If you've visited New York City in the past, then you might be tired of seeing and touring the same-old, same-old. If you've been there and done that, or even if you haven't, try exploring some of the off-the-beaten-path sights in Manhattan that are just as fun and a bit extraordinary. Here are a few recommendations:

Got your attention, didn't I? OK, so this place is not for the faint-of-heart and certainly not for kids. But it's interesting. The Museum of Sex place always gets a double-take from tourists, but it's surprisingly educational. Recent exhibitions have included "Action: Sex and the Moving Image," and the permanent collection is wide-ranging. There are plenty of sex toys on display here, but they also have scholarly exhibits. The museum is located at 233 Fifth Ave. at 27th Street. Tickets for adults are $14.50 and $13.50 for students and seniors. You have to be 18 to get in, which is good.

A nice alternative to the fussier art museums is the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, which you can find in downtown New York at 594 Broadway. But don't think they're not serious about this genre at the museum -- its extensive exhibits include cartoons, comic books, anime, illustrations, editorial cartoons and more. MoCCA also also takes a close look at the First Amendment and censorship issues in its exhibits. Tickets are a reasonable $5.

The African Burial Ground is one of Manhattan's lesser-known memorials, reconstructed when the remains of freed and enslaved Africans were discovered during excavation in 1991 at a construction site in lower Manhattan. In this massive restoration effort, the remains of 419 people were removed to Washington, D.C., for study and then re-interred at the Manhattan location in 2006 and declared a National Historic Landmark. Tours and films are provided at the Burial Ground, located at 290 Broadway between Duane and Reade Streets.

In Greenwich Village, you can see an interesting sight at New York City's narrowest house, which is 9 1/2 feet wide. The house is located at 75 1/2 Bedford Street, just west of Varick Street. Constructed in 1893, it was once the home of writer Edna St. Vincent Millay. The house has an indoor spiral staircase and a small balcony in the back, overlooking a garden. This home is privately owned, so it's not open to visitors. But it's fun to see.

When the Berlin Wall was dismantled after the fall of East Germany, chunks of the Wall ended up in many far-flung places. Five original sections of the Wall have been einstalled at 520 Madison Avenue at 53rd Street, along with a plaque naming the German graffiti artists responsible for the art on one side of the wall. You can spot other sections of the Berlin Wall in New York City -- at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, in the gardens at the United Nations, and at the World Financial Center near Ground Zero.

Take your New York friends to McSorley's Old Ale House in the East Village, one of the city's oldest bars. Legend has it that McSorley's opened in 1854 and prohibited women from entering until 1970. The character of McSorley's is enhanced by a potbelly stove, gas lamps, and its golden rule: Be Good or Be Gone. McSorley's is at 15 E. 7th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.

If you're not independently wealthy, no one will care at Christie's Auction House, which is open to the public Monday through Friday. Christie's, at 20 Rockefeller Plaza, displays items for auction and for sale, and anyone is welcome to take a look and to attend an auction. Check the Christie's website for upcoming auctions and sales. It doesn't cost anything to dream.

Few visitors to New York realize that Grant's Tomb, also known as the General Grant National Memorial, is located here. It is the largest tomb in North America and the final resting place of General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife. Tours are self-guided, but the staff provides introductory talks at 10 am, noon and 2 pm. You can find Grant's Tomb at 122nd Street and Riverside Drive. Admission is free and it's open daily.

This is one of the coolest tours I've been on in New York City. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum has recreated the living conditions of immigrants who lived in cramped, unsafe tenements by the thousands in the 1800s. The museum offers a choice of guided tours of actual tenement buildings on Orchard Street, and a walking tour of the Lower East Side.Tours begin at the Visitors Center & Tenement Shop at 108 Orchard Street, between Delancey & Broome.

Exciting news is on the horizon for rock and roll fans on the East Coast. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will open an annex site in New York City's Soho in November, and it will be the hall of fame's first location outside of its home in Cleveland, Ohio. The facility will focus on defining moments in rock and roll history and feature a permanent "New York Rocks" gallery that will highlight key locations around New York City with musical significance. Selected museum relics will include Bruce Springsteen's 1957 Chevy (be still, my heart), a John Lennon piano, Elvis Presley's motorcycle jacket, and more. Advance tickets will be available through www.RockAnnex.com beginning in October.

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