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New York City Attractions

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty

The universal symbol of freedom and democracy, the Statue of Liberty was the first sight to be seen by the 12 million immigrants who passed through the Ellis Island Immigration Centre. Sculpted by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi and modelled on the Colossus of Rhodes, the statue was donated by the people of France in 1886 to commemorate the alliance between the two countries during the American Revolution. Access to the monument is available by reservation only via a ranger-guided tour and a time pass is required; advanced reservations are possible by calling (866) 782 8834 or online at www.statuereservations.com. The interior of the statue itself is closed. The ferry calls at both Liberty and Ellis Islands.

Address: Liberty Island, New York Harbor; Website: www.nps.gov/stli; Telephone: (212) 363 3200; (212) 269 5755 (ferry information); Transport: Circle Line Statue of Liberty Ferry from South Ferry at Battery Park to Liberty and Ellis islands. Ferries operate from 9.30am to 3.40pm, with departures approximately every 30 minutes; Opening time: Daily 9.30am to 5pm (except Christmas Day); Admission: No fee is charged, but the ferry costs $11.50 (adults), $4.50 (children). Timed reservations cost $1.75 per ticket

Ground Zero - World Trade Center Site

World Trade Center - Ground Zero

The six-hectare (16-acre) work site that has emerged from the rubble of the twin towers has come to symbolise the dreadful events of September 11, 2001 when almost 3,000 people lost their lives. The 1,350ft (411m) World Trade Centre towers were the tallest buildings in New York and symbols of the city's skyline. Millions now come to pay tribute at the site and witness the devastation from one of the viewing sites. In April 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation launched a worldwide competition to design a memorial at the World Trade Center site to honour the victims of September 11. The LMDC received 5,201 memorial design submissions from 63 nations and 49 states making this the largest design competition in history. In January 2004 'Reflecting Absence' by Michael Arad and Peter Walker was unveiled as the design for the World Trade Center Memorial, and will feature a landscaped civic plaza with two massive voids aligned with the footprints where the twin towers once stood (www.buildthememorial.org). Currently the perimeter of Ground Zero is accessible to the public. The Tribute Center, across from Ground Zero, offers tours around the perimeter, and provides visitors with an accurate account of what the community endured during the attacks. The Memorial itself is scheduled to open 11 September 2009.

Address: Tribute WTC Visitor Center: 120 Liberty Street; E-mail: visit@tributenyc.org; Website: www.tributenyc.org; Telephone: (212) 393 9160; Transport: Take the subway to Fulton Street, Broadway-Nassau Street or Cortlandt Street. Walk to Church and Liberty Streets and follow signs; Opening time: Museum: Daily 10am to 6pm, except Tuesday and Sunday when it opens at 12pm. Tours of the perimeter: Monday to Friday 1pm and 3pm, Saturday and Sunday 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm; Admission: Suggested donation to the Tribute Center is $10 for adults

Empire State Building © ESB

Empire State Building

One of the enduring symbols of New York, and once again the city’s tallest structure, the Empire State Building stands 436ft (145m) high. Completed in 1931, this Art Deco behemoth remains one of the most impressive engineering feats of all time; it was built in just 410 days and remains the fastest rising major skyscraper ever built. The building has been immortalised in many films – most famously the classic King Kong. The observation decks on the 86th and 102nd floors offer magnificent views of the city.

Address: 350 Fifth Avenue, between 33rd and 34th Streets, Manhattan; Website: www.esbnyc.com; Telephone: (212) 736 3100; Transport: Subway B, D or F to 34th Street; Opening time: Observatory: daily 8am to 2am; last elevator at 1.15am; Admission: $18 (adults), $12 (children 6-11), other concessions available. 102nd Observatory Floor tickets are an extra $15

Central Park

Central Park

With great foresight, the founders of New York set aside 340 hectares (840 acres) of central Manhattan as a public space. Central Park was officially opened in 1873 and today provides an essential 'green lung' within the concrete jungle that is New York. Originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the park contains themed gardens, tennis courts, lakes and even a small zoo. Much of the park is infused by the city's bustle and on nice days swarms with joggers, skaters, buskers and tourists, but there are areas beyond the range of baseballs and frisbees where tranquillity can be found in this beautifully landscaped park. During winter, two ice-skating rinks open up in Central Park, the Wollman Rink (mid-Park at 62nd St) is one of the most picturesque in the world, set among the trees and rolling hills and against the backdrop of Manhattan's skyscrapers.

E-mail: contact@centralparknyc.org; Website: www.centralparknyc.org; Telephone: (212) 310 6600

Warhol exhibition at the MoMA © MoMA

Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), founded in 1929, owns the most important collection of modern art in the USA including works by Monet, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Max Beckman, Ansel Adams, and Kiki Smith. What started as a gift of eight prints and one drawing has developed to a vast and varied collection of 150,000 paintings, prints, sculptures, photographs and other media, and the Musuem's Library and Archives boast an impressive collection of books, historical documents and photographs. Priding itself as an educational institution, the Museum of Modern Art offers various activities and programs for the general public, as well as special segments thereof, in order to broaden the community's knowledge of, and approach to, the exciting and puzzling world of modern art.

Address: 11 West 53 Street, Manhattan; E-mail: info@moma.org; Website: www.moma.org; Telephone: (212) 708 9400; Transport: Subway: E or V train to 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue, or B, D, or F train to 47–50 Street Rockefeller Center. Bus: M1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 to 53rd Street; Opening time: Daily 10.30am to 5.30pm (until 8pm on Friday); closed Tuesdays; Admission: $20 (adults), free for children under 16 accompanied by an adult. Free on Fridays from 4pm to 8pm

Guggenheim Museum © Guggenheim

The Guggenheim Museum

The Solomon R Guggenheim Museum was designed by US architect Frank Lloyd Wright and was completed shortly after his death in 1959. It is well worth a visit just to see this icon of Modernist architecture, which was designed specifically to showcase the modern art within. Inside, it features a highly commended collection of late 19th- and 20th-century art works, as well as touring exhibitions. From beneath the huge glass dome, a quarter-of-a-mile-long ramp spirals down the inside of the building, past the collection of art, including works by Camille Pissarro, Vasily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cézanne, Robert Mapplethorpe and Robert Gober.

Address: 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street; Website: www.guggenheim.org; Telephone: (212) 423 3500; Transport: Subway 4, 5 or 6 to 86th Street; bus M1, M2, M3, or M4 on Madison or Fifth Avenue; Opening time: Saturday to Wednesday 10am to 5.45pm; Friday 10am to 7.45; closed Thursdays and Christmas Day; Admission: $18 (adults), free for children under 12. Rates differ during special exhibitions

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum possesses one of the greatest, and largest, collections of art in the world; it is a cherished New York institution and a must see for any visitor. Banners above the Met’s Fifth Avenue entrance herald the current attractions – there are always a few exhibitions on-the-go displaying masterpieces from around the world alongside the Metropolitan’s own collection. The highlights of the permanent collection are numerous – American collectors having had the foresight, and cash, to buy up a large number of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces from Europeans at the end of the 19th century. The Metropolitan Museum's collection now contains more than two million works of art from all points of the compass, from ancient through modern times, including great works by Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet and Cézanne to rival any gallery in the world.

Address: 1000 Fifth Avenue, at 82nd Street; Website: www.metmuseum.org; Telephone: (212) 535 7710; Opening time: Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday 9.30am to 5.30pm, Friday and Saturday 9.30am to 9pm. Closed Mondays, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas; Admission: $20 (adults) is suggested; free for children under 12 accompanied by an adult. There is no additional charge, beyond the admission contribution, to attend an exhibition

Barosaurus, Museum of Natural History © NYSERNet

American Museum of Natural History

Possibly with the exception of its counterpart in London, the American Museum of Natural History is the largest and most important museum of its kind in the world. More than 30 million artefacts are packed into 42 exhibition halls - quite enough to keep anyone busy over a rainy afternoon. The most popular exhibit is a 50ft (15m) tall skeleton of a barosaurus in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda. There are three more spectacular dinosaur halls on the fourth floor. Other halls include the Hall of Biodiversity, the Hall of Ocean Life, the Hall of Human Biology and Evolution and the fabulous Hayden Planetarium - a 90ft (27m) wide aluminium sphere that seems to float inside a massive glass cube, which in turn is home to the Rose Center for Earth and Space. Those tired of walking can check out the Museum of Television and Radio.

Address: Central Park West, at West 79th Street; Website: www.amnh.org; Telephone: (212) 769 5100; 769 5200 (tickets and programs); Opening time: Daily 10am to 5.45pm, except Christmas Day and Thanksgiving; Admission: Suggested admission $14 (adults), $8 (children 2-12); plus Planetarium Space show: $22 (adults), $13 (children 2-12); plus special exhibition or Imax show: $21 (adults), $12 (children 2-11)