It's a Wonderful Town - brash, noisy and buzzing with energy. New York is simply the most dynamic city you are ever likely to visit. The sights are must-sees and so well known; they roll off the tongues of people who have never been near the place. 
   The Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge, Greenwich Village and Chinatown - the list is endless. Take in a Broadway show, shop at Bloomingdales or Macy's on 34th Street and enjoy fast food where it is served best. But don't miss the point. Bite into this Big Apple and at the core you will find a city, which is really all about the streets and the people who bring them to life. 

Lower Midtown

For hundreds of years, this was New York. Originally established by the Dutch in 1625 (hence the city's original name, Nieuw Amsterdam), the first settlements sprung up here, on the southern tip of Manhattan Island, and everything uptown was farm country and wilderness. While all that's changed, this is still the best place to search for the past. Fraunces Tavern, on Pearl Street, was the site of countless great moments in city history. 
The now-touristy South Street Seaport area is surrounded by reminders of when shipping was the raison d'etre of the city. The Brooklyn Bridge stands proudly as the symbol of a new world of engineering marvels that came to the city in the 19th century. Wall Street - now a state of mind much grander than the actual narrow street - dominates the global mindset with the New York Stock Exchange. Battery Park City is where downtown residents are found, while Battery Park itself is your point of departure for the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Staten Island.

Midtown East

The area including Fifth Avenue and everything east from 34th to 59th streets is the more upscale side of the midtown map. This side of town is short of subway trains, served primarily by the Lexington Avenue 4, 5, 6 line.
Midtown East is where you'll find the city's finest collection of grand hotels, mostly along Lexington Avenue and near the park at the top of Fifth. The stretch of Fifth Avenue from Saks at 49th Street extending to FAO Schwarz at 59th is home to the city's most high profile haute shopping, including Tiffany Co., Cartier and Bergdorf Goodman, but more mid-priced names like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, and Liz Claiborne have moved their superstores in of late. The stretch of 57th Street between Fifth and Lexington avenues is also known for high-fashion boutiques (Chanel, Hermès) and high-ticket galleries, but change is underway since Warner Brothers (at the intersection with Fifth), Levi's, and Niketown squeezed in. You'll find plenty of spill over along Madison Avenue, a great strip for shoe shopping in particular.

Midtown West

Midtown West, the vast area from 34th to 59th streets west of Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River, encompasses several famous names: Madison Square Garden, the Garment District, Rockefeller Center, the Theater District, and Times Square. This is New York's tourism central, where you'll find the bright lights and bustle that draws people from all over the world. As such, this is also the city's biggest hotel neighbourhood, with choices running the gamut from budget to deluxe.
The 1, 2, 3, 9 subway line serves the massive neon station at the heart of Times Square, at 42nd Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, while the B, D, F, Q line runs up Sixth Avenue to Rockefeller Center. The N, R line cuts diagonally across the neighbourhood, following the path of Broadway before heading up Seventh Avenue at 42nd Street. The A, C, E line serves the west side, running along Eighth Avenue.

Upper Eastside

North of 59th Street and east of Central Park is some of the most expensive residential real estate in the city - and probably the world. This is New York at its most gentrified: Walk along Fifth and Park avenues, especially between 60th and 80th streets, and you're sure to encounter some of the wizened WASPs and Channel-suited socialites that make up the most rarefied of the city's population. Madison Avenue to 79th Street is the moneyed crowd's main shopping strip, recently vaunting ahead of Hong Kong's Causeway Bay to become to most expensive retail real estate in the world--so bring your platinum card. You can also use it to stay at one of the neighbourhood's remarkably luxurious hotels, such as the Carlyle or the Mark, or to dine at four-star wonders like Le Cirque 2000 and Daniel.

Upper Westside

North of 59th Street and encompassing everything west of Central Park, the Upper West Side contains Lincoln Center, arguably the world's premier performing-arts venue; the American Museum of Natural History, whose renovated Dinosaur Halls garner justifiably rave reviews; and a number of mid-priced hotels whose larger-than-midtown rooms and nice residential location make them particularly good bets for families. Unlike the more stratified Upper East Side, the Upper West Side is home to an egalitarian mix of middle-class yuppiedom, laid-back wealth (lots of Celebes and moneyed media types call the grand apartments along Central Park West home), and ethnic families who were here before the gentrification.