Sooner or later, your business travels will take you to New York, and sooner or later, you should take your kids with you. In fact, New York might be the best city to bring the family when you’re traveling on business. It’s loud and unpredictable and it moves really fast. No wonder kids love it.

Listing the best places to take the family in New York is a matter of opinion. (Everything in New York is a matter of opinion.) Here we’ve started with the basics and kept things confined primarily to Manhattan, which is where you’re likely to stay while you’re in town. Many of the landmarks are places your kids will recognize, such as the Statue of Liberty and Central Park, a setting for dozens of kid-friendly films including “Antz,” “Elf” and “Stuart Little.”

If your family is visiting for the first time, the Empire State Building (350 Fifth Avenue between 33rd and 34th streets, http://www.esbnyc.com) is a must-see. Buy tickets for the trip to the 102nd-floor observatory in advance online. For another bird’s-eye view, visit Top of the Rock (30 Rockefeller Center, tel 212 698 2000, http://www.topoftherocknyc.com), the 70th-floor observatory that opened in November 2005.

Put the Statue of Liberty (tel 212 363 3200, http://www.nps.gov/stli) on your must-see list as well. Your fee for the ferry ride out to Liberty Island includes a stop at Ellis Island (http://www.nps.gov/elis). Park rangers give free guided tours of the statue and you can climb up to the 10th floor (the torch and crown are closed to visitors). At Ellis Island, the excellent audio tours available for rent include commentary from people who worked at and passed through the island’s historic immigration station.

Part of the fun of being in New York is feeling like an insider. The best way to do that is on a behind-the-scenes tour. On the Radio City Music Hall Stage Door Tour (1260 Avenue of the Americas between 50th and 51st streets, tel 212 307 7171, http://www.radiocity.com) you’ll go backstage, hear the stories behind the glorious Art Deco interiors and even meet a Rockette. The NBC Studio Tour (30 Rockefeller Plaza, tel 212 664 3700, http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com) takes you into the studios where NBC Nightly News, Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien are taped. (Kids younger than 6 not permitted.) The Metropolitan Opera Backstage Tour at Lincoln Center (70 Lincoln Center Plaza, tel 212 769 7020, http://www.opeaed.org), conducted by members of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, is fascinating even if you’re not an opera buff. You’ll visit the rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, even the workshops where the scenery is built and costumes are sewn. (Advance reservations required.) Sports fans will go for the Madison Square Garden All Access Tour (Seventh Avenue at 33rd Street, tel 212 465 5800, http://www.thegarden.com), which takes you into the luxury boxes, down to courtside and, when possible, into the NBA Knicks, NHL Rangers and WNBA Liberty locker rooms, and the Yankee Stadium Classic Tour (http://www.yankees.com), which goes onto the field and into the dugout and, when possible, the clubhouse.

New York is loaded with excellent museums. The American Museum of Natural History (Central Park West at 79th Street, tel 212 769 5200, http://www.amnh.org) has wowed generations of kids with its giant dinosaur skeletons and the 94-foot-long blue whale model that hangs from the ceiling in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 Fifth Ave., tel 212 535 7710, http://www.metmuseum.org), kids enjoy the Arms and Armor exhibition and the Egyptian collection, especially the Temple of Dendur, which was shipped from Egypt piece by piece and rebuilt inside the museum. The recently remodeled museum cafeteria is great for kids, too. The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (212 West 83rd Street, tel 212 721 1234, http://www.cmom.org) has hands-on exhibits and theme installations featuring characters little kids recognize, such as Bob the Builder. (Note: The kid-friendly Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum is closed for renovations and will reopen in 2008.)

When the kids need to cut loose and run around, take them to Central Park (entrances on Central Park South/59th Street, tel 212 310 6600, http://www.centralparknyc.org), where you can romp at the playgrounds, rent a rowboat or a bicycle from the Loeb Boathouse or sail a motorized model boat on the Conservatory Water (entrance on Fifth Avenue at 74th Street) when the weather is fine. Saturday mornings from June through September there’s free story-telling at the Hans Christian Andersen statue near the Conservatory Water. In winter, there’s ice-skating at Wollman Rink. The Central Park Zoo (entrance on Fifth Avenue at 64th Street, tel 212 439 6500, http://www.centralparkzoo.com) is manageable and fun, especially for younger kids; although the Bronx Zoo (Bronx River Parkway at Fordham Road, tel 718 367 1010, http://www.bronxzoo.com) has bigger animals, more authentic wildlife environments and a greater wow factor.

Other places to expend some energy include Chelsea Piers (Hudson River at 23rd Street, tel 212 336 6000, http://www.chelseapiers.com), a sports complex beside the Hudson River, where you and the kids can bowl, shoot hoops, swim, swing at the batting cages or try the rock-climbing wall. The most famous place to skate in the city is The Rink at Rockefeller Center (Fifth Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets, tel 212 332 7654, http://rapatina.com/iceRink).

LODGING

DOUBLETREE GUEST SUITES TIMES SQUARE

In Times Square you’re steps away from Broadway theaters and kid-friendly shopping at the Build-a-Bear Workshop, Hershey’s Times Square and American Girl Place. This all-suite hotel is a favorite with families because the roomy accommodations are equipped with a microwave oven, fridge and coffeemaker. Choose from one-bedroom suites, with a pullout sofa for the kids, or two-bedroom suites that allow personal space for everyone in the family. $$$$
DOUBLETREE GUEST SUITES TIMES SQUARE
1568 Broadway
tel 212 719 1600 fax 212 921 5212
http://www.doubletree.com

LE PARKER MERIDIEN

This stylish full-service business hotel is remarkably kid-friendly, from the indoor rooftop pool to the “Kids Kardio” classes offered in the health club. The front desk lends Razor scooters to guests gratis, and the tiny Burger Joint restaurant ($) off the lobby is a bargain. Junior suites are fine for parents and one child; bigger families will prefer full suites or adjoining doubles. In-room amenities include Sony PlayStation and an entertainment system to play your own DVDs or videos. When you book your reservation, use the hotel’s online NewYorkSmart Aleck system to suggest or arrange activities suited to your family’s interests. $$$$
LE PARKER MERIDIEN
118 West 57th St.
tel 212 245 5000 fax 212 247 4698
http://www.parkermeridien.com

LOEWS REGENCY HOTEL

Yes, this hotel has a tony East Side address, a posh marble lobby and a snazzy nightclub on the ground floor, but it’s still a Loews Hotel and that means kids age 17 and younger stay for free in their parents’ room. Nice for you. The kids will be more impressed by the color TV in the bathroom. You can even bring the dog. There are many classes of guestrooms and suites to choose from. Most are larger than the typical New York City apartment and some contain kitchenettes. $$$$
LOEWS REGENCY HOTEL
540 Park Ave. (at 61st Street)
tel 212 759 4100 fax 212 826 5674
http://www.loewshotels.com/hotels/newyork/

DINING

BLUE SMOKE

Legitimate barbecue in the heart of Manhattan, Blue Smoke offers ribs, juicy pulled pork, beef brisket and tasty sides, like moist, sweet cornbread. It’s packed weekdays at lunchtime; less so for weekend lunch or early dinner, but reservations are recommended. Kids love this place, especially on Sundays when the jazz club downstairs hosts free “Jazz for Kids” concerts. $$
BLUE SMOKE
116 E. 27th St.
tel 212 447 7733
http://www.bluesmoke.com

JEKYLL & HYDE CLUB

This theme restaurant in Midtown has spooky interactive exhibits that the elementary school set will gobble up, along with their Mummy Burgers, Creature’s Chicken Fingers and Monster Sundaes. Is it touristy? You betcha. On the other hand, the location is convenient to Rockefeller Center and to Central Park, where you can treat the family to a hansom cab ride after your meal, providing everyone cleans their plates. $$
JEKYLL & HYDE CLUB
1409 Avenue of the Americas
tel 212 541 9505
http://www.jekyllandhydeclub.com

SERENDIPITY 3

Three words: Frozen Hot Chocolate. It’s what made Serendipity 3 famous. Parents (including celebrity parents) bring their kids to this cute, old-fashioned ice cream parlor-style restaurant for lunch or dinner, but the real attraction is dessert. The menu includes kid-pleasers like country meat loaf and fried chicken. Reserve a table in advance or prepare for a long wait. $$
SERENDIPITY 3
225 E. 60th St.
tel 212 838 3531
http://www.serendipity3.com

DAY TRIPS

Long Island

– Historic sites on Long Island include Theodore Roosevelt’s Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay and the Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium in Centerport. The Cradle of Aviation museum in Garden City is full of great historic planes. The island’s 150 beaches include Jones Beach State Park, Fire Island National Seashore and Montauk at the eastern tip of the island (tel 877 FUN ON LI, http://www.licvb.com).

Rye Playland

– This family fun park, opened in 1928, is considered to be the first “planned” amusement park in the United States and its historic Dragon Coaster is still flipping stomachs upside down. There are rides for the whole family, an arcade, a beach and a swell boardwalk that your kids might recognize from the movie “Big” (tel 914 813 7016, http://www.ryeplayland.org).

West Point

– It’s a beautiful 90-minute drive to the home of the United States Military Academy, where the views overlooking the Hudson River are spectacular.Take a guided tour of the campus. The kids will love the story about the chain American colonists stretched across the river to block the British fleet and the creepy display of Civil War medical equipment at the museum (tel 845 938 2638, http://www.usma.edu).