Lonely Planet - New York City

6. Brunch at West Village Cafe

Full of winding streets built on old cow paths, and hidden courtyards behind narrow, tree-lined alleys, the 'Village' was once a hotbed of political activity - a crazy, Bohemian neighborhood where only artists and outcasts dared live. Now it's a privileged enclave for wealthy celebrity residents who, to give them their due, are fighting to preserve its character against an onslaught of modern steel and glass construction.

Much of the Village's storied history has been reduced to a handful of well-known landmarks and celebrations. That's not to say that Greenwich Village isn't worth visiting - it is, as much for its history as its genteel pace, the shopping and the people-watching.

You'll see century-old clapboard houses and pass many a haunted bar. The Village is rife with spirits - Welsh poet Dylan Thomas drank himself into a coma at the White Horse Tavern. Literary greats who lived and worked here include Edith Wharton, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, James Baldwin, Eugene O'Neill, ee cummings and William Burroughs. While Greenwich Village is no longer the locus of creative life in the city, its energy is distinct enough to merit a look.

7. Enjoy local hangouts in Harlem

A mecca of urban African American life for over a century, Harlem has burst out of its 1980s doldrums with a vengeance. Not only have long-standing cultural icons been restored and revitalized, like the Apollo Theater, the Lenox Lounge, the Studio Museum and the Schomburg Center for Black Research, it's put forward a whole new crop of cafes, stores, restaurants and jazz clubs. It's still pockmarked with signs of neglect, but it's reclaiming the artistic vitality that buoyed the community prior to the Great Depression.

City policy makers largely ignored Harlem after the 1930s economic fallout, and decades of neglect came to a head during the 1960s Civil Rights movement as Harlem was beset with riots. The 1980s crack epidemic turned rows of once-prestigious brownstones into abandoned addict havens. But now, thanks mostly to Manhattan's inflated real estate market, Harlem, with its wide boulevards, historic churches, and gorgeous beaux-arts facade buildings, is back on top. Developers, given tax breaks by the city, are pouring in, and community activists are working hard to control the gentrification so that it fosters growth, not displacement, for black residents.

8. Ship out at Sout St seaport

An eye-catching combination of old and new, Lower Manhattan contains some of the island's most grandiose skyscrapers, crammed on to tiny colonial streets. This is where the city was born, first as a native Lenape settlement, then as a Dutch colony and later a British stronghold and the (temporary) capital of a new, free nation. Lower Manhattan overflows with both Revolutionary and modern landmarks.

George Washington was sworn in at Federal Hall; he worshipped at St Paul's Chapel and Trinity Church, and buried many of his contemporaries in its cemetery. The New York Stock Exchange got its start on Wall St, named after the original Dutch fortifying wall, and remains headquartered there.

The World Trade Center towers were the most dramatic element of the NYC skyline and their loss in 2001 left a visible hole. Much has changed of late at Ground Zero. No longer a rough and jagged hole, the viewing platform overlooks a construction site-cum-memorial.

The city hopes to start development on new buildings and a contemplation space by 2010. The addition of plaques explaining the timeline of September 11, 2001 have added structure to the area, and a bronze sculpture on the west side of the famous Liberty St fi rehouse details the Fire Department's personnel loss. Aside from paying tribute to its heroes, though, the city has generally chosen to focus on moving forward rather than on what was irrevocably lost.