City Guide

Information Offices-- The Times Square Visitors Center, 1560 Broadway, between 46th and 47th streets (where Broadway meets Seventh Ave.), across from the TKTS booth on the east side of the street (tel. 212/768-1560; www.timessquarebid.org), is the city's top info stop. This pleasant and attractive center features a helpful info desk offering loads of citywide information. There's also a tour desk selling tickets for Gray Line bus tours and Circle Line boat tours; a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) desk staffed to sell MetroCard fare cards, provide public transit maps, and answer all of your questions on the transit system; a Broadway Ticket Center providing show information and selling full-price show tickets; ATMs and currency exchange machines; and computer terminals with free Internet access courtesy of Yahoo! It's open daily from 8am to 8pm.

The New York Convention and Visitors Bureau runs the NYCVB Visitor Information Center at 810 Seventh Ave., between 52nd and 53rd streets. In addition to loads of information on citywide attractions and a multilingual counselor on hand to answer questions, the center also has interactive terminals that provide free touch-screen access to visitor information via Citysearch (www.citysearch.com), a guide to events, dining, and nightlife, and sell advance tickets to major attractions, which can save you from standing in long ticket lines once you arrive (you can also buy CityPass using these). There's also an ATM, a gift shop, and a bank of phones that connect you directly with American Express card member services. The center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm. For over-the-phone assistance, call tel. 212/484-1200, or check online at www.nycvisit.com.

Publications-- For comprehensive listings of films, concerts, performances, sporting events, museum and gallery exhibits, street fairs, and special events, the following are your best bets:

The New York Times (www.nytimes.com or www.nytoday.com) features terrific arts and entertainment coverage, particularly in the two-part Friday "Weekend" section and the Sunday "Arts & Leisure" section. Both days boast full guides to the latest happenings in Broadway and Off-Broadway theater, classical music, dance, pop and jazz, film, and the art world. Friday is particularly good for cabaret, family fun, and general-interest recreational and sightseeing events.

Time Out New York (www.timeoutny.com) is my favorite weekly magazine. Dedicated to weekly goings-on, it's attractive, well organized, and easy to use. TONY features excellent coverage in all categories, from live music, theater, and clubs (gay and straight) to museum shows, dance events, book and poetry readings, and kids' stuff. The regular "Check Out" section, unequaled in any other listings magazine, will fill you in on upcoming sample and closeout sales, crafts and antiques shows, and other shopping-related scoops. A new issue hits newsstands every Thursday.

The free weekly Village Voice (www.villagevoice.com), the city's legendary alterna-paper, is available late Tuesday downtown and early Wednesday in the rest of the city. From classical music to clubs, the arts and entertainment coverage couldn't be more extensive, and just about every live music venue advertises its shows here.

Other useful weekly rags include the glossy New York magazine (www.newyorkmetro.com), which offers valuable restaurant reviews and whose listings section is a selective guide to city arts and entertainment; and the New Yorker (www.newyorker.com), which features an artsy "Goings On About Town" section at the front of the magazine. Monthly Paper (www.papermag.com) is a glossy alterna-mag that serves as good prep for those of you who want to experience the hipper side of the city.

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