New
York
Overview
The United States' most populous city and the country's leading port, is also
its financial, business, and cultural center. The "Big Apple" has
innumerable points of interest. These range from the Statue of Liberty and Ellis
Island to the Museum of the American Indian. Castle Clinton National Monument,
at the Battery, has been restored as a Fortress. The New York Stock Exchange,
where you can witness the pulse of the American economy from the visitor's gallery.
Up Wall Street is St. Paul's Chapel (1746-66), New York's only extant pre-revolutionary
building, where Washington prayed after his first inauguration (1789). New York's
towers, topped by the 110-floor World Trade Center, are famous. So are, such
museums as South Street Seaport Museum, where a ship that rounded Cape Horn
100 years ago may be boarded.
Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, begun in 1892, will be the largest
Gothic structure in the world when completed.
New York's history may be found around any corner. There are the Brooklyn
Bridge, Theodore Roosevelt's boyhood home, and Hamilton Grange, home of
Alexander Hamilton.
Central
Park is a sanctuary of green in the heart of Manhattan. You can visit the
zoo, take in free plays at the Delacorte Theatre, hire a horse-drawn cab at
Central Park South, or jog, cycle, stroll, or skate on the miles of paths
and roads. There are several other fine parks on the hilly banks of the
Hudson River, including Riverside Park, Fort Washington Park, and Fort Tryon
Park, site of the Cloisters - a Medieval Art Museum encompassing five
authentic French Cloisters.
The theatres of glamorous Broadway are just a small sample of New York's
entertainment and nightlife. Greenwich Village is famous for jazz and folk
clubs, as well as small experimental theaters. At the other end of the
spectrum is world-famous Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, home of the
Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The fifth avenue
is famous for exclusive shops and international department stores. Here also
is Rockefeller Center, home of Radio City Music Hall and every winter, the
city's most famous Christmas tree.
North of Manhattan in the Bronx is the New York International Wildlife Park
(known as the Bronx Zoo) and the New York Botanical Garden. Get a fine
overview of New York by taking a 90-minute or three-hour circle line boat
tour around Manhattan Island. The city's best sight-seeing bargain is a ride
on Athe Staten Island Ferry. Leaving from South Ferry in Battery Park, the
ride offers a superb view of the skyline and harbor.
New Orleans
Overview
Visitors to the crescent city tread history-laden grounds. The heart of the
city is the French Quarter, the oldest part of the city, some of whose
streets still bear names given to them in 1718. The heart of the quarter is
Jackson Square, facing the Mississippi River and named in honor of the hero
of the battle of New Orleans and centered by an equestrian statue of General
Andrew Jackson. Along one side of the square is St. Louis Cathedral, one of
the oldest in the United States, flanked by the Cabildo, once the seat of
Spanish Government, and the Preshytere. Beyond is the French Market, with
colorful stands, shops, and coffeehouses. Down Decatur Street, at the end of
Explanade Avenue, stands the massive old U.S.Mint, now under the
jurisdiction of the Louisiana State Museum. At it's peak it produced $5
million in coins a month. The Jackson Brewery is a complex of shops,
entertainment, and restaurants housed in a restored 1891 brewery overlooking
the river. River Walk is a huge marketplace located in an old warehouse
district and featuring unusual food and retail shops. The Aquarium of the
Americas, by the river walk, contains more than a million gallons of water
teeming with more than 7,500 exciting sea-life specimens. Uptown on
beautiful St. Charles avenue is the 400-acre Audubon Park and Zoo containing
lush vegetation, waterfalls, and more than 1,800 animals.
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Miami
Overview
Sea and sunshine, glittering luxury hotels, and an endless variety of
things to do have made this one of America's favorite resort centers.
Swimming at beaches, boating in Biscayne Bay, playing golf, and fishing from
piers, causeways, and ocean-going boats are all superb. Racing fans find
excitement at Calder, and nearby Hialeah Park. Youngsters are delighted by
the Miami Sea Aquarium, Parrot Jungle, and Monkey Jungle. The Metro Zoo
features animals in natural habitats. Nearby is the Museum of Science
displays ranging from Florida wildlife to gemology and sky shows in the
planetarium.
Montreal
Overview
Canada's second largest city, Montreal, is also the world's second-largest
French-speaking city, exceeded only by Paris. Those who visited Expo '67,
Montreal's World Fair, find its beautiful island site exciting as ever.
Named the Pare Deslles, here you will find the Casino de Montreal, la Ronde
Amusement Park, beautiful gardens and worldwide floral displays. The
spacious city is rich in beautiful parks and gardens. The largest,
Maisonncuve, has the Botanical Gardens with Chinese and Japanese gardens and
conservatories; Olympic Park, adjacent to Maisonncuve, offers guided tours
of the superb athletic facilities built for the 1976 summer Olympic games.
Pare Angrignon Enchants Families at its children's zoo and other
attractions; Mont Royal (Mount Royal) spreads across the summit of the
764-foot hill that gave the city its name; on the north slope is St.
Joseph's Oratory with its outstanding French Carillon. Visitors and
residents go underground in droves at Place Ville-Marie or Place
Bonaventure, where hundreds of shops, restaurants, cinemas, and cafes
glitter along the concourses, a temptation to both the eye and the pocket.
Another sub-surface tour, on Montreal's noiseless, pneumatic-tire subway,
reveals that each station is different in design and a veritable art
gallery. Tourists turn the clock back a few centuries at Place D'armes. The
Chateau Ramezay, built in 1705 as the French Governor's residence, is open
as a museum of that period. Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours, built in 1773 for
early sailors and voyagers, is Montreal's oldest Chapel.
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Los Angeles
Overview
Hollywood,
movie and television capital, is only a part of the west coast's leading
metropolis, which began in an area around the old Spanish Plaza, north of
the Civic Center. The sidewalk cafes and Mexican shops of Olvera Street,
Chinatown, and little Tokyo are special aspects of the city.
The Farmers Market is where Angelenos buy everything from Oriental Art to
Swiss cheese. Among the great museums of art are the County Museum of
Natural History, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Wells Fargo History
Museum, and the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum. Children's Museum is an
active museum where children can learn by doing, touching, and exploring.
Hollywood Bowl is home to "Symphonies Under The Stars", and
Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine is home to baseball. At the Civic Center is
the Center for Performing Arts. The Universal Studios Hollywood tour in
Universal City and the Paramount Studios tour offer a peek behind the scenes
of movie production and special effects. NBC Studios tour, Barbank, provides
a glimpse of TV production. The Coliseum at Exposition Park is home to USC
football, and the Sports Arena home to the Clippers (basketball) and Ice
Dogs(hockey). The forum in nearby Inglewood is home to the Lakers
(basketball) and Kings (hockey). In Valencia, Six Flags Magic Mountain
offers more than 100 rides and family attractions.
