NEW YORK

 

 Make It Happen

New York, New York: city of dreams, soaring metropolis, living movie set, cultural melting pot. The Big Apple is truly one of the words greatest cities, and an endless place to explore.

Getting There

Most major airlines like Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Delta Air Lines (delta.com) fly from Singapore and Kuala Lumpurto New York JFK airport or Newark with one transit.

Getting Around

Taxis, the Airtrain, express buses and shuttle vans connect with NYC’s airports. The Metropolitan Transport Authority runs the subway and bus systems. The subway runs round the clock (US$3; mta.info). otherwise hail a yellow taxi (from US$3).

Further Reading

Buy ‘Discover New York (US$21.99) or New York Encounter (US$12.99).

‘New York had all the iridescence of the beginning of the world’ F Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up .

3 Ways To Do New York…

SLEEP

Budget; on 32^ndStreet, La Quinta Manhattan has a glorious façade, 182 rooms and amenities you wouldn’t expect at this price range, such as a gym and a rooftop bar. Rooms are small but smart (from US$225; applecorehotels.com).

Mid-range; Near the High Line, the glamorous Maritime Hotel – once the National Union Maritim HQ – was inspired by a cruise liner, with cabin like rooms, teak furnishings and porthole windows (themaritimehotel.com; from US$280).

Luxury; Soho House New York, a private members’ club and hotel, is housed in an old Meatpacking (Me-Pa) district warehouse. There’s a rooftop pool and bar, and rooms have oversized beds and vintage furnishings (from US$560; sohohouseny.com).

EAT

Budget; Small Middle Eastern joint Taim in the West Village does delectable things with falafels and smoothies (mains from US$8; noon-10pm; taimfalafel.com)

Mid-range; on 7^thAvenue, Cafeteria is a hip NYC greasy spoon popular with fashionistas. Home-style cooking includes excellent burgers and meatloaf (mains US$11; 24 hours; cafeteriagroup.com).

Luxury; With antiques, vintage furniture and paintings, Red Cat on 10^th Avenue is ideal for high-rolling artists. Food is Mediterranean-influenced (mains from US$20; noon-2:30pm Tue-Sat, 5-11pm Mon-Thu, 5pm-midnight Fri & Sat, 5-10pm Sun; theredcat.com).

DRINK

Budget; 1929 lightship, docked at Pier 66 Maritime, the Frying Pan is a lively, unfussy place to sup beer and feast on river views – plus burger, crabcakes and the like (beer US$5; noon-midnight May-Oct; fryingpan.com)

Mid-range; Close the High Line, the Brass Monkey is a refreshingly unpretentious and lively Me-Pa choice. It has a small roof terrace and a dizzying choice of beers (beer US$8; brassmonkey.com).

Luxury; With premium rate drinks on offer, Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC attracts a see-and-be-seen crowd to its Plunge Bar (cocktails US$16; noon-4am; hotegransevoort.com).

SEE

Budget; Downtown Boathouse, at Pier 96, off 12^thand West 57^th, offers 20-minute kayaking sessions in the Hudson’s protected area. Equipment is provided and reservations are not necessary (downtownboathouse.org; classes May-Oct; classes free).

Mid-range; The New Museum of Contemporary Art on Bowery houses the latest conceptual art exhibits (US$12; www.newmuseum.org; 11am-6pm Wed, Sat & Sun, to 9pm Thru).

Luxury; the TOP OF THE ROCK observation deck offers the best city views, with outdoor terraces on the 67^th and 69^thfloors (US$24; topoftherocknyc.com; 8am-midnight).

New York State of Mind – Three City Walks

BROOKLYN TO MANHATTAN

THIS ROUTE offers spine-tingling views of the Manhattan skyline and crosses Brooklyn Bridge. The best way to approach the mile-and-a-half walk between Manhattan and Brooklyn is to start in Brooklyn, so that you face the views as you go. Begin at Brooklyn’s High St subway station, then head 300m north to Dumbo Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass’, accurately describing its location. This formerly industrial area is now the domain of a number of artists. Dumbo Arts Centre (dumboartcenter.org) is one of the top galleries and the Galapagos Art Space (galapagosartspace.com) is in a strikingly converted century-old horse stable. Flanking Dumbo is Brooklyn Bridge Park, a green expanse that must have one of the world’s most incredible views – Manhattan’s skyline. A couple of blocks from here, just under the bridge, is Grimaldi’s Pizzeria (pizzas from US$13; grimaldis.com), a local institution for coal-fired Italian-American pizza (follow the queue). From Grimaldi’s, it’s an easy stroll across Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan, beneath a cat’s cradle of 19^th-century girders. The walk should only take around half an hour, but the sights en route are likely to make you linger longer.

MUSEUM MILE WALK

THE MUSEUM Mile passes more than 20 blocks of immaculately groomed Fifth Avenue real estate and has no fewer than 10 museums along the stretch. The cultural odyssey starts with its newest addition: the Museum for African Art (opening late 2012). Other highlights include Puerto Rican, Caribbean and Latin American art at El Museo del Barrio, and the fascinating stories behind the metropolis at the Museum of the City of New York. At 89^thStreet, there’s the Guggenheim, with its spiraling Frank Lloyd Wright building containing masterpieces by the likes of Van Goh, Degas, Monet and Picasso. Beyond this is the Neue Galerie with more masterpiece, and the lovely Café Sabarsky, reminiscent of a 19^th-century Viennese café and serving such cuisine as Bavarian sausages with warm mustard (mains from US$14; neuegalerie.org/cafes/sabarsky). The grand finale is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so palatial that it stretches from 82^nd to 86^thStreets, and harbouring international works dating from the Stone Age to the 21^stcentury, including an entire ancient Egyptian temple. The mile-and-a-bit walk should only take around 30 minutes, but if you stop at all the museums, it could last days (ny.com/museums/mile.html)

CENTRAL PARK WALK

There are many routes around Manhattan’s 843-acre green heart, a naturalistic landscape (laid out in 1893) formed of woodlands, winding paths, lawn and ponds. To see some of the park’s main sights, start your walk at Central Park Zoo, which houses over 130 animal species in spacious surroundings. From here you can cross the park, passing its vintage carousel, to Sheep Meadow, 15 acres of land that’s a popular place to lounge, fly kites and picnic. Next stop, Strawberry Fields is a memorial dedicated to John Lennon, who died near here. It’s a short walk from here to Bethesda Terrace, one of the park’s most recognizable landmarks, with views over a huge lake and a wooded thicket, the Ramble. The latter is where you’re heading, crossing the lake via a bridge, to a rocky and forested area. Just south of the Ramble, on the edge of the lake, is Loeb Boathouse, offering sophisticated food and waterside views (mains from US$19; thecentralparkboathhouse.com). finish your walk at Belvedere Castle, a 19^th-century fantasy perched on Vista Rock, where you can see the tops of 1930s skyscrapers surrounding the park. The 2.5-mile route should take two to three hours (centralparknyc.com/visit/things-to-do/sports/walking.html).

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