Things to do near the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

As part of its Once Upon a Ballet series, which is aimed at young children, NYTB presents its annual hour-long Art Nouveau version of the holiday ballet, complete with clockwork elves and an owl that flies over the audience. The set design is by Gillian Bradshaw-Smith and the costumes by Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan.  

While the Guggenheim’s collection of modern art works is certainly impressive, it is impossible to separate the museum’s contents from its form with architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s brilliant and controversial design. Opened in 1959 on Fifth Ave across from Central Park, just months after Wright’s death, the concrete inverted ziggernaut (a Babylonian step pyramid), stomped on the expectations and tradition of clean square galleries exemplified and cherished by the neighboring Upper East Side museums, like the nearby Metropolitan Museum. Instead Wright combined his use of geometric shapes and nature, to create a gallery space that presented art along a flowing, winding spiral, much like a nautilus shell, with little in the way of walls to separate artists, ideas or time periods. Best experienced as Wright intended by taking the elevator to the top of the museum and following the gentle slope down, the art is revealed at different angles along the descent and across the open circular rotunda in a way that even the most well known Monet landscape might seem like a revelation. This unusual, bold way of approaching art, both as it is displayed and viewed, has inspired spectacular exhibits by highly-conceptual contemporary artists such as a series of films by Matthew Barney and hundred of Maurizio Cattelan's sculptures hanging from the ceiling. Considering the steep price of admission ($25, students and seniors $18, children under 12 free), make sure to take a break from the captivat

From the iconic Madeline murals by Ludwig Bemelmans to the live music, Bemelmans is like no other experience. Somehow, the white-jacketed service doesn't feel stuffy but transportive to another era that isn't just another Prohibition-style bar knockoff. Maybe it's the fact that the classics are done just right (head bartender Luis Serrano has worked here for 31 years).

Even in the worst of times, a world-class city needs restaurants offering the escape of over-the-top coddling and luxurious food, with a star chef who's not just on the awning but in the kitchen and dining room, too-—in short, a place like Daniel. The most classically opulent of the city's rarefied restaurants, Daniel Boulud's 15-year-old flagship emerged from a face-lift last fall, looking about as youthful as a restaurant in a landmark Park Avenue building realistically can. The sprawling dining room no longer resembles the doge's palace in Venice. Instead it's been brought into the 21st century with white walls, contemporary wrought iron sconces and a centerpiece bookshelf lined with vibrant crystal vases among other curios. The redesign, by longtime Boulud collaborator Adam Tihany, couldn't have come at a better time. With even neighborhood regulars keeping an eye on their budgets, now more than ever the place needs to cultivate a new clientele. Despite Boulud's ever-expanding reach—he'll soon launch his tenth restaurant, on the Bowery—the chef still prowls the dining room here most nights, charming fans and sending extras to his special guests. While the setting has been revamped, the food—overseen since 2004 by executive chef Jean Franois Bruel—hasn't taken a radical turn. Still, presentations overall seemed much more up-to-date. The tiered silver tower cradling an overkill of miniature bites that used to kick off a meal has given way to a less-is-more amuse-bouche on a

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The phrase might be a little crude, especially referring to The Pierre, but in this case, nothing seems more fitting. Sure, they might have recently spruced up the Rotunda and newly-added Perrine, but the old-world charm shines through. The classic, five-star hotel sits right on the southeastern edge of Central Park, on Fifth Avenue and 61st Street. While it might not have the grandest lobby or the showiest decor, the understated elegance in its 1930s bones is hard to resist. And when I trundled in off the subway, burdened with over-sized Uniqlo and Flying Tiger plastic bags in my elbow creases, the staff didn’t turn up their noses or act surprised when I asked where check-in was. During the speedy process, they implored me to take chocolates (milk and dark) and promptly handed me the keys to my room, adding, “You’ll have a great view of Central Park in the snow.” Before you make it to your room to scope out that view, white-gloved attendants ride the elevator up with you, pressing the button to your floor, lest you soil your delicate hands. Opened in 1930, none of the decor really feels new or modern or fresh, but that’s part of the allure. The hallways are tastefully lined with cream and gold trimming, with a total of 189 rooms, 49 of which are suites. There isn’t a spa in the hotel, but there is a 24-hour fitness center along with 24-hour laundry and car services. The room I was given was outfitted with a king-size bed with a golden, tuf

This elegant addition to the city’s museum scene is devoted entirely to late-19th- and early-20th-century German and Austrian fine and decorative arts. Located in a renovated brick-and-limestone mansion that was built by the architects of the New York Public Library, this brainchild of the late art dealer Serge Sabarsky and cosmetics mogul Ronald S. Lauder has the largest concentration of works by Gustav Klimt (including his iconic Adele Bloch-Bauer I) and Egon Schiele outside Vienna. You’ll also find a bookstore, a chic (and expensive) design shop and the Old World–inspired Café Sabarsky, serving updated Austrian cuisine and ravishing Viennese pastries.

It's difficult to impress as a sushi restaurant in a city full of competitors luring in customers with fresh seafood. But at this Upper East Side restaurant, the $300-a-person, edomae-style sushi joint is one of the priciest in the city that actually backs up its hefty price tag. But the Michelin star and ancient aging techniques from chef Abe Nozomu makes the wallet-gouging bill worth it.

NOTE: The Frick Collection is currently housed at the Frick Madison, the former Met Breuer and Whitney Museum Building at 945 Madison Avenue, while the mansion undergoes a major renovation. The opulent residence that houses a private collection of great masters (from the 14th through the 19th centuries) was originally built for industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The firm of Carrère & Hastings designed the 1914 structure in an 18th-century European style, with a beautiful interior court and reflecting pool. The permanent collections include world-class paintings, sculpture and furniture by the likes of Rembrandt, Vermeer, Renoir and French cabinetmaker Jean-Henri Riesener.

Few hotels embody luxury and style as effortlessly as this East Side institution, which evokes a first-class experience of pre-war Art Deco elegance that is cozy and classy, with minimal pretension. Since the 1940s, the Carlyle has been a preferred spot for dignitaries, celebrities and politicians. President John F. Kennedy slept there (or rather, didn’t, with Marilyn Monroe), as did Sinatra, Princess Diana and Broadway legend Elaine Stritch. Part of the attraction is location: tucked away on East 76th and Madison Avenue, far from the chaos of midtown Manhattan. Most of the rooms are decorated in a tasteful Louis XIV style, but if you are lucky (i.e., rich) enough to score a deluxe tower room (around $1,300 a night), you will be treated to romantic views of Central Park, plus a small but handy kitchenette. Repeat guests and those who rent suites and above will be surprised by monogrammed pillows. The overall vibe, whatever your price point: the cool midcentury elegance of Mad Men. For a formal but relaxed dining experience, you could try the Carlyle Restaurant downstairs. If you like cabaret, the world-class Café Carlyle features singers Tuesdays through Sundays, ranging from beloved Broadway divas to longtime guest Woody Allen blowing on his clarinet. Before or after dinner, you must get a drink in the Bemelmans Bar. The place takes its name from the children’s book author Ludwig Bemelmans (he created Madeleine), who covered the bar’s walls in his playful drawings (an eleph

Dances Patrelle offers its annual performance of Francis Patrelle's The Yorkville Nutcracker, set in 1895 New York and featuring adorable child dancers alongside the professionals. This year's edition stars New York City Ballet soloist Miriam Miller as the Sugar Plum Fairy, joined again by NYCB principal Jared Angle as her Cavalier.