Bryant Park and the New York Public Library

#7, #B, #D, #F or #V to 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue.

One block east of Times Square , Bryant Park , Sixth Avenue between 40th and 42nd streets, is a lush grassy square block filled with slender trees and inviting green chairs. As well as free jazz in summer months and several outdoor eateries, there's also a rather aggressive happy hour singles scene at the Bryant Park Café . Just across from the park, at 40 W 40th St, the Radiator Building, designed in 1924 for the American Radiator Company, commands attention for its Gothic tower and polished black-granite facade.


In summer, free outdoor movies are shown in Bryant Park on Monday evenings

 Bryant Park forms the backyard of the New York Public Library (Mon & Thurs-Sat 10am-6pm, Wed 11am-7.30pm; phone 212/870-1630, whose Fifth Avenue entrance is guarded by two majestic lion statues. The library boasts 88 miles of books, which are stored on eight levels of stacks - a collection that makes this the largest research library with a circulation system in the world. Tours of the building are available (Mon-Sat 11am & 2pm; free), the highlight of which is the large coffered Reading Room.

Chrysler Building

#7, #4, #5, #6 or #S train to Grand Central Station.

Occupying the block between Lexington and Third avenues, the Chrysler Building dates from an era (1930, though renovated in 2000 by Philip Johnson) when architects carried off prestige with grace and style. The building was for a fleeting moment the world's tallest - until it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931 - and, since the rediscovery of Art Deco a decade or so ago, has become easily Manhattan's best loved.