"I love New York. I just want to be there.  I like everything about it-the people, the crowds, the taxis, the food, Broadway, just everything. I didn't want to leave." High praise indeed when you consider the source is a teenage girl, a demographic not known for displaying enthusiasm for anything beyond fashion and fads.  But when Mara Shapiro’s 16 year old daughter talks about NYC, it’s all good, an opinion shared by my own teenage children (Alex 17 and Victoria 19).

Walking around Times Square, visiting Little Italy, Central Park, Canal Street, and Broadway; these are just a few of the many spots in NYC teens love to visit.  What’s terrific about NYC is that even the laziest of “Mom can I get a ride to the mall” teenagers will keep walking just to see what’s around the corner.

Mom Kristen Callendar finds that her teens discover new adventures as they’re walking through NYC as well. “Watching the people and buildings is their favourite part and we usually walk everywhere we go, well until it gets dark.” 

Even if they aren’t interested in walking forever, there’s still interesting sights to be seen. “My one son David, 18, is more of an observer, like me.”, says Callendar.  “We would be happy sitting on a bench and watching all of the people walking by. I mean where else, but New York City can you see a naked guy in a Cowboy hat run for public office?”

Of course, food is always a draw for teenagers, and NYC has no shortage of that. “We ate Italian for every meal, and kept going back to Little Italy.  We also found a really cool shop that sold 101 flavours of Rice Pudding.”, says Shapiro.  Callendar’s son was also drawn by the culinary offerings. In his own words, he loved “Walking around Times Square and eating every kind of odd food I could find."

Shapiro’s daughter was of course drawn to that sport that many women love, teen or not. “We loved shopping in Soho and found a store called LF Boutique which had the coolest clothes.  We dropped most of our clothing budget in that one store.”  My teen daughter and I visited the four story Forever 21 store about four times.  My son loved the NHL and NFL stores, an experience made better by meeting soccer sensation Thierry Henry.  For sports fans, NYC is at the top of the leader board, with the Yankees, Mets’, New York Knicks, New York Liberty, New York Giants, New York Jets, New York Rangers, Red Bull New York as well as other special sporting events such as the U.S. Tennis Open or Amateur Boxing Golden Gloves. 

There are accommodations which cater to this market, including the very rock and roll The Ace Hotel, as well as The Regency Hotel.

Tours are available at many of the numerous broadcast facilities in the city.  I taped a segment in the ABC Studios while we were there, which gave my teens an inside view. For live shows, Shapiro enjoyed “Billy Elliot”, and my teens took in Green Day’s “American Idiot” (includes some adult material so the show may not be suitable for younger teens).  Callendar added a visit to a comedy show in Times Square to her annual  trip. “A lot of fun and very affordable. Many of the shows offer a family friendly version earlier in the evening, and save the racier stuff for the 18 and over crowd later.”

For a comprehensive visit of teen-targeted activities, visit www.nycgo.com.