Strawberry Fields is a memorial in Central Park, the site covers 2.5 acres and is dedicated to John Lennon, former member of the Beatles and one of the greatest musical icons in history. Lennon and Yoko Ono lived in an apartment next to Central Park. It was outside their nearby apartment block, Dakota Apartment, that Lennon was shot in 1980. Strawberry Fields commemorates the man and his life's work.

The site gets its name from "Strawberry Fields Forever" one of the Beatles' greatest hits. The land is tear drop shaped; at the heart of the site is an Italian designed white and black mosaic with the word "Imagine", the name of another of Lennon's songs. Lennon was a passionate peace activist and Strawberry Fields is a designated quite zone and Garden of Peace. The area is lined with elm trees and has flower beds, shrubs, paths and rocks. 

Strawberry Fields is included in the many tours of Central Park taken by bike, on foot and by pedicab or horse-drawn carriage. Beatles and Lennon fans gather here on the anniversary of his death to pay homage to the iconic musician.

The romantic and picturesque Bow Bridge is located in mid-park Central Park at 74^th Street. It spans the Central Park Lake like a graceful low-lying violin or archer's bow, hence the name, and joins Cherry Hill with the Ramble. The bridge is made of cast iron in the Classic Greek style and was designed by the park's co-designer Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould. The bridge is the 2^nd oldest cast iron bridge in America. The bridge has a pedestrian walkway of reddish ipe wood, a hardwood from South America which crosses the 18.28 meter long bridge. The bridge banisters are of interlocking circles.  There are eight 1 meter tall planting urns which adorn the bridge. The urns are 2008 replicas which replaced the original urns which stood here in the 1920s.

The bridge has been featured in several famous films like The Way We Were and Keeping the Faith. In real life the bridge is often the setting for romantic couples and proposals of marriage. The bridge is a popular photo-op site providing a viewpoint across 5^th Avenue, the Lake and park. On Sundays the bridge is one of the top spots for rowboats to pause as they float down the lake.

The Bethesdale Fountain is located in mid-park Central Park at 72^nd Street and is the main feature of the Bethesdale Terrace. It was constructed in 1859-64 and is one of the largest fountains in the city. The focal point of the fountain is a central sculpture by Emma Stebbins inaugurated in 1873. Stebbins was the first female artist to be awarded a commission by New York City. The fountain statue is made of bronze and has eight smaller statues at the foot of the piece. The main feature is a winged angel, "Angel of the Water" delicately landing on the top of the fountain. From the circular umbrella-looking ledge where the angel stands water cascades down into the pools below. Four cherubs, Temperance, Purity, health and Peace take cover underneath the "umbrella" as the water flows down around them.

The fountain has featured in several films and T.V. series' including Gossip Girl, Angels in America and the opening scene of Godspell. The name and inspiration of the fountain comes from the Biblical description of an angel blessing the pool of Bethesda and granting the waters healing powers. The fountain, like the rest of Central Park, got its water from the Croton Aqueduct which depended on gravity alone to bring pure water from the Croton River into the city. For this reason the angel holds a lily in one hand representing the purity of the water and with the other hand she blessed the water.

This is one of New York's most visited attractions, an oasis of green in the middle of the city. Central Park was designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and opened in 1857. Central Park is 840 acres; it is a National Landmark and welcomes approximately 35 million visitors each year. The park has evolved over the years and includes a myriad of activities, public art and sites. There are guided tours of Central Park by horse and carriage, bicycle, on foot, vespa or pedicab. Independent visitors can walk throughout the park, jog, cycle and even horse ride in some areas.

Among the lawns, trees, flower beds, playgrounds, water features, wood areas, gardens and bridges in the park there are hundreds of attractions.  Belvedere Castle is a fairly-tale looking structure which offers views from the castle terrace. The Blockhouse is what remains of a fort from the war of 1812. Among the many statues in the park there are statues of Shakespeare, Alice in Wonderland, Balto and North America's oldest public monument, The Obelisk. Kids can ride on the Central Park Carousel which dates back to 1871. In the summer there are performances in the outdoor amphitheatre.

The Great Lawn is a beautiful open lawn area covering 55 acres. There are several lakes and a 106 acre Reservoir encircled by a running track. The park has a Wildlife Sanctuary where the woods and plants grow naturally and are not landscaped while in the Conservatory Garden you can find peace and tranquility. Among the park's fountains is the Bethesda Fountain featuring the statue of an angel.

During the winter you can go ice skating in the park and in the summer the Lasker Pool is open for swimming. You can go fishing in the park (catch and release) using bamboo fishing poles from the Dana Discovery Center. You can also go boating from the Loeb Boathouse and families will enjoy the Central Park Zoo & Wildlife Center as well as the Children's Zoo or the Tisch Children's Zoo which has a petting zoo. Among the many forms of entertainment for kids there is also the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre. The park has facilities for a number of sports including tennis courts and baseball. The park hosts regular concerts, theatrical performances and festivals.

MoMA is in Midtown Manhattan and is one of the most important and influential modern and contemporary art museums in the world. The art work covers a wide range of medium including paper, drawing, painting, photography, film, book illustrations, electronic media, prints, sculpture and performance arts.

The museum's painting collection includes over 150,000 pieces. Among the museum highlights are works by Paul Cezanne, Picasso and Paul Gauguin as well as works by Vincent van Gogh including his The Starry Night. You can see Henri Matisse's The Dance I; Henri Rousseau's La Bohenienne endormie and Giorgio De Chirico's Love Song. Other well known artists on display include Paul Klee, Dorothea Lange, Roy Lichtenstein, Joan Miro, Henry Moore, Pollock, Rodin, Salvador Dali, Chagall and Georgia O'Keeffe among others.

The museum's film collection includes over 25,000 titles and 4 million film stills and is one of the greatest archives of international film art. Some of the best full-length feature films which have made international history are also included in the collection like Citizen Kane and films by Alfred Hitchcock. The collection includes Andy Warhol's Empire, several classic T.V. commercials and artistically acclaimed music videos. The architecture and Design department holds approximately 28,000 architectural models, photos and sketches.

This is New York's main Catholic place of worship; it was built from 1858 to 1879 and funded by donations from both poor immigrants and rich and powerful members of the community. With great foresight the building was erected in what was then the outskirts of town as the Archbishop Hughes believed it would one day be the heart of the city. And indeed today it stands on 5^th Avenue. The building is Neo-Gothic and in 2012 massive renovations were undertaken to restore the cathedral which had suffered extensive damage from acid rain and urban pollution.

The cathedral can seat 2,200 worshipers and is built of brick with a marble finish. The huge cathedral is 101 meters long and 53 meters at its widest point. The building has two steeples which rise 100 meters from the sidewalk and the roof is covered in slate from Maine. The exquisite stained glass windows were crafted by artisans in Europe and Boston. There are altars designed by Paolo Medici, Dominic Borgia and Tiffany & Co. Among the cathedral's many works of art is William Ordway Partridge's sculpture Pieta; there is also a prize winning depiction of the Stations of the Cross. The church has a massive and ornate organ with 177 stops and 9,838 pipes. 

This world famous traffic intersection is also known as the Crossroads of the World, The Great White Way and the center of Manhattan. It is located at the junction between Broadway and 7^th Avenue and is surrounded by important buildings displaying bright neon signs at all hours of the day and night. The northern part of the square is technically Duffy Square but the two flow seamlessly into each other. It is in the Duffy Square section that you can find the TKTS booth selling discount theatre tickets. Originally the square was called Longacre Square but after the New York Times newspaper headquarters moved to Broadway in 1913 the square's name was changed. The news office took up residence in the One Times Square building. 

The square is home to many attractions including ABC's Time Square Studios and Planet Hollywood. It is the venue for the New York New Year's Eve ball which drops at midnight as crowds gather to party and bring in the New Year. The square is the site of the 7 storey high NASDAQ sign which reports on the events of the nation. Times Square is the center of a thriving theatre district on Broadway and surrounding streets. Other famous entertainment venues on the square are the Iridium jazz club, the Roseland Ballroom and the Carolines comedy club.

Attractions at Times Square include Madame Tussauds, Ripley's Believe It or Not and the Discovery Times Square Exhibition. The square has its own visitor center at 1560 Broadway and its own website. There are many eateries on the square including New York's Hard Rock Café. Restaurant Row is part of the square's appeal it is located on 46^th Street between Broadway and 9^th Avenue and is a block of restaurants serving cuisine from around the world. The square is also packed with hotels to suit all pockets, the hotels with direct access to the square are the most expensive and as you work your way further away the prices drop considerably. The square is also a shopping Mecca with stores like Disney, M&M's World and Toys R Us.

New York's most famous landmark is the statue of Lady Liberty, or Liberatas, the Roman goddess of freedom. She is holding a torch above her with one hand and a tablet in the other; on the tablet is written the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4^th 1776. At the neoclassical lady's feet is a broken chain adding to the symbolism of America as a land of freedom and liberty. The statue is situated on Liberty Island in New York Harbor making it the first sight of the New World which greeted immigrants as they arrived by ship from Europe. The statue was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and was given as a gift from France to the people of the United States in 1886. The statue was created in France and shipped over to the USA in pieces, on arrival it was assembled and dedicated with great pomp and ceremony as well as the city's first ticker-tape parade.

Visitors to the statue can reach the island by ferry on Statue Cruises and once there can enter the museum, pedestal and statue where there is an inner staircase so that you can reach the crown. Once you reach the inside of the crown you can look out through gaps in the crown and see the harbor and Manhattan in the distance. In the past it was possible to take a spontaneous trip out to the statue but for security reasons it is now necessary to book a ticket for the crown and or the pedestal. The crown and pedestal tickets both give you access to the grounds, Fort Wood Level and museum. All ferry tickets include a ticket to the grounds so that you can walk around the grounds of the island at the foot of the statue. It is recommended to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on the same day.

When the World Trade Center towers were destroyed in the devastating terrorist attack of September 11th 2001 the area where they stood became Ground Zero, a site of destruction, rubble and many memories of those lost. Today the site has been redeveloped and is home to 5 new skyscrapers; the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center; the World Trade Center Transportation Hub; 51096.7m ² of retail space and a Performing Arts Center. Not all of the WTC sites are completed.

The Reflecting Absence memorial honors the nearly 3,000 people who were lost in both the 9/11 2001 attack and the 6 people who died in the 23rd February 1993 bombing. There are two large pools within the areas where the towers stood with massive man-made waterfalls falling into them.  On the walls which surround the pools are listed all the names of those lost. Each of the pools covers 4,000m ² and stands in Memorial Plaza which is covered with about 400 trees.

The museum will be both a visitor center and a memorial museum to the tragic events of 9/11. It will be located below ground level and accessible from a pavilion which will resemble a fallen building. Artifacts recovered after 9/11 will be on display in the museum. The exhibition will include recorded 911 calls from people in the towers at the time as well as photographs, rescue equipment and pieces of the construction. The museum is scheduled to open in 2014.

St. Paul's Chapel is the oldest church or public building which has been in continuous use in Manhattan; it is a National Historic Landmark and is one of the few buildings to have survived the Great New York Fire of 1776. The chapel also has a historic cemetery where several patriots who served under Washington during the revolution are buried. The chapel was constructed on land granted by Queen Anne of England and was designed by Thomas Mcbean and built by Andrew Gautier. The chapel was completed in 1766 and at the time was not centrally located but as time passed and the city built up around it.

The chapel is under the authority of Trinity Church but when Trinity burnt down during the Great Fire the chapel took on a leading role in the city. One of the chapel's claims to fame is as the chapel where George Washington attended services. This is one of the few Revolution era churches which survived and there are a number of important artifacts from that era. You can see the pew where Washington sat and above it the first painting of the Great Seal of The United States.

The chapel design was modeled on London's St. Martin-in-the Fields and has classic Georgian style. The chapel has a tall oblong tower. There is a wooden statue of St. Paul on the Broadway side of the façade. The church interior has a flat, high pale blue ceiling and beautiful cut-glass chandeliers. The alter decoration was designed by Pierre L'Enfant.

During 9/11 volunteer ministers helped the injured and the chapel's exhibit "Healing Hearts and Minds" pays tribute to these heroes as well as being a memorial to those lost in the tragedy. The chapel is known as a come-as-you-are church or chapel-of-ease which welcomes people who might not feel they fit into other churches.  On Mondays at 1pm you can attend free classical music recitals.

This iconic bridge is one of the country's oldest suspension bridges; it was constructed in 1883 and spans the East River connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn. It was designed by John Augustus Roebling who had designed a number of other important bridges in the US. The design was taken over by Roebling's son who became ill and so managed the construction of the bridge from his apartment which had a view of the bridge. His wife, Emily Warren Roebling assisted the designer by being the link between him and the engineers on site. Emily was given the honor of being the first to cross the bridge when it opened. At the time of the bridge opening Brooklyn was an independent city and only 15 years after the bridge was opened did the borough become part of NYC.

The bridge is 486.3 meters long with stone towers and steel cables; it took 14 years to construct and 600 workers at a cost of $15 million. The bridge towers have a neo-Gothic appearance with two pointed arched above the passageways. The bridge is a National Historic Landmark and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

The bridge has 6 lanes for motor traffic but commercial vehicles and buses cannot use the bridge due to the height of the roadway. There is a pedestrian walkway across the bridge accessible from Tillary Street, Adams Street or Prospect Street on the Brooklyn side and from Centre Street and Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall IRT subway station on the Manhattan side. The walkway for pedestrians and cyclists is in the middle of the bridge which is raised above the traffic level.

There is a "Chinatown" in most major cities of the world, it is the area where Chinese (or Asian) immigrants resided and where their community established itself with stores selling their traditional products and restaurants serving their traditional foods. In New York Chinatown is no longer just for immigrant Chinese, the area has developed into one of the most popular places for shopping and dining but all with an Asian flavor. Chinatown is located north of the financial area in southern Manhattan and is home to one of the Western hemisphere's largest Chinese communities. Most tourists (and locals) come here to enjoy the unique stores and restaurants.

The restaurants in Chinatown serve cuisine from different areas in China including Pekingese, Cantonese, HongKonger and Shanghais food.  There are so many interesting and unique Chinese restaurants in the area that there are food tours where you are guided from restaurant to restaurant to sample the best delicacies.

There are several landmarks in Chinatown including statues of Confucius; the Memorial archway which commemorates Chinese Americans who died in WWII; the Church of Transfiguration (1815) and a statue of Commissioner Lin (Lin Zexu). You can see several buildings with traditional Chinese architecture and classic telephone booths which are topped with pagoda-style roofs. You will also know you are in Chinatown by the bi-lingual street and store signs. The stores, street vendors and markets sell many knock-off products, watches, bags and souvenirs as well as specialty stores selling traditional Chinese medicine, herbs and dried ingredients for cooking. The Chinatown street markets sell an exciting mix of products  and you can join in with annual celebrations like Chinese New Year.

SoHo or South of Houston Street is known for its many artists' galleries, art studios, unique stores, great shopping opportunities, restaurants and chic style. The area is a National Historic Place and a National Historic Landmark due to the concentration of cast-iron architecture and Belgian block or sett paving in many of the side streets. It is made up of 26 city blocks consisting of about 500 buildings.

Many famous films have been set in SoHo including 9 1/2 Weeks, 13 Going on 30, Big, A Perfect Murder and Big Daddy. Among the landmarks in the area is the Beau-Arts Little Singer Building, the E.V. Haughwout Building, the building at 112 Prince Street with trompe l'oeil murals on its façade and the 110 Greene Street subway map which was painted on the sidewalk by Belgian artist Francoise Schein. SoHo is home to numerous museums including the New York Fire Museum, New Museum of Contemporary Art, the New York Earth Room and many private galleries. 

Those visiting SoHo to shop will find unique boutique stores like Todd&Duncan which specializes in cashmere products; Madonna &Co where each item is unique and a one-of-a-kind vintage fashion piece; American Apparel; American Eagle; Amarcord Vintage Fashion; Anges B; A Second Chance Designer ReSale and Bcbgmaxazria. The list of stores is endless and includes both boutiques and larger name brand stores. Shopping in SoHo is an experience which includes more than just making a purchase but rather enjoying the bohemian ambiance, specialty restaurants and community atmosphere.

New York is the headquarters of the United Nations; the UN welcomes visitors at the UN Visitor Center where you can find out about tours, exhibitions and things to do in the complex. On offer are guided tours, tours geared towards children, special briefings, shops and photographic multimedia exhibitions on important topics like human rights and climate change. If you take a guided tour you will get to walk through the corridors of the building, learn about the history of the UN, the UN buildings and the work done here. Visitors can see the General Assembly Hall where the 193 member countries of the UN meet. The Assembly Hall is closed for renovations until the fall of 2014. When there are no official meetings going on you will be able to see the Trusteeship Council Chamber, the Economic and Social Council Chamber and the Security Council Chamber. There are also displays on human rights by artist Octavio Roth and a display of artifacts related to disarmament for example remnants of the nuclear explosion in Hiroshima. The UN building has many valuable works of art including the Golden Rule, a mosaic based on a painting by Norman Rockwell and a mural by Jose Vela Zanetti.

The land on which the UN buildings stand has international status and is not officially part of the USA. The buildings of the UN are an attraction in themselves. There are four buildings in the complex; the main building is called the Secretariat and it is an impressive international style skyscraper there is also the General Assembly Building, the Conference Building and the Dag Hammarskjold Library.  The construction of the complex was undertaken from 1949 to 1952. In the adjacent park you can see art work donated by countries around the world including statues dedicated to social issues, peace and human rights. One of the symbols of the UN is the row of flags from all the member countries; the flags run from 48^th Street to 42^nd Street.

The Chrysler Building at 405 Lexington Avenue was completed in 1930. It was the first building project in the world to go higher than the Eiffel Tower. The height of the Chrysler Building was soon surpassed by the Empire State Building which is 319 meters taller. The building is recognized for its architecture and iconic status; it was commissioned by Walter Chrysler and built to mark his success in the auto industry.

The Chrysler Building is 319 meters tall and has 77 floors, it has an art-deco design and it was designed by William Van Alen. 29961 tons of steel were used in the construction and almost 4 million bricks at a cost of $20 million.

There are sculptures of cars carved into the brickwork in honor of Chrysler's industry and even the Gothic gargoyles were modeled after the Chrysler car symbol. The building has corner ornaments of eagles, replicas of the Chrysler radiator caps and other Gothic-style adornments. There are almost 4,000 windows and the building has 8 elevators. The spire of the building looks like a terraced crown with radiating terraced arches resembling a radiating sun. The crown is covered with silver colored non-rusting steel. The fan like decoration of the spire is lit up at night with V shaped lighting at the base of every fan-shape.

Only the lobby of the building is open to the public as the rest is a functioning office building. The lobby is just as impressive as the exterior with Red Moroccan marble walls, a floor with sienna, onyx and blue colored marble art-deco designs and a ceiling mural by Edward Trumbull which is a homage to modern-day technology.

This iconic train station is one of two (the other being Penn Station which was later demolished) built during the early 1900s at the height of the railway systems expansion in the country.  It is the largest site of its kind in the world. Grand Central was completed in 1913 and designed in the Beaux-art style with grand architectural elements making it not only a transport hub but also an attraction in itself. The station has 67 train tracks on 2 levels.

The station's main facade is on 42^nd Streets and features high arches with Corinthian columns on both sides. A 15 meter high sculpture group by Jules-Alexis Coutan stands above the entrance and features the Greek Gods, Mercury, Minerva and Hercules.  On entering the station from Vanderbilt Avenue visitors find themselves at the top of a dramatic Botticino marble flight of stairs (featured in numerous films like The Godfather). The main concourse is 143 meters long, 49 meters high and 43 meters wide.  The ceiling has a mural of the zodiac signs by Paul Helleu but the stars are painted in reverse as if seen from above (by God). The huge 23 meter high arched windows flood the concourse with natural light and the concourse floors are of marble. During renovations in the 1990s an iron statue of an eagle was placed above the Lexington Avenue entrance. In the same renovations a mall, food court and a new entrance were added. Another prominent feature is the Grand Central clock which has four clock faces and the oyster Bar is the stations most famous eatery.

The station is not just for transportation but includes Terminal City, a complex of office buildings, apartments and a raised level to separate motor traffic from pedestrians. The elevated ramp for cars, the Park Avenue Viaduct, leads cars around the station.  It is possible to take a walking tour of the station to see all the interesting historic architectural features and the station's art work.

Bryant Park is located between 5^th Avenue and 6^th Avenue between 40^th and 42^nd Street in Midtown Manhattan. It is a privately managed public park spread across 39,000m ² above the subterranean New York Public Library Archives. A park was first established here in 1847; in 1853 the space was used for a major exhibition; during the American Civil War it was a military training site and in 1884 the park got its present name. The park was named after abolitionist and editor of the New York Evening Post, Cullen Bryant. The park was redesigned in the 1930s; in the 60s there were anti-Vietnam rallies in the park; during the 70s the park was better known as a hang-out for lowlifes, prostitutes and drug addicts; in the 80s the park was cleaned up and amenities added to attract more acceptable visitors and after renovations and redesigning Bryant Park was reopened in 1992 to great acclaim.

Today the park is an example of the ideal park. There is free WiFi in the park, lush green lawns, an area for chess and other games, a café, restaurant, sandwich kiosks, custom made carousel, an open air reading room and several statues. There are paths to follow seating areas, flower beds, promenades along the southern and northern sides of the park and in the winter it is possible to go ice skating in the park. There is a putting green and a 5 hole green as well as a Kubb green for those who want to learn the Scandinavian game and a chance to try the French game of petanque.

Many regular events are held in the park like the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival; New York Fashion Week events and live broadcasts of New York Yankee games. During the Christmas season the park hosts a Christmas Market.

The New York Public Library system was established in 1895 and now has 87 branches in the New York boroughs and 4 large research libraries. However the best known of the New York public libraries is the main branch in Manhattan which is now called the Stephen A. Shwarzman Building. The main branch is located on 5^th Avenue and 42^nd Street. It was opened in 1911 and is a Beaux-Arts marble structure with two distinctive lion statues guarding the entrance. In 2011 the buildings beautiful façade was refurbished and restored. The library is spread over 4 floors with the upper two floors being devoted to reading rooms and exhibition space. The most impressive of the reading rooms is the Rose Main Reading Room, which looks like something out of Harry Potter. The high decorated ceiling, large arches windows and dark wood tables are surrounded by walls lined with books. The iconic building façade and the reading room have appeared in many films and T.V. series.

The library houses research collections in the humanities and social sciences; a children's collection; the collections from the Astor and Lenox Libraries and historical collections. The wide range of materials includes both priceless rare books as well as the simplest dime books. In all there are approximately 15 million items including medieval manuscripts, Japanese scrolls, maps, a Jewish division, baseball card collections and comic books among other items. The library holds archives of newspapers from around the world as well as current editions in over 1,200 languages and dialects. The non-partisan library holds books representing all views whether controversial or generally accepted and is open to all to use for free.