English playwright Peter Schaffer once said, “If London is a watercolour, New York is an oil painting.” He’s bang on the money there. London is more understated, charming, whimsical; New York is bolder, brasher, and harder to clean off your clothes.
Our children – James (11), Mia (7) – were born in London and are being raised in Yorkshire. We’ve always been keen to take them to New York but wanted to wait until a time when they were both old enough to net 20,000 steps a day without complaint. That time was Autumn 2024 – the perfect season to fall for the Big Apple.
Before we’d even arrived in Midtown, we had witnessed: (1) a giant of a man driving with dog on lap, one hand on the wheel, the other balancing a claw hammer on his shoulder; (2) a waitress wearing a T-shirt embossed with the timeless epigram, ‘I don’t give two fucks’; and (3) a lady dancing exuberantly to a music video, her iPhone propped up on the basket of her Citi Bike. Welcome to New York.
The last scene in particular is a perfect snapshot of this bonkers city of sequins and showtunes, hot steam and hot takes. There is only one place in the world where energy seems to effervesce from every person, every place, every sidewalk.
New York is the ultimate show town – and boy, did it show off for us.
There are more recommendations than I have space here to share, so to help narrow things down, the family have offered up each of their highlights in different areas…
Where to stay
FAMILY FAVOURITE: Marriott Marquis
The idea of a boutique hotel in New York is oxymoronic to me. It’s like going to a steak restaurant and ordering a salad.
You’re in the Big Apple, baby – you need a hotel that reflects that, especially if you have kids in tow. And they don’t come much bigger than the Marriott Marquis.
The Marquis sits proudly on Times Square – nicknamed the ‘Crossroads of the World’ for good reason; it’s an incredibly useful hub for exploring Manhattan.
Before you’ve even seen the breathtaking views from your bedroom, the elevators are worth a trip in themselves: glass-walled rockets that take you up a 52-storey central plinth – the fulcrum of the hotel’s jaw-dropping atrium.
The gym has to have the best views of any in Manhattan; and when the refurbishment is complete, New York’s only rotating restaurant, The View, will be a must.
For now, you can enjoy a front-row seat to Times Square at the Broadway Lounge, which serves up American bistro food with aplomb. (The pizza is genuinely excellent – not that you’d expect anything less.) There’s a great – and seemingly relatively unknown – terrace, too, warmed by the glow of those famous giant LED billboards.
The M Club – a business-class lounge set-up – provides a calm respite from the busier parts of the hotel, not to mention complimentary drinks and snacks.
The breakfast is a thing of wonder; the French toast enough to make a man drool from ten paces. And there’s even a handy sign that reminds you: ‘Don’t put croissants in the toaster.’ Only in America.
With 1,971 rooms and more than 100,000 sq ft of event space, the Marquis is a mini metropolis all of its own. In size and stature, it’s a fitting hotel to call home for your stay.
See more at marriott.com
Where to go
PARENTs’ FAVOURITE: Empire State Building
Oh, a New York travel article suggesting a trip to the Empire State Building? How original, I hear you say. But bear with me.
I last went to Manhattan more than a decade ago. The queues at the bottom of Empire State were almost as renowned as the views from the top, yet the enjoyment of the latter did not necessarily outweigh the frustration of the former.
All that has changed.
In 2019, a $165m renovation was completed, which included a new entrance on 34th Street with self-service ticket kiosks, interactive exhibits, and a stunning scale model of the building – and crucially, since the Pandemic, this is integrated with timed arrivals so the infamous queues are gloriously a thing of the past.
There’s also a new second-floor observatory experience including an interactive museum about the building’s construction and opening day. (It still staggers me to think the Empire State took just over a year to construct.)
But most impressive of the new developments is the new 102nd floor observation point with 360-degree views – a considerable lift up from the open-air 86th floor observation deck.
It’s a perfect place to start your trip – not only to orient yourself, but to absorb the history of one of the world’s most famous buildings. In 2024, the Empire State was – for the first time – voted the No. 1 tourist attraction in the world on TripAdvisor, with 60,000 five-star reviews. Make that 60,001.
See more at esbnyc.com
MIA’S FAVOURITE: Color Factory
OK, ignoring the fact it should be called Colour Factory, this has to be one of NYC’s most enjoyable museums for kids.
Say the words ‘multi-sensory experience’ to me under normal circumstances, and my eyes roll so far back further than a teenager when you tell them to tidy their room. But put your scepticism aside and set your phones to ‘Instagram’ for what is genuinely a fun and funky exploration of colour. Remember that oil painting metaphor from the introduction of this article – well this is its natural conclusion.
You’ll wind through multiple rooms with different interactive experiences that involve all the family – and every colour of the rainbow – tasting, drawing, dancing, spinning… until you finish up sliding into a swimming pool of cotton-candy blue balls, before being sent on your way with a delicious cup of clotted cream ice cream. If you’re tired of this, then you’re tired of life.
See more at colorfactory.co
JAMES’S FAVOURITE: The Intrepid Museum
Cards on the table, my son’s favourite film is Top Gun. His second favourite? Top Gun: Maverick. So when I said we could visit a genuine US aircraft carrier, and there would be an F-14 Tomcat on board, it was always going to be his highlight.
The USS Intrepid is quite a thing. To contextualise its size, let me give you a few stats. The flight deck is large enough to house three American football fields. There are 1,600 doors and hatches; 10,000 lightbulbs; and 20,000 miles of electric cable. When it was in service, the crew would consume 4,200 eggs, 6,000 potatoes, and 16,000 pounds of flour – EVERY DAY!
It’s now home to the ultimate real-life Top Trumps of aeronautical engineering from the Lockheed A-12 spyplane to Concorde via the first space shuttle.
The most memorable experience for young James (and old me) was the flight simulator. At the beginning of the experience, you’re told to put your phone, keys and loose items in a locker, before you go through a training module on the controls. I’ve been on plenty of simulators before – surely this was overkill? Nope – it is not. This is a fully interactive simulator, where one of you is the pilot (James), the other the weapons systems officer (me). Your son can then turn and burn before a negative 4G inverted dive quicker than you can say ‘Talk to me, Goose’.
See more at intrepidmuseum.org
Where to eat and drink
MIA’S FAVOURITE: Ellen’s Stardust Diner
Top tip: make sure you eat after the flight simulator, not before.
My son’s love for aviation is only trumped by my daughter’s passion for musical theatre, so we were Broadway bound next for dinner and a show.
But Mia’s idea of haute cuisine is when the Alphabetti spells out something in French, so her food recommendations should be taken with a pinch of salt. Usually a lot more than just a pinch.
But when it comes to the experience? Well, nothing is more showbiz than Ellen’s Stardust Diner. Inside this retro 1950s-themed diner, the waiting staff – known as Stardusters – are all aspiring Broadway performers.
Throughout your meal (go for a late breakfast – pancakes are a winner), you’ll be treated to live renditions of show tunes, pop hits, and classic favourites. Many Stardusters have gone on to perform in major productions, making it a stepping stone for rising stars.
Mia and her mother were singing along so enthusiastically at one point that my preenage son had to take himself to the toilet to avoid the embarrassment of being associated with us. I felt his pain.
Mia also said she had the best milkshake of her life here – but I think that might have been more to do with the rendition of Popular that accompanied it than any particular culinary prowess.
Queues to enter can get wild, so avoid weekends and go for less obvious times.
See more at ellensstardustdiner.com
JAMES’s FAVOURITE: Roberta’s
Head to Domino Park in Williamsburg and you will immediately feel cooler than an iced latte. You can grab an easy bite from Tacocina and watch the Circle Line ferries do their 180s beneath the Williamsburg Bridge.
There’s beach volleyball or bocce. The local market lists ‘essentials’ on its awning: Romaine, Camembert, Hummus, Croutons, and Pancetta. It’s so hipster here even the toddlers have mullets.
The highlight, though, is Roberta’s – its signature bread comes blown up like a beach ball; pop it and steam escapes, before you tear off crunchy pieces topped with sea salt and load with American prosciutto.
It was “the best thing I’ve eaten,” exclaimed my son. A sentiment which was then duly extended to the wood-fired pizza we followed it up with.
See more at robertaspizza.com
PARENTS’ FAVOURITE: The Dead Rabbit
We ate at some incredible places. Gramercy Tavern topped the list for all-round foodie enjoyment; and Minerta Tavern for incredible baked oysters and a burger so delicious it will make you want to emigrate. (We like Taverns.)
But my final recommendation goes to The Dead Rabbit. Yes, it might seem odd to fly 3,500 miles to go to an Irish bar. But this is not an Irish bar as you know it.
Founded by two childhood friends from Belfast, Jack McGarry and Sean Muldoon, The Dead Rabbit is housed in the Financial District inside a brick building straight out of Gangs of New York. The concept is simple: Irish charm and hospitality coupled with the best cocktails on the planet. And that’s no exaggeration: it was the winner of the 2016 for World’s Best Bar in the coveted The World’s 50 Best Bars list.
Spread across three floors, it offers distinct experiences. The lively ground-floor taproom is where you go for your Guinness and stobhach, but head upstairs to the Parlor if you want bespoke cocktail creations and delicious sharing plates to help wash them down. It’s a wonderful confluence of old-world tradition and new-world flair. And the cocktails are to die for.
See more at thedeadrabbit.com
Back in 2013, we produced a New York special of square mile – a 150-page tribute to the only place that can really compete with London. Euan Rellie summed up the city’s lasting appeal: “New York is not perfect. It’s dirty, but it’s covered in good dirt. It’s not the only place on Earth that matters, but it’s a magnet for ambitious people. This naked ambition is a universal hyperdrive; a relentless, kinetic energy. That’s why New Yorkers walk so fast and talk so fast. If you can muster even a shred of optimism, you can be sure New York will encourage it, nurture it, and reward it.”
A week in New York will give you enough optimism to last a lifetime. Or at least, until your next visit.
See more at nyctourism.com
