New York for The Solo Traveller: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

The pink-painted 1903 span with its own pedestrian deck above the traffic; Brooklyn comes into view as the lights go on.

An independent programme in a dine-in cinema where the film arrives with a cocktail and a menu; sit in the back row.

A counter seat in the 1927 dining car, with the menu written on the paper tablecloth and a short list of whatever is good.

Free, orange and nearly empty on the early boat, with the sun rising behind the Statue of Liberty.

Renzo Piano's riverside museum opens at 10:30; go straight to the top floor and work down while the galleries are empty.

A counter in Chelsea Market, adobada from the spit and a cactus quesadilla; stand at the ledge and watch the line.

An hour down the bay past the Verrazzano to the only surf beach in the city; sit on the top deck for the skyline.

A beach bar and restaurant at the surf club on Beach 87th Street: tacos and a cold drink with the salt still on your skin. Go early for a table.

A former Queens schoolhouse turned contemporary-art centre; the courtyard and the classrooms are a good place for a quiet hour.

Seventy minutes up the east bank past Sing Sing and Bannerman's Castle, with the river on your left the whole way.

The ruins of the iron works that cast the Union's cannon, with a short trail and a view across the river to Storm King.

Lunch on the platform of the 1893 station as the trains go through; a burger and a beer before the afternoon train.