Most people who live in New York City give up trying to keep pace with what's happening shortly after moving there. To do so would require a full time physical trainer, dietician and bank account similar to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's. Rather, there is always something happening, so why try to keep pace? Culture hounds will quickly be worn out by the city's many museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (www.metmuseum.org), featuring more than two million pieces from all points of the globe in its permanent collection. The Cloisters(www.metmuseum.org) overlooks the New Jersey bluffs and Hudson River in Fort Tyron Park at the northern tip of Manhattan. As much a park as it is a museum, The Cloisters has one of the finest collections of medieval art in the world. While the Manhattan location is being remodelled, the MOMA (www.moma.org) has taken advantage of an enormous show space in Queens, and opened up many objects from its permanent collection never exhibited before. One of the best-kept Renaissance art collections is in the tiny Frick Collection
(www.frick.org) – bequeathed to the public by industrialist Henry Clay Frick in 1914. Private museums, however, are beginning to get rather pricey – upwards of $20 at the MOMA, while NYC public museums, like the Metropolitan, usually suggest donation entry fees.

As an alternative to museums and permanent collections, try strolling around Chelsea's art galleries. All the galleries are free, and most do not require an appointment and are happy to let the public wander in at will. Here, you'll find some of the best contemporary art in the world, at galleries like Gagosian(gagosian.com), Bruce Silverstein (brucesilverstein.com) and Kashya Hildebrand(kashya hildebrand.org).

Central Park is a can't-miss destination, and it's beguiling to think that the architects Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux put every tree, shrub, rock and hill in place. In the summertime, the park is alive with free concerts and the city's inhabitants pursuing their love of the sun. During the cold winter-months, a walk though the park can be an introspective and solitary experience.

Strangely enough, three of NYC's professional sports teams' playing fields aren't in New York at all, but across the river in New Jersey. The New York Giants (www.giants.com) and New York Jets (www.newyorkjets.com) share an American football field in East Rutherford, along with the major league soccer club Metrostars (www.metrostars.com). The New York Knicks (www.nba.com/knicks) basketball team and New York Rangers (www.neworkrangers.com) hockey team also share a space at Madison Square Garden (www.thegarden.com), where you can also catch concerts, the circus when it's in town and, at select dates, the Westminster Kennel Club's dog show. Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge makes for a memorable afternoon, dinner as well if you continue on to Brooklyn Heights' restaurant row on Henry Street, like Henry's End (718 834 1776), where the specialities generally revolve around game birds and venison. Another free afternoon well spent is crossing from Manhattan to the littlest borough on the Staten Island Ferry. Though the journey is a short 35 minutes, the views are exceptional – you're on the water in an otherwise totally urban environment and the price is just right.