If you want to experience the very best that New York has to offer, make sure that your visit includes a Sunday. Most of the usual weekday attractions such as plays, museums and shopping are still available and Broadway theatres offer special matinees on Sunday afternoons -- but some quintessential New York happenings occur only on that day.
Chief among them is Sunday brunch, a New York phenomenon. In Manhattan, you'll find restaurants crowded with executives and professionals lingering over eggs Benedict and coffee in a way they don't have time for during the week.
For a particularly festive brunch experience, try Tavern on the Green. Set in Central Park -- a haven of greenery, light and air to harried New Yorkers -- this famed restaurant sets the scene with stained-glass windows, sand-carved mirrors and glittering, crystal chandeliers. Weather permitting, head for the outdoor café ringed with tree branches strung with thousands of white lights and enjoy the view of the park with your pancakes and eggs.
Not far from the Tavern is one of Central Park's major attractions. Officially called the Wildlife Conservation Center, but better known simply as "the zoo," it houses more than 450 animals of 100 species in a habitat that represents three distinct climates: the tropical zone, the temperate regions and the polar circle (be sure not to miss the penguins).
Central Park's 341 hectares offers tennis, horseback riding, bicycling, rowing and in-line skating, and on a sunny Sunday, you'll see people enjoying them all.
Most New York City museums are open on Sundays, but one that gives particular pleasure is the Cloisters, which often presents concerts on Sunday afternoons in its magnificent setting in Northern Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park.
Re-creating a fortified monastery, the complex incorporates elements from five medieval French cloisters. Here, a stroll along the rampart offers striking views of the buildings, the park and the Hudson River. The collections include sculptures, tapestries and stained glass windows spanning more than 1,000 years.
The tapestries, in particular, are dazzling. Among the most beloved are the Unicorn tapestries, depicting the familiar legend of The Virgin and the Unicorn with brilliant colours and extraordinary detail.
Sunday shoppers will find much to please in the various museum gift shops. But a very different Sunday-in-New-York shopping experience can be had downtown on Manhattan's Lower East Side, known historically as a melting pot for newly arrived immigrants.
Lining the narrow streets, an eclectic ensemble of tenement buildings, crowded, open-air markets and grand houses of worship combine to create one of America's landmark ethnic neighbourhoods.
Bargain hunting? Check out Orchard Street. Once jammed with pushcarts, this bustling artery and the surrounding streets are closed to traffic on Sundays, becoming a magnet for those seeking good prices on clothing and accessories. More than 300 tiny stores display their wares from stalls in the streets.
For another outdoor shopping experience, go to the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) between 26th and 27th streets and wander through the flea market. On Saturdays and Sundays, vendors fill a weekday parking lot with wares that range from the ratty to the rare. You may find a silver frame or a vintage hat; don't hesitate to bargain.
Finally, it would be remiss to consider Sunday in New York without mentioning its historic churches. Many offer musical programs on Sunday afternoons or evenings.
To highlight just one, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, seat of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, is reputedly the largest Gothic-style cathedral in the world. The massive stone edifice at Amsterdam Avenue and 110th Street in Morningside Heights -- begun in 1892 and still under construction -- can accommodate up to 8,000 worshippers at a time. The central Portal of Paradise features a 5.4-tonne set of bronze doors sculpted with scenes from both Old and New Testaments, designed in Paris by Ferdinand Barbedienne, who also cast the Statue of Liberty. Tours are available on Sunday afternoons. Gail Zweigenthal was formerly editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine.
IF YOU GO
Recommended hotels: Splurge. Lowell, 28 E. 63rd St. (212) 838-1400. Pierre, 2 E. 61st St. (212) 838-8000. St. Regis, 2 E. 55th St. (212)753-4500. Moderate. Lombardy, 111 E. 56th St. (212) 753-8600. Lucerne, 201 W. 79th St. (212) 875-1000. Mayflower, 15 Central Park W. (212) 265-0060. Inexpensive. Chelsea Inn, 46 W. 17th St. (212) 645-8989. Hotel 31, 120 E. 31st St. (212) 685-3060. Washington Square Hotel, 103 Waverly Place (212) 777-9515 Recommended restaurants: Splurge. Windows on the World, 1 World Trade Center (Lower Manhattan) (212) 524-7000. Chanterelle, 2 Harrison St. (TriBeCa) (212) 966-6960. Gotham Bar and Grill, 12 East 12th St. (between Fifth Avenue and University Place, Greenwich Village) (212) 620-4020. Moderate. Home, 20 Cornelia St. (between Bleecker and West Fourth streets, Greenwich Village) (212) 243-9579. First, 87 First Ave. (between Fifth and Sixth streets) (212) 674-3823. Gascogne, 158 Eighth Ave. (between 17th and 18th streets) (212) 675-6564. Inexpensive. John's Pizzeria, 278 Bleecker St. (between Sixth and Seventh avenues, Greenwich Village) (212) 243-1680 Puglia, 189 Hester St. (at Mulberry Street, Little Italy) (212) 966-6006. Boca Chica, 13 First Ave. (at First Street) (212) 473-0108.