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The Bathazar restaurant in New York.

It's hard to beat a Christmas present that promises a fabulous weekend getaway after the fuss and stress of the holiday season. And there are few places better to cram in a delightful set of options for a two-night stay than New York. Santa has made all the arrangements. You fly to Gotham on a Friday and check in to The James New York, a fabulous new hotel at the edge of artsy SoHo. After a leisurely drink in the hotel's sexy roof bar, make your way to nearby Balthazar (80 Spring St.), New York's gold standard for casual French dining, where your reservations were made weeks in advance. Sleep in on Saturday morning and then head to nearby Aquagrill (210 Spring St. at Sixth Avenue) for a lunch of the signature falafel-encrusted salmon. But don't tarry because you have two tickets to the matinee performance of the critically acclaimed play Driving Miss Daisy at Broadway's Golden Theatre (252 West 45th St.). This production, starring stage greats James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave, ends its run on Jan. 29. That evening, you dine on fine northern Italian fare at the recently opened Quattro Gastronomia Italiana in the new Trump SoHo (246 Spring St.) and your last evening in New York is rounded off with a snifter of fine cognac at Brandy Library (25 North Moore St.), Tribeca's eye-popping temple to spirits.

The James: 888-526-3778; jameshotels.com; .

Balthazar: 212-965-1414; balthazarny.com.

Driving Miss Daisy: 212-239-6200 .



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