Two-Mile Walks, Mostly in Manhattan

• THE HARBOR: I often walk south on Broadway to Battery Park, passing by City Hall Park, the Woolworth Building, Trinity Church, and the Customs House (Museum of the American Indian). Sometimes I'll stop for a minute in the small Bowling Green Park. From the intersection of Broadway and Bleecker, Battery Park is about two miles away, and the walk takes thirty-forty minutes, depending on traffic. I catch the subway back.

• THE BRIDGE: One inter-boro walk I recommend: From City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to Cadman Plaza, visit Brooklyn's World War II memorial and then walk over to Henry St. Wander around Brooklyn Heights for the second mile. Or start in Brooklyn Heights and walk over to Manhattan. The walk feels like it has a solid beginning, middle, and end, and the views are spectacular. Henry Street has several nice small cafés, but if I've got some weight loss goals on my mind, I try to avoid cafés as a destination.

• THE VILLAGE: From the Arch in Washington Square Park, walk north along Fifth Avenue and turn west on 11th St., cross Sixth and Seventh Avenues, keep on W. 11 to the Hudson River. Return to the park via Barrow Street (a few blocks south) and Washington Place. A couple of things along W. 11th St. worth contemplating - the townhouse at 18 W. 11th St. that the Weather Underground blew up (there's a reference to the "bomb factory" in Across the Universe, Julie Taymor's transatlantic Beatles movie) and Julian S.'s pink palace at the far west end (more an electric rose color that I've come to love and cherish. JS can't help it. He was raised in Brownsville, Texas. He makes good movies. We should leave him alone).

• THE CATHEDRAL: Begin at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Riverside Park and walk north through the park. Turn at 116th St. and walk east through Columbia University and back south on Amsterdam to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

• THE MUSEUM: On hot days, cold days, or any other day, walking through the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a thrilling experience. One of the high points of 2007 was the opening of the new Roman and Greek galleries.

• THE PARK: From the American Museum of Natural History walk east through Central Park to Belvedere Castle. Walk through the Ramble and south along the western paths of the park until Strawberry Fields. Then walk east to the Bethesda Terrace. Walk south along the Mall to 59th Street and then back west to Columbus Circle. Walking along the Mall in Central Park is one of the great urban experiences. It's not at all like walking other malls.

• THE LIBRARY: My most straight-forward walk. From the Arch at Washington Square Park, walk north on Fifth Avenue past the Flatiron (@23rd St.), the Empire State Building (@34th St.) and then to Bryant Park and the New York Public Library. Walk around Bryant Park and find some place to sit.

When I hear someone say, "New York is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there," I'm tempted to reply, "Tell me about your parks, museums, libraries, cathedrals, neighborhoods, harbor, rivers and bridges."

Image: A little woozy sketch of Raymond Hood's Radiator Building from Bryant Park.