Visitors can sweep into the ornate, gilded lobby and be amazed by the story that it was all paid for in single dimes.The icing on the cakeFor many visitors, the holy trinity of shopping in New York is the Calypso store at 280 Mott Street (001 212 965 0990) for clothes, Kate's Paperie at 561 Broadway (001 212 941 9816) for exquisite stationery, and one of New York's most famous exports, Kiehl's, (109 Third Avenue, 001 212 677 3171) for toiletries.Take a rideHead up to the revolving bar atop the Marriott Marquis (1535 Broadway, 001 212 398 1900) overlooking Times Square. Once every revolution, you can inspect the fluctuations of your finances on Nasdaq's eight-storey high screen and, if necessary, order a stiff drink.Bracing brunchIf you want to gorge on a slice of teen-dream Americana, stuff yourself silly with hamburgers (from $7, or around £5), hotdogs (from $6) and banana splits ($15) at Serendipity 3 (225 East 60th Street, 001 212 838 3531). Or, be more grown-up and take the healthy option with organic apple and ricotta pancakes (from $10) at Heartbeat (149 East 49th Street, 001 212 407 2900).A walk in the parkTake a breather from the check-outs with a trundle down through Battery Park. You can't buy replacement cells for your newly acquired Minidisc-player, but you can catch the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty The views are priceless. While you're here, reflect on the tale that back in the 1600s, somewhere close to where you're standing, Peter Minuit of the Dutch West India Company "bought" Manhattan from the Munsee Indians.Sunday morning, go to churchIf you've more faith than funds, forget the pilgrimage to Tiffany & Co (727 Fifth Avenue, 001 212 755 8000) and take refuge instead in nearby St Thomas' Church (1 W 53rd Street, 001 212 757 7013, services at 11am on Sundays).

Or, take a moment to gaze at the brightly coloured Mahayana Buddhist Temple at 133 Canal Street before hurling yourself into the hustle of Canal Street's bargain shops and stalls.Sunday morning, go to churchNew York's first Conran restaurant, Gustavino's (409 E 59th Street, 001 212 980 2455) is, handily for some, right next door to the glass and glitz of the Terence Conran shop (001 212 755 9079, open until 7pm at weekends). If you're not a fan of such notable neatness, hang out in hip TriBeCa and, when you've finished making quirky acquisitions, knock back the best margaritas in town, along with huge amounts of Mexican food, in El Teddy's (219 West Broadway, 001 212 941 7070).An aperitifGo the whole hog and toast your spending spree with champagne at The Bubble Lounge (228 West Broadway, 001 212 431 3433). Or, if you're looking to pick up more than a bargain while you're in the city, make your way to Drip (489 Amsterdam Avenue, 001 212 875 1032). Open way past midnight most nights, you can post a prospective love note, or a reply to one, at this cosy coffee bar-cum-dating service.Window shoppingFor lavish window displays and a general covering of all bases, New York's department stores are hard to beat: classy Bergdorf Goodman's (754 Fifth Avenue, 001 212 753 7300); traditional Bloomingdale's (1000 Third Avenue, 001 212 355 5900); massive Macy's (151 W 34th Street, 001 212 695 4400); Saks Fifth Avenue (611 Fifth Avenue, 001 212 753 4000); Japanese-owned Takashimaya (693 Fifth Avenue, 001 212 350 0100); and rich-kid heaven FAO Schwartz (767 Fifth Avenue, 001 212 644 9400).. What do Peter the Great and Stelios Haji-Iaonnou have in common? Both the former tsar of Russia and the present tsar of no-frills flying (Stelios the Great invented easyJet) share an affinity for the dodgier parts of south-east London and an obscure town in Holland.

What do Peter the Great and Stelios Haji-Iaonnou have in common? Both the former tsar of Russia and the present tsar of no-frills flying (Stelios the Great invented easyJet) share an affinity for the dodgier parts of south-east London and an obscure town in Holland. When Peter was starting on the road to greatness, he toured Western Europe to study the techniques that would enable him to modernise the then-primitive Russian Empire. He installed himself in the depths of Deptford, in order to learn the business of shipbuilding from the men who constructed ships for the Royal Navy. Later, he sought the counsel of the craftsmen and cartographers of Zaandam, then a small village northwest of Amsterdam.That was then, this is now. When Stelios expanded the easyEverything concept to car rental, he chose as his first depot a National Car Park in an unattractive corner of London SE1, just up the road from Deptford.Last week, easyRentacar expanded to Amsterdam Well, sort of The location is - you guessed it - Zaandam. The town has grown since Peter visited, but it remains a long way from the Dutch capital (and nearly an hour from Schiphol airport, with a change of train required).

You will find the easyRentacar office lurking in a car park north of the railway station. Before you pick up the car, pause at the former home of Peter the Great, now a modest but intriguing museum.Getting an upgrade is easy You just win a gold medal at the Olympics. Ben Ainslie, who sailed his way to glory in Sydney, told Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday how he enjoyed a very comfortable flight home. British Airways awarded him with an upgrade to business class (though Laser class, the event he won, would have been even more appropriate).There is another way. Nick Cosgrove of London has raised the stakes in the "bumping" game by revealing remarkable generosity on the part of American Airlines.Mr Cosgrove and his wife were booked in economy to fly from Chicago to London No room in the cabin, they were told at O'Hare airport. But hey, here's $600 each in travel vouchers and a boarding pass for tomorrow's flight.

Besides the vouchers, they earned a night in the Radisson Hotel, an overnight kit of pyjamas and underwear and $100 in meal coupons for use at the airport - vouchers that luncheon, dinner and breakfast could not exhaust."We just couldn't eat enough to use them all, so we went to Starbucks and bought the entire range of coffee mugs."The following evening, the Cosgroves found that they had been upgraded to business class for the flight home. The event took place some months ago, when the dollar was worth a lot less than it is now, so the couple are soon to fly off to Florida on the travel vouchers. These, by the way, don't have to be used direct with the airlines - you can spend them at travel agents, therefore taking advantage of discount fares But they're not expecting to get lucky a second time. "The agent told me that there's a note on our booking in the computer saying we paid with vouchers," says Mr Cosgrove. "Apparently, this is standard practice to try to deter 'professional' bumpees.""Your series of baffling railway signs reminds me of the indicator board at Harwich Parkeston Quay station," writes Mark Doran of Oxford. In the 1980s, he recalls: "Bleary eyed travellers arriving on the overnight ferry from the Netherlands were given a simple choice."Platform 1: Liverpool Street.Platform 2: Liverpool Lime Street.This was in the days when a train called, I believe, the North Country Continental met the ferry from Hook of Holland.