48 hours in New York

THERE is more to New York than the usual hotspots. Adam Harvey shares some favourite things about his adopted city. What's your tip?»

ANY itinerary of New York is not complete without visits to Times Square, the observation deck of the Empire State Building, the high-end shops of Fifth Ave, and taking the ferry across to the Statue of Liberty.

The chainlink fence at the World Trade Centre site and the legendary discount department store Century 21 are other must-sees. But for more elbow room and richer rewards, try these suggestions:

TOUCH DOWN
The best way to get to the city from the airport is by taxi. There's a flat-rate fare – about $47.80 – and you're expected to tip the driver $US5 ($6.80).

You're also supposed to tip about 15 per cent in cafes and restaurants in New York, and up to 20 per cent in the more fancy restaurants.

Most restaurants will add an 18 per cent service charge to your bill if you're with six or more friends, so it's well worth making sure that they haven't included a tip in your bill.

If you want to dispel the popular impression that all tourists are cheap, throw a few bucks at the bellboy (for carrying your bags), your concierge (if he's particularly helpful), and the valet (for parking your car, if you rent one while you're in the US).

STREETS OF HARLEM
Harlem, north of Central Park, is gritty, bustling and, unlike the area in the 1970s and 1980s, perfectly safe for tourists.

On a Sunday morning take the No. 1 (red) subway line to 125th St and walk into any of the many churches within a few blocks of the intersection of 125th St and Lenox Ave (aka Malcolm X Boulevard).

Many church services are more like funk concerts, with jamming organists, screaming preachers, children with voices like Aretha Franklin and congregations that sway, moan and shout the house down. Dress in your Sunday best.

SOUL FOOD
After you've revived your spirit, treat your stomach to a soul food brunch. Take a culinary trip to the Deep South at Sylvia's, on 126th St at Lenox Ave, with a meal of grits, bacon, waffles, fried chicken, blackened fish, black-eyed peas, cornbread, collard greens and candied yams, all at once. Customers think nothing of ordering fried chicken and a waffle, on the same plate, and pouring maple syrup over the whole lot.

CENTRAL PARK
Burn off all those carbs with a bike ride through Central Park. The cycle shops that surround the park rent bikes for about $48 a day – or the same cost as a 20-minute carriage ride around the southern fringe of the park pulled by an overworked pony and steered by a sullen Eastern European driver who'll spend the entire trip talking on his mobile phone.

Pedal power will allow you to explore at your own pace. Highlights include the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir at 96th St, the Great Lawn at 86th St and Belvedere Castle near 79th St.

The best views of the city are from the north end of the Sheep Meadow, around 72nd St. From there it's about 200m further along to Strawberry Fields, a beautiful garden with a plant from every nation in the world that was planted in memory of John Lennon, who was murdered just over the road in 1980.

STAR GAZING
Walk along West 4th St from Greenwich Village towards the Meatpacking District. This kilometre-long stroll starts at Washington Square Park, which was once a hanging ground and cemetery, then a parade ground, then a rough-and-tumble hangout for drug dealers, and is now the heart of New York University.

Keep an eye out for alumni such as the Olsen twins as you make your way through the buskers and the chess hustlers, past MacDougal St and the clubs where Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix had their first gigs; over Sixth Ave, and then turn into the leafy West Village, where the brownstones cost upwards of $7 million and are home to celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker (exterior shots of Carrie Bradshaw's Sex and the City house were shot just off West 4th St in the West Village).

Stop for a drink at the Corner Bistro – one of the best locals in the city, and at $2.70 a beer, probably the cheapest. Don't forget to tip the barman – $1.35 a drink is the standard at any New York bar.

LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE
If you want a little more glitz and are willing to pay $12.30 or $13.60 for a beer, keep walking up West 4th St until you hit Gansevoort, and turn left and you'll find yourself in the heart of the Meatpacking District.

This area of old warehouses and factories looks innocent enough in daylight, but changes character when the clubs and restaurants open in the early evening.

Restaurants such as Pastis and the bars at One and on the rooftop of the Gansevoort Hotel are packed tight with the young and beautiful.

CAFFEINE HIT
You can get a decent coffee at Ninth Street Espresso, in the East Village.

Sadly, most Americans are totally clueless on the subject of coffee. They rave at length about the stuff, yet drink a tasteless filtered brew or else disguise their espressos under a bucketful of milk, whipped cream and sometimes, God forbid, flavouring.

Head to the corner of 9th and Avenue C for the real thing – where they know that a cappuccino is a coffee and a caramel latte is a milkshake. It's also a good excuse to explore the extremely cool Alphabet City – Avenues A, B and C below 14th St are lined with excellent bars and restaurants.

STATUE OF LIBERTY
The Staten Island Ferry is a great way to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Manhattan itself. Best of all, it's free.

Take the No. 1 (red) subway to the end of the line at the southern tip of Manhattan and then walk upstairs to the ferry terminal. The return trip takes an average of 40 minutes.

In winter it is a haven for a contingent of homeless people who ride the ferry non-stop, accepting the inconvenience of having to disembark at either end because it is one of the only free ways to escape the city's brutally cold weather.

C'MON AUSSIE
Been away too long? Want to know the cricket score? Head to Little Australia, on Mulberry St in the heart of the SoHo shopping district, where you can chill out with a Coopers in the beer garden of Russell Crowe's favourite New York pub, Eight Mile Creek.

TOP OF THE ROCK
The viewing deck on the roof of the magnificent art deco Rockefeller Centre in the heart of Midtown has just reopened after 20 years. A trip to the 70th floor will cost $19.

The queues will undoubtedly be shorter than at the slightly taller Empire State Building, 14 blocks to the south. From up here, "Noo Yawk" city seems the biggest, most beautiful town in the world.