America's most iconic metropolis

On Thanksgiving weekend we got to talking about the 2 1/2 week winter break that my kids and I had coming up.  With all that free time, we should plan something!  I've always wanted to visit NYC, and Christmas time always seemed magical there.  Flights and hotel booked, we headed east for 6 days of big city adventure.

We chose to fly into Newark, NJ because of the cost and better flight options.  After evaluating a number of options, we caught an Uber about 5 minutes after getting our luggage and in roughly 45 minutes were checking into our hotel.  Hilton's Homewood Suites in Midtown is our home this week (located on W 37th St between 8th and 9th Avenues).  It's location is pretty good, walking distance to Times Square, the Empire State Building and the Highline and a few blocks in each direction to a subway stop.  The area feels safe at night and the hotel provided everything we needed.  This hotel was chosen for several reasons: 1) I prefer to stay at Hilton so I can accrue points and trade them in for free nights, 2) I thought staying by Times Square would be best, and 3) they have rooms with two queen beds and a twin sleeper sofa which works for our family of four.  The room was spacious, the three bed options worked great, we had a full kitchen to store leftovers and live comfortably, and the non-locking sliding bathroom door allowed everyone to realize they can trust each other.  🙂

While the location was good, next time I would look for a hotel in the Lower Manhattan area.  It is lovely and historic and has a wonderful feel to it.  It also has many subway stations so would be equally easy to get anywhere quickly.

Below are our favorite highlights along with links for more information about each.

My husband and I both vividly remember the events of 9/11 and the feeling that hung in the air that day, even as far west as Seattle.  Neither of our kids were born then and it was important to us to visit the September 11th Memorial and Museum to show our kids the strength we saw in Americans that day.

The memorial, located at Ground Zero, features two fountains, each the exact footprint of the World Trade Center tower that it represents.  Each lined with the names of the people lost in this tragedy.  Around the fountains are trees with plenty of space to walk around or to sit and remember and pay respect.  I appreciated that by seeing this location, my kids quietly voiced their surprise to see all these names.  It is one thing to hear that nearly 3,000 people died that day, but quite another to see and touch the name of each person.

Based on advice from other travelers we planned our visit to the 9/11 museum for when it first opened.  We took the subway to the World Trade Center stop on the blue line which dropped us off a block away.  We arrived at the memorial about 45 minutes prior to the museum opening which gave us enough time to walk around the memorial then get in line when the museum ticket booth opened.

The museum was featuring two short films when we were there.  Each about 20 minutes long and both well worth seeing.  We started our visit with the two films, then explored the museum after.  If I were to visit this museum again (and I hope I do), I would give myself two and a half hours.  I had allotted only an hour and a half in our busy schedule and it wasn't nearly enough time.  We had a ferry to catch headed to the Statue of Liberty so had to cut our museum visit short.  I would recommend not scheduling anything for at least 3-4 hours after so you have plenty of time to see all the museum features.

One World Observatory is located on the top several floors of the One World Trade Center Building.  Also known as the Freedom Tower, it is the tallest building in North America.  While admission is a little pricey ($35 in 2018 for standard ticket), we thought it was worth it.  Located next to the 9/11 memorial, the entrance is on West Street.  We arrived in the morning and there was no wait.  The elevator ride really is one of the best parts, as you can read in many reviews on TripAdvisor.  It is amazingly fast and the graphics on both the ride up and down are wonderful.

At the top you will be guided to listen to a sale pitch to rent a tablet that shows you the various sites you can see from this high up.  The tablet did look interesting and some people rented them but we chose to see how many we could identify on our own.  Truth be told we spent at least an hour at the top marveling at how high we were, how lucky we were with the weather, how many people live on this small island, and so much more.  The views really are remarkable from the tallest building in North America.

NOTE:  You cannot use the New York City Explorer Pass at this attraction, I'm not sure what passes offer admission to One World.

There are two subway stations super close to where pedestrians can access the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan side, the Cambers St. and Brooklyn Bridge City Hall Stations.  Depending on the weather and the time of year, expect this popular historic bridge to be windy and crowded.  The wooden pedestrian and bike path is located above the cars in the center of the bridge.  Photo opportunities are EVERYWHERE and unaware people blocking the path taking selfies are abundant.

Walking the bridge is a great way to spend half an hour or so, but the real reward is in the amazing Brooklyn style pizza that awaits you on the other side.  While Grimaldi's has been the popular standard for Brooklyn style pizza by the bridge, and I have no doubt it is great, I recommend Julianna's.  With 4.6 stars on Google from over 2,500 reviews as of this writing, you will likely enjoy some delicious pizza.  We ordered the No. 1 (pancetta, cheese and truffle oil) and while it was enough for the four of us, we found ourselves wishing we had ordered a second pizza because the first was so good.  NOTE:  Julianna's is very popular and typically has a long wait.  We arrive around 3pm figuring this was ideal because we would be in between the lunch and dinner crowds.  While we didn't have to wait, we were the last table to be seated before they closed for an hour to "stoke the coals" in the oven.  We had to get our order in quickly before the oven closed down for the hour.  There was a fairly long line outside in the chilly winter air when we left, people who were waiting for Julianna's to open their doors again.  It will be worth it for them.

These are two icons of New York City and certainly worth a visit.  They are both accessible from the same ferry that can be caught either from lower Manhattan's Battery Park or from New Jersey's Liberty State Park.  You can even catch the ferry from one park and ride it back to the other (that's what we did).  Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the dock.  Statue Cruises is the authorized ferry provider to these two attractions.  There are several types of tickets that can be purchased when visiting the Statue of Liberty.  If you book far enough in advance, you can visit Lady Liberty's Crown and look out the windows.  Be mindful that you will climb 162 narrow stairs from the top of the pedestal to the crown (there is no elevator).  Depending on the season, these tickets need to be booked a couple months in advance.  If you can't get Crown tickets, Pedestal tickets are the next best thing.  These allow you to either climb the stairs or ride the elevator to the top of the pedestal and also access the museum that is located inside the pedestal.  Definitely worth the additional ticket price.

NOTE:  if Crown and/or Pedestal tickets are sold out from the dock you want to catch the ferry at, consider catching the ferry from the other side.  We couldn't get Pedestal tickets leaving from Manhattan's Battery Park but could get them leaving from NJ's Liberty State Park.  We caught a small ferry from Brookfield Place/Battery Park City (over by the World Trade Center) that took us to Liberty State Park in a 10 minute ride.  From there a 10 minute walk to the Statue Cruises terminal.  Also note that in the winter there are no food vendors anywhere in Liberty State Park, so plan accordingly.

When leaving from Liberty State Park, the ferry first stops at Ellis Island.  If you are returning to Liberty State Park and you want to visit both of these sites, then this will be your only chance to get off at Ellis Island.  If you plan to take the ferry back to Battery Park in Manhattan, then the ferry from Liberty Island will stop at Ellis Island before going on to Battery Park.  Ferries going from Liberty Island to Ellis Island don't go all day, so be sure to check when the last one goes to Ellis or you will miss seeing this wonderful piece of American history.  If you believe you have relatives who came through Ellis as they emigrated to the U.S. (about 12 million people came through here between 1892 and 1954), the helpful staff here can assist in finding your relatives if they came through Ellis.

Such a simple name for such a large, diverse and wonderful space.  Central Park is more than 800 acres in the northern half of Manhattan, sandwiched between the Upper Eastside and the Upper Westside.  Although the trees are bare in December, there is still plenty to do here (and even more to do in spring and summer!):

Ice skating in the southern end of the park, the Central Park Zoo, walking around all the trails, play a game of chess or checkers, take a horse carriage ride or a bike tour through the park, visit all the different places that have been featured in TV and movies, visit all the different attractions that the park offers, visit the American Museum of Natural History or the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and so much more!

One could spend years in NYC and still not do or see all there is here.  Some other fun things we enjoyed on our first trip are below.

One of the busiest places we visited here but the famous Christmas Tree was a must see.  The nine foot star on the top was stunning and this is a pretty commercial area but a little too crowded to stay long.  Top of the Rock was included in our New York Explorer Pass and we heard great things about the view from up here.  The view is amazing with the Empire State Building, Central Park and the river from the three indoor and outdoor levels.  Definitely a fun and classic NY thing to do.

Definitely the best city tour we've ever taken was on THE RIDE.  It was a pouring rain kind of day and we planned as many indoor activities as possible, including THE RIDE to start our day and the American Museum of Natural History for the rest.  I'm not a huge fan of tours, I find them informative but not necessarily fun.  Based on reviews and watching a video on THE RIDE, and given that it was included on our New York Explorer Pass, we decided to give it a try.  It was SUPER ENTERTAINING!  It was warm, dry, comfortable and so enjoyable for everyone in our family.  I would definitely recommend it (but since it's a little expensive I would certainly use one of the City Passes or Explorer Pass to pay for it).

Sadly, seeing the famous Rockettes is only an option during the Christmas season.  The rest of the year you can take a back stage tour of Radio City Music Hall, and while I'm sure it's interesting, it isn't the same as seeing them perform.  The 2018 Christmas Spectacular was well, spectacular.  It really was.

Also known as "the Village" this home to NYU has a lot to offer.  Endless small boutique shops sell everything from puppies to handmade goods to cookie dough (if you are traveling with kids, stop by DO).  Washington Square is one of the highlights of this area and has a subway stop close.

Trip Advisor lists so many highlights and reviews of the Village HERE.

Arrive hungry so you can enjoy the many delicious options here.  Chelsea Market is a collection of indoor eateries and gourmet shops selling all kinds of neat items.  You can arrive here anytime of day and find plenty of options for every palate.  My kids loved the Doughnuttery (imagine that) and Bar Suzette Creperie.  A fun fact about the Market is that it is home to the Food Network Studios.  You can't take a tour of the studio here but sometimes they film in the market and you might get lucky to catch a glimpse.