Central Park Walk in New York

By Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

In the 1850s, realizing the need for a large public green space for New Yorkers to get away from the chaos and noise of the city, the New York legislature set aside a vast swath of land in Upper Manhattan. Landscape designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux developed the winning design for the park, influenced by naturalistic landscapes which were popular in park design at the time. Any architectural features and roads were to be visually integrated into the surrounding landscape, to maintain the "rustic" feel of the park. The park was officially completed in 1873, with more than 500,000 cubic feet of topsoil brought in from New Jersey and millions of trees, shrubs, and other plants laying the foundation of the park.
Through the early 20th century the park fell into a decline due to a lack of maintenance, with dead trees, worn-out lawns, and much litter and vandalism. The park received a major boost in the 1930s, when these issues were finally addressed, but the park once again fell into a decline in the late 20th century, becoming increasingly run-down and crime-ridden through the 1960s and 70s. In 1980, the Central Park Conservancy was founded under contract from the city to restore and maintain the park. Today, the violent night crimes of previous decades are all but gone, and common sense is all you really need to stay safe in the park today.

Offline version of this walk for your iPhone you can get via PinMyWAY app.

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Things to do in New York. Brooklyn walking tour

By Eneas De Troya from Mexico City, México (Les vendo un puente  Uploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Brooklyn was once a separate city independent of the City of New York. The cities merged at the end of the nineteenth century, forever after lamented by Brooklynites as "The Great Mistake of 1898." Although Brooklyn is very diverse, what makes Brooklyn so different from the other boroughs are its distinct cultural neighborhoods.

 Offline version of this walk for your iPhone you can get via PinMyWAY app.

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New York walking tour: Monuments of Modernism and Other Buildings of Note

This self-guided architectural walk from MoMA to the UN highlights the optimism of New York at mid-century and the international spirit of the postwar years. The walk is a little less than 2 miles.

 
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Scarface locations. Part 3. New York

The final part of the Scarface movie's locations.


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New York City. Fifth Avenue Shopping

For over a century, fabled Fifth Avenue has been synonymous with wealth, privilege, and luxury. Some aspects have changed since the Great Gatsby days: The mansions and private clubs of the Vanderbilts and Carnegies have given way to massive flagship stores and busloads of visitors. But an address on Fifth Avenue is still highly prestigious and many famed traditions still endure, like the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, window shopping at Tiffany’s, and tea at the Plaza.

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7 Must Visit Sights in New York City

By: Macon Gravlee

The ‘city that never sleeps’ and the ‘big apple’ are two of the many names the New York City has been christened with but being an international center for politics, finance, music, communications, culture, and fashion, it is very easy to understand where the nicknames come from. The New York City boasts of numerous, top notch museums, sights, and venues, all which make the city a truly cosmopolitan and all accommodate city in the world. Thanks to an affluent history and culture, there is a lot to see for any holidaymaker wishing to make the New York City their holiday destination of choice.

1.Statue of Liberty
First comes the statue of liberty. Be advised that due to security concerns, you will be expected to reserve a visiting time well in advance before you land in the City. Either way, you can still enjoy a picturesque view of the Statue of Liberty by taking the ferry that goes into the Ellis Island. For only $10, the ferry always departs from the Battery Park after every 25 minutes and stops at the Liberty and Ellis Island, providing people with an outstanding view of the Statue of Liberty.

2.Central Park
The Central Park is a villainous destination in New York City and equally has some History behind it. Experience the picturesque greenery, attractive lakes, sprawling lawns, and a great Zoo. This destination is particularly popular among concert goers and outdoor enthusiasts. Ensure you visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as the Central Park Zoo.

3.Times Square
This is another impressive must visit attraction that represents the rich American History. Note however that the Times Square has been highly commercialized today and will always be thronging with tourists and visitors of all sorts. Located in close proximity to Broadway and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the Times Square has become quite seedy today and is now being referred to as the ‘old Times Square’. However, to have a feel of the Times Square without people milling around, you can always visit the ‘new’ Times Square, found a few blocks away from the ‘old one’. In the ‘new Times Square’ expect to find a family friendly, but equally commercialized place full of theaters, themed restaurants, and hotels.

4.Cathedral of St. John The Divine
This is the world’s largest Gothic Cathedral and apparently it has been a work in progress for the better part of a century. Expect to sample the most beautiful stained glass windows and Gothic Architecture never seen before even in the European churches the cathedral emulates.

5.Chrysler Building
This is an embodiment of Art Deco architecture and happens to be the most popular and beautiful building in the world. Ensure you visit the lobby for an outstanding panoramic view of the city, but unless you are on an official business trip, don’t expect to be allowed to go up the top.

6.Carnegie Hall
You love history? You will love it even more when you visit the Carnegie Hall, a hall that boasts of having housed the who is who in this century’s top performers and musicians. Inside the hall you get to sample pictures of part performers as well as all the famous people who have been there.

7. Empire State Building
The Empire State Building, which was once the tallest building in the US, is an outstanding landmark in New York City standing beautifully on the famous fifth avenue. The building exemplifies the urban, sleek, and cultured atmosphere in New York.


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New York. Sex and the City Locations

Fodor's picks the top 25 New York City locations for fans of the hit show "Sex and the City".

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Hoboken Walking Tour by The Hoboken Historical Museum

Known as the birthplace of Frank Sinatra and of baseball, Hoboken's character and charm have been preserved for over 150 years. The city is arranged in a tidy urban grid lined with cherished Victorian row houses, turn-of-the-century churches, quaint storefronts, and factories of faded brick.

As you take your walking tour of Hoboken, you will find yourself traveling back in time to a warm, human-scaled world that is still alive and well in the Mile Square City. Welcome to Hoboken!

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Frank Sinatra Tour by The Hoboken Historical Museum

It is Sinatra's fans who inspired this self-guided walking tour, with their frequent requests for information on Hoboken sites linked to the legendary entertainer. The information gathered invoke a teenaged Sinatra and his family and the long-vanished social clubs, pool halls, and bars of the 30's where Frank and his comtemporaries sang. We hope you'll gain a sense of what life was like here during the singer's early years – and what remains from that time.

Allow at least two hours walking time. You can start or end you tour at any point.

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Brooklyn Heights Promenade Walking Tour

By galttech.com

When it comes to New York City walks, few can match the view from Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Located on the western edge of Brooklyn, right across the East River from Manhattan, the Promenade offers impeccable views of downtown Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. Unfortunately, many tourists to Manhattan rarely venture off the "safe" island of Manhattan. The truth is that the regular people that you see all day working in Manhattan probably live in Brooklyn or the other boroughs at night. Venturing out into the boroughs can be an adventure. We get questions like: Is it safe to walk along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade? Is it safe to take the subway to Brooklyn? This is probably the safest neighborhood in Brooklyn (right next to City Hall) -- if you didn't know you had crossed the river and ventured into Brooklyn, you might think you were still in Manhattan somewhere. So absolutely, take a trip out to Brooklyn Heights and enjoy the walk - the best time is just before sunset when you can enjoy the view of the sunset behind downtown Manhattan for 20 minutes while you enjoy your walk. In this guide we will cover both an in-depth walking tour of Brooklyn Heights along with basic information on the Brooklyn Promenade.

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New York Chinatown Walking Tour

By galtemail

The history of this lower east side of New York is one of immigrants. Over the centuries, English settlers gave way first to German immigrants, then the Irish, then Italians and Jews, and most recently to the Chinese. Canal Street used to be the divider between Chinatown (to the south) and Little Italy (to the north), but Little Italy has shrunk to the point that it now is really just a few blocks along one main street (Mulberry), while Chinatown continually threatens to overspill any boundaries put up. This mix of people, history, and cultures defines the area today. A Chinatown didn't begin in New York City until the late 1860s and early 1870s, after the completion of the trancontinental railroad system in the US (many Chinese migrated to the US during the Gold Rush of 1848, then went to work on the railroads, with more than 100K more Chinese moving to the US in the 1870s). The orginal Chinatown formed around Mott Street, Doyer, and Pell Street, growing from a few hundred residents in 1870 to about 2,000 by 1882. The United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which largely halted Chinese immigration until it was repealed in 1943. This made it almost impossible for immigrant Chinese men to bring their wives and families to their new country, resulting in a 1900 New York Chinatown of 7000 men and only a few hundred Chinese women. Between language and cultural barriers, along with open racism, Chinatown really remained cutoff and isolated from the rest of the city. In the decades since, Chinese immigration to New York has exploded, resulting in New York's Chinatown having the 2nd largest Chinese population in the West (after San Francisco). Chinatown has expanded greatly, taking over much of Little Italy to the north and the Lower East Side. Our walk will cover the historic center of Chinatown.

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New York. The Lower Manhattan walk

For more than a century, downtown New York has been a site used almost exclusively for business, with residential housing moving always further and further north. But it wasn't always that way. For more than 200 years almost every citizen of New York lived and worked at this cramped end of the city. Today, though, when you go downtown you often find yourself walking in the shadowed canyons of skyscrapers, active and noisy during the day, but quiet and deserted at night as workers head for home. In the last decade there has been more and more residential development going on downtown, but for the most part, this is an area to be visited and explored during the day.

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New York. Greenwich Village Walk

By galttech.com

If you are planning a vacation to New York City, make sure you put Greenwich Village on your sightseeing map. When the streets north of Houston were established in 1811, Greenwich Village was not included. The result is a delightful neighborhood that breaks out of the strict gridlines that form most of New York's streets. Greenwich Village has always been home to artists, musicians, and writers, and part of its charm is the bohemian vibe the village exudes. So grab your walking shoes and let's start exploring Greenwich Village.

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