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Opened in 1932, the largest theater in the U.S. has an opulent, Art Deco interior. Once a movie palace, it now hosts musical performances and special events. The annual Christmas show starring the Rockettes, 36 long-legged dancers, is a New York tradition.

This soaring Art Deco skyscraper is one of the most widely recognized symbols of the city, and star of countless movies. It offers unforgettable panoramas of New York from its 86th floor Observatory.

A heady mix of fashionable shops and world-class architecture makes for an avenue of endless pleasures, and some of New York’s best-known addresses.

An urban wonder in the city’s center, with gardens, restaurants, an underground shopping concourse, office space, a skating rink, and over 100 works of art, from murals to statues.

The symbol of freedom for millions seeking a new life in America, the lady holding the torch of liberty is ensconced on her own island.

Carefully restored buildings bring to life the experience of the immigrants who have poured into New York over the years, helping to build the multi-ethnic city of today.

An explosion of neon illuminates Broadway and Times Square, where more than 40 famous theaters play host to a changing parade of hit shows.

The vast swath of green provides an 843-acre respite from the concrete of the city. The man-made park took 16 years and more than 500,000 trees to complete.

Long famous for its dinosaurs, the museum moves into the space age with the dramatic Rose Center for Earth and Space.

Former whaler R. H. Macy founded the store in 1858 on 6th Avenue and 14th Street; the red star logo was from his tattoo, a souvenir of sailing days. Innovations included pricing goods a few cents below a full dollar and offering a money-back guarantee. The store was sold in 1888 and moved to the present building.

The unmistakable shimmering spire of the Chrysler Building is one of New York’s great landmarks. The grand Art Deco lobby, once used as a showroom for Chrysler cars, has been restored to show off its lavish marbles and granite, and a vast painted ceiling depicts transportation scenes of the late 1920s.

America’s largest Catholic cathedral is a place more than 5,000 people worship every Sunday. When Archbishop John Hughes decided to build a cathedral here in 1850, many criticized the choice of a site so far from the city’s center at the time. Today his foresight has given the church one of the best locations in Manhattan.

Carrère and Hastings won a competition for the design of this great Beaux Arts building. Their genius reached its height in the Main Reading Room, a paneled space as majestic as a cathedral, extending almost two city blocks, with enormous arched windows, 18 grand chandeliers, and an elaborately decorated, vaulted ceiling.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. donated $8.5 million to purchase the 18-acre East River site, and American Wallace Harrison worked with international consultants to create this striking headquarters. The United Nations was formed in 1945, to work for peace and economic and social well-being around the globe. Currently, 189 members meet in the General Assembly, the closest thing to a world parliament. Guided tours allow visitors to see the various council chambers, the General Assembly Hall, and many of the works by prominent artists, including Marc Chagall and Henry Moore.

When it was completed in 1883 linking Manhattan and Brooklyn, this was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first to be built of steel. It took 600 workmen and 16 years to build, and claimed 20 lives, including that of the designing engineer, John A. Roebling. It is now a symbol of New York, and those who walk the 1-mile (1.8-km) span are rewarded with fabulous views of city towers seen through the artistic wire cablework.

The square opened in 1847 at the center of a fine residential area where politician Theodore Roosevelt and writer Edith Wharton were born. The original Madison Square Garden was here, at Madison Avenue and 26th Street. Later office development brought distinguished sites such as the Flatiron and Metropolitan Life buildings. Today the statue-filled park is being renovated and the area rediscovered.

A sports shrine, completed in 1923 and known as “The House that Ruth Built” for the legions of fans who came to see superhero Babe Ruth. Other legendary heroes of America’s most winning baseball team include Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. The legendary 54,000-seat stadium was updated in the 1970s, but a new modern complex may appear in the future.

The socially prominent members of the Seventh Regiment, formed in 1806, had the wherewithal to construct a remarkable armory in 1877–89, with a drill room 200 by 300 feet (60 by 90 m) and 100 feet (30 m) high, and an administration building in the form of a medieval fortress. Interior decoration was by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, and others, and the result is opulent rooms with lavish Victorian furnishings. The drill room is used for the prestigious Winter Antiques Show every January, as well as for many society charity balls.

Cast-iron architecture flourished in New York in the late 19th century, as a way to produce decorative elements such as columns and arches and create impressive buildings inexpensively. Greene Street, between Canal and Grand streets, and between Broome and Spring streets, has 50 of these beauties, rows of columned façades creating a striking streetscape.

A small but magnificent oasis, this 52-acre garden designed by the Olmsted brothers in 1910 is home to more than 12,000 plantings. It is best known for the Cranford Rose Gardens where thousands of roses cascade down arches and climb lattices, and the authentic Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, planted in 1915. It is also known for its Cherry Esplanade and Cherry Walk, one of the foremost cherry-blossom sites outside Japan. The Steinhardt Conservatory houses tropical and desert plants and one of America’s largest bonsai collections.

The mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, begun in 1892 and still incomplete, is the largest cathedral in the world. Over 600 feet (180m) long and 146 feet (45m) wide, the church is a mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles. Its most impressive features include the west entrance, the rose window, bay altars, and the Peace Fountain on the south lawn. The medieval stone carving techniques used on the building are taught in workshops for disadvantaged youths.

Well past its 100th birthday, this sprawling zoo on 265 acres gets better all the time. The newest exhibits are a Butterfly Garden and Tiger Mountain, while the 6.5-acre Congo Gorilla Forest, an African rainforest habitat, brings visitors nose to nose with the inhabitants. The unusual World of Darkness shows nocturnal animals like bats in action.

New York almost lost its most famous concert hall when the New York Philharmonic moved to the newly built Lincoln Center in the 1950s. However, a coalition, led by violinist Isaac Stern, successfully fought to save the building from demolition. It was bought by the city in 1960 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1964. A major 1986 renovation restored much of the original appearance while updating technical facilities and preserving the hall’s famous acoustics. Musical memorabilia fills the halls and the Rose Museum.

The 843-acre swathe of green that provides recreation and beauty for more than two million visitors each year.

The present building opened in 1903, and behind its Neo- Classical facade is the financial heart of the U.S. The exchange has grown from a dealing with local businesses to a global enterprise. On the busiest days, over 200 million shares are traded daily for more than 2,000 companies, although the action is much calmer now that everything is computerized. There are 17 trading posts, each with 22 sections of traders handling the stock of up to 10 companies.

Anchored by Macy’s, which opened in 1858, this was once a popular district known as “Fashion Row”. The 1876 cast-iron façade of the Hugh O’Neill Dry Goods Store at Nos. 655–71 exemplifies the era, when the arrival of the 6th Avenue elevated line provided easy access to the area. As Manhattan’s commercial center moved northward, these cast-iron palaces were left deserted until recently, when they found new life as bargain fashion outlets and superstores.

This Beaux Arts building was used as the drill hall and offices of a military unit privately formed in 1848. In 1913, the controversial exhibition of modern art known as the Armory Show was held here, including works by Van Gogh, Duchamp, and Brancusi. The show was widely panned in the press, but it brought modern art to New York on a large scale and had a profound and lasting effect on American art.

A pier with three floors of restaurants, food stands and sweeping views of the East River and Brooklyn Bridge.

This lighthouse was built to commemorate the sinking of the Titanic – the largest steamship ever made – in 1912.

Walk through a swamp and stay dry beneath a waterfall (see Coney Island/ New York Aquarium).

The Room is a friendly, candle-lit place with no hard liquor, but 60 kinds of beer and 20 wines.

Watch the sun set and the lights come on in the surrounding skyline at this outdoor bar beside the lake in Central Park, a location worthy of a movie set. The setting is particularly romantic on warm nights when rowboats and gondolas glide by.

At this cosy multi-level pub you can settle in to enjoy a pint along with tasty Irish snacks.

TriBeCa’s first hotel is a hit. All the neighborhood gathers at the Church Lounge, the dramatic lobby/bar with 70 translucent columns of light. Rooms are a calm counterpoint with an array of high-tech toys.

A haven in the heart of Greenwich Village. Rooms are tiny, hallways painfully narrow, but the decor pleasant, continental breakfast is included, and you can say you stayed where Bob Dylan and Joan Baez once hung out.

Luxurious and intimate, the Lowell exudes old-world charm in rooms and suites with wood-burning fireplaces, libraries, flowers, marble baths, and kitchens. Decor is an eclectic mix of French, Deco, and Oriental.

Lincoln Center is across the street from this refurbished hotel with an impressive lobby and small but decently decorated rooms. There’s a tape and CD library for in-room players, plus a café, good for pre-concert dining.

The most affordable lodging on the Upper East Side, the Franklin offers style rather than size, with sleek furnishings and compact rooms. The hotel serves complimentary breakfast and cappuccino, espresso, and tea all day.

Books fill this 60-room themed hotel. Each floor is devoted to a Dewey Decimal System category, like the Arts or Philosophy, with appropriate volumes in each room. Includes a rooftop sitting room and terrace.

Rooms come with Louis XVI furnishings, silk wall coverings, chandeliers, and a butler tending to your every need at this Beaux Arts beauty. French restaurant Lespinasse (see Alain Ducasse at the Essex House) is attached.

For luxury in a modern mode, this dramatic, pale-hued tower by I.M. Pei is the ultimate, with rooms among the city’s largest, and every amenity. The bar and restaurant draws the city’s elite.

Fresh from lavish refurbishment, the hotel straddles the opulent 1882 Villard Houses and a 55-story tower, with a choice of traditional or contemporary room decor. Room service is from the legendary Le Cirque 2000.

There’s no TV or phone, but this budget haven is popular with young visitors for its hip spirit and funky halls with walls painted by young artists. Private baths are available in 20 of the 54 colorful rooms.

A tiny, budget hideaway renovated with taste. The small rooms have been nicely decorated and baths are new. The cherub over the front door remains from the days when this Beaux Arts building was the first home of LIFE magazine.