SIGHTSEEING

So well known are New York’s premier sightseeing attractions that some have become cliches. Still, Manhattan’s big-name sites retain must-see status. If you haven’t seen them all, or if you haven’t seen them lately, do it; you won’t regret it. In Midtown, the Empire State Building stood for 40 years as the world’s tallest building, and the 50-mi/80-km view from the 86th floor is still as remarkable as it was on opening day in 1931 (34th Street at 5th Avenue, phone 212-736-3100). The Chrysler Building, with its distinctive spire and lobby of chrome and African marble, stands as a masterpiece of the art-deco style (42nd Street at Lexington Avenue, phone 212-682-3070).

Also in Midtown, at 42nd Street and Broadway/7th Avenue, you’ll find Times Square, site of the nation’s most famous New Year’s Eve celebration and hub of the Theater District. Recently better known for its adult entertainment and seedy ambience, the Times Square area is undergoing a major renovation. Several porno theaters are, or soon will be, classy Broadway venues again, including the New Amsterdam, which Disney has restored with grand murals and luxurious lounges. New shops and restaurants open almost daily as part of the Times Square re-do: an 850,000-sq-ft/79,050-sq-m entertainment complex and shopping area called E Walk is the next big project for the corner of 42nd Street and 8th Avenue. Time Square’s newest amenity is its Times Square Visitors Center (1560 Broadway, phone 212-768-1560). Open daily 8 am-8 pm, it provides free NYC information and brochures. You can also purchase theater tickets, book sightseeing tours and airport transportation, get cash at ATMs, buy a MetroCard Fun Pass, exchange currencies and view a vi deo history of Times Square. On Fridays at noon, you can take a free, behind-the-scenes walking tour of Times Square.

Across 42nd Street at 5th Avenue, on a site that once held a huge reservoir, stands the majestic main branch of the New York Public Library, which houses more than 6 million printed volumes and 17 million other pieces of resource material (phone 212-869-8098). East on 42nd at Park Avenue is Grand Central Terminal, where the immense rotunda has been refurbished to the beauty it had in the glory days of train travel (phone 212-935-3960). At 45th Street and 1st Avenue, the United Nations building dominates the island’s eastern shoreline. It’s bordered along the East River’s edge by a rose and sculpture garden and filled, as the building tour reveals, with international works of art. (Tours are available every 30 minutes 9:15 am-4:45 pm weekdays; tickets are US$6.50 adults, US$4.50 seniors and students and US$3.50 children ages 5-12; phone 212-963-8687.)

Rockefeller Cen ter stands as one of Midtown’s most noteworthy landmarks (50th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, phone 212-632-3975). With 22 buildings, the complex has an outdoor ice rink and the Channel Gardens floral display. Radio City Music Hall is there along with those leggy Rockettes (phone 212-247-4777 for show schedules; phone 212-632-4041 for tour information). NBC Studios is included in the complex, too (phone 212-664-4000 for tour and television-show ticket information). Just across from Rockefeller Center at 50th Street and 5th Avenue stands St. Patrick’s Cathedral, an imposing and august English/Gothic edifice that serves as the seat of the New York City Catholic Archdiocese (phone 212-753-2261).

This section of 5th Avenue also offers some of the world’s most posh shopping, from couture boutiques to Saks Fifth Avenue’s anchor store. High-end shopping and gallery hopping continue on West 57th Street.

On the West Side, just south of the cruise-ship terminal at 46th Street (Pier 86 ), is the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, said to be the world’s largest naval museum. It has six ships, of which the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid is the centerpiece, and a range of naval, air, military and research hardware. Visitors are free to roam the Intrepid at will, including the flight deck, which is laden with aircraft of all kinds. Videos are continuously shown there, too. Visits to the other vessels are by guided tour only. (Open 1 April-30 September, Monday-Friday 10 am-5 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am-6 pm. Open 1 October-31 March, Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-5 pm; admission US$10 adults, US$7.50 seniors and students, US$5 children ages 6-11; phone 212-245-0072.)

North of 57th, Central Park has been—rightly—called an “urban miracle.” Encompassing some 840 acres/340 hectares, this refuge is filled with near-sylvan walking paths, grassy meadows, places for biking and skating, and even a rowing lake. Summertime concerts, Shakespeare-in-the-Park, a wonderful zoo, endless softbal l fields, tennis courts and a winter ice-skating rink round out Central Park’s attractions. (For more information, phone 212-794-6564.) On the edges of the park stand two of the city’s great museums. The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 5th Avenue and 82nd Street ranks with London’s British Museum, Paris’ Louvre and a few other great museums in housing some of the world’s most treasured art and antiquities. (Open Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday 9:30 am-5:15 pm, Friday and Saturday 9:30 am-8:45 pm; suggested donation US$8 adults and US$4 children, seniors and students; phone 212-535-7710.) Across the park at Central Park West and 79th Street stands the American Museum of Natural History. The complex holds 34 million artifacts, an IMAX Naturemax Theater, a Natural Science Center and the new Hall of Biodiversity, which houses such exhibits as a 2,500-sq-ft/233-sq-m diorama of an African rain forest. If your time is limited, head straight for the dinosaurs—they are the highlight and shouldn’t be mis sed. The Hayden Planetarium is closed; a new one is being built and should open early in 2000. (Museum hours are Sunday-Thursday 10 am-5:45 pm, Friday-Saturday 10 am-8:45 pm; suggested donation US$8 adults, US$6 seniors and students and US$4.50; phone 212-769-5100.)

In Manhattan’s southern sphere, the intense collection of must-see landmarks continues. From nearby Battery Park, named for the guns placed along its shore during the War of 1812, ferries leave regularly for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (phone 212-363-3200 for information about both). Ellis Island is the point at which more than 11 million immigrants entered the U.S. between 1882 and 1954. The island’s museum—in fact, the very restoration of the whole island—must be counted among the most effective and compelling sights a New York sightseer can experience. Don’t rush through it: Take time to pick up the phones at the various exhibits and listen as immigrants tell their own stories of hardships endured in pursuit of freedom or a fresh start. (Ferries depart Battery Park every 30 minutes 9:30 am-3:30 pm daily; tickets are US$7 for adults, US$5 seniors, US$3 children ages 3-17; phone 212-269-5755 for more information.)

Inland in the heart of the financial district are a number of buildings from the city’s early days. Federal Hall (26 Wall St., phone 212-825-6888), the site of George Washington’s 1789 inauguration, has historical exhibits, as does nearby Fraunces Tavern (phone 212-425-1778), where Washington bade farewell to his troops. Fraunces Tavern remains a restaurant to this day, as well as a museum. Wall Street, which now rep resents the heart of the U.S. financial landscape, was the city’s northern extreme in 1653. It was protected by a makeshift wall—thus the name. At the corner of Wall and Broad looms the New York Stock Exchange, a beehive of 1,500 brokers (phone 212-656-5165; tours available). For a peaceful change of pace, Trinity Church (phone 212-602-0747), burial site of Alexander Hamilton and Robert Fulton, offers Tuesday and Thursday concerts at noon.

Along the southern East River shore, South Street Seaport is home to tall ships, shops and ongoing musical events (South and Fulton Streets, phone 212-732-7678). The original gateway to the city, dating back to the 1600s, this crowded but colorful area encompasses 11 blocks of historic buildings as well as a maritime museum with old sailing vessels.

Between the old city in the south and Midtown lie four of the city’s more interesting neighborhoods: The heart of Little Italy is along Mulberry Street south of Canal Street; Chinatown is a lso south of Canal, in the blocks to the east of Broadway and north of Worth Street; SoHo (short for South of Houston—pronounced HOW-ston), where the trendiest of the trendy in galleries, theaters, shops and restaurants thrive, is contained by Canal Street, Houston Street, Lafayette Street and Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue); and Greenwich Village, the area south of 14th Street and north of Houston that’s divided into the East Village and West Village. It is home to (in the west) New York University, Washington Square Park, a number of famous folk and jazz clubs and, in the east, a bustling alternative scene centered at St. Mark’s Place.

Uptown—north of 110th Street—lies Harlem. Spanning its heart is 125th Street, or Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which bustles with fast-food eateries, shops, jazz clubs and the landmark Apollo Theater. Harlem and its eastern sister neighborhood, Spanish Harlem, make up a vibrant, lively and dynamic part of the city that is best vis ited with a knowledgeable guide.

The area is replete with worthwhile sites. Construction began in 1892 on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (at Amsterdam Avenue between 100th and 133th Streets, phone 212-316-7540), and the work isn’t expected to be completed for quite a few more years. When it is, however, this will be the world’s largest Episcopal cathedral. New York’s contribution to the Ivy League, Columbia University, can be found at Broadway and 116th Street. Nearby, set in Riverside Park beside the Hudson River at 120th Street and Riverside Drive, stands Riverside Church (phone 212-222-5900), which houses the Riverside Carillon, the world’s largest tuned bell choir, and a 400-foot bell tower that commands fantastic city and river views.

Few cities in the world rival New York for nurturing the performing arts, particularly the theater. It’s noteworthy that few of the famous Broadway theaters are on Broadway itself. Most Broadway theaters are located just off Broa dway between 44th and 52nd Streets. West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues has been developed into Theater Row, a collection of small, Off-Broadway houses that stage new and classical plays. All theatergoers who want to save some money should stop at the TKTS booth (phone 212-221-0013) at 47th Street at Broadway, where some same-day tickets can be obtained for some popular Broadway and Off-Broadway plays. You’ll have to stand in line and pay cash, but the discount is 50%.

“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” the old joke asks. “Practice, practice, practice,” is the reply, but the historically renowned concert hall at 57th Street and 7th Avenue can actually be reached easily by subway or bus. (Tours are available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 11:30 am, 2 and 3 pm; adults US$6, seniors US$5, students US$3; phone 212-247-7800.) Carnegie Hall represents just the beginning w hen it comes to the city’s major concert halls. At 65th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, Lincoln Center (phone 212-546-2456) remains the primary culture complex in town. Its five major halls—the Vivian Beaumont Theater, Avery Fisher Hall, the Metropolitan Opera House, the New York State Theater and, across the street at the Julliard School, Alice Tulley Hall—present world-class plays, operas, concerts and dance. Dance in all of its forms can also be enjoyed at City Center (131 W. 55th St., phone 212-581-1212), where such companies as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet are regularly featured. In the heart of the theater district, Town Hall (123 W. 43rd St., phone 212-840-2824) has attained National Historic Site status: Originally built as a speaker’s forum for women, the building now hosts music and dance performances.

In addition to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History, New York offers a complete range of museums focusing on almost every subject. Uptown, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, which is housed in what was once Andrew Carnegie’s mansion, specializes in design and decorative arts. (Open Tuesday 10 am-9 pm, Wednesday-Saturday 10 am-5 pm and Sunday noon-5 pm; suggested donation US$3 adults, US$1.50 seniors and students, free on Tuesdays 5-9 pm; 2 E. 91st St., phone 212-860-6868.) Twenty blocks south, The Frick Collection contains some of the finest European paintings and decorative arts from the 1300s-1800s (open Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-6 pm and Sunday 1-6 pm; children under age 10 not admitted; US$7 adults, US$5 seniors and students, all admissions include an ArtPhone audio guide; 1 E. 70th St., phone 212-288-0700). Alongside Central Park, the Guggenheim Museum is a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed landmark filled with paintings from the impressionist era to contemporary times (open Sunday-Wednesday 10 am-6 pm and Friday and Saturday 10 am-8 pm; US$12 adults, US$7 seniors and students, free for children under age 12 ; 1071 5th Ave., phone 212-423-3500). The Whitney Museum houses one of the foremost collections of 20th-century American art (open Tuesday and Wednesday 11 am-6 pm, Thursday 1-8 pm, Friday-Sunday 11 am-6 pm; US$12.50 adults, US$10.50 students and seniors age 62 and over, free for children under age 12; free to all Thursdays 6-8 pm; Madison Avenue and 75th Street, phone 212-570-3676). The Museum of Modern Art has a highly regarded collection of post-1880 sculpture, painting and other works (open Saturday-Tuesday and Thursday 10:30 am-6 pm and Friday 10:30 am-8:30 pm; US$9.50 adults, US$6.50 seniors and students, free for children under age 16 accompanied by adult, pay-what-you-wish Friday 4:30-8:15 pm; 11 W. 53rd St., phone 212-708-9480).

Other museums of interest—some of which are outside Manhattan—include: American Craft Museum, home to contemporary ceramics, jewelry, quilts and more (open Tuesday and Wednesday 10 am-5 pm, Thursday 10 am-8 pm and Friday-Sunday 10 am-5 pm; US$5 adults, US$2.50 seniors and students, free for children under age 12; 40 W. 53rd St., phone 212-956-3535); American Museum of the Moving Image, housed in a former silent movie production studio and, more recently, shooting studio for The Bill Cosby Show (36-01 35th Ave., Queens, phone 718-784-4520); The Asia Society Galleries, which holds John D. Rockefeller’s Asian Art collection (725 Park Ave. at 70th Street, phone 212-288-6400); the Brooklyn Museum, the city’s second largest museum, located adjacent to the magnificent Brooklyn Botanic Garden (200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, phone 718-638-5000); The Cloisters, a treasure chest of medieval art (in Ft. Tryon Park, phone 212-923-3700); the Hispanic Museum, with an extensive collection of Spanish-influenced art (Broadway at 155th Street, phone 212-926-2234); International Center of Photography, the only museum devoted exclusively to photography (1130 5th Ave., phone 212-860-1777); Japan Society Gallery, featuring traditional and contemporary Japanese art (33 E. 47th St., phone 212-832-1155); the Jewish Museum, which houses one of the world’s most extensive collections of Jewish art and artifacts (5th Avenue and 92nd Street, phone 212-423-3200); El Museo del Barrio, the only museum in the mainland U.S. containing art and culture of Puerto Rico and Latin America (1230 5th Ave., phone 212-831-7272); the Museum of the City of New York, a showcase for the city’s life and history (5th Avenue at 103rd Street, phone 212-534-1672); The Museum of Television & Radio, a collection of 20,000 radio and TV tapes dating from the 1920s (25 W. 52nd St., phone 212-621-6800); the Schomberg Center, documenting African American culture (135 Lenox Ave., phone 212-491-2200); and the Staten Island Institute of Arts & Sciences, which holds more than 2 million artifacts of art, science and history (75 Stuyvesant Place, Staten Island, phone 718-727-1135).

Commercial art galleries are scattered all over Manhattan, but two areas with great concentrations of galleries are along East 57th Street (near 5th Avenue) and in SoHo.

As much as there is to see and do in New York, take time between stops to smell (and sample) the delicacies sold in the small shops and from the push carts that abound in the city. These eclectic shops and gregarious vendors are as much a part of the New York experience as tall buildings and glamorous boutiques.

SHOPPING

You name it, and in New York you can buy it. You can buy it wholesale, drastically discounted, at full retail or exorbitantly overpriced, depending on where you choose to shop. The premium shopping area, of course, is along 5th Avenue between 42nd Street and Central Park. There you’ll find Bergdorf Goodman (754 5th Ave., phone 212-743-7300), an all-time elegant favorite; F.A.O. Schwarz (767 5th Ave., phone 212-644-9400), a toy store to die for; Fortunoff (681 5th Ave., phone 212-758-6660), also known as “ The Source”; Saks Fifth Avenue (611 5th Ave., phone 212-753-4000), another legendary department store; Tiffany & Co. (727 5th Ave., phone 212-755-8000), where the jewelry is fine, but they don’t serve breakfast; Coca-Cola Fifth Avenue (711 5th Ave., phone 212-418-9260) for everything Coke; Henri Bendel (712 5th Ave., phone 212-247-1100) for women’s fashions; Trump Tower (5th Avenue at 56th Street, phone 212-832-2000) for the trendy; and many more.

Madison Avenue, above 50th Street, has lately become a showcase of fashionable and pricey retailing. Among the famous-name designers who have opened flagship stores there are Armani, Chanel, Moschino, Piaget, Prada and Valentino. Not far away, at 3rd Avenue and 59th Street, is Bloomingdale’s (phone 212-705-2000), perhaps the quintessential New York City department store. And, of course, there’s always Macy’s (151 W. 34th St., at Herald Square, phone 212-695-4400), which claims to be the largest store in the world.

Not all city shopping is high end, of course. On the lower East Side, where immigrant pushcart vendors once filled the crowded tenement-lined streets, the Orchard Street Shopping District (phone 888-825-8374) contains more than 300 retail businesses selling everything from antiques and apparel to handbags and thread. For sporting goods, look to Paragon Sports (867 Broadway, phone 212-255-8036). Book lovers will want to visit The Strand Bookstore (828 Broadway, phone 212-473-1452) and browse through the immense selection of new and used tomes. Among the other innumerable specialty stores: Sony Plaza/Sony Style (711 5th Ave., phone 212-833-8500); Universal Jewelry Exchange (78 W. 47th St., phone 212-719-1318), with 25 independent dealers under one roof; Chelsea Antiques Building (110 W. 25th St., phone 212-929-0909), with 12 floors of antiques and collectibles; and Manny’s Musical Instruments (156 W. 48th St., phone 212-819-0576), a music and instrument store that attracts everyone from beginners to pros.

Manhattan even has some exciting shopping malls—or perhaps they’re best described as shopping centers. Manhattan Mall (6th Avenue at 32nd Street, phone 212-465-0500) has 80 stores on nine levels. Rockefeller Center (47th-52nd Streets at 5th Avenue, phone 212-632-3975) contains some 200 shops and 35 restaurants.

Shopping Hours: Generally stores are open Monday-Saturday at 9:30 or 10 am-6 pm, with department stores and malls staying open until 8:30 or 9 pm. Some stores are open Sundays noon-6 pm, but many are closed, so it pays to call ahead to confirm hours.

BEACHES

Few people visit New York to go to the beach, but it can be done. Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach has been called “Little Odessa by the Sea” because of its large Russian emigre population, and it’s a bathing hot spot during summer. In the Br onx, beachgoers travel to Orchard Beach. And, in Queens, Rockaway Beach is a very popular spot. Many beach-loving New Yorkers travel out to Long Island’s Jones Beach State Park or to the New Jersey shore.

SPORTS

Boating—If you love to sail, you can rent a boat or take a lesson at Land’s End Sailing School (560 Minneford Ave., City Island, Bronx, phone 718-885-2424).

Golf—The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers has a year-round driving range and a 200-yard practice fairway overlooking the Hudson River (23rd Street at 12th Avenue, phone 212-336-6666).

Tennis—The U.S. Open takes place each September at the National Tennis Center; the outer courts are open for public use (Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, phone 718-699-8283). Other public courts can be found in Central Park. East River Tennis Club (44-02 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City, phone 718-784-0600), a private club located just across the East River from Midtown, has 18 courts available to members and their gues ts. The Roosevelt Island Racquet Club (281 Main St., Roosevelt Island, phone 212-935-0250) has a dozen clay courts in a facility that is reached via the special ski-lift-style tram that runs beside the 59th Street Bridge.

Bicycling—Surprisingly enough, certain sections of the city lend themselves nicely to bicycle riding—Central Park, in particular. The park’s outer drive is closed to auto traffic on weekends. Bikes can be rented at the Boathouse (E. 72nd Street and Central Park Drive, phone 212-517-2233). Central Park Bike Tours (310 W. 55th St., phone 212-541-8759) rents bikes and stages organized bike tours of the park.

Horseback Riding—If riding a horse in the midst of skyscrapers sounds appealing, head to Claremont Stables in Central Park (175 W. 89th St., phone 212-724-5100). The stables rent horses and English saddles for riding on the Central Park bridal path.

Skating—Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers (23rd Street at 12th Avenue, phone 212-336-6100) holds two full NHL-sized ice rink s. The Roller Rinks at Chelsea Piers (23rd Street at 12th Avenue, phone 212-336-6200) offer in-line and roller skating, plus a skate park for in-line skaters and skateboarders. Jogging and in-line skating are also popular pastimes pursued in many of the city’s parks. Rockefeller Center is the place to be seen on ice skates in winter.

SPECTATOR SPORTS

Every major league sport is played in New York, and New Yorkers show support for their teams in a big way. Baseball fanatics can find the New York Yankees playing at Yankee Stadium (E. 161 St., Bronx, phone 718-293-4300) or watch the Mets take the field at Shea Stadium (Roosevelt Avenue, Queens, phone 718-507-8499). Both the Giants and Jets football teams play at Giants Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey, phone 201-935-8222), which can be reached by bus from Midtown. You can see the Knicks play basketball and the Rangers play hockey at Madison Square Garden (7th Avenue at 32nd Street, phone 212-465-6000). When the U.S. Ope n comes to town in September, you can watch the pros play tennis at the National Tennis Center in Queens (phone 718-760-6200).

NATURE

Central Park is as close to nature as many New Yorkers get. Or need to get—the park is truly wonderful, whether you’re there to stroll, sightsee or get some serious exercise. It has its own zoo, as well as meadows, lakes, ponds and woods to explore. Just be careful not to venture into the park at night or go alone into the park’s upper regions (above 89th Street), even during the day. (The zoo is open in the summer Monday-Friday 10 am-5 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10:30 am-5:30 pm and in winter daily 10 am-4:30 pm; admission US$2.50 adults, US$1.25 seniors and US$0.50 for children under age 12; phone 212-861-6030.)

Other nature spots are a little harder to get to. The Bronx Zoo is much bigger than Central Park’s, with wildlife sanctuaries for 4,000 animals—especially birds (November-March daily 10 am-4:30 pm and April-October Monday-Friday 10 am-5 pm, Sa turday and Sunday 10 am-5:30 pm; April-October admission US$7.75 adults, US$4 seniors and children; November-March admission US$4 adults, US$2 seniors and children; free on Wednesday; Fordham Road, Bronx, phone 718-367-1010). Nearby, the New York Botanical Garden encompasses 250 acres/100 hectares (open April-October, Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-6 pm and November-March, Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-4 pm; admission US$10 adults, US$7.50 seniors and students, US$4 children ages 2-12 and free for children under age 2; 200th Street, Bronx, phone 212-817-8700). The Brooklyn Botanic Gardens covers more than 50 acres/20 hectares with outdoor and indoor exhibits (1000 Washington Ave., Brooklyn, phone 718-622-4433). In Queens, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (phone 718-318-4340) is a man-made tidal wetland that abounds with birds during the migratory seasons.