Manhattan New York USA

Manhattan Island, the commercial and business heart of New York City, is about 12 miles long by 3 miles wide. This large metropolitan area is vaguely divided into a number of different districts or communities. Each one has a different character or atmosphere.
Lower Manhattan : This is the southernmost tip of Manhattan Island. It encompasses Battery Park, the financial district including the New York Stock Exchange and the South Street Seaport. It is mostly commercial, but includes a few fine restaurants and bistros. From the docks in Lower Manhattan, you can take a ferry to Staten Island or the Statue of Liberty.

Chinatown: The neighborhood around the intersections of Canal and Mott Streets downtown contains one of the largest concentrations of Chinese living outside of Asia. It could be more accurately called Asiatown as it now includes many immigrants from Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and other Asian countries. Chinatown is famous for its reasonably priced restaurants featuring Chinese cuisine, its Asian grocery stores, and its unique Oriental gift shops.

Little Italy: The neighborhood next to Chinatown just north of Canal Street around Mulberry Street and Spring Street is called Little Italy. It features many restaurants offering diverse cuisine from the various regions of Italy. Scenes in the movie “The Godfather” were filmed here.

Greenwich Village: This Village extends across Manhattan between 14th and Houston Street with Broadway dividing it into two distinct districts known as the East Village and the West Village. The East Village is known for punk rock bars, funky cafes, experimental theaters and trendy boutiques. The tree-lined streets of the West Village with mellow jazz clubs and intimate apartments create the atmosphere of a small town nestled within the big city.

Tribeca: The Triangle below Canal Street that is bordered by Broadway and West Street is called TRIBECA. It was once the industrial district of New York City but its factories have been converted to apartments and condos that now attract famous residents like Robert DeNiro. It contains many famous upscale restaurants.

Soho: This neighborhood South of Houston Street with its 19th century cast-iron architecture is filled with art galleries, boutiques and a variety of restaurants.

Midtown: Generally, the area between 34th Street and the Southern end of Central Park is known as Midtown. It extends across Manhattan from the East River to Times Square and the Theater District on its western edge. It is the main business, commercial and shopping center of New York City. It contains the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, the United Nations, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and many well-known stores.

Central Park: This vast quadrangle of grass and trees that lies in the center of Manhattan Island offers walking trails, horseback riding, ice skating, boating, bicycling, roller blading and many other sports facilities.

Upper East Side: The neighborhood bordering the East Side of Central Park from 59th Street to 96th Street is known as the Upper East Side and is the home of many wealthy and socially prominent New Yorkers. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum and several other fine museums are located here. It is also known for exclusive shopping and fine restaurants.

Upper West Side: On the opposite side of Central Park, the neighborhood between Columbus Circle and 125th Street is known as the Upper West Side. It includes the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts and the American Museum of Natural History. This exclusive area is home to many musicians, performers and celebrities. John Lennon lived here until his untimely death in nearby Central Park. It is known for great shopping and dining.

Harlem: The upper part of Manhattan Island between 96th Street east of the park and 125th street west of the park and extending to 165th Street is known as Harlem. It is the tradition home of a large Afro-American community and contains the famous Apollo Theater. The Southeastern section includes a predominately Hispanic neighborhood known as Spanish Harlem.
One of the best ways to see the entire island of Manhattan is to sail around it on a Circle Line Cruise. (West 42nd Street at Pier 83). This three-hour narrated tour offers terrific views of the city’s icons ( Statue of Liberty , Brooklyn Bridge ), as well as the weird fishin’ shacks along the Harlem Coast and the surprising greenery of the less-travelled northern end. Romantics will love the sunset cruise.
Built during America’s Great Depression, the Empire State Building (5th Avenue @ 34th Street) may no longer be the tallest building in the world, but it remains one of the city’s finest Art Deco masterpieces and is still the most famous silhouette in the skyline. Two observatories on the 86th and 102nd floors are open 365 days a year until 11.30 p.m. (King Kong not included.) The nearby Chrysler Building (Lexington @ 42nd Street) is the other Art Deco gem topped with a spire. Its lobby is filled with beautiful murals and detail, but alas, no observation deck.

A generous oasis of nature in the middle of Manhattan’s concrete jungle, Central Park changes colour with the seasons. Summer’s the perfect time to rent a boat and row around on The Lake, to sit along the rim of Bethesda Fountain, or to visit Strawberry Fields, just across the street from the signature apartment buildings of Central Park West, including the fabulous Dakota, of John and Yoko fame.

Popular attractions include:
American Museum of Natural History : From asteroids to zebra, this is the place where big kids and little kids come to have fun…and learn. Don’t miss the laser light shows and the Butterfly Exhibit. You can also see exhibits from ancient Egypt, Greece and even see the bones of dinosaurs including the fiercest of creatures to walk the earth: T-REX
Empire State Building: This sky-high tour is still one of the best bargains in the city.
Metropolitan Museum: The Met is not just one of the world’s greatest repositories of art, but also a center for non-art activity such as concerts, lectures, and educational programs.
New York Stock Exchange: This bastion of capitalism has always been a favorite of venture capitalists of all ages.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral: A central place of worship for the city’s thousands of Roman Catholics, St. Patrick’s nonetheless attracts worshipprers of all denominations.

Statue of Liberty: Located in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and was designated a National Monument on October 15, 1924. The Statue was extensively restored in time for her spectacular centennial on July 4, 1986.

Ellis Island: Now a tourist attraction and an opportunity for americans to trace their ancestors voyage to the promised land. Ellis Island was formerley the immigration centre and entry point into the united states. Ellis island now features a nice museaum rolling back the years to the beginning of US history.
Madison Square Garden: One of the most famous ‘event’ arena’s in the US hosting big events such as music concerts, world championship boxing along with many other major sports events. It is also home to the New York Knicks.
Times Square: One of the liveliest night spots in the US, Times Square is the centre of the city that never sleeps and packs in a an incredible number of bars, eateries, nightclubs and hotels in its boundaries.

New York State USA

New York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation’s third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border with Rhode Island east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Ontario to the west, and Quebec to the north. New York is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City.

The most popular tourist destination in New York is undoubtedly Manhattan, only 13 miles long and between one and two miles wide, the island of Manhattan encompasses at least 19 distinct neighbourhoods including the long-established Little Italy, Chinatown, Harlem and Puerto Rican ‘Loisada’, plus smaller pockets of Polish, Bengali, Jewish, Korean, German, Ukrainian, Irish, Latino, Haitian and West Indian communities.

Beyond Manhattan lie the four boroughs that make up New York City: Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island, each with their own diffuse, evolving communities.
Few other cities could hold together such a complex mix of lifestyles and people.

As it always has been, New York really is the city that never sleeps. From the moment you arrive, there’s a tangible energy and a sense of excitement.

For tourists, the temptation is to gorge oneself -there are just so many thrilling places to visit and things to do, great food to be enjoyed and a unique atmosphere that makes you want to stay up late and get up early.
New York is truly one of the world’s great cities, so slow down a little to get the most out of it: you’re never going to see everything in just one visit.
The atrocities of September 11th 2001 may have laid bare the raw heart of New York, but its spirit remains resplendently intact.

There is a lot of sightseeing to be done in New York, the most obvious of which is either in New York City or Niagara Falls. But New York also has some destinations of incredible natural beauty, especially around the Finger Lakes and in the Adirondacks. The Adirondack Park, in particular, is an incredible gem—it’s the largest single park in the continental U.S. and where the art of American painting began.
The natural beauty of the state is diverse, from the incomparable Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon of the East, Letchworth Park, to the mountainous terrain of the Catskills and the Adirondacks, perfect for hiking and camping. The numerous waterways of the state include Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the Erie Canal, and the Hudson River, all of which see regular boat traffic throughout the summer months. Oenophiles can visit one of the top wine regions in the country in the Finger Lakes; the entire region is dotted with small towns and villages of historic character, with almost 100 wineries in between. The region produces perhaps the best Rieslings outside of Germany, and Finger Lakes ice wines are growing in popularity.

None of the upstate cities compare to New York City in profile or in prominence, but each of them has a selection of first-class attractions and amenities sufficient to support tourism, without the crowds and frenetic activity of their larger neighbour.