The most beguiling city in the
world,
New York is an
adrenaline-charged, history-laden
place that holds immense romantic
appeal for visitors. Wandering the
streets here, you'll cut between
buildings that are icons to the
modern age - and whether gazing at
the flickering lights of the midtown
skyscrapers as you speed across the
Queensboro bridge, experiencing the
4am half-life downtown, or just
wasting the morning on the Staten
Island ferry, you really would have
to be made of stone not to be moved
by it all. There's no place quite
like it.
While the events of September 11,
2001, which demolished the World
Trade Center, shook New York to its
core, the populace responded
resiliently under the composed aegis
of then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Until
the attacks, many New Yorkers loved
to hate Giuliani, partly because
they saw him as committed to making
their city too much like everyone
else's. To some extent he succeeded,
and during the late Nineties New
York seemed cleaner, safer, and more
liveable, as the city took on a
truly international allure and shook
off the more notorious aspects to
its reputation. However, the
maverick quality of New York and its
people still shines as brightly as
it ever did. Even in the aftermath
of the World Trade Center's
collapse, New York remains a unique
and fascinating city - and one
you'll want to return to again and
again.
You could spend weeks in New York
and still barely scratch the
surface, but there are some key
attractions - and some pleasures -
that you won't want to miss. There
are the different ethnic
neighborhoods , like lower
Manhattan's Chinatown and the
traditionally Jewish Lower East Side
(not so much anymore); and the more
artsy concentrations of SoHo,
TriBeCa, and the East and West
Villages. Of course, there is the
celebrated architecture of
corporate Manhattan, with the
skyscrapers in downtown and midtown
forming the most indelible images.
There are the museums , not
just the Metropolitan and MoMA, but
countless other smaller collections
that afford weeks of happy
wandering. In between sights, you
can eat just about anything,
at any time, cooked in any style;
you can drink in any kind of
company; and sit through any number
of obscure movies . The more
established arts - dance,
theater, music - are superbly
catered for; and New York's clubs
are as varied and exciting as you
might expect. And for the avid
consumer, the choice of shops
is vast, almost numbingly exhaustive
in this heartland of the great
capitalist dream.
