Where to stay in New York

The engine room: the theatre district, the two main stations, and almost every subway line. It is the shortest distance to the most things and the least like living anywhere.

Low-rise streets that break the grid, with the shops, restaurants and bars that make downtown worth walking. Everything below 14th Street is on foot from here, and midtown is fifteen minutes on the train.

Residential blocks between Central Park and the river, with the natural history museum at one end and Lincoln Center at the other. It is the calmest central choice and the easiest with children.

The far side of the East River, one or two subway stops out, where the rooms cost less and the view is of Manhattan rather than from it. Williamsburg for the eating and drinking, Dumbo for the bridges.