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Morning

From the Delancey Street subway walk south to Grand Street and Kossar’s Bialys Bakery, 367 Grand, famous for chewy, onion-flavored rolls, or the Doughnut Plant, 379 Grand, where the oversize cakes achieve gourmet status. Walk east for two historic houses of worship, the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Synagogue and the Bialystoker and the Bialystoker Synagogue .

Return along East Broadway, passing the Henry Street Settlement at No. 281, in three restored Federal buildings. The gallery at the Educational Alliance, No. 197, has good art and photography exhibits. Walk to Orchard for Guss’ Pickles, and pick up a bargain at the shops here. If you’re hot try one of the 50 flavors of ice cream at Le Laboratorio del Gelato, or continue to East Houston Street, and have lunch at Katz’s Delicatessen , a New York institution.

Afternoon

After lunch, walk uptown on 2nd Avenue. Turn left on East 6th to visit the St. Mark’s Place, browsing through the funky shops and bars on your way, and then walk east again on Stuyvesant Street, admiring the landmark townhouses of the Renwick Triangle. Lastly, stop at St. Mark’s-in-the-Bowery Church, one of the oldest in the city, where you can pay your respects to Peter Stuyvesant’s grave.

Morning

Book-lovers should start on 12th Street, where the city’s biggest used book-store, the Strand, is located at No. 828. From here, head north up Broadway to Union Square, visiting the Greenmarket (see Union Square Greenmarket). Continuing up Broadway brings you to the Paragon Sports superstore, 867 Broadway at 18th Street, and Fishs Eddy, 889 Broadway at 19th, selling all but indestructible vintage and new china. The fascinating ABC Carpet & Home awaits at No. 888 (see ABC Carpet & Home).

At the Flatiron Building, turn east to Madison Square , then have lunch at Tablaor the gourmet 11 Madison Park . Several restaurants on “Curry Hill” also offer inexpensive lunches, Including Pongal, No. 110, and Cardamomm at 100 Lexington Ave.

Afternoon

While you are in the neighborhood, check out the intriguing spices at Kalustyan’s, 123 Lexington Avenue.

More shops can be found on Fifth Avenue between 14th and 23rd streets, including Emporio Armani, No. 110, between 16th & 17th and Daffy’s, No. 111, a discount store offering designer finds.

End your day in the civilized oasis of the Gramercy Park neighborhood. Be sure to stroll East 19th Street, known as the “Block Beautiful,” for its hand- some 1920s houses.

Morning

Begin at Lincoln Center (see Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts) and admire the plaza, the Chagall windows at the Metropolitan Opera, and the Henry Moore statue in front of Lincoln Center Theater. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on Amsterdam Avenue, behind the theater, is notable for its enormous collection of books on the performing arts.

Make your way up Broadway, window shopping and noting some of the landmark buildings such as the Apthorp Apartments and the Ansonia Hotel , and the West Side’s gastronomic palaces, such as Fairway, at 75th Street, and Zabar’s. Almost any of the side streets will reveal examples of the area’s great line-up of brownstone townhouses. Finally, head east to Columbus Avenue and Calle Ocho for a Cuban lunch.

Afternoon

The American Museum of Natural History can easily fill an entire afternoon, and the New- York Historical Society has an amazing collection on show.

Stroll down Central Park West and admire the landmark apartment buildings that can be seen here, and then head for Central Park , the city’s vast “backyard”. Take a boat out on the lake, or enjoy a gondola ride around it, followed by refreshments at the Loeb Boathouse, the perfect end to an afternoon.