New York has to be one of the most cosmopolitan cities on the planet and has so much to offer for any tourist visiting this city. It’s oozing with culture, shopping and nightlife and you could easily spend a day strolling through one of its many galleries, gardens, 150 museums and miles of prime retail space – did I mention how good the dollar is at the moment?

But there’s more to

The lights are fantastic – literally entire tress are lit up in white lights – festive sculptures are dotted around the streets and the annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche at the Metropolitan Museum, one of the best museums in the world, is dusted off from 20 November–6 January 2008 and is truly unmissable!

Basically, it’s a vivid 18th-century Neapolitan crèche scene — embellished with a profuse array of diminutive, lifelike attendant figures and silk-robed angels hovering above — that adorns the candlelit spruce. There’s a lighting ceremony every Friday and Saturday at 7pm.

Here are just a few things to look out for if you’re in the Big Apple for the silly season – and we hope you are, as we all need pampering from time to time!

Culture
New York City bursts with blockbuster exhibits (try the Museum of Modern Art and you won’t be disappointed), world-class music not to mention great sightseeing and special events.

The New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera run all winter and Broadway (and off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway) has every type of show imaginable. Current hot tickets include the Wizard of Oz prequel, Wicked, Mary Poppins, A chorus Line, Grease, Mamma Mia and Spamalot.

 
Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular kicks off in November, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, with the huge inflatables, is on 22 November 2007, plus there’s the Botanical Gardens’ Holiday Garden Train Show and the lighting of the tree in the Rockefeller Center.

Visitors in the know spend the evening before Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade watching the gigantic floats being filled with helium in preparation for the holiday promenade along Central Park West and down Broadway.

Other great autumn events include the Mid-Atlantic Skating Championships, New York Film Festival, and parades for Steuben Day, African American Day, and Hispanic Day.

Gay Scene
The gay scene has something for all tastes, shapes and sizes from the cosy cafes of Greenwich, where you can watch the world go by, to staples of New York's gay scene like Splash, where Umber-Hunky bar tenders serve drinks and the stage shows are legendary with frequent stud searches, musical acts, porn stars and the occasional celebrity guest. This city has more than enough going for it to wet even the largest appetite!

Sport
Sports fans rejoice: the Knocks Basketball Season begins and runs through spring and the ice skating rinks open at Rockefeller Center, Central Park’s Wollman Rink and the rink in Prospect Park - so don’t forget to take that sequined number for a quick whirl round the ice!

Feed The Fish
At the Central Park Zoo you can feed “fishsicles,” peanut butter smeared balls, and turkey legs to the four resident polar bears. As you can see, there truly is something for everyone!

NYC Department Stores
Did you ever wish you could go to one place to get everything?

Bergdorf Goodman: 754 5th Avenue at 58th Street
Bloomingdale's: 1000 Third Avenue at 59th Street
Century 21: 22 Cortlandt Street between Broadway and Church Street
Fortunoff: 681 Fifth Avenue at 54th Street
Henri Bendel: 712 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street
Lrd & Taylor: 424 Fifth Avenue at 38th Street
Macy's Herald Square:  34th Street and Broadway
Saks Fifth Avenue: 611 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street

Woodbury Common Premium Outlet Centre
Everyone knows that size is everything when you are in the USA and the shopping is no different, especially at Woodbury Common. This huge outlet centre has 220 stores featuring the very best in designer brands and can be reached in just over an hour by bus from the NY Port Authority on 42nd Street & Eighth Avenue.


Find out all the latest gay travel information by buying the 2007 Spartacus International Gay Guide. Get it online and save some money to put towards the other Bruno Gmunder guides - Hotel and Restaurant Guide and Sauna Guide.