New York City City Guide

Activities in New York City

Traffic and its fumes are a serious disincentive to exercise-minded New Yorkers. So are bagels and cream cheese. Most New Yorkers are not fitness freaks, and yet there seems to be a gym on every corner. The gyms at Chelsea Piers feature most sports from beach volleyball to golf.

Participate

The massive gym at Chelsea Piers has a thousand ways to make you sweat. Choose - if you can - from bowling, skating, horseback-riding, indoor wall-climbing and swinging a golf club.

Central Park's 10km (6mi) roadway loops around the park and is closed to cars between 10:00 and 15:00 weekdays and all weekend. The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir has a soft 2.5km (1.5mi) running track.

You can actually fish on the piers overlooking the Hudson River, but the river's history of chemical contamination makes eating the fish an unlikely proposition. Instead, head to City Island in the Bronx.

The only places for good-karma cycling in the city are the pastoral paths of Central or Prospect Park or along the Hudson River.

Central Park is the place to try out your Xanadu skating impressions. Head to the mall that runs east of Sheep Meadow or, on weekends, skate on Central Park Dr, which is off-limits to cars.

Tours in New York City

Nailing New York

Three days can give you a healthy start on a New York state of mind. Get a small dose of all the major tourist spots, plus the lay of the land, by taking a double-decker bus ride around the city on your first morning. Go for a late-afternoon hot chocolate and snack at City Bakery, stroll through the Union Square Greenmarket and hit a gallery opening or two in nearby Chelsea. Get a late-night feast at Florent or Paradou followed by some sophisticated drinking at Rhône or another nearby watering hole.

On day two, splurge on breakfast at Balthazar, then pick one of the diverse neighbourhoods of downtown - the meandering streets of the West Village or the recently gentrified Lower East Side - and wander, checking out boutiques and parks and local characters. By mid-afternoon, head up to Central Park and watch New York jog by or - if the weather turns bad - check out the Guggenheim nearby. Follow up with a live-music venue of your favorite genre.

On your third day, venture out to one of the outer boroughs - relax in Prospect Park in Park Slope, Brooklyn, then visit the nearby Botanical Gardens and just-renovated Brooklyn Museum, followed by dinner at a (Park Slope) Fifth Avenue hotspot; or take the N, W or R train to Astoria, where art and film museums and Greek food galore await. For a dose of nostalgia, head down to Coney Island and stroll the boardwalk.