Recently moved from SoHo to here, a temporary location until the fabulous new Lower East Side digs are ready, this museum's widespread mission is to give space to works created in the last decade. A recent highlight was a survey of works by Vancouver-based Brian Jungen, who transforms consumer goods such as baseball bats and sneakers into powerful sculptures.

Check out the video and audio installations in the Media Z Lounge and the impressive array of art reference titles and monographs in the bookstore.

Primarily featuring artwork examining 4000 years of Jewish ceremony and culture, this homage to Judaism also has a wide array of children's activities (storytelling hour, arts and crafts workshops, etc). The building, a 1908 banker's mansion, houses more than 30,000 items of Judaica.

The institution also offers lectures and screenings - in January it collaborates with Lincoln Center for the annual New York Jewish Film Festival.

If you're ever lucky enough to fly into New York over the stretch of Manhattan, one of the most stunning visuals is not the buildings themselves but the lack of them, within the 843-acre carpet of green that makes up this stunning park. Located smack-dab in the middle of the borough, this is definitely a place that is not to be missed.

An oasis from the insanity - the lush lawns, cool forests, flowering gardens, glassy bodies of water and meandering, wooded paths provide the dose of serene nature New Yorkers crave. While the park swarms with joggers, in-line skaters, musicians and tourists on warm weekends, you'll find it quieter on weekday afternoons. Folks flock to the park even in winter, where snowstorms can inspire cross-country skiing and sledding or a simple stroll through the white wonderland - and crowds turn out every New Year's Eve for a popular midnight run. February of 2005 had an added bonus with the installation of Christo's Gates, comprising 7503 massive sheets of orange fabric hunge from frames placed throughout 37km (23mi) of walkways throughout the otherwise stark and frozen park. Some New Yorkers loved it, others despised it, but people came out in droves for the unique and exciting spectacle.

This small and poignant maze of low limestone walls and patches of green grass is the creation of artist Brian Tolle to raise awareness of the Great Irish Famine and Migration (1845-52) which led so many immigrants to leave the Irish Republic for the chance of a better life in the Big Apple.

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognisable icons, up there with the Eiffel Tower and Taj Mahal, and its beloved image seems to have been coopted by everyone. You can't enter the statue anymore but you can visit the museum to peer into its intricate interior through a glass ceiling at the Lady's base, or enjoy the view from the observation deck.

Surprisingly, a great majority of local New Yorkers have never even visited the lady.

Catapulted to Hollywood stardom as the vertical perch that King Kong was knocked down from, the Empire State Building is one of the New York skyline's most famous landmarks. It's a limestone classic built in just 410 days, or seven million man-hours, during the depths of the Depression at a cost of over 40 million dollars. The view is a dandy.

The famous antenna was originally meant to be a mooring mast for zeppelins, but the Hindenberg disaster slammed the brakes on that plan.

Founded in 1869, this museum is a classic for kids. Its halls are fascinating wonderlands of more than 30 million artefacts, and the thrilling Rose Center for Earth & Space was added in 2000. Plan to spend most of a day here so you and your littlies can see as much as possible.

The museum is most famous for its three large, recently renovated dinosaur halls, as well as for the enormous (fake) blue whale hanging from the ceiling of the Hall and Ocean Life. Kids of all ages will find something to intrigue them, whether it's the stuffed Alaskan Brown Bear, the Star of India sapphire or the skullcap of a pachycephulasasurus - a plant-eating dino that roamed the earth 65 million years ago. In all sections of the museum, you'll find enthusiastic volunteer guides keen to answer questions.

It's the Rose Center for Earth & Space, though, that has been the star attraction since its much-heralded opening. Just gazing at its facade - a massive glass box containing a silver globe, home to space-show theatres and the planetarium - is mesmerising, especially at night, when all its otherworldly features are aglow.

MOMA, a veritable art universe of more than 100,000 pieces, is hailed for its physical design and the soul of its exhibits. Big hitters like Matisse, Picasso, Cezanne, Rothko and Pollock are housed in the central five-story atrium. The museum's sculpture garden - returned to its original, larger vision of the early 50s by Philip Johnson - is a joy to sit in.

This one-stop Canal St classic, now in its fancier Broadway location, is still Chinatown's best shop. Find everything Asian here - cheap Chinese and Japanese teapots, dragon-print dresses, paper lanterns, pecking chicken wind-up clocks that look Mao era and various (loud) Asian instruments. Eastward ho!

Making and selling skincare products since it opened as an apothecary in 1851, this Kiehl's flagship store has doubled its shop size, but its personal touch remains - as do the generous sample sizes. Try the legendary moisturizers, masks and emollients, including Creme with Silk Groom for the hair.

This indie bookshop specialises in political literature, poetry, new nonfiction and novels and academic journals. There's also a superior collection of cookbooks, travel guides and magazines, both glossy and otherwise. Staffers are a bit on the unsocial side, but hey, they're bookish - and they really know their stuff.

This information center, run by the Times Square Business Improvement District, offers pamphlets, maps and tourism counsellors who can advise you in ten different languages.

For a different slant on New York, this gorgeous four-bedroom guesthouse on a pleasant, active, one-time boarded-up Harlem backstreet conjures up the jazz era with its antiques, polished-wood floors and radios throughout tuned to jazz radio stations.

Two huge rooms share a bathroom on each floor of the 1890s brownstone - with no air-con or TV, the stress here is a step back to Harlem's glorious jazz days. Owner Rene Calvo proudly offers a tale behind any piece or detail (hanging chandelier or mirror, wall moulding, cast-iron tubs, painted-red sprinkler system running below the ceilings) throughout the four-storey brownstone. You wouldn't guess it, but many of them he found on the street, including one of the bathrooms' sinks, lugged back from the sidewalk outside the now closed, historic Blumstein's shop on 125th St. To fix the tin ceilings, he found a manufacturer that began in the 1850s and got them to use the original moulds. Rooms are big and have a sink, creaky wooden floors, a bed, desk, closet and radio. Renee can point out the real gospel church services (no tour buses) and good soul food restaurants nearby.

A decade old, and benefiting from a recent renovation, the 17-story, simple-from-outside SoHo Grand remains a fresh, top downtown hotel for its industrial chic looks (check the warehouse-like beams and 'chicken wire' ceiling mirrors in the expansive second-floor lobby).

The 363 rooms have huge windows, looking over Chinatown and SoHo's water towers and rooftops. Rooms feature slightly darker earth tones to balance the light pouring in, as well as leather-studded headboards above the king-size feather beds, Bose alarm clocks, wi-fi Internet access, free-standing wardrobes and plasma flat-screen TVs. Bathrooms feature funny black-and-white bird wallpaper. For all the extra dollars, the 'grand king' double offers only a little more space. Ceilings tower in the lobby's Grand Lounge, which gets going with DJs (plus drinks and meals) later in the evening. In summer, a courtyard restaurant serves drinks and BBQ. On your way out, grab a juicy apple from the bowl by the elevators.

New York's number one rock 'n' roll, bohemian sleeping quarters, the Chelsea Hotel, has been immortalised in songs by the likes of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Sid's Nancy died there in 1979 and other famed residents have ranged from Dylan Thomas to Ethan Hawke.

A stay here can feel like life on a film shoot (there's probably one going on next door). In from the guitar shops, along bustling two-way 23rd St, the Chelsea's lobby oozes with relics of an illustrious past which pre-dates its rock 'n' roll flirtation. The massive wooden mantle over the fireplace and the wall-mounted seats herald a far fussier age than that of fuzz-box distortion pedals. Priced somewhat for its lore, the mix and match style of the rooms show their decades - most are huge, with ruby-red carpets or drip-drop designs on rugs over wooden floors. Some have shared bath; suites have small kitchens, sitting areas, and settees in front of the windows. Rooms come with Internet access and there's wi-fi in the lobby. Hallways are lined with artwork from past and present residents - about two-thirds of the hotel are long-term residents.

Dine alfresco in the fumes, with Chelsea boys and other beauts, in this famous NY landmark, an old deco-style rail car. After hours, it's especially animated, crammed with merry night-owls, hungry drag queens, and other fun folk. Simple but tasty diner faves like club sandwiches and burgers make up the menu; their fries are the best in the USA.

This is the grizzled old timer of the neighbourhood, predating all the artists, landmark committees, boutiques and gentrification. New York's second oldest restaurant, established in 1872 was once a speakeasy. The dark, smoky bar features a pressed-tin ceiling and a century-old dining room full of tables covered in red checkered cloths.

Though it started in 1990 as a pie company, Bubby's is now one of the most popular eateries in Tribeca. The buzz about it being a magnet for local celebs has died down, but it's still a great draw for families with kids - who are welcome and easily sated here with a special kids' menu, brimming with classics.

Adults find plenty to get excited about, too, from the mellow, high-ceilinged ambience to its excellent takes on homey basics: luscious mac-and-cheese, slow-cooked barbecue including Texas-style brisket, grits, matzo-ball soup, buttermilk fried chicken and a selection of Mexican plates - all melt-in-your-mouth good.

Blue Ribbon's sushi outpost here saves many Brooklynites a subway ride to its Manhattan branch. Next to Blue Ribbon's meat- and oyster-filled restaurant, the sushi counterpart features sleek wooden benches and a long list of sashimi, sushi and maki rolls. If you can't pick and choose, there's a reasonably priced sushi sashimi combo.

This small, airy cafe features a unique, refreshing menu that's a thrill to stumble upon any time of day. While the breakfast menu is quite international, lunch and dinner are more Malaysian-focused. Try the spicy shrimp with noodles and bean sprouts; curried squid or vegetables; or grilled salmon in turmeric ginger sauce.

Bowling is just the beginning at this sprawling alley complex, where you can visit just to take a candy-colored mod-style seat at the lengthy bar and watch glow-in-the-dark games through a massive glass window. The retro atmosphere is popular for large groups, and the groovy DJs might even inspire you to pick up a ball yourself.

Waiters wear white jackets, a baby grand piano is always being played and Ludwig Bemelman's Madeleine murals surround you. It's a classic spot for a serious cocktail - the kind of spot that could easily turn up in a Woody Allen film. So get ready for a scene - a completely sophisticated one, of course - that's as fascinating as it is blandly predictable.

Pravda tried to remain on the down low, but lines out the door leaked the secret to the entire city. If you dress hip enough and look sufficiently intense, you'll make it past the gatekeepers and enter clouds of cigar smoke in this mock East European speakeasy. The martinis make all the hassle worth it, together with the two-page vodka list.

Includes Canada's Inferno Pepper, a home-grown Rain Organic and a slew of specialty martinis. Iced racks of global caviar make a perfect match.

This has been Harlem's leading space for political rallies and concerts since 1914. Virtually every major black artist of note in the 1930s and '40s performed here, including Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker. After a desultory spell as a movie theater and several years of darkness, the Apollo was bought in 1983 and revived as a live venue.

After the completion of a two-year renovation (phase one in a long-range plan), the Apollo is more beautiful than ever, with a restored facade, marquee, glass-and-steel storefront and brand-new box office. Its famous weekly Amateur Night, 'where stars are born and legends are made,' still takes place on Wednesday, with a wild and ruthless crowd that's as fun to watch as the performers. On other nights, the Apollo hosts performances by established artists like Stevie Wonder and the O'Jays.

This is by far the most famous (and expensive) of the city's jazz clubs. Some sky-high cover charges get you in to hear big stars, from Cecil Taylor to Abbey Lincoln, play short sets to a serious jazz audience (which means no talking - ever!).