The City

To most people New York is New York City. Though the city is not the state, it is hard to imagine the beautiful green forests of the Adirondacks or anywhere Upstate while walking in mid-town Manhattan. In fact,for many Manhattan is New York City, and they forget the riches of the other Boroughs--the Bronx Zoo, the Brooklyn Museums, the marvelous views of lower Manhattan from across the Brooklyn Bridge, and the wonderful ferry ride from Manhattan to Staten Island (though now connected to Manhattan by the Verranzano Bridge, itself a marvel). The natives divide Manhattan into three parts, lower, midtown, and upper with a further division between the east side and west side. The center of the island is bisected by Central Park, one of the most substantial urban open spaces in the world. Central Park has criss-crossed by paths and trails; there are two roads going north and south and two going east-west, Manhattan is an island; its limits are the Hudson River on the west side and the East River.

To negotiate the city by car (not an especially good idea) there are numerous bridges and tunnels that connect all the Boroughs with Manhattan and New Jersey. The most famous of these are the Hudson Tunnel and the Gorge Washington Bridge. Midtown Manhattan is the place most visitors are drawn to if only because of the incredible online spiele concentration of museums, buildings, and parks. It is the home of the Museum of Modern Art (recently practically rebuilt and beautifully laid out), the Metropolitan Museum, the Frick, the Morgan Library and many others. Lincoln Center houses the Metropolitan Opera and City Opera. Carnegie Hall is renowned for its concerts: classical, jazz, pop and folk. Midtown is also the where the visitor can see the Citicorp Center, the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings , Grand Central Station, and the Met Life Center, not to mention Radio City Music Hall with the Rockettes and the theater district that emanates around Times Square.

Lower Manhattan, especially south of Houston, is a rabbit warren of small streets and small communities (Greenwich Village for example), small theaters and movie house and small nightclubs, but at the same time it is the business center of the world. The New York Stock Exchange and numerous companies associated with it are homed here. City Hall lies right at the west side of the Brooklyn Bridge. One of the most delightful walks in New York is to hike across the Brooklyn Bridge itself and to spend some time exploring Brooklyn Heights and the Atlantic Avenue area. Upper Manhattan has Columbia Universityand Barnard College, the Apollo Theater and Harlem, and General Grant's Tomb. Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island each have their own interesting sights and are easily accessed by the extensive subway system. There is no finding an end to the delights of New York City.