Tour of New York

Times Square is regarded as the centre of Manhattan, the main tourist district of New York City. Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed after the Times Building (now One Times Square) in April 1904. Times Square, nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World," has has become a symbol of New York City, principally defined by its animated digital advertisements.

Times Square is the site of the annual New Year's Eve ball drop.

This is where you catch the Hop On Hop Off tour buses. The most famous restaurant in New York can be found here too,
www.planethollywoodintl.com/locations_newyork.

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The Statue of Liberty is New York's top attraction, with the ferry ride to Liberty Island included in many of the open top bus tours. Regular ferries leave from the southern tip of Manhattan, an area now designed for tourism with many shops, bars and diners.

The statue was given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship between the two countries established during the American Revolution. Standing on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, it welcomes visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans traveling by ship.

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Ellis Island is visited by the ferries that visit the Statue of Liberty.

This was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States, the nation's busiest immigration station from 1892 to 1954. Prior to that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson, and later, a naval magazine. Since 1990, restored buildings on the island host a museum of immigration run by the National Park Service as part of Statue of Liberty National Monument.

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The Empire State Building is one of the top tourist attractions in the centre of Manhattan. You can take a tour to the large observation lounge on the 86th floor, or to the smaller observation longe on the 102nd floor.

This 102-story landmark Art Deco skyscrapers name is derived from the nickname for the state of New York, The Empire State. It stood as the world's tallest building for more than forty years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in New York City and New York State.

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Top of the Rock is an alternative to the Empire State Building, which can get extremely busy, with lengthy waiting times.

The GE Building is an Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. At 850 feet (259 m) tall, the 70-story building is the 9th tallest building in New York City. The building is sometimes referred to as 30 Rock, a reference to its address at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and popularized by NBC's sitcom 30 Rock.

There is a glass bottom lift that takes you to the observation lounges on the 67th, 69th and 70th floors. Here you will find some of the best views of Central Park, Empire State Building and much of Manhattan.

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The World Trade Center site is another major attraction , a complex in Lower Manhattan whose seven buildings were destroyed in 2001 by the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The site is currently being rebuilt with six new skyscrapers and a memorial to the casualties of the attacks.

The Twin Towers were 1,727 ft high to the spire compared to the Empire State Building being 1,454 ft to its spire.

Next to the site of the Twin Towers is St. Paul's Chapel, at 209 Broadway, the oldest surviving church building in the city. Amazingly, the church survived the collapse of the Twin Towers without even a broken window.

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Saint Patrick's Cathedral is a large cathedral in the center of Manhattan, although it is dwarfed by the many skyscrapers around it.

This is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Catholic cathedral church. It is the seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and a parish church, located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York. It faces Rockefeller Center.

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The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine is a massive building situated to the northwest of Central Park. The cathedral is not visited that often due to its location away from most of the tourist attractions in downtown Manhattan..

This is the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, claimed to be the largest Cathedral and Anglican church, and fourth largest Christian church in the world. The inside covers more than half a city block, with 121,000 sq ft, spanning a length of 601 ft and height of 232 ft. The inside height of the nave is 124 feet.

The cathedral has never been completely finished. Also, a massive fire destroyed the north transept December 18th 2001. Work to restore the Cathedral has been ongoing. It is unlikely the cathedral will ever be completely finished to its intended design, with the two towers 300 feet high.

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The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is located on the West side of Manhattan on Pier 86, 12th Ave. & 46th Street. This area sees some of the largest cruise ships docking. It was also the area where the great Trans Atlantic Liners docked.

The Museum features two historic American naval vessels for visitors to explore. The Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Intrepid was commissioned in 1943, participating in World War II, the space race, the Cold War and Vietnam War. The submarine USS Growler is the only intact strategic diesel-powered submarine that fired nuclear missiles open to the public anywhere in the world. There are also a range of high profile aircraft to view such as Concorde and Blackbird.

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Central Park occupies about 1.2 square miles in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. The park is larger and not as flat as it looks from outside, as you will find when walking through.

It attracts approximately twenty-five million visitors each year. Central Park was opened in 1859, completed in 1873 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.

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The American Museum of Natural History is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world.

The collections contain over 32 million specimens, of which only a small fraction can be displayed at any given time. The Museum has a scientific staff of more than 200, and sponsors over 100 special field expeditions each year.

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The Niagara Falls are a popular day trip from New York by plane, situated about 412 miles northwest of New York.

They are waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The falls are 17 miles north-northwest of Buffalo / USA, 75 miles south-southeast of Toronto / Canada.

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Bus Tours . Google Map . Tour of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is a popular day trip from New York, 91 miles southwest.

Ben Franklin took a large role in Philadelphia's early rise to prominence. It was in this city that many of the ideas, and subsequent actions, gave birth to the American Revolution and American Independence, making Philadelphia a centerpiece of early American history.

Philadelphia served as one of the nation's many capitals during the Revolutionary War and after.

Trains can be taken from New York - Penn Station including the Acela Express.

Washington, D.C. is another popular day trip, or two day trip, from New York, 228 miles southwest. This was a new city built to become the capitol of America under George Washington in 1800.

The main tourist attractions are mostly situated within, or beside, the 2 mile long National Mall, an open-area national park in the centre of Washington, D.C. that attracts about 24 million visitors each year.

Trains can be taken from New York - Penn Station including the Acela Express.

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Boston is a popular day trip from New York, 229 miles northeast.

Boston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the oldest cities in the United States.

The most popular tourist attraction in Boston is the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile trail, which takes in 16 of the city's principal historic monuments and sites. This starts from Boston Common with some of the sights forming part of Boston National Historical Park. The Freedom Trail is marked by a line of red bricks in the sidewalk and by footprints at street crossings.

Trains can be taken from New York - Penn Station including the Acela Express.