1) Empire State Building. Since the bombing the wait has gone from 30 minutes to at least an hour and a half since they put everyone through two metal detectors. It may be a hastle but it is one of the best things to do in NY. Outside on the deck you can see forever and you can go up inside the cone and look out where King Kong hung out.

2) Rockefeller Center. If you have the time, go ice skating on the rink. Take a behind the scenes tour of Radio City Music Hall and go to one of the shows if you can. If not, go walk down 5th Avenue towards the park.

3) St Patricks Cathedral. Okay, for those of us who have been to Europe it is not that much to talk about but it is pretty impressive for a church in the US. Drop a coin and light a candle.

4) FAO Schwartz. At the end of 5th Ave, on the right. Head in there and get lost for an hour. See the lego creations and the 8 million types of barbies.

5) Plaza Hotel. So you can't afford the $500 night rooms that share a bathroom. Every time I am up there, I just go in there to go to their public toilets. If you have the money, have brunch in the Oak Room.

6) Horse and Buggy Ride. You want to score points with the lady. Take her and the kids on a buggy ride through the park. Beautiful scenery and people watching opportunity and a chance to get off your feet. When you are finished you can walk through the central park zoo.

7) Metropolitan Museum of Art. On the East side of the park, one of the greatest art museums in the world and definitely a place to walk around in NY.

8) Guggenheim. Further on up the road, the guggy is a big spiral. Take the elevator to the top and let gravity help you walk down. They have had everything in there including a retrospective on Harleys.

9) American Museum of Natural History. Across the park on the west side is an awesome museum made up of diaramas of animals in their natural habitats includin one very large blue whale hanging over the fish area.

10) Hayden Planetarium. Inside the AMNH, the Hayden is one of the countries best planetariums. They have all sorts of programs including a where in the universe is carmen sandiego thing I took my kids to. The normal shows are incredibly sharp and clean since they finished the rebuild a couple of years ago.

11) Tavern on the Green. While up on the west side, why not spend $20 for a hamburger at a restaurant that has appeared in as many movies as there have been bond girls.

12) JPierpont Morgan Musuem. This is another museum that is really full of cool stuff if you have the time.

13) Little Italy. If you are staying multiple nights, spend one night in a restaurant on Mulberry Street. With kids, pass up the ones with the guys in dark jackets. Look for the family style places that will bring by your table huge platters of food and you get charged by what you take. You get fed like kings and its not that expensive. Make sure you leave a good tip.

14) Ferrara's. Walk down Mulberry until you hit a pastry shop that is called Ferrara's. Spend your money in here and buy cannoli's, rum baba's and whatever else you want to pig out on in the hotel that night. Some of the best pastry's in NYC.

15) Canal Street. Walk down Mulberry until you hit Canal. Walk up Canal towards the east and keep a handle on your wallet as you pass the multiple gold shops. There are more jewelry shops on Canal Street than anywhere except diamond row.

16) Chinatown. Walk up Canal st until you hit Mott St. Walk down Mott St and you are in the center of NY's chinatown. Not as glitzy as San Fran but just as authentic. Go play tic tac toe with a chicken in the arcade. If you have the chance. eat at Wo Hop's downstairs. Best Chinese Food this side of China. I started going to Wo Hop's when the downstairs was just a place that the local waiters went in 1976. Haven't stopped eating there since through 4 food inspections and changes of decoration and a visit by John Lennon. Best Wonton soup in Chinatown.

17) The Library. If you have never seen a beautiful old library, the publc library on 42nd st is really cool. The kids can take their pictures on the lions.

18) Broadway. No where else on earth like it. Go to the ticket booth in Times Square and get half price tickets to a random available show and go have fun.

19) Times Square. At night only Tokyo matches the lights. See where the ball drops. Walk east to 49th st and see all of the famous music shops including the first Sam Ash and Manny's. Maybe you will bump into someone you like to listen to.

20)Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty. If you can take the time, take the ferry to both. Do not rush through Ellis Island. Walk through the whole building and take in the history of your ancestors. Let your kids play with the computers to see if they can find a long lost relative or add your info to the database. Sit in the main hall and let it sink in that you could have been here waiting to get into our country, seeing the statue through the windows and some idiot could refuse you for any number of reasons and even if he let you in he could randomly change your name. I don't think they are letting people go up inside the statue of liberty as yet but if they are, do it. It is a pain, a single file twisting staircase with one side going up and the other down and you pass through the crown in 30 seconds to a minute but it is real cool. Take a look at how that lady is built from the inside out. The base was built as a single continuous pour of concrete.

21) The Staten Island Ferry. If the statue ferry is not working or even if it is, take a leisurely ride on the SI Ferry for 50 cents. If I am not mistaken it may even be free now. Ride to Staten Island and look back at the city at night and watch for the statue's lit torch. Then turn around and get back on board for a ride and buy a pretzel and hot cocoa.

22) The Intrepid. Over on the west side there is a huge aircraft carrier sitting there with all kinds of historical air planes to look at. You can buy a ticket and wander around or take a tour.

23) St John the Divine. If you have a car or if you are up to riding the subway, you can go uptown on the west side line IRT and go visit an awesome cathedral and the cloisters. Beautiful. On the way back downtown you can stop and see Grants Tomb where Grant is not buried or the Little Red Lighthouse built under the Great Bridge (the Washington) from the famous kids story that has recently been reissued.

24) Lindy's. If you love NY style cheesecake, then you need to have a Lindy's cheesecake slice in one of the many Lindy's there are in Manhattan but the original near Rock Center is the best for authenticity.

25) Gallaghers. If you are a steak and potatoes man, there are only three places that I would recommend. Smith and Wollensky's if you like cigars, Sparks, if you like the manly dark red and green wall paper, or Gallaghers. I usually head to Gallaghers. I have taken many German friends there and order them a queen cut and they tell me that they could never eat such a steak and then they look at my king cut rare prime rib and tell me that they could feed their family for a week with it.

26) Serendipity. If you like hot chocolate, you will love frozen hot chocolate for desert. Head to 61st street and just dive into the huge cup that they give you and buy the prepackaged supplies to do it at home.

27) UN. Go and check out the main chamber and listen to the speakers through the multilanguage translator headphones. Change the channels and listen to each of the different translators are trying to keep up with whats being said.

Steve LaPidus