How would New York be for a family holiday?

10 days of family holiday in New York City. Is it enough?

• I'm planning a trip to NYC next year with my family of 4. Is 10 days in NYC enough? I want to see the Statue of Liberty, Museum, Central Park, Wall Street, Ground Zero, St Patrick, Macy's Holiday displays, Little Italy, Chinatown.... etc. What else do you recommend me to see? Is it safe to walk down the street in Manhattan or take the subway at night? Some of my coworkers visit NYC in a regular basis for business and said a lot of terrible things about NYC, such as homeless guys peeing in front of them. So safety is my top one concern for my family. Any suggestions in accommodation? I have checked several travel website. The average price for a 3-star hotel is $2600 (9 nights for 4 people). It's a bit pricey for me. Which part of the city should I avoid when making hotel reservation? Upper East Side? Upper West Side? Downtown? If I go out at night, which part of the city do you recommend? How much am I expected to spend per day? -including food, shopping and visiting attractions?

• Answer:

  Ten days is plenty! I would recommend things for you to see, but I don't know what you like and there is a little of everything here. I'd suggest looking online or in a travel book. Generally, uptown is rich people, midtown is touristy, and downtown is a younger, more low-key crowd. It's definitely safe to walk around at night. I get off of work at 5am and I've never felt like I was in any danger. Of course there are homeless people doing crazy things, but that's just how it is. You can check travel websites, but midtown usually has good deals on rooms in Midtown Manhattan (which is awesome, because it has a bunch of touristy things to see and do). If you really want to stretch your dollar, I'd suggest Brooklyn. I live there, and it gets a bad rap, but nothing bad has ever happened to me here, even though I live in a neighborhood that probably gets the worst rap. There's no where in the city that I'd avoid making a reservation at (again, unless it's money you're concerned about).If you go out at night to have fun, I'd really suggest downtown. Food, I'd say it all depends on how much you want to go to that fancy restaurant. Shop around. Most places have their menu prices listed outside the door. I'm a fan of eating in the east village (mainly 2nd avenue). Depending on where you go, they're pretty reasonable. It is hard to find a plate under $10-15 sometimes, though. Some of the best attractions NYC has to offer are free. There is a museum that is free Thursday (I can't remember which one), and the MOMA is free Friday nights. On Wednesdays, Bronx Zoo is free. Central Park is free, and so is walking the Brooklyn Bridge. Going to the top of the Empire State Building is $23. I believe there is a free ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Shopping also depends on what you like. If you want to go to 5th or Madison Ave to Fendi, Prada, etc., budget for that. But if you want to go to one of our awesome vintage stores, you can get a designer outfit for under $20 (There's a store at 2nd Ave near 11th or 12th street that I die for). Hope this helps!