Tourist traps Times Square is one of those highly touted city development projects that only appeals to the politicians and corporations that conspired to build them in the first place. It is hard to describe how milquetoast the area is. Hordes of teenagers cram the MTV sidewalk in hope of glimpsing current pop heroes, while droves of tourists bounce back and forth between chain restaurants, stores and video game parlours.

Unfortunately, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and The Empire State Buildingare all worthy sights, but post-September 11 security has made the experience quite unbearable; you can expect to wait up to an hour and a half to see any of them, no matter what time you go.

During peak tourist times, such as weekends and the entire late spring and summer, wait times can triple, and surly 'security experts' will rifle through your belongings while you are X-rayed.

Tipping etiquette Proper tipping is essential to having an enjoyable stay in NYC. Without it, everyone from cab drivers, bartenders, waiters, deliverymen, porters and bellhops will, if not outright hate you, make you feel severely disliked. In restaurants, tip 20% for good service, 15% for mediocre and in between for average. In bars, tip $1 per drink ordered. Taxis get at least a $1, and you should tip $5 for trips outside Manhattan. Bellhops get $1 per pieceof luggage, double if the bags are particularly heavy. Food deliverymen get $3-$4, depending on distance travelled, and furniture and assorted heavy object-deliverers get $5 each per flight of stairs.

If all this seems unreasonably high, it's because most people working these jobs, particularly waiters and bartenders, work only for tips, or the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour.

Internet cafés have not caught on in New York like they have in other well-travelled cities throughout the world. There are general exceptions for neighbourhoods abutting universities, such as The Village and Cooper Union. Easy Internet Cafés have two locationsin Manhattan (www.easyeverything.com) and the chain store Kinko's (www.kinkos.com) has several locations as well. Internet Café (212 614 0747) is located in the East Village.

Gifts to buy Off-the-beaten track music lovers will appreciate Other Music's(212 477 8150) collection of contemporary rock and electronic music, much of which is culled from NYC's underground. The Enchanted Forest (212 925 6677) specialises in toddler toys collected mostly from mom and pop's shops throughout the country. FAO Schwarz (767 5th Avenue) has the most up-to-the- moment selection in kids toys and fads. A spicy alternative thatwives and girlfriends will appreciate, not to mention boyfriends and husbands, is Le Petit Coquette lingerie (51 University Place, 212 473 2478), where the most scintillating lace, corsets and stockings can be found.