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There's a famous drawing from the 1930s called, "A New Yorker's Idea of the United States of America," in which Manhattan is disproportionately huge and the rest of the country is a jumbled mass of incorrectly identified cities and states (Tiny Missouri is nearly on the West Coast and contains the cities of Kansas and Oklahoma). In this case, it's funny because it's true. New York is the largest city in the U.S. and an international center of virtually everything, and New Yorkers know it. Landmarks like the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty are iconic. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the crown jewel in a collection of incomparable museums. Music at Lincoln Center, theater on Broadway, shopping on Fifth Avenue, even Grand Central is the king of train stations; whatever it is, New York is the superlative. Just ask a New Yorker.

Fittingly, New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority operates the busiest transit system in the country. Travelers can get nearly anywhere in the city via subway, though the easiest way to go east-west across Manhattan is by bus. Both cost $2 per ride, and an unlimited one-day pass is available for $7.

Three major airports serve the greater New York area - JFK, La Guardia and Newark. JFK is the only one that offers subway service into Manhattan, though it's a long ride on the A train, and La Guardia has several MTA bus lines. At Newark, there is a New Jersey Transit train station that goes to Penn Station for $11.55. Cab fares into Manhattan from any of the three are expensive; a trip from La Guardia is metered and typically runs $20 to $30 and JFK is a flat rate of $45. Newark is metered and will cost approximately $40 to $50.

Watch a Game from the Yankee Stadium Bleachers
Just don't wear any Red Sox gear in the $12 seats behind the right-field wall. The true lifelong die-hards sit here, and they're not very tolerant of rabble-rousing outsiders. Be sure to get in on the "roll call" tradition in the top of the first inning, where the fans chant the name of each Yankee until he acknowledges them with a wave or tip of the cap. If you can't get enough baseball, head out to Coney Island to see the Class-A Brooklyn Cyclones, whose waterfront stadium, Keyspan Park, is a superior alternative to the Mets' maligned Shea Stadium.

Catch Some Hoops at the "World's Most Famous Arena"
Madison Square Garden is most notably the home of the Knicks and their raucous fans, but if you don't want to shell out NBA prices to see basketball at The Garden, it also hosts both the pre- and post-season NIT tournaments as well as the St. John's University hoops team. Of course, New York is also legendary for its pickup games - check out Rucker Park in Harlem or the West 4th Street courts in the West Village for some serious streetball.

Watch the Start of the New York Marathon from Brooklyn
Find a good vantage point in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn and you'll witness the incredible sight of 35,000 runners streaming over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from Staten Island in the opening stretch one of the world's largest marathons. The course winds through all five boroughs of New York City, concluding with a home stretch down Fifth Avenue and into Central Park for the finish.

Attend the U.S. Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium
The only one of professional tennis' four major tournaments played in the United States, the U.S. Open is held each September at the USTA National Tennis Center in Queens. The main stadium, named after late tennis great Arthur Ashe, is the site of the big-name matches and features luxury boxes and five restaurants in addition to its 23,000-seat capacity.

Bike the Central Park Loop
The six-mile Central Park Drive is always packed with bikers, skaters and runners and is truly an urban getaway destination for locals and tourists alike. You can shorten up the loop by cutting across the transverses at 72nd and 102nd Street, or if you're jogging, try the dirt path around the reservoir, which offers terrific views of the midtown skyline.

Go Ice Skating at Rockefeller Center
New York knows how to get in the spirit during the holiday season, and Rockefeller Center, with its famous Christmas tree and ice rink is among the city's most popular attractions. Holiday spirit has a price though, with rates for a 1 1/2 hour session as high as $17, plus $8 for skate rental.

American Museum of Natural History
200 Central Park West (at 79th St.), New York, N.Y. 10024
Information: 212-769-5100, Tickets: 212-769-5200
Since the reopening of the planetarium, this has become one of the city's hottest tickets - in large part because of the remarkable Harrison Ford-narrated half-hour space show, Are We Alone? The most technologically advanced sky production on the planet will make you feel you've been catapulted into space. Save time for the main building - especially the dinosaur floor, which features the most remarkable collection of fossils gathered in one place. Don't miss the 16-ton meteorite or the Brazilian Princess Topaz, at 21,005 carats the world's largest cut gem.
http://www.amnh.org/

Bronx Zoo
Fordham Rd. and Bronx River Pkwy, Bronx, N.Y. 10460
718-367-1010
This is the largest urban zoo in the country, with more than 4,000 animals - and among those most sensitive to presenting them in their natural habitat. Don't miss Jungle World, a recreation - both flora and fauna - of a tropical rainforest. The 6½-acre Congo River Forest is home to lowland gorillas, red river hogs and okapi, among other animals. The Himalayan Highlands Habitat features striking, spotted snow leopards.
http://www.bronxzoo.com/

Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Ave. (at 82nd St.), New York, N.Y. 10028
212-535-7710
This museum is a living textbook of the history of art, throughout the world. Among its 1.6 million square feet (making it the largest museum in the western hemisphere) are works of every major culture from the beginning of time. Egyptian mummies. Early Greek sculpture. Renaissance art. The art of South Pacific tribes. Each room offers a stunning surprise: Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware, the Frank Lloyd Wright collection, the Egyptians' Temple of Dendur, the presidential portraits of Gilbert Stuart. With so much to see, consider the Museum Highlights Tour, offered several times throughout each day.
http://www.metmuseum.org/

Museum of Modern Art
11 W. 53rd St., New York, N.Y. 10019
212-708-9400
The museum completed a renovation two years ago, and has reopened with twice the space. The general collection and special exhibits are as stunning as they are ambitious. Turn a corner. See Andy Warhol's soup cans. Turn another. There are Van Gogh's The Starry Night and The Olive Trees. Chagall's I and the Village. Rousseau's The Sleeping Gypsy.
http://www.moma.org/

Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island
New York Harbor, N.Y. 212-363-3200 (general information), 212-269-5755 (ticket/ferry information)
This is a two-for-one deal. The ferry stops at two of our nation's greatest symbols of freedom: first at the Statue of Liberty, then at Ellis Island. Lady Liberty, on Liberty Island, stands 152 feet high, from toe to torch. Gaze at the statue's inner ironworks through a glass ceiling at her base. Climb to the observation deck, 16 feet up, and enjoy a spectacular view of Lower Manhattan. Ellis Island is humbling for anyone whose family immigrated to this country. For 62 years, it was the main entry port to America. Enter the main baggage room, as many of our forbears did long ago. Tour the registry room, with its soaring ceiling, where each immigrant waited to be processed - and, hopefully, approved for residency. You can research your own family's ancestry at the interactive American Family Immigration History center.
Statue of Liberty: www.nps.gov/stli

2003 New Jersey Devils (defeated Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 4 games to 3).
2000 New York Yankees (defeated New York Mets, 4 games to 1).
2000 New Jersey Devils (defeated Dallas Stars, 4 games to 2).
1999 New York Yankees (defeated Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 0).
1998 New York Yankees (defeated San Diego Padres, 4 games to 0).
1996 New York Yankees (defeated Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 2).
1995 New Jersey Devils (defeated Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 0).
1994 New York Rangers (defeated Vancouver Canucks, 4 games to 3).
1991 New York Giants (defeated Buffalo Bills, 20-19).
1987 New York Giants (defeated Denver Broncos, 39-20).
1986 New York Mets (defeated Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3).
1983 New York Islanders (defeated Edmonton Oilers, 4 games to 0).
1982 New York Islanders (defeated Vancouver Canucks, 4 games to 0).
1981 New York Islanders (defeated Minnesota North Stars, 4 games to 1).
1980 New York Islanders (defeated Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 2).
1978 New York Yankees (defeated Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 2).
1977 New York Yankees (defeated Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 2).
1973 New York Knicks (defeated Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 1).
1970 New York Knicks (defeated Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 3).
1969 New York Mets (defeated Baltimore Orioles, 4 games to 1).
1969 New York Jets (defeated Baltimore Colts, 16-7).
1962 New York Yankees (defeated San Francisco Giants, 4 games to 3).
1961 New York Yankees (defeated Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 1).
1958 New York Yankees (defeated Milwaukee Braves, 4 games to 3).
1956 New York Yankees (defeated Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 3).
1956 New York Giants (defeated Chicago Bears, 47-7).
1955 Brooklyn Dodgers (defeated New York Yankees, 4 games to 3).
1954 New York Giants (defeated Cleveland Indians, 4 games to 0).
1953 New York Yankees (defeated Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 2).
1952 New York Yankees (defeated Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 3).
1951 New York Yankees (defeated New York Giants, 4 games to 2).
1950 New York Yankees (defeated Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 0).
1949 New York Yankees (defeated Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 1).
1947 New York Yankees (defeated Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 3).
1943 New York Yankees (defeated St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 1).
1941 New York Yankees (defeated Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 1).
1940 New York Rangers (defeated Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 2).
1939 New York Yankees (defeated Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 0).
1938 New York Yankees (defeated Chicago Cubs, 4 games to 0).
1938 New York Giants (defeated Green Bay Packers, 23-17).
1937 New York Yankees (defeated New York Giants, 4 games to 1).
1936 New York Yankees (defeated New York Giants, 4 games to 2).
1934 New York Giants (defeated Chicago Bears, 30-13).
1933 New York Giants (defeated Washington Senators, 4 games to 1).
1933 New York Rangers (defeated Toronto Maple Leafs, 3 games to 1).
1932 New York Yankees (defeated Chicago Cubs, 4 games to 0).
1928 New York Yankees (defeated St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 0).
1928 New York Rangers (defeated Montreal Maroons, 3 games to 2).
1927 New York Yankees (defeated Pittsburgh Pirates, 4 games to 0).
1927 New York Giants (11-1-1 season record, no NFL championship game).
1923 New York Yankees (defeated New York Giants, 4 games to 2).
1922 New York Giants (defeated New York Yankees, 4 games to 0).
1921 New York Giants (defeated New York Yankees, 5 games to 3).
1905 New York Giants (defeated Philadelphia Athletics, 4 games to 1).