| The city of New York | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The city of New York is the city with the biggest population in the United States. Its metropolitan area is among the most populous ones in the world. New York has been the largest US city since 1790 besides being the first capital on the nation. Due to favorable geographical and maritime position (in the natural harbor), the city is also ranked one of the most important centers of commerce and finance. New York is also an important center in terms of culture, politics, fashion, art, media and entertainment. It is especially relevant in international affairs, being the home to United Nations headquarters. The city has five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. Because of its extreme population density (8.2 million people withing 304.8 sq) New York is an American city with most densely populated area. The Big Apple is one of the most respected and most visited cities in the United States. Its numerous landmarks, beautiful architecture, rich history and cultural heritage have secured the city's prominence throughout the world. The famous Statue of Liberty welcomed millions of immigrants on their first encounter with the New World in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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| New York, desde el Empire State by Morrissey |
New York has been the world's financial center for the last 60 years and it hosts an influential Stock Exchange as well as Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. The city also has some of the tallest buildings in the world, such as the Empire State Building. Many cultural revolutions thrived in New York: visual art and literature gained new features by being influenced by the famous Harlem Renaissance while painting styles were altered by the New York School (also known as abstract expressionism). Many music genres were born within city limits, including salsa, hip hop and punk. The city is home of Broadway, a theater organization with global influence and numerous respectful productions so far. New York is a truly metropolitan and multicultural area; nearly 170 languages from all continents were spoken within city limits in 2005. More than one third of its population was born outside the United States.
New York is visited by more than forty million foreign and American tourists every year. This figure alone proves the importance of the city in terms of cultural and historical sites, architecture, arts and other cultural events. Discovering the city can never be fully done because of the abundance of must sees, but seeing Empire State Building. Statue of Liberty or Central Park is more than enough to give you an impression of New York as an incredibly diverse and interesting tourist destination. The abundance of art happenings, galleries, exhibitions and other artistic activities is virtually impossible to imagine because New York has always been one of major art centers in the world, setting trends in artistic circles that everyone else religiously followed. The most prominent art institutions are the Metropolitan Museum of Art any many other museum located in the part of the city known as the Museum Mile.
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| Central Park in autumb |
Greens is one thing New York has plenty of, even though it is an extremely densely populated city in addition to millions of people flowing in every day to work. New York has many green zones with Central Park leading in terms of beautiful man-made but very naturally looking green area. There is also the New York Botanical Garden, one of the most impressive sights in the world during spring blossoming. Extensive fauna with many rare or near-extinct species can be seen in the city's most notable zoos: the most prominent one is the Bronx Zoo that is said to be one of the biggest and most progressive ones in the world. Others include the zoo located in Central Park, a soothing green oasis with a lot to do, especially if you are traveling with children. New York's 113 km2 of green areas and 22 km of beaches goes to show that the city is not just about business, enormous skyscrapers and chaos ruling the streets. Many parks, designed by notable American landscape architects, are among the most visited ones and the most loved ones in the United States (central Park in Manhattan and Prospect Park in Brooklyn are finest examples of carefully and designed park areas that are both beautiful and functional).
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| L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, New York |
Visiting New York and not tasting their specialties would really be a great loss - some of the finest cheesecakes are made in the city while the New York Pizza is said to be one of the finest in the world that relies heavily on cheese lathering and countless varieties of toppings. Many ethnic minorities brought their own traditions and their cooking habits to the city which further enriched its cooking diversity recognizable throughout the world. The New York Deli Sandwich has been introduced by Jewish immigrants and it consists of either corn beef or pastrami. Some of the delis offering this food have been around for more than a hundred years during which they have perfected their skills to the point of obsession. Another delicacy introduced by the Jewish population is the famous New York Bagel, that are best in the the areas that are not heavily populated by tourist and they are extremely tasty when they come out straight from the oven.
