New York is perhaps the most well known city in the world, and is certainly one of the most exciting. New York weekend breaks are an increasingly popular way of seeing the city. Flights to New York from London for an extended weekend are now very affordable, thanks to the dropping prices of international flights. Instead of being a once a year or even a once in a life time opportunity, it is now possible to visit New York for short periods of time increasingly often even for those with a limited budget. So if you are planning a New York weekend break, how are you going to spend it? New York is a city of many attractions and it could take a lifetime to experience all the treasures it has to offer, so how are you going to fit it all in in a few days. Well, you are going to have to pick and choose. Here are some examples of how you could focus your New York weekend breaks

New York Art Galleries
New York contains some of the most impressive art galleries in the world. For those with even a passing interest in art on a New York weekend break, it is worth investigating, with over 500 art galleries in the city. The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), founded in 1929 contains a huge collection of all types of modern art including painting, film, photography and media based art. Included in the collection is work from Cezanne, Gaugin, Munch, Man Ray, Schiele and many more. The Guggenheim Museum is home to some of the most famous works of art in the world including art from the 19th and 20th Century by Picasso, Klee, Van Goth, Kandinsky. The Metropolitan Museum of Art contains over 2 million works of art from around the Globe of all varieties from ancient masters to modern art from Monet to Warhol.

New York Landmarks
Whether you are a fan of architecture or not, a New York weekend break will contain some of the most stunning buildings you could hope to see. The gap where the Twin Towers is still a towering presence, and work has started on a replacement, The Freedom Tower. There are a great deal of world famous architecture in New York, varying greatly in style and function. To start with, is the Statue of Liberty. Perhaps the most iconic image of the USA, this symbolic statue is a boat ride away from central New York, where it is possible to ascend and get a stunning view of New York’s skyline. The empire state building, once the highest in the world is a massive building, worth climbing up for a view miles around. Central Park, is a haven of tranquillity amongst the bustling Manhattan city centre. There are many other famous buildings with differing architectural styles in New York which, including the art deco styled Chrysler Building, and gothic Woolworth Building

New York Shopping, Restaurant & Bars
One of the most cosmopolitan cities in the US and probably the world, New York is famous for its shopping, food and night life. The famous Manhattan island contains some of the most well known shops in the world, and any new your weekend break should take some of them in. These include Bloomingdales, a busy shopping center catering for all types of item, and famous world round. Tiffany’s, made famous by the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s sells all types of jewellery. Macy’s contains all major names in fashion in a department store. Head for Madison Avenue for boutiques of al the major fashion houses names including Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani and the like. Soho, once the artists quarter is now an upper class outdoor mall. If cuisine is more your interest, there are a huge amount of top class restaurants in New York. Le Bernadin is a French style top class restaurant with Eric Ripert as head chef and Michel Couvreaux as the sommelier, both French household names. Other well known restaurants include the Gotham Bar and Grill, for a more American flavour, and Masa Takayama’s Masa is an overpriced, but very good Japanese experience worth having if you can afford it.

New York Music
Some of the most important musical genres and scenes of the 20th century have grown out of the cultural melting pot that is New York. New York is home to Carnegie Hall, and Broadway, where the most famous musical shows and bands play year round. In the 1950’s and 60’s, New York played host to influential movements such as the Jazz that so excited the Beat poets, the folk scene that produced Bob Dylan and others, and later on the art rock of the Velvet Underground. This musical tradition continued through the 70’s where bands such as the Stooges, and Blondie, the New York Dolls and the Ramones developed rock and roll to form punk prototypes and new wave. In the 80’s and 90’s New York became the home to electro and later on hip hop which since then has exploded to be perhaps the most influential musical genre of the moment. Today, New York is producing numerous influential guitar and rock based bands epitomized by The Strokes, and there are countless live venues including The Mercury Lounge for indie rock, and the Blue Note for Jazz