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New York City — Overview for Travellers

View of Manhattan from Brooklyn
View of Manhattan from Brooklyn

Nearly 40 million travelers visit New York City per year. Hundreds of hotels offer more than 70.000 rooms for visitors – the densest hotel concentration can be found in mid-town Manhattan where the Theater District is located.
New York City consists of 5 boroughs: Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island – but certainly – for most visitors Manhattan ‘is’ New York. New York City is usually just called: ‘The City‘. Broadway and mid-town New York is well known as the Musical metropolis of the world.

New York City affectionately known as ‘The Big Apple‘ is the largest city of the state of New York and in the United States, and by many measures, one of the most important cities in the world.
The city is probably the world’s most important financial center, and one of the most important cultural centers of the Western world.

The United Nations headquarters is in New York City, giving some credence to the city’s self-designation as “Capital of the World”.

New York is also the location of what was, according to many experts, the most devastating act of terrorism in modern history: the September 11, 2001 attack that utterly destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center and several surrounding buildings.

New York City is the business, entertainment and publisher metropolis of the United States. The nation’s biggest city is always busy, always in a hurry as it seems. The city’s motto says it all: “Always open”.

The pandemic COVID-19 brought NYC to an abrupt halt when it was at one time the hardest hit city with a devastating death toll. Even in 2022 the city is not the same what it was before the pandemic, tourists are back but not in the numbers as before.

Sightseeing & Attractions

Related Content: Manhattan, NYC — Sightseeing & Attractions

The Boroughs

The City of New York is composed of 5 boroughs, each a county of New York State:

New York City's 5 boroughs
New York City’s 5 boroughs

New York consists of 5 boroughs:

The Bronx
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Queens
Richmond (Staten Island)

New York City is amongst the most densely populated places in the United States. The population of the City of New York is more than eight million (with the population of the entire metropolitan area at around 20 million. The land area of the city is 831 square kilometers.

A resident of New York City is a New Yorker. Residents generally refer to New York City as “New York” or “the city”. Ambiguity is resolved by writing NYS for the state and NYC for the city.

In New York one finds more than 400 theaters, ca.150 well-known museums, almost 1000 art gelleries,, about 10.000 shops , far more than 20.000 restaurants, 2000 bars & nightclubs and around 12.500 taxis.

The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Trinity Church are only a few major historic attractions and landmarks this Mega-City has to offer. Approximately 35 million tourists from all over the world visit the city each year.

The Bronx — Overview

The Bronx usually has a bad reputation, but it’s not so much justified. With almost 2,428 hectares, this district has more green areas than any other district. The Bronx is the only district of New York City that is not located on an island.

There are a few things to visit on a trip here:
Probably the most famous baseball stadium in the world: Yankee Stadium. 161st St, Bronx It opened on April 18, 1923.

Bronx Park with the Bronx Zoo
185th Street & Southern Blvd., Bronx — The largest urban zoo in the United States.

New York Botanical Garden with the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
200th Street & Southern Blvd., Bronx

Yankee Stadium in the Bronx

On February 6, 1921, the Yankees issued a press release announcing the purchase of 4 hectares of land in the West Bronx. Purchase price: $675,000. In April 1923, Yankee Stadium was opened.

As one of the most prestigious addresses in the world, Yankee Stadium has also been home to a host of other sports and entertainment as well as cultural events. While the Yankees are on the road or out of season, the stadium opens for college and professional football, football, political events, religious events, (on October 4, 1965, Pope Paul VI held a mass here in front of 80,000, 14 years later it did the same as John Paul II) concerts and even the circus his gates. The stadium has space for 57,545 visitors.

Address:
Yankee Stadium 161 St., Bronx

Directions:
NYC buses BX 6 and BX 13 go to 161st Street/Yankee Stadium. With the subway #4, B and D from Midtown Manhattan you are in 25 min.

Queens — Overview

Queens is located east of Manhattan and is the largest district in terms of area.
To the south is JFK Airport, to the north La Guardia Airport. Queens, along with Brooklyn, forms the eastern part of Long Island.

Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Between Roosevelt Avenue, Van Wyck Expressway, Union Turnpike and 111 St. The best known is probably the U.S. Tennis Center.

This park hosted the New York World Exhibitions in 1939/40 and 1964/65. Furthermore, an ice skating rink and a huge steel globe, which can certainly be seen as the landmark of Queens.

Brooklyn — Overview

Brooklyn is located southeast of Manhattan. From Brooklyn you have a fantastic view of the Manhattan skyline, there are residential areas in this district that are (almost) as expensive as Manhattan and what can be interesting for a visitor, here you will experience typical New York city life away from Manhattan, where everything is different anyway. You can either get there by subway or on foot over the Brooklyn Bridge. In the south of Brooklyn is Coney Island Beach and Manhattan Beach, as the name suggests, beaches incl. amusement park. Is often and especially on beautiful weekends completely overcrowded. Under no circumstances should you expect comparable beaches as in Florida, for example; After all, New York is not a classic bathing state…

Prospect Park
Located in the middle of Brooklyn. Not to be missed. A small zoo, a lake with boat rental, a Quaker grave and recreated original forest of the region, as it used to be. By the way, the same was done in the Botanical Garden in the Bronx, only bigger.

Cheesecake fan?
New York is already well known for its fantastic cheesecake. In every store it tastes different – many different recipes exist. In 1950, Junior’s (386 Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn; Website). Junior’s has been a NY institution since then. 4,000 customers a day is already possible here. Go there when you’re around – it’s worth it!

Staten Island — Overview

Historic Richmond Town
A village restored to 400,000 square meters, which gives a chronological outline of the history of the last 3 centuries of this area. Open between Jul and Aug: Wed-Fri. 10am-5.00pm, Sat and Sun 1pm-5.00pm. The rest of the year Wed-Sun 13-17.00. Christmas and New Year, Thanksgiving and Easter closed. Admission: $5; Seniors and children/adolescents 5-17 years: reduced.

Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences
A short walk from the ferry/St. George. Address: 75 Stuyvesant Pl.
It shows art and science and the history of Staten Island back to the beginning of the 18th century.

NYC Marathon
The marathon starts on Staten Island just below the beginning of the bridge and so you run over this bridge first after the start. If you are a participant, then you should watch to get into the upper lane after the start so that you get the fantastic view of the skyline.

Manhattan — Overview

Manhattan is one of the five ‘boroughs that form the City of New York, coterminous with New York County. It consists mainly of a small island between the Hudson River to the west, the East River to the east, and the Harlem River to the northeast, connected by bridges and tunnels to New Jersey (west), the Bronx (northeast) and Brooklyn and Queens on Long Island (east and south). In addition to the island of Manhattan, the borough includes a few much smaller islands, notably Roosevelt Island, and a small piece of the mainland (Marble Hill), which is geographically part of the Bronx but legally belongs to Manhattan.

This area was originally part of Manhattan Island; a canal was dug in the late 19th century separating it from the remainder of Manhattan, to improve navigation on the Harlem River, and eventually the part of the original Harlem River channel separating Marble Hill from the Bronx was filled in.

The Empire State Building, the theater district around Broadway, Columbia University, the financial center around Wall Street, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Harlem, the American Museum of Natural History, Chinatown, and Central Park are all located on this densely populated island.

Manhattan is 21.5 km (13.4 mi) long and has an area of 59 km² (23 sq.mi.).

The name of the island is from the Algonquian languages of the earliest known inhabitants of the area. The island was settled by the Dutch in 1624 (see New Amsterdam).

Neighborhoods of Manhattan

As with all large cities, Manhattan consists of many distinct neighborhoods, each with its own character. The following is a partial list (in alphabetical order):

  • Battery Park City
  • Chelsea
  • Chinatown
  • East Village
  • Financial District
  • Fort George
  • Greenwich Village
  • Hell’s Kitchen
  • Harlem (includes East Harlem, Harlem, Spanish Harlem)
  • Inwood
  • Koreatown (Manhattan)
  • Little Italy
  • Lower East Side
  • Marble Hill
  • Midtown
  • Murray Hill
  • NoLIta
  • Roosevelt Island
  • SoHo
  • TriBeCa
  • Upper East Side and Upper West Side
  • Washington Heights

Weather

  Average TempsMax C (F)Min C (F)
Jan3,3 (38)-3,3 (26)
Feb4,4 (40)-2,2 (28)
Mar8,8 (47)1 (34)
Apr15 (59)6,1 (43)
May21,6 (71)11,7 (53)
Jun26,6 (80)17,2 (63)
Jul29 (84)19,4 (67)
Aug28,3 (83)20 (68)
Sep24,4 (76)16,6 (62)
Oct18,8 (66)10,5 (51)
Nov12,2 (54)5 (41)
Dec5,5 (42)-1 (30)

7-Day Forecast: 7-Day Forecast 40.71N 74.01W (weather.gov)

Best time to travel / Season
Year-round.
Best time is spring and fall. Summer can bring hot and humid temperatures; winter can be very cold with icy winds and even snowy. Christmas time means a lot of tourists from all over the world and prices rise.

Climate and Temperatures
Cold and icy winters are normal for New York. In particular it’s the cold wind which makes the conditions a little uncomfortable.
Summers can get very hot and the humidity makes walking in the city a little bit harder. Also, many tourists complain about bad smells during hot days.

Average temperatures:
January 
Low 26 degrees F, -3.33 degrees C
High 38 degrees F; 3.33 degrees C
July
Low 67 degrees F; 19.44 degrees C
High 84 degrees F; 28.89 degrees C
Average rainfall:
January 3.11 inches
July 3.67 inches

Average snowfall:
January 7 inches
July 0 inches

Data and Facts

Area
New York City: 300 sqm
Manhattan: 22.3 sqm

Population
City:
8.476.513 (estimate July 2021) — likely because people wanted to move out of the city after COVID
8.804.890 (U.S. Census 2020)
8.175.133 (U.S. Census 2010)
8.008.278 (U.S. Census 2000; every 10 years)

Public Transportation
Buses and Subway are the perfect way to move through New York quickly. New York has about 235 bus routes and 25 Subway routes with 468 stations. Your ticket, named “token” is valid for a one way ride and certain connections are allowed. Subway and bus timetables can be obtained at:
Grand Central Station
Pennsylvania
Columbus Circle
and the NYC Convention and Visitors Bureau

Airport
JFK Int’l Airport — JFK – John F. Kennedy International Airport (jfkairport.com)
Newark Int’l Airport — EWR – Newark Liberty International Airport (newarkairport.com)

Elevation
aprox. 52 feet

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