Things to Do in New York

Created by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, this was the first landscaped public park in America.

Nearly 850-acres, Central Park is comprised of open fields, lakes, wooded areas and paths. The park is home to Central Park Zoo and Wildlife Center, the Children's Zoo, a fort, Wollman (ice skating) Rink, tennis center, the Central Park Reservoir with a 1.58 mile running track, playgrounds, ball fields, monuments and sculptures, the Henry Luce Nature Observatory housed in...

Created by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, this was the first landscaped public park in America.

Nearly 850-acres, Central Park is comprised of open fields, lakes, wooded areas and paths. The park is home to Central Park Zoo and Wildlife Center, the Children's Zoo, a fort, Wollman (ice skating) Rink, tennis center, the Central Park Reservoir with a 1.58 mile running track, playgrounds, ball fields, monuments and sculptures, the Henry Luce Nature Observatory housed in Belvedere Castle, the Loeb Boathouse with restaurant and bicycle and rowboat rentals, a carousel, the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center with environmental education, the often photographed Bow Bridge and The Mall lined with benches, and the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater.

The Jewish Museum was established on January 20, 1904, when Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated 26 ceremonial art objects to the Jewish Theological Seminary of America as the core for a museum collection.

Today, The Jewish Museum maintains an important collection of 26,000 objects - paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological artifacts, ceremonial objects and broadcast media. Widely admired for its exhibitions and programs developed for people of all backgrounds, The...

The Jewish Museum was established on January 20, 1904, when Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated 26 ceremonial art objects to the Jewish Theological Seminary of America as the core for a museum collection.

Today, The Jewish Museum maintains an important collection of 26,000 objects - paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological artifacts, ceremonial objects and broadcast media. Widely admired for its exhibitions and programs developed for people of all backgrounds, The Jewish Museum is the preeminent institution exploring the intersection of 4,000 years of art and Jewish culture.

Anchoring the southern end of Empire State Plaza in downtown is the state's largest and oldest state museum. With three and a half acres of exhibits on various aspects of the state from the Adirondack wilderness to Harlem to birds.

Two exhibits are tied to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Memorabilia include a destroyed fire engine, 10-ton steel columns from the World Trade Center, pieces of the hijacked airplanes, a piece of the fence erected around Ground...

Anchoring the southern end of Empire State Plaza in downtown is the state's largest and oldest state museum. With three and a half acres of exhibits on various aspects of the state from the Adirondack wilderness to Harlem to birds.

Two exhibits are tied to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Memorabilia include a destroyed fire engine, 10-ton steel columns from the World Trade Center, pieces of the hijacked airplanes, a piece of the fence erected around Ground Zero, and expressions of sympathy and poetry.

A full-size carousel, once located in a New York State amusement park, is the centerpiece of a fourth-floor exhibit on popular entertainment. The carousel's 40 horses, two deer and two donkeys have accommodated more than 300,000 riders.

Discovery Place is a fun place designed for children. The museum also has a shop, a cafe and a bookstore.

Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, through exhibitions and education programs.

The foundation owns and operates the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue in New York and the three others in Europe.

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright,...

Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, through exhibitions and education programs.

The foundation owns and operates the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue in New York and the three others in Europe.

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the building has been labeled a landmark. While the museum's initial focus was to house its Museum of Non-Objective Paintings (abstract paintings), the name was later changed to reflect the additional acquisitions from the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The new name honored the industrialist Solomon R. Guggenheim, whose works served as the foundation for the museum.

A contemporary art center, the Guggenheim Museum SoHo is housed on lower Broadway.

This is an exceptional museum showcasing artifacts from throughout the world on topics including ocean life, forests in North America, primates, reptiles and amphibians, human origins, meteorites and mineral and gems.

The Rose Center for Earth and Space houses the Hayden Planetarium. Exhibits showcase the stars, galaxies and planets including earth.

The...

This is an exceptional museum showcasing artifacts from throughout the world on topics including ocean life, forests in North America, primates, reptiles and amphibians, human origins, meteorites and mineral and gems.

The Rose Center for Earth and Space houses the Hayden Planetarium. Exhibits showcase the stars, galaxies and planets including earth.

The building is an architectural landmark. Of special interest are a number of halls:
• Arranged in evolutionary order, the Fossil Halls, complete with dinosaurs - 85 percent of the 600 fossils are real versus casts - has the world's largest collection of vertebrate fossils.
• The Culture Hall features the peoples of Asia, Africa, North and South America and the Pacific, with emphasis on the Northwest Coast, Eastern Woodlands and Plains Indians.
• In the Mammals Hall, visitors are invited to learn about mammals past and present in Asian, North America and Africa.
• The Bird Hall highlights local, regional and world avian.
• The Hall of Biodiversity seeks to increase awareness of the cycle of life and importance of preserving the environment.
• The Theodore Roosevelt Hall memorializes New York's native son who went on to become the president of the United States.

The Gothic-style Brooklyn Bridge spans the East River, connecting lower Manhattan with Brooklyn. Designed by John Roebling and built over a 13-year period beginning in 1870, it was the world's first steel suspension bridge and at the time it was completed was the largest suspension bridge. When Roebling died unexpectedly, his son took over the project. After his illness, the younger Roebling's wife oversaw the project's day-to-day construction.

On the Manhattan side,...

The Gothic-style Brooklyn Bridge spans the East River, connecting lower Manhattan with Brooklyn. Designed by John Roebling and built over a 13-year period beginning in 1870, it was the world's first steel suspension bridge and at the time it was completed was the largest suspension bridge. When Roebling died unexpectedly, his son took over the project. After his illness, the younger Roebling's wife oversaw the project's day-to-day construction.

On the Manhattan side, visitors can view of the majestic bridge from the top of Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport, southwest of the bridge. From Brooklyn, Pier 1 at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park landing provides a beautiful sunset view of the bridge and downtown Manhattan.

The state of New York is known as the Empire State. Between 1930 and 1931 (during the Great Depression), the art deco-style Empire State Building was constructed. It was the tallest building in New York City and held that honor for many years. Since 2001, at 1,453 feet, 8-9/16 inches or 443.2 meters to the tip of its lightning rod, it is currently the tallest building in the city.

There are two observation floors, the 86th and the 102nd floors. The 86th floor, at 1,050 feet or 320 meters,...

The state of New York is known as the Empire State. Between 1930 and 1931 (during the Great Depression), the art deco-style Empire State Building was constructed. It was the tallest building in New York City and held that honor for many years. Since 2001, at 1,453 feet, 8-9/16 inches or 443.2 meters to the tip of its lightning rod, it is currently the tallest building in the city.

There are two observation floors, the 86th and the 102nd floors. The 86th floor, at 1,050 feet or 320 meters, has a temperature controlled glass enclosure plus an outdoor promenade that provides a 360-degree view of the city. Inclement weather (ice, lightning) may force the closing of the outside area.

Visitors take an elevator, limited to 16 passengers, to the 80th floor where they then transfer to second elevator to the 86th floor. **The 102nd floor closed for renovations on September 29, 2008**

Security: security checkpoint, similar to airports. No beverages or tripods.

** American Wing Galleries Renovation, Phase II: The Charles Engelhard Court and Second- and Third-Floor Period Rooms to open spring 2009. A major reordering and upgrading of the American Wing galleries and period rooms has begun, and the final phase is scheduled for completion in 2010. The Wing will remain open, in part, throughout the three-phase project. In Phase II, The Charles Engelhard Court is being transformed to better showcase the sculptures, windows and other works on view, and to facilitate public access. Renovations to the balcony include new glass barrier walls and a rethinking of the...

** American Wing Galleries Renovation, Phase II: The Charles Engelhard Court and Second- and Third-Floor Period Rooms to open spring 2009. A major reordering and upgrading of the American Wing galleries and period rooms has begun, and the final phase is scheduled for completion in 2010. The Wing will remain open, in part, throughout the three-phase project. In Phase II, The Charles Engelhard Court is being transformed to better showcase the sculptures, windows and other works on view, and to facilitate public access. Renovations to the balcony include new glass barrier walls and a rethinking of the ceramics, glass, silver and pewter installations. Many of the 17th- and 18th-century period rooms are being moved or replaced as the wing's architectural holdings are upgraded. The Engelhard Court and the 17th- and 18th-century period rooms are closed for construction through spring 2009, as is the corridor connecting The Engelhard Court and The Temple of Dendur.**

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "The Met," is one of the world's largest and finest art museums. Its collections include more than two million works of art spanning 5,000 years of world culture, from prehistory to the present and from every part of the globe.

The museum's holdings represent a series of collections, each of which ranks in its category among the finest in the world. The American Wing, for example, houses the world's most comprehensive collection of American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts. Among the 24 period rooms visitors can discover an unparalleled view of American history and domestic life. The museum's approx. 2,500 European paintings form one of the greatest such collections in the world - Rembrandts and Vermeers alone are among the choicest, not to mention the collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist canvases.

Virtually all of the 36,000 objects constituting the greatest collection of Egyptian art outside Cairo are on display, while the Islamic art collection is one of the finest on earth. Other major collections include arms and armor, Asian art, costumes, European sculpture and decorative arts, medieval and Renaissance art, musical instruments, drawings, prints, antiquities from around the ancient world, photography and modern art.

The Metropolitan Museum presents more than 30 exhibitions each year, representing a wide range of artists, eras and cultures.