Lonely Planet - New York City

9. Gallery hop in Dumbo

It's only taken about 100 years, but a reversal of fortune is finally at hand for Manhattan's most famous outer borough. It was just over a century ago that Brooklyn's elders made the 'Great Mistake of 98' and linked the formerly independent municipality to greater New York City. The result, of course, was a great fiscal boom for Manhattan and a terrible economic wane for Brooklyn. Now, thanks to a convergence of factors (mostly to sky-high Manhattan housing costs), Brooklyn's more than caught up with - and some say surpassed - Manhattan in terms of nightlife, cultural offerings and great eats.

From the artists' enclave known as Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (Dumbo), to the respected performances at Brooklyn Academy of Music, trendy, hipster Williamsburg, funky, far-out Coney Island, gritty and innovative Red Hook, and eclectic, welcoming Park Slope, Brooklyn is full of exciting things to explore and experience.

Even if you don't care that restaurants, bars and clubs are cheaper once you cross the East River, and that most of NYC's singles and under 35s live on that side of the bridge, you'll be ignoring the biggest expression of artistic energy seen in this state since Basquiat lit up the East Village in the 1980s with his spray-painted stick figures.

If you're in the city and don't cross that slender span of steel, the Brooklyn Bridge, you're missing out.

10. Gaze at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

She's guarded the entrance to lower Manhattan since 1886, hoisting her torch high overhead in a salute to personal independence, and casting a censorious gaze east toward Europe, an 'unenlightened' entity to the original builders when it came to individual freedoms.

The Statue of Liberty, the gorgeous green woman, a gift from France, has welcomed millions of immigrants and inspires awe in all who see her. Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi built the 305-ft-tall, 225-ton statue, but Gustave Eiffel contributed the skeleton.

Just next to Lady Liberty is Ellis Island, formerly the holding tank, so to speak, for third-class passengers coming off immigrant ships from Europe. Ellis Island's exhibits include leftover trunks and bags from immigrants, pictures of gaunt, hollow-eyed arrivals (who might have left home in decent health but didn't always arrive that way after weeks crammed on a ship), and an interactive display that lets you search among a database of emigres for your own relatives.

It's well worth waiting in line for the ferry that takes you there.

A less-trammeled New York Harbor experience is Governor's Island - formerly a US Naval and Coast Guard administration base.

It's being run by the National Parks Service and afternoon tours make a great change of pace.

11. Gallery and club-hop on the West Side

Shopping, drinking, dancing - there's a lot of all of it going on in the abattoir-turned-hipster-hangout known as the Meatpacking District. Back when it was a working butchery and they slaughtered and stored their own product, nobody wanted to live among the fetid, fecund smells. Fast-forward to now and people can't seem to stay away from the place, or from neighboring Chelsea, the trendy, gay-friendly art enclave reinventing Manhattan's far west side.

The area has stellar restaurants, such as the original Pastis that first pioneered the Meatpacking trend, sedate and lovely Paradou, fetching Son Cubano, and laid-back Spotted Pig. Chelsea is surrounded by discount stores, like Filene's on Sixth Ave and the Chelsea Market on Eighth Ave. It's most famous for the galleries that run from 22nd St to 28th St between Twelfth, Eleventh and Tenth Aves. It's art galore - from powerhouse players like Gagosian, Matthew Marks and Mary Boone, to innovative new projects like gallery group, which put 12 up-and-comers into a former clubhouse on the nabe's far west side.

Chelsea has seven old-fashioned brownstones at Nos 406-418 on West 20th St. Called Cushman Row, it's a lovely example of Greek Revival style in the city. West 20th St also features Italianate style houses at 446-450. Just goes to show that it's a neighborhood with a little bit of everything - and that includes a lot of nightlife!

12. Catch the sunset from the observation deck

It's facing stiff competition from the newly refurbished Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center, but the Empire State Building is still the pinnacle of glorious heights in New York City. From the 86th floor, Manhattan stretches forth in all its glorious immensity - and it only takes 45 seconds in an elevator to get there! This art deco classic is topped by a vivid spire bathed in a different color combination every night, usually coinciding with current events (green for St Patrick's Day, for example).

Conceived during the prosperous 1920s, the Empire State Building didn't actually go up until after the stock market crash of 1929.

Thrown together in 410 days for $41 million, the 102-story landmark opened in 1931 and immediately became the most exclusive business address in the city. Of course, very few could afford the equally exclusive rent: the building sat empty for years, earning it the nickname 'Empty State Building.' The top level was meant to serve as a zeppelin mooring mast, but the Hindenburg disaster in 1937 put a stop to that.

The top floor is still closed, but the views from the 86th floor are nothing to sneeze at - it's still the most popular place to propose in New York. To beat the crowds, come very early or late, or buy a combination ticket to the New York Skyride; that line is usually shorter.