New York

Why go

Go because anything can happen here. Take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and take in the dazzling view of Central Park from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Balcony Bar & Roof Garden.

When to go

In the spring, the Ringling Bros. Circus Animal Parade (34th Street, from Queens Midtown Tunnel to Madison Square Garden, Seventh Avenue between 31st & 33rd Streets, +1 2123077171, 24 Marh, 10 Apr) sees elephants, horses, camels and zebras march through the streets. For film-buffs, there’s the Tribeca Film Festival (+1 2129412400, www.tribecafilmfestival.org, 21 Apr-1 May). In summer there’s Central Park SummerStage (Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, +1 2123602777, www.summerstage.org) and free opera with Met in the Parks (+1 2123626000, www.metopera.org). Of course, there’s no better place to be in the US on the Fourth of July, when the world-famous annual fireworks display is the city’s star attraction on Independence Day.

Best for

Romance , Sightseeing , Restaurants , Art , Nightlife , Shopping

How to get there

Three major airports service the New York City area: John F Kennedy International Airport, La Guardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in next-door New Jersey. There are direct flights from London with British Airways, Virgin, American Airlines and Continental.

Shopping

The prime destination for supermodels and fashion editors, 14th Street west of Ninth Avenue has gone from Meatpacker Row to Boutique Central. This is where you'll find the au courant labels from Milan to Brazil. The centrepiece is the shoe salon. If you’re more intrigued by the stores themselves, check out the Rem Koolhas-designed Prada Soho flagship (575 Broadway at Prince Street, +1 2123348888). Sigerson Morrison (28 Prince Street between Elizabeth and Mott Streets, +1 2122193893) is shoe-and-bag heaven.

Alternative Perspectives

In its 18th-century infancy, New York City held the dubious distinction of being home to more enslaved Africans than any other English settlement save one. The remains of an estimated 20,000 African slaves and freed slaves, were stacked in layers, buried 16ft to 25ft under street level just north of City Hall. The city now has drawn up a proposed stone memorial by architect Rodney Leon, an African-American New Yorker. The two-storey-tall curved monument draws heavily on African architecture and contains a spiral path leading to an ancestral chamber.

Must see

Boat out to the Statue of Liberty before exploring the financial quarter and Chinatown. After refuelling for lunch visit one of the city’s prestigious art museums before resting up in Central Park. Swing by Times Square before a serious night out in the city that never sleeps.

Family activities

The city generates excitement in young visitors, including really cool tweens and teens. On the streets you may see a street performer in head-to-toe glitter, eight dogs with their walker in tow or maybe you’ll spy the Olsen twins sipping coffee. Kids will love the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History, Astroland Amusement Park and the circuses such as Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey’s three-ring circus.

Local customs

Smoking. The 1995 NYC Smoke-Free Air Act makes it illegal to smoke in virtually all indoor public places, including the subway and cinemas. Recent legislation went even further, banning smoking in nearly all restaurants and bars.

Tipping. In restaurants, it is customary to tip at least 15 per cent, and since NYC tax is 8.625 per cent, a quick method for calculating the tip is to double the tax.