“East side, west side… all around the town,” run the catchy lyrics. So what area should you aim for when jetting off with your family on a big apple holiday?
When headed to Manhattan, the temptation is to base yourself in Midtown, home to action-packed Times Square and such iconic landmarks as the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center. As a three-generational family, we decided to base ourselves instead in the Big Apple’s more tranquil and residential Upper West Side.
Our home-from-home was the historic & friendly Hotel Beacon. With its two large bedrooms and bathrooms, comfy living room and well-equipped kitchen, our suite was ideal for a family travelling with a child, in our case, my lively, four-year-old granddaughter, Rose.
Imagine in Central Park’s Strawberry Fields is Yoko Ono’s tribute to John Lennon
We soon set out with her parents, Mark and Wendy, to explore the neighbourhood, After a short stroll we were in Central Park where we discovered Yoko Ono’s Strawberry Fields tribute to John Lennon while Rose enjoyed the swings and slides at the Diana Ross Playground, Nor far away was a marionette theatre and farther afield a zoo, both we decided to be explored at another time.
Strolling past the parkside New York Historical Society Museum & Library, Mark, a film and super-hero fan, spotted through an open door an original Batmobile from the 1960s Batman TV show. Then Wendy and Rose discovered the museum’s temporary exhibition of the artwork of Mo Willems, whose New York-based books are among Rose’s favourites.
Next stop, a few blocks to the north, was the massive American Museum of Natural History, where Rose was fascinated by the awesome collection of dinosaurs. (One of her favourite‘Teddies’ at home is a long-necked, emerald green Diplodocus.)
That evening Wendy and I enjoyed the very New York humour of TV comedian Jerry Seinfeld in the ornate and historic Beacon Theatre adjacent to our hotel while Mark and Rose viewed the twinkling lights of night time Manhattan from the top of the Empire State Building, only a short, non-stop subway ride from our hotel.
“It was all very exciting!” enthused Rose at the end of our stay, and we had to agree.
Where to stay: The Hotel Beacon, located at 2139 Broadway at 75th Street, offers 278 oversized rooms and suites, all with equipped kitchenettes, flat-screen TVs, free wi-fi and a trendy Upper West Side location.
GETTING AROUND: Consider buying a money-saving MetroCard for subways and buses and a CityPass for sightseeing.
