First Time NY City Visitor.

I'd suggest that after you arrive at the airport, go immediately to your hotel room and take a little nap.. now comes the fun part. You should walk around the streets and see what New York is all about! Tour the sights... the shops.., experience the different foods that make up New York City.

If you are flying, I would pick up my luggage. All kidding aside, I have only been to New York two times but have loved every minute of it. I ran across a book at my sister's house the other day called "Chicago for Dummies." I did not know anything like that even existed. It was very well laid out and had a lot of good information. I will bet that there is a "New York for Dummies" book.

There is so much to see in New York that I would take a look at all the possibilities before going to New York, decide what was most important to you to see and then try to hit as many of the spots of interest that you can.

The plays on Broadway are awesome, coffee in Greenwich Village is unmatched anywhere, Time Square is definitely interesting. You can get a bird's eye view of the city from the Empire State Building. Researching the history of New York can take you into a whole different direction. The quality of the food is amazing. There are television studios scattered about. Central Park is great for walking. Rockefeller Center is interesting. There are many old churches to tour. The Apollo Theater in Harlem is very good to tour as well as Radio City Music Hall. I have never been to the shopping district but I have heard it is great. China Town is an experience. The financial district and Wall Street could be interesting. There are museums and the Lincoln Center. I wish you well on your adventure. Our family loves New York.

Make sure if your coming from JFK or LaGuardia airports, you have a good $40 in cabfare to pay the driver because that is what they charge to take you anywhere in the city period. Depending on where you stay, if it's in Manhattan, check out these places:
Ground Zero
Herald Square(33rd Street)
Washington Square
Brooklyn Bridge
Wall Street
Empire State Building(by Herald Square)
42nd Street(I believe the Trump Plaza is that way)
Rockefeller Center
St Patrick's Cathedral
Central Park
Harlem(I highly suggest that you do the Sunday tour so you can hit the churches and eat a nice brunch at Sylvia's or other cool spots)
Do check out the Bronx esp:
The Bronx Zoo
The Botanical Gardens
While in New York, the subway is the cheapest piece of transportation to get to where you want to go. So, buy a Metro Card for like $50 to get around town in and go from there.
Please go see Brooklyn too and Queens they are cool too.
If you want, get a travel guide on places to see and do in N.Y.C. so you can pick out where you want to go and all.