One of the first experiments in creating natural habitats for diverse animals in an urban setting, the Central Park Zoo is, expectedly, small-scale and very compact, but hosts a surprisingly good variety of animals from tropical, temperate, and polar parts of the world in well laid out exhibits. The main attractions are the sea lions, snow leopards, penguins, and bears, though some would rather pick the rainforest-inspired "Tropic Zone" as their favorite – it is a house filled with rare tropical birds, reptiles, and small mammals. One can spend more than a couple of hours here to enjoy every part.

The zoo is certainly the perfect size for children, as it has just the right number of attractions and exhibits to keep up their curiosity, including a separate petting zoo with animals such as goats, sheep or llamas (bring quarters buy food to feed them). There is also a 4D cinema experience – only 15mins long but worth a watch and pretty entertaining.

To get the most out of a visit, it's best to try to get to see all the scheduled 'highlight' events such as the feeding of penguins and sea lions, because the animals are a joy to watch working with their trainers.

Tip:
Online tickets are only available for the "Total Experience", which includes admission to the main zoo, the children's zoo, and the one entry to the 4D theatre. If that doesn't suit your needs, step right up to the ticket window to purchase a general admission ticket.

In the world's most famous park, there are several artificial lakes and ponds, but all small in size when compared to the magnificent billion-gallon Reservoir. The world's largest man-made lake back in the 1860s, it's visible from up high when flying over New York City, but you're better off seeing it from the ground while walking around – or, if you feel a bit more energetic, why not take a run?

A long-time favorite for sporty uptown residents, its raised 1.6-mile running track is a neat place to get 360-degree views of the skyline and, at night, the city lights twinkling in the distance.

Even when walks get long, they're certainly not strenuous due to the flat surface. Bikes aren't allowed on the path and foot traffic moves "one-way" counter-clockwise. The outside ring is better for runners, as it's much wider and less crowded.

The landscape north of the Reservoir, in the appropriately named North Woods, feels more like upstate New York than Manhattan. The 90-acre area contains the Loch, which is more like a walking path along a stream, and the Ravine, which conceals fairly dense wood along with five small waterfalls. It is a place where even seasoned New Yorkers can lose themselves.

In 1801, New York physician David Hosack bought 22 acres of open land from the city with an aim to establish the country's first botanical garden, the Elgin Botanic Garden. The latter had lasted only until 1811, for the lack of funds, following which the territory was taken over by Columbia University, in 1823.

In 1926, the property changed hands again when the Metropolitan Opera sought location for its new home; so the University leased the land to the theater's benefactor, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. After the stock market crashed, in 1929, the Met Opera move was canceled, and Rockefeller decided to build a mass media complex instead.

The ensued talks between Radio Corporation of America, National Broadcasting Company, and Radio-Keith-Orpheum Radio resulted in an agreement, in 1930, to build on the site an entertainment complex. Pursuant to this agreement, 228 buildings were demolished and 4,000 tenants relocated. Early on, the project was called "Radio City," "Rockefeller City," or "Metropolitan Square."

Presently, Rockefeller Center represents a compound of two complexes (comprising 14 Art Deco-style buildings), one solitary edifice on 51st Street (added in 1947), and four towers on the west side of Sixth Avenue. The venue covers all of Doctor Hosack's 22 acres, and, whilst there's no botanicals on the ground, it does have some rooftop gardens.

Radio City Music Hall occupies the western part of the Center. The Lower Plaza, at the heart of the complex, lends a sense of privacy, being sunken below street level. Architect Ieoh Ming Pei praised it as "the most successful open space in the United States, perhaps in the world." Most of the Plaza's outdoor area is taken up by an ice rink, installed in 1936.

In addition to the spectacular, unobstructed views of the NYC skyline opening from the top of the Rock’s three levels of indoor and outdoor observation decks, the Center offers a shopping experience like no other. The abundant choice of popular local brands, international names, and up-and-coming designers makes it one of the best shopping destinations in Midtown Manhattan. This is where you come to realize that shopping is as much about the place as it is about what you buy.

Broadway, known as the Wickquasgeck Trail in the New Amsterdam time, was snaked along the length of Manhattan Island. The trail became the main road through the island. Actual Broadway is a bit longer than the old trail it replaced. The street starts at Bowling Green in the southern tip of Manhattan and wends its way through the Bronx, and through Westchester County, all the way up to Sleepy Hollow. It is the oldest thoroughfare in the city.

When the Dutch took over Manhattan, they widened the trail to road size. They called it "Gentlemen's Way" or "Heeren Weigh" in Dutch. When the British arrived, they noticed how wide the main street was, and called it Broadway Street.

By 1907 a 30-block section of Broadway between Times Square and Sherman Square at 72nd Street was a part of Manhattan, referred to as "Automobile Row." The motorcar had arrived. Automobile dealerships, showrooms, parts stores, and garages, packed both sides of the street. In time Broadway became mostly a one-way traffic lane in Manhattan.

In the current century, Broadway has been made less accommodating to cars and more pedestrian friendly. Traffic lanes at strategic places have been turned into public plazas and mini-parks. Bicycle lanes have been established between 42nd Street and Union Square.

Since 2009, parts of Broadway in Times Square, Duffy Square, and Herald Square have been closed to automotive traffic. Broadway has been narrowed around Madison Square and Union Square, permitting pedestrian plazas to exist at the roadside.

Lower Broadway at Bowling Green and City Hall Park is the customary venue for the city's famous "ticker tape" parades, when large amounts of shredded paper are thrown from nearby office buildings into the parade route, creating a celebratory effect. It has been referred to as the "Canyon of Heroes." Paper showers still are dropped from skyscrapers lining the route, but ticker tape is long a thing of the past. Toilet rolls have been used, but the effect is not so grand.

"The Great White Way" is about the section of Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, home to the Theatre District. The district stretches between 42nd Street and 53rd Street, including Times Square. Shep Friedman, a reporter for the New York Morning Telegraph in 1901, was the first to use the phrase "Great White Way" about Broadway.

Everything and anything happens on Broadway. From Bowling Green to Sleepy Hollow, the stories, the neighborhoods, and the hits just keep on coming.

Once a native pathway running the length of the Island of Manhattan, Broadway, unlike other streets in NYC, was not laid out on a grid. Hence, it intersects with Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street, forming two triangular shapes, like a bow tie. Times Square is the name of the southern triangle, while the northern triangle is called Duffy Square, after Father Francis P. Duffy of the 69th Infantry Regiment of World War I.

The section of Broadway between 41st and 53rd Streets, clustered around Times Square, is also often referred to as the Great White Way. The nickname comes from the many lit-up billboards, posters, and marquees that promote plays and musicals in Theater District. This frenetic pedestrian area is the heart of the city's entertainment industry, and it draws annually up to 50 million visitors (or 330,000 souls per day), who come here by subway or simply walking, while looking for something extraordinary.

Times Square was known as Longacre Square until 1904, when Adolph S. Ochs, the owner and publisher of The New York Times, moved his headquarters into the newly erected Times Building, currently One Times Square. Within a decade, the New York Times outgrew its space and moved offices again, but not before starting a tradition of the annual New Year's Eve Ball Drop. The tradition began on December 31, 1907, and continues to date, attracting over a million visitors every year.

The square has many other attractions like ABC's Times Square Studios, The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (Seafood), and Planet Hollywood, to mention but a few. The illuminated signs in Times Square rival those of Las Vegas, and, according to their size, are called either "spectaculars" or "jumbotrons."

Among these are quite a few neon-lit signboards of retail establishments like Gap, Old Navy, Forever 21, Levi’s, Disney Store, the Hershey’s and M&M, that make up the Times Square shopping scene. This commercial hub in the center of Midtown Manhattan is also ideal for scooping up a souvenir to commemorate your stay in NYC.

The king of Art Deco skyscrapers, the 102-story Empire State Building soars to 1,454 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan. Once the tallest building in the world, it is now the seventh-tallest in New York, ninth in the USA, and 54th in the world. It is still the sixth-tallest freestanding edifice in the Americas.

The name "Empire State" is the nickname of the State of New York. The design of the building was created by the architectural firm Shrive, Lamb & Harmon. Construction started in 1930 and finished in 1931. The skyscraper stands on the site of the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, built in 1893. The builders of the Empire State determined it should be the highest in the world.

The Empire State sits in Midtown South on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 34th and 35th Streets. The 80th, 86th, and 102nd floors have observatories with a commanding 360-degree view of just about everything. The Empire State Building is a cultural icon. It has been featured in more than 250 television series and films since the film King Kong was broadcast in 1933.

The facade is made of Indiana limestone and granite. The decorations on the exterior are mainly geometric, without narrative. The metal doors of the main entrance are flanked by molded piers topped with streamlined eagles and a transom with the golden letters of its name.

The Empire State Building was designated a city landmark by the New York City landmarks Preservation Commission in 1980 and was added to the list of National Historic Landmarks in 1986.

For almost a year (11 months) prior to the completion of the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building enjoyed the status of the world's tallest skyscraper. It was erected at an enormous rate of four floors a week, but despite the haste, no incident or accident occurred during the construction.

Commissioned by the automobile magnate Walter P. Chrysler, the skyscraper was designed by architect William Van Alen in 1928, and was meant to house the headquarters of the Chrysler company – hence the ornamentation in the lower floors, featuring steel automobile parts. Regarded by many well-known contemporary architects as the most beautiful structure in New York City, the building features art deco style with gradually decreasing steel arches studded with triangular windows. At 319 meters high and with 77 floors topped by a 38-meter spire, this is the highest steel-supported brick structure in the world. Initially, there was a viewing gallery on the 71st floor which was then closed in 1945. The marble-clad lobby has a mural in the ceiling, showing an automobile assembly line.

The Chrysler Building remains New York's best-loved skyscraper and was ranked 9th in the survey of the Favorite Architectural Memories in the US, ahead of many well-known landmarks, like the now destroyed World Trade Center. In 1976, the Chrysler Building was declared a National Historic Landmark.

Why You Should Visit:
Art-deco icon that looks good from any vantage point, but well worth a detour to take a closer look.

Tip:
If time is in shortage, just walk into the lobby to see the beautiful walls and floor. The ceiling is a unique work of art.

In modern times, few are aware that the world-renowned Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor bears the full title of "Liberty Enlightening the World" (or "La Liberté éclairant le monde" in French). The reason for its French designation lies in the fact that this colossal copper figure was a gift from France.

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the French sculptor, created the statue, drawing inspiration from the words of his compatriot, Édouard René de Laboulaye, a law professor and politician who believed that a monument celebrating American independence should be a joint endeavor between the French and American people. True to this vision, France financed the statue while the United States provided the site and constructed the pedestal.

Every element of the statue was crafted in France. The metal framework, in particular, was fashioned by Gustave Eiffel, renowned for his iconic creation, the Eiffel Tower in Paris (which was completed three years later in 1889). The statue's components were shipped in crates across the Atlantic and assembled atop the finished pedestal on what was then known as Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island). Bartholdi deliberately chose this location, as he envisioned that passing vessels would sail by, and passengers, particularly those visiting the U.S. for the first time, would perceive the statue as a welcoming symbol.

On October 28, 1886, the statue was dedicated in a ceremony that coincided with the centennial anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. President Grover Cleveland presided over the momentous occasion.

The robed female figure represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom. She holds a torch aloft in one hand and carries a tabula ansata, a tablet evoking the concept of law, inscribed with the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, in the other. At her feet lie a broken shackle and a chain, symbolizing the nation's abolition of slavery.

Popular accounts, though unverified, claim that the sculptor modeled the woman's face after his own mother, Charlotte Beysser Bartholdi. He intentionally designed the figure with a strong, uncomplicated silhouette, which would be accentuated by its prominent position in the harbor, allowing viewers sailing toward Manhattan to perceive the statue from varying perspectives.

Presently, visitors can explore the interior of the statue through a glass ceiling, enhanced lighting, and a surrounding video system. They are free to roam Liberty Island at their leisure, appreciating the serene surroundings, visiting the museum, and perusing nearby gift shops.