The Best NYC Neighborhoods to Book (And Not to Book) a Family Stay

New York City can be a lot for tourists, especially if they’ve never been there before. The city feels massive and confusing at times, and it can be hard to decide which neighborhood is the best place to book your stay — especially if you’ve got kids. To mak planning a bit easier, we’ve compiled a list of neighborhoods that are great, and not so great, options.

Upper West Side
NYC’s Upper West Side is a fantastic destination for families visiting the city. It’s home to Central Park, Children’s Museum of Manhattan, American Natural History Museum and more. It’s a great place to enjoy the NYC vibe in a calmer part of the city, and it has plenty of transportation options to take you to popular NYC attractions like the Statue of Liberty.

Park Slope
Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood is a great place to give kids a glimpse of NYC life in a family-friendly neighborhood that has everything. Walk tree-lined streets and check out historic brownstones. Grab a bagel (or a whole bag) and head over to Prospect Park to enjoy the playgrounds and hiking trails — and in between hiking and playing you can all relax on the lawn for a picnic with those bagels.

Tribeca
Tribeca is one of the city’s family-friendliest neighborhoods and has plenty of great hotel options to choose from. Its popularity with both locals and visitors with kids is due to the impressive amount of kid-friendly activities in the area, like Craft Studio where you can drop in to do some crafting and let kids get their hands dirty creating great mementos of your trip.

Times Square
Visiting Times Square is a must if you’ve never been to New York, and you’ve got some great hotel choices right in the middle of all the action, but it’s a hard pass if you’ve got little ones who might be overwhelmed by the chaos you’ll meet the moment you step out of your hotel.