We will be in NYC for about a week (first timers). What would be your top picks to see/do? Thanks!

–May

You absolutely cannot visit NY for the first time without seeing: the Statue of Liberty (take the Circle Line from the South Street Seaport if you don't want to spend the whole day and do Ellis Island), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Empire State Building, MOMA, Chinatown, Central Park (maybe have lunch at the Boathouse restaurant), a Broadway show (so you can visit Times Square), a performance at Lincoln Center (ballet, opera, or philharmonic). You might even want to take one of those cheesy double-decker "HO HO" (hop on/hop off) bus tours. Sure, it'll be full of tourists but it'll take you all over towna dn you can get on and off at your leisure. These are the must-dos! Search our archives for more NYC Activities.

Two of my girlfriends and I would like to visit NYC with our (combined) 7 kids in April 2009. Could you suggest some places to stay with pools?  We would prefer to stay outside of the city, but close enough to travel in each day...

–Julie

Jersey City is super close to Manhattan and is a really quick PATH train away from either lower Manhattan or Midtown. There are two hotels in JC that have pools: the brand-new Westin (opening in February) and the Hyatt Regency. Slight preference for the Westin as it's a tad closer to the PATH but either hotel would work. And just an FYI--if you're planning to visit the Statue of Liberty, you can take the ferry from Jersey City.

I have a business associate in Paris who wants to find a hostel in NYC for his 3 kids (ages 17, 18, 19) who will be here for a week (unsupervised!). My initial thought is that I don't love the idea of a hostel. Can you recommend one or another idea for where they could stay on a small budget? Thanks so much for your help.

–Lisa

Yikes, NYC hostels are definitely not the same as hostels in Europe! Some other thoughts...the Vanderbilt Y in Midtown has rooms (good, safe location), the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tribeca is always filled with young, European tourists, the new Pod Hotel in Midtown is really reasonable (well, for NYC), and the Gershwin Hotel and the Union Square Inn are pretty affordable. Maybe they'd want to rent an apartment for a week: Vacation Homes and Vacation Rentals by Owner are two reliable sites (they can run the locations by you to make sure they're okay).

We just started potty training and I refuse to travel with a portable potty to the park like i see other moms! Any advice???

–Rachel

Finding a public bathroom in NYC is harder than finding a pair of jeans that make you look ten pounds thinner. All those nasty shop girls who's "power" is to let you "go" or not. Along comes Diaroogle.com, a premier toilet search engine. What will they think of next?

We are thinking of bringing our kids to New York next August before school starts.  We'll be bringing 3 kids and our nanny and we want to see some shows as well as tour NY.  

My main question is a recommendation for a place to stay. Since we have 3 kids and a sitter we usually get connecting rooms. We would prefer to stay in the heart of NY. I am looking for a place that will be somewhat kid friendly and be spacious enough for us not to be cramped in the rooms.
Any suggestions?

–Michael

A spacious hotel room in NYC is a bit of an oxymoron. The hotels that notoriously have the most space are the Four Seasons, the Parker Meridien, and the St Regis. All are in a great location but are definitely at the highest end of the price range! The Westin Times Square has large rooms, but we're not sure you'd want to stay over there. You might also want to check out the W Hotels--not sure if you'd want to stay in Times Square but the three other locations are all in midtown and convenient to everything. You might also want to look into the Manhattan Club--it's a time share of suites that offers hotel services. The location is excellent (near Central Park and theater) and the rooms are very spacious and comfortable. They often rent them on behalf of owners who can't use their weeks.