (Prince and Lafayette) for the best mac and cheese ever with the little yellow takeaway container (so cute). There is also a Top Shop (import from London) in the area. Walk all the way to Canal and you are in Chinatown or a couple of blocks east and you are in little Italy. If she likes books, the Strand Bookstore is on Broadway and 12th (18 miles of books). Katz deli is also not too far away on Houston, but be prepared to wait.

The museum of Natural History is always fun and if she likes dogs, you can take a break to watch the dogs play at the dog run outside the museum.

Have fun! New York is always an adventure. Just walking around is interesting.

Austin

I took my daughter to NYC when she was 13 (almost 8 years ago) and now she's a JR in college there and became a resident. She told me then that she would move to NYC for college during our visit in 2003.

Her favorite things during that trip were shopping (5th ave (window) H&M, Century 21, Macy's but mostly SoHo. She loved just walking around (mostly the Village) and going to out to eat and walking Central park. The best was the theatre. Back then we saw Hairspray. She has seen SO many, including Lion King, Mamma Mia, LEgally Blonde, Wicked, August Osage County (her favorite> and La Cage Au Faux.. Of those still playing for a 13 year old, I suggest Lion King.

Recently we rented a row boaat in Central Park and it was memorable! If you can do that it's perfect. Then lunch in the Boat House.

Austin

And to add, we are in the minority and did not think Wicked was that good. I personally felt like the kid in the Emperor's New Clothes...

krisnmikenkids

Wow, thank you all so much! I can't wait to go online and research all of your suggestions. I really appreciate this because we live on the other side of the country, so we don't make this trip often (obviously from my initial post!). Our daughter loves musicals and has seen a few, all of which she loved, so I'm sure that will be fun. You've come up with so many great ideas - I'm sure she'll love them all. Thanks, too, for the suggestion of getting a book or two and have her look through them beforehand, so she can take ownership of the trip. I love that idea! Thanks again!

Travel_Gato

My two teens also loved: Greenwich Village food tour, Tenement Museum, Ellis Island (we skipped Lady Liberty also, but the boat still docks there, so you get a close up view). They also got a kick out of walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (stop there for ice cream, but not Grimaldi's pizza). And definitely buy tickets ahead of time to go to Top of the Rock at sunset. Beautiful views, and less hassle than the Empire State Bldg. And you can SEE the Empire State Bldg nearby.

A sidenote to Austin: My daughter is applying to college next year. One of her top 2 choices: NYU. I would prefer she not go there, but guess it's my own fault for getting her excited about NYC!

Aduchamp1

A sidenote to Austin: My daughter is applying to college next year. One of her top 2 choices: NYU. I would prefer she not go there, but guess it's my own fault for getting her excited about NYC!

____________

May I ask, what does she want to study?

volcanogirl

What about Serendipity 3? Do you guys think it's worth going to for dessert/frozen hot chocolate? It's been in so many movies.

tchoiniere

Have you looked at doing a boat tour? I did the full Island (circle Line). Was very long and would recommend the shorter 1/2 island tour. We also did the Beast which was a Speedboat tour out to the Statue of Liberty and back.

ellenem

volcanogirl, I think Serendipity is overrated and awkwardly located. There are so many better places to have dessert that don't involve standing in line for hours (or minutes).

volcanogirl

Thanks, ellen - it's something I've wanted to do, but we've never made it there.