Travel Destination: New York
About New York
New York State’s capital is Albany. It is located 136 miles of New York City, largest city in the state and known as the gateway to immigration in the United States.
It’s hard to resist the charm of this state which is a mix of everything, from the very urban, cosmopolitan and chic New York City (NYC), to the laidback farms, forests, rivers, lakes and mountains all around.
The largest state park in the United States is here, the Adirondack Park which roughly equal to the size of Olympic National, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone Parks combined. The state is also home to the first established state park in the country, the Niagara Falls.
To distinguish New York State from New York City, the former is referred to as Upstate New York. The ten largest cities in New York are New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, Syracuse, Albany, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Schenectady and Utica.
NYC is most popular for tourists and is the centre of trade, commerce, arts and culture. Wall Street, Broadway, Manhattan, Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building are the most popular emblems of this city. Food here is a fusion of Asian, European, Middle Eastern, Indian and Greek, name it and you can find some place to satisfy your palate. There are street foods to try like hotdogs, pretzels, falafels and kebabs if you don’t feel lining up to exclusive restaurants in the city. With about 4,000 mobile food vendors licensed by the city, it’s safe to try and savour the flavours of NYC.
For sight-seeing, shopping and cultural enrichment, there are plenty to visit around the city like the Metropolitan Museum of the Art, Central Park, Washington Square Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, New York Botanical Garden, the Bronx Zoo, Ellis Island and the world famous Broadway theatre productions. If you are feeling luxurious and want to indulge in some high end retail therapy, the famous Fifth Avenue is haven for big-time spenders. If you need more, pay Madison Avenue a visit and shop till you drop.
Wonder what goes on in New York State’s second largest city? Buffalo is where the famous Buffalo wings (a must-try!) originated and is the home of Buffalo Bills (football). If there’s one thing to expect a lot from this city, it’s the food, which has varied influences including Italian, German, Jewish, Polish, African American and Irish to name a few. There are art galleries to visit too, notably the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Burchfield-Penney Art Center and Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center. Buffalo ranks fourth in AmericanStyle’s list of America’s top art destinations.
Despite being laidback, compared to NYC, Buffalo has an interesting nightlife especially between Main Street and South Elmwood Avenue where you will find the West Chippewa Street. There are bars and nightclubs to groove into or drink to your heart’s content.
There is an international airport, metro rail and intercity rail that can take tourists in and around Buffalo and it is also just a couple of hours away from Toronto, Canada by land.
New York is a fascinating state to travel into with all its first world amenities, multicultural attractions, nature trip opportunities and rest and relaxation destinations.