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The horse-drawn hansom cabs lined up at the edge of Central Park are romance personified. The driver, appropriately attired in fancy dress and top hat, will help you up as you nestle in for a 20-minute trot past park landmarks (see Central Park).

The Manhattan skyline is never more dazzling than when seen from this barge restaurant just across the East River in Brooklyn. The food is worthy of the setting; the package is worth the price (see River Café).

It has been the setting for dozens of romantic movies and countless proposals have taken place here. At dusk you can watch the sun set over the city as a million lights go on in its towers (see Empire State Building).

The 26th floor of this Art Deco landmark building affords unsurpassed views of the city lights and the East River from its wraparound terraces. Order champagne and enjoy the scene and each other.

Relax aboard the authentic, Venetian gondola as you glide out on the water and revel in the beauty of the park reflected in the lake and the city buildings ringing the park like a crown – the gondolier may break into song.

Away from the city’s clatter, this branch of the Met is an oasis of serene beauty, a chance to glory in the past while planning the future. More than 250 kinds of plant grown in the Middle Ages are found in these gardens. The Trie Cloister features plants shown in the Unicorn Tapestries (see The Cloisters).

A restored 18th-century Greenwich Village carriage house, candlelight, and soft piano music make for Manhattan’s most seductive setting.

Stand on the top deck to watch Manhattan’s skyscrapers recede as you sail past Liberty, Ellis, and Governors Islands. Take the car deck coming home for close-up photos of the skyline (see Staten Island Ferry).

A classic experience, the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge yields thrilling vistas of city skyscrapers through the intricate bridge cable work. Bring the camera to record unparalleled views.

Just to walk into this chapel, New York’s oldest public building, is to enter a world of grace and reverent serenity. The concerts held on Mondays at 1pm offer a chance for visitors to revel in the beauty of the setting and the music (see St. Paul’s Chapel).