There is no place like New York.  Paris, London, Rio, each special, but not a “New York special!”  It is a “happening place.”  Nothing like it in all the world!

Here is the state song by Steve Karmen.

I Love New York
Written by Steve Karmen
Composed by Steve Karmen

I LOVE NEW YORK
(repeat 3 times)

There isn't another like it.
No matter where you go.
And nobody can compare it.
It's win and place and show.
New York is special.
New York is diff'rent' cause there's no place else
on earth quite like New York and that's why

I LOVE NEW YORK.

    Billy Joel's song, New York State of Mind also gives one insight int the city, the state.

Some folks like to get away,
Take a holiday from the neighborhood.
Hop a flight to Miami Beach or to Hollywood.
But I'm takin' a Greyhound on the Hudson River line.
I'm in a New York state of mind.

I've seen all the movie stars in their fancy cars and their limousines.
Been high in the Rockys under the evergreens.
I know what I'm needin', and I don't wanna waste more time.
I'm in a New York state of mind.

It was so easy livin' day by day
Out of touch with the rhythym and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, the Daily News.

What most people outside of New York envision as  New York City is in reality Manhattan, where most of the tourist activity is!  The city is divided into five sections (known as boroughs) – Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island. 

The smallest, but best known of the boroughs, is Manhattan.  Manhattan is surrounded by the Harlem River on the north, the Hudson River on the west, the East River to the east, and the massive Upper New York Bay to the south.   I found Manhattan to be one of the easiest places to travel in that I have ever visited!  Avenues run north-south and are numbered for the most part.    Fifth Avenue is the diving line between the East Side and the West Side of Manhattan.  The surprise is how small Manhattan really is – only 22  sq. miles total!  Only 2 ¼ miles wide at the widest point!  Only 13 ½ miles long!  All you imagine New York City to be compressed into this small area!

Some of the “don’t miss” places are:

Chinatown.  Cheap eats, herbs, knock-off clothing.  Visit during the busy time because the streets “close down” early at night.  It is a safe area to be such a large population. 

Greenwich Village.  This is the artist, gay, “open-minded” arena of Manhattan.  A lot of the 60’s – 70’s Beatnik movement came from here. 

Times Square.  New York’s tourism central where people come from all over the world.    The area has been cleaned up a lot through the years and is no longer the sleazy sex shop Times Square it once was.  This is a Broadway theater area.    Ninth Avenue is an excellent dining area. 

Rockefeller Center.  One glorious place to visit between 46th and 50th streets.  An architectural structure housing NBC studios, etc. 

Of course there is Madison Square Gardens, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Herald Square, and Penn Station as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  

No trip to the city would be complete without visits to:

American Museum of Natural History  Four blocks of natural science and exhibits. 

Brooklyn Bridge  Don’t fail to take the walk across the bridge and see the city skyline.  A walk across is one of the most reported, “beyond my expectations – great!”

Ellis Island  Immigration history at its best!  What more can I say? 

Empire State Building     One would never visit New York City without a visit here.

Grand Central Station  A hub of activity, and a “see for sure place to visit.”

Numerous Museums throughout the city.

Staten Island Ferry  This is a freebie for a view of the Statue of Liberity!

Statue of Liberty  There she stands!  It will bring tears of appreciation and floods of emotions as you see the “grand lady of freedom!”

The Wall Street business district is always a good visit. 

Ground Zero – World Trade Center  Where America and much of the world was changed forever. 

Central Park  People watching at the best – good as it gets!  The vastness of the park, uniqueness of it, the beauty of it, the park vendors foods – just don’t travel alone at night and in the day it is one of the lowest crime rate areas of the city.

Shopping, sports (especially baseball), food, jazz and other music, will keep you more than busy for your “New York moment.” 

New York City, always a “more bang for your bucks place to visit.”  Happy Traveling.