Is Jersey City a good place to stay in New York?

Jersey City is a good base if you want a calmer, often cheaper stay with a quick train into Manhattan. PATH trains from Exchange Place reach the World Trade Center in minutes, and trains from Newport and Grove Street run up to Midtown. It suits families, business travellers and anyone flying into Newark, which is much closer than JFK.

The area along the river is modern and spacious, with office towers, hotels and a waterfront walkway facing the Manhattan skyline. A few blocks inland, Downtown Jersey City has brownstone streets, cafés and a lively strip of restaurants and bars around Grove Street and the pedestrian section of Newark Avenue. Liberty State Park, to the south, has wide lawns and ferries to the Statue of Liberty.

The downside is that you're in another state, not in New York itself. Every day of sightseeing means a PATH ride and often a subway change, and late nights in Manhattan end with a trip back under the river. The waterfront around the hotels can feel corporate and quiet in the evenings.

What makes Jersey City worth considering is the view and the value. You can walk along the river at night with the whole of lower Manhattan lit up in front of you, eat well around Grove Street and pay less for a bigger room, while the World Trade Center is only a short train ride away.