New York - attractions - Travel Guide

Tarrytown
Forty miles (64km) north of New York City is Tarrytown, known to Washington Irving fans as Sleepy Hollow, setting for the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The town is packed with historic homes including the impressive Rockerfeller residence; Irving's home can also be visited. Over of the east bank of the river is Hyde Park, where Roosevelt was born and spent much of his adult life. The Franklin D Roosevelt Home and Library contains hundreds of photos and artefacts, including the specially made car he drove after being struck with polio in 1921, and the letter from Einstein that led to the development of the atomic bomb. Two miles (3km) outside Hyde Park is the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site - a spectacular Beaux Arts mansion.
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The Statue of Liberty
The universal symbol of freedom and democracy, the Statue of Liberty was the first sight to be seen by the 12 million immigrants who passed through the Ellis Island Immigration Centre. Sculpted by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi and modelled on the Colossus of Rhodes, the statue was donated by the people of France in 1886 to commemorate the alliance between the two countries during the American Revolution. Access to the monument is available by reservation only via a ranger-guided tour and a time pass is required; advanced reservations are possible by calling (866) 782 8834 or online at www.statuecruises.com The interior of the statue itself is closed. The ferry calls at both Liberty and Ellis Islands.
Telephone: (212) 363 3200; 866-782-8834 (ferry information)
Website: www.nps.gov/stli
Transport: Circle Line Statue of Liberty Ferry from South Ferry at Battery Park to Liberty and Ellis islands. Ferries operate from 9.30am to 3.40pm, with departures approximately every 30 minutes
Opening times: Daily 9am to 5pm (except Christmas Day)

World Trade Center - Ground Zero
The six-hectare (16-acre) work site that has emerged from the rubble of the twin towers has come to symbolise the dreadful events of September 11, 2001 when almost 3,000 people lost their lives. The 1,350ft (411m) World Trade Centre towers were the tallest buildings in New York and symbols of the city's skyline. Millions now come to pay tribute at the site and witness the devastation from one of the viewing sites. In April 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation launched a worldwide competition to design a memorial at the World Trade Center site to honour the victims of September 11. The LMDC received 5,201 memorial design submissions from 63 nations and 49 states making this the largest design competition in history. In January 2004 'Reflecting Absence' by Michael Arad and Peter Walker was unveiled as the design for the World Trade Center Memorial, and will feature a landscaped civic plaza with two massive voids aligned with the footprints where the twin towers once stood (www.buildthememorial.org). Currently the perimeter of Ground Zero is accessible to the public. The Tribute Center, across from Ground Zero, offers tours around the perimeter, and provides visitors with an accurate account of what the community endured during the attacks. The Memorial itself is scheduled to open 11 September 2009.
Telephone: (212) 393 9160
Website: www.tributenyc.org
Transport: Take the subway to Fulton Street, Broadway-Nassau Street or Cortlandt Street. Walk to Church and Liberty Streets and follow signs
Opening times: Museum: Daily 10am to 6pm, except Tuesday and Sunday when it opens at 12pm. Tours of the perimeter: Monday to Friday 1pm and 3pm, Saturday and Sunday 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm

. Empire State Building
One of the enduring symbols of New York, and once again the city's tallest structure, the Empire State Building stands 436ft (145m) high. Completed in 1931, this Art Deco behemoth remains one of the most impressive engineering feats of all time; it was built in just 410 days and remains the fastest rising major skyscraper ever built. The building has been immortalised in many films - most famously the classic King Kong. The observation decks on the 86th and 102nd floors offer magnificent views of the city.
Telephone: (212) 736 3100
Website: www.esbnyc.com
Transport: Subway B, D or F to 34th Street
Opening times: Observatory: daily 8am to 2am; last elevator at 1.15am

Central Park
With great foresight, the founders of New York set aside 340 hectares (840 acres) of central Manhattan as a public space. Central Park was officially opened in 1873 and today provides an essential 'green lung' within the concrete jungle that is New York. Originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the park contains themed gardens, tennis courts, lakes and even a small zoo. Much of the park is infused by the city's bustle and on nice days swarms with joggers, skaters, buskers and tourists, but there are areas beyond the range of baseballs and frisbees where tranquillity can be found in this beautifully landscaped park. During winter, two ice-skating rinks open up in Central Park, the Wollman Rink (mid-Park at 62nd St) is one of the most picturesque in the world, set among the trees and rolling hills and against the backdrop of Manhattan's skyscrapers.
Telephone: (212) 310 6600
Website: www.centralparknyc.org
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Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), founded in 1929, owns the most important collection of modern art in the USA including works by Monet, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Max Beckman, Ansel Adams, and Kiki Smith. What started as a gift of eight prints and one drawing has developed to a vast and varied collection of 150,000 paintings, prints, sculptures, photographs and other media, and the Musuem's Library and Archives boast an impressive collection of books, historical documents and photographs. Priding itself as an educational institution, the Museum of Modern Art offers various activities and programs for the general public, as well as special segments thereof, in order to broaden the community's knowledge of, and approach to, the exciting and puzzling world of modern art.
Telephone: (212) 708 9400
Website: www.moma.org
Transport: Subway: E or V train to 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue, or B, D, or F train to 47–50 Street Rockefeller Center. Bus: M1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 to 53rd Street
Opening times: Daily 10.30am to 5.30pm (until 8pm on Friday); closed Tuesdays

. The Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R Guggenheim Museum was designed by US architect Frank Lloyd Wright and was completed shortly after his death in 1959. It is well worth a visit just to see this icon of Modernist architecture, which was designed specifically to showcase the modern art within. Inside, it features a highly commended collection of late 19th- and 20th-century art works, as well as touring exhibitions. From beneath the huge glass dome, a quarter-of-a-mile-long ramp spirals down the inside of the building, past the collection of art, including works by Camille Pissarro, Vasily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cézanne, Robert Mapplethorpe and Robert Gober.
Telephone: (212) 423 3500
Website: www.guggenheim.org
Transport: Subway 4, 5 or 6 to 86th Street; bus M1, M2, M3, or M4 on Madison or Fifth Avenue
Opening times: Saturday to Wednesday 10am to 5.45pm; Friday 10am to 7.45; closed Thursdays and Christmas Day

Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum possesses one of the greatest, and largest, collections of art in the world; it is a cherished New York institution and a must see for any visitor. Banners above the Met's Fifth Avenue entrance herald the current attractions - there are always a few exhibitions on-the-go displaying masterpieces from around the world alongside the Metropolitan's own collection. The highlights of the permanent collection are numerous - American collectors having had the foresight, and cash, to buy up a large number of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces from Europeans at the end of the 19th century.

The Metropolitan Museum's collection now contains more than two million works of art from all points of the compass, from ancient through modern times, including great works by Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet and Cézanne to rival any gallery in the world.
Telephone: (212) 535 7710
Website: www.metmuseum.org
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Opening times: Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday 9.30am to 5.30pm, Friday and Saturday 9.30am to 9pm. Closed Mondays, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas

. American Museum of Natural History
Possibly with the exception of its counterpart in London, the American Museum of Natural History is the largest and most important museum of its kind in the world. More than 30 million artefacts are packed into 42 exhibition halls - quite enough to keep anyone busy over a rainy afternoon. The most popular exhibit is a 50ft (15m) tall skeleton of a barosaurus in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda. There are three more spectacular dinosaur halls on the fourth floor. Other halls include the Hall of Biodiversity, the Hall of Ocean Life, the Hall of Human Biology and Evolution and the fabulous Hayden Planetarium - a 90ft (27m) wide aluminium sphere that seems to float inside a massive glass cube, which in turn is home to the Rose Center for Earth and Space. Those tired of walking can check out the Museum of Television and Radio.
Telephone: (212) 769 5100; 769 5200 (tickets and programs)
Website: www.amnh.org
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Opening times: Daily 10am to 5.45pm, except Christmas Day and Thanksgiving

The Catskills
It is no surprise that the beautiful Catskills Mountains area, north west of New York City, has long been a popular vacation spot and the choice of many a wealthy New Yorker for their summer home. The region is dotted with picturesque towns, reservoirs, forests and parks, historic buildings and plenty of resorts, and there is much to see and do. Nicknamed the Borscht Belt, from the 1940s to the 1960s, The Catskills was highly popular with Jewish New Yorkers in particular, and some of the finest Jewish comedians sprung from the area, including Woody Allen, Mel Brooks and Joan Rivers. The region is also famous for hosting one of the world's best-known entertainment events, the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Over 500,000 free spirits gathered on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel to see some of the finest musicians of the era and today, the site is open to the public, as is a museum that houses archives and interesting information from the event. The Catskills also boasts plenty of exciting activities, including hunting, fly-fishing, canoeing, hiking and camping. The region is also home to several ski resorts, including Belleayre Mountain Ski Center and Hunter Mountain.
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Finger Lakes
The 11 narrow lakes that stretch north to south below Lake Ontario are known as the Finger Lakes.

The lakes are popular for boating and fishing, and the rolling hills in-between are interspersed with waterfalls, gorges and parks and are ideal for hiking, cycling and cross-country skiing. The Native Americans believed the Finger Lakes were formed when one of their Gods reached out to bless their region and left behind an imprint of his hand; but it is more likely that they were formed by glaciers during the Ice Age. The Finger Lakes are one of the most important wine growing regions in the United States. Most of the vineyards are located on the rolling hills of the Cayuga Wine Trail, overlooking the Cayuga Lake, and many offer tours and tastings. For more information see: www.cayugawinetrail.com
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. Buffalo
Dubbed 'the biggest small town in America', New York's second largest city, Buffalo, is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Erie, and is a good base for visiting the Niagara Falls and for exploring the Finger Lakes region. The town was established by the French in 1758 (it is believed that the name derives from beau fleuve - beautiful river), and became an important port for trade with the eastern US. The town has some noteworthy Victorian architecture and some good museums. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery contains an impressive collection of works by American artists and hosts many great touring exhibitions. Details at: www.albrightknox.org Buffalo Zoo is home to elephants, gorillas and Siberian tigers. The nearby Letchworth State Park is popular with hikers and offers wonderful views over the Genesee River Gorge, promoted as the 'Grand Canyon of the East'.
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Broadway
Going to the theatre is one of the most popular tourist events in New York and the shows on Broadway are world famous, boasting some of the best in the world from blockbuster musicals to intense personal drama. There are ongoing shows that have been running for years, such as The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago and A Chorus Line. This is one way to experience part of the American dream, even if only on vacation.
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Website: www.broadway.com
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Times Square
Though it's just an intersection at the corner of Broadway and 42nd Street, Times Square has achieved iconic status, representing, in a single frame, the hive of activity that is New York City. Flashing advertisements and huge billboards produce a headache-inducing but memorable sight. Times Square has been used in countless films, television and literature. It is the base for ABC's Good Morning America programs and MTV's popular Total Request Live. Annually hundreds of thousands gather on New Year's Eve in the square to revel and see the infamous ball-dropping ceremony.
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Opening times: 24 Hrs

Rockefeller Centre
Named for the man who developed the space, the world's first dollar billionaire, John D Rockefeller, this 22 acre (8ha) land houses a plethora of iconic New York City attractions. Radio City Music Hall used to be the most popular tourist venue in the city and still ranks highly among visitors. Radio City has hosted multiple awards shows such as the Grammies, Emmies and MTV Music Awards. It is also a concert venue frequented by today's popular performers. The GE Building, the address for which the popular TV series 30 Rock is named, is the home to Saturday Night Live and the site from which the eerie 'Lunchtime atop a skyscraper' photograph was taken. At the base of the GE building is the Rockefeller Ice Rink with the golden statue of Prometheus at its head. Underneath Rockefeller Plaza is the Concourse, an underground pedestrian mall boasting designer brands and food outlets.
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Opening times: 8am – 9pm

. Brooklyn Bridge
The sheer scope of New York City is hard to understand until your traversed the Brooklyn Bridge, inaugurated in 1883, which crosses 5,989 feet (1,825 m) of the East River and connects two of New York's biggest metropoles, Manhattan and Brooklyn. At the time the construction of the bridge was a feat of engineering ingenuity, the longest suspension bridge at the time. Today it is a treasured landmark of the city, colourfully illuminated at night to highlight the architectural towers and hangings. There is a pedestrian walkway from which visitors can savour vistas of both Manhattan and Brooklyn.
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Opening times: 24 Hrs

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