BUDGET

Getting there

Metropolitan Museum of Art (ENLARGE)

If you like Atlanta Fernbank Museum's 'Martinis & Imax,' you'll enjoy cocktails in the garden at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Classic Harbor Line (ENLARGE)

Sail the Hudson River on the 80-foot Yacht Manhattan during the Art of Wine Tasting, which costs $85 per person.

Bebeto Matthews / AP (ENLARGE)

Strolling through Central Park is a popular pastime for New Yorkers and tourists alike.

New York Department of Economic Development (ENLARGE)

Like the song, neon lights really do shine bright on Broadway.

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Travel between LaGuardia Airport and Manhattan for about $5 each way. In the terminal, buy a Pay-Per-Ride Metro Card. Or, buy from your bus driver (exact change), and ask for a bus-to-subway transfer. Take the M60 bus (pick up outside the terminal).

Stay

Try the 70-room St. Marks Hotel in East Greenwich Village. Rates start at $140 for a double bed; $150 for a queen. Two warnings: Cash or travelers checks only, and the hotel does not have elevator. 212-674-0100, www.stmarkshotel.net.

Eat

Head to the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (closed November-April). Take a picnic or buy sandwiches and a cool margarita from the concession and eat beneath the shady wisteria trellis. Afterward, stroll among the sculptures and then enter the art gallery (buy a CityPass, www.citypass.com). Accessible only by ground-floor elevators in the southwest corner. 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd Street. 212-535-7710, www.metmuseum.org.

Experience

Take a free walking tour guided by an enthusiastic local. Once you apply, your language, interests and neighborhood area are matched, when possible, to one of the more than 300 volunteer guides. Schedule as far in advance as possible. www.bigapplegreeter.org, 212-669-8159.

MODERATE

Getting there

Book at least three weeks in advance for one-way rates from $114; $134 with a two-week notice; $179 with one-week notice. Sale prices of $99 are offered frequently on AirTran, American and Delta to LaGuardia Airport. Rates are similar to JFK and Newark, N.J.

Stay

The Lucerne Hotel on the Upper West Side was built in 1904. It isn't a hip party-all-weekend place, but it's ideal for more sedate guests. A Broadway package is $505 a night for two. It includes accommodations (tax included) and orchestra or front mezzanine tickets for two to a Broadway show. Package rates including pre-theater dinner at the hotel's Nice Matin start at $605. 201 W. 79th St. 1-800-492-8122, www.thelucernehotel.com.

Eat

The River Cafe is one of the city's most lauded restaurants. It's open daily for brunch, lunch and dinner. Its location under the Brooklyn Bridge is captivating. Dinner, $25-$75. 1 Water St. Make reservations at 718-522-5200, www.opentable.com.

Experience

A professional guide leads a maximum of six people for a three-hour overview of the diverse art scene in the Chelsea neighborhood, with visits to many galleries. $65 per person. Other themed tours, from architecture to food, are available. 1-888-467-1986, www.contexttravel.com.

SPLURGE

Getting there

Walk-up business class rates are $363 each way on AirTran to Newark, N.J. Skip the traffic with an eight-minute ride to a downtown or midtown Manhattan heliport. US Helicopter has a seamless ticket purchase option for Delta Air Lines passengers flying into JFK airport. One-way rates start from $159. www.flyushelicopter.com (luggage restrictions).

Stay

Guests of the St. Regis enjoy a 24-hour tuxedoed butler. This landmark on Fifth Avenue is steps from Rockefeller Center. Sumptuous guest suites have four-poster beds and fireplaces. Your second night in one of the grand suites is priced at $4, the original room rate from the 1904 opening. The first night stay is from $2,100 in the Madison Suite; $2,400 for the St. Regis Suite (four-night maximum). www.stregis.com, 212-753-4500.

Eat

Three-course prix-fixe dinners at Daniel are $105 per person. Reservations are accepted a month in advance. 60 E. 65th St. 212-288-0033; www.opentable.com, www.danielnyc.com.

Experience

Luxuriate aboard the 80-foot yacht Manhattan with an Art of Wine Tasting trip. Five wines are paired with hors d'oeuvres as this teak-decked yacht with a glass observatory sails the Hudson River. $85 per person. 212-627-1825, www.sail-nyc.com.