A common complaint when visiting new cities is the lack of time to see all the most interesting places so you will need to plan for a short vacation in New York if you intend to see what she has to offer. One of the first places tourists head for is the infamous Empire State Building and a trip to the top to see the views. For even better views, when the weather is fine, it requires a trip to the top of the 820 feet tall Rockefeller Centre. Tour boats can take visitors out to see the big lady ‘The Statue of Liberty’ but be prepared for long delays these days, the view of her from Ellis Island is an option worth considering.

Fortunately, the Staten Island ferry is still free and can provide great views of the Statue of Liberty, the island is also worth a look and the terminal is a favorite spot for street performers, some are of a professional standard. However, no a short vacation trip to New York would be complete now without a visit to where the World Trade Center Towers once stood not that long ago. There is certainly a strange atmosphere to the whole, very large area that the Twin Towers stood on but not one where a photograph would be appropriate. Shopping is one of the many reasons visitors flock to New York whether it is for good old-fashioned discounts along Broadway or in the Warehouses down Lower East Side or the beautiful and extravagant Tiffany’s, New York has it all.

Bloomingdales is another famous store (for the wealthy) to look around but it is Maceys, who will give 11 percent discount on production of a tourist card where most people will head for. At the time of writing the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum was closed for refurbishment but should be open by the fall of 2008, well worth looking in if your around at that time of the grand re-opening. The highlight of this museum is the USS Intrepid, a World War Two aircraft carrier which houses the likes of the supersonic plane - Concorde not to mention a number of submarines. The real New York City Police Museum is open for visitors and while admission is free; donations are expected of around five dollars to help with running it, it contains a great deal of information about the World famous Police Department and you can buy souvenirs too.

Another museum is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum which focuses on the appalling conditions experienced by the immigrants back in 1864. There is more history in the City of New York Museum on Central Park which holds exhibitions of the past, present and future. Once again, admission to this wonderfully grand building is free but a donation of at least nine dollars is expected. Perhaps as with any capital city, a short vacation in New York really is only enough to give you a taste of what it has to offer, still that just means to will have to spend more time there in the future!