Holidays in the Big Apple

"New York, New York, It's a hell of a town" or so thethe more popular shows sell out fast, so if you can
song says. New York is one of the most populartime your trip right you may be able to book form
locations for holidays in America. This is mainly due tohome prior to your holiday to ensure you get to see
the sheer variety of activities and things to see and dothe show of your choice.
when there. With over 1 million visitors between 1998It isn't uncommon for musical artists to perform shows
and 2006 coming from the UK alone that's only a smallin one of the city's many parks or even Times Square
fraction of the total visitors to New York, being 43.8itself, Ringo Starr and Shania Twain are two names
Million just in case you're wondering.that have performed for breakfast television shows
New York has long been revered as the Greatestthat New Yorkers have been able to catch on their
City in America: towering skyscrapers, the best shops,way to work.
theatres and museums are all big drawing factors forNew York is also home to the greatest stage in the
New York. With recent changes in the currencyworld, Madison Square Garden. The Garden is
conversion market it has made places like New Yorkrenowned as one of the grandest arenas in the world
very popular for shopping and getting more value forwith many concerts by the likes of Justin Timberlake,
your money.U2 and The Rolling Stones taking place there.
This past Christmas had seen the largest number ofThe Garden is also home to a number of local sports
UK shoppers taking short breaks in New York toteams, such as the New York Knicks Basketball team
make the most of the favourable strength of theand New York Rangers Ice Hockey team. If you can
pound. With flagship stores for many brands like Virgincatch a game during your visit it is an experience you
and Apple being situated on Manhatten Island it is awon't forget, as well as events shown in the evening.
shopaholic's paradise.During the day you can go on guided tours of the
There's more to New York though, in the centre ofhistoric arena, with tours running hourly you won't have
Manhatten is the world famous Central Park, a hugeto wait long and get to see everything from the locker
843 acre oasis in the middle of a bustling city. Theroom to the VIP suites.
park, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, tookThere are plenty of iconic tourist spots such as the
inspiration from Birkenhead Park of all places. The parkEmpire State building, Liberty Island and Coney Island
is an amazing sight to behold, during the week businessthat offer great views and fun at the fair respectively.
men can be seen reading a book on their lunch breakThe subway system makes traversing this enormous
and at the weekends many New Yorkers can becity effortless, and with cheap multi-day passes it is
seen jogging or cycling through the park, it is so vastmuch better than walking, especially in the summer
that if you are only a hundred metres into the parkmonths when the humidity and heat is trapped
you'd be forgiven for forgetting you're in one of thebetween the buildings and can get pretty tiring.
busiest cities in the world!Of course many tourists feel obliged to pay their
Another attraction for holidays in New York is therespects at the site of the World Trade Centre; this is
entertainment, it is after all the home of Broadway, anda sobering experience with many tributes still remaining
the theatre district is home to the impressive Timeson the fences surrounding the construction work to this
Square. Times Square is one of the iconic scenes inday. It is also worth visiting the memorial in Battery
New York that many people have seen in Movies, TVPark at the southern tip of the island where the Steel
shows and possibly the New Year celebrations.Globe statue that used to reside between the two
Tickets for most Broadway shows can be bought attowers that were destroyed now sits, battered, with a
the "TKTS" tickets booth slap bang in the middle oftorch burning for the victims.
Times Square, some advice on booking is that a lot of