New York — Destination Guide: Overview

New York is a triangle bordered by New York City, Niagara Falls and two of the five Great Lakes (Ontario and Erie), containing two mountain ranges (Catskills and Adirondaks), three wine producing regions (Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes and Long Island), miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, the Thousand Islands, and more. The list is endless: horse racing and auto racing; art-filled museums and the estates of millionaires like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt to visit; Broadway shows and Yankee baseball throws; Coney Island and glacial caverns; West Point and water parks; five-star dining and stand-up meals from sidewalk pushcarts; skiing and snowboarding ...

New York is a triangle bordered by New York City, Niagara Falls and two of the five Great Lakes (Ontario and Erie), containing two mountain ranges (Catskills and Adirondaks), three wine producing regions (Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes and Long Island), miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, the Thousand Islands, and more. The list is endless: horse racing and auto racing; art-filled museums and the estates of millionaires like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt to visit; Broadway shows and Yankee baseball throws; Coney Island and glacial caverns; West Point and water parks; five-star dining and stand-up meals from sidewalk pushcarts; skiing and snowboarding in winter and hiking and camping in summer; cruises on the Erie Canal and Hudson River; tomorrow's entrepreneurs on Wall St. and yesterday's start of the women's equality movement in Seneca Falls; a Buddhist temple in Cairo and cathedrals on Fifth Avenue. George Washington slept here and made Newburgh his Revolutionary War headquarters; FDR was born here and built the first Presidential Library in Hyde Park. Simply, New York State is a vast and varied destination.

About the Expert

Evelyn Kanter is a contributor to Fodor's NYC and Fodor's Canada, editor of the Michelin Green Guide Switzerland, and author of Great Destinations: The Hudson Valley.