Charter Bus- the Key to New York Site Seeing? by Kurt Clark

With its plethora of famed sites, its busy streets peppered with top fashion stores, chic bistros, offices, and its unique atmosphere that has cities all over the world trying to reproduce, it is no wonder that New York City is regarded as one of the most beautiful and enchanting cities on this planet. The Big Apple takes you to places that no other city can offer.

Aside from the city's mind boggling skyscrapers that do indeed live up to their title, the city that never sleeps offers much more. Without leaving the United States, New York City can whet your appetite with a taste of every country in the world in just a couple of hours with quick visits to Little Italy, Russia, Brazil, China Town, and the Barrio- not to mention the surrounding neighborhoods that can show you the best of all cultures ranging from Greek to Caribbean. Its bustling streets during the day and its breathtaking lights that glisten against the night sky are among the list of things that all people should encounter during their lifetime to keep in their memories forever.

The Empire State Building, a legendary colossus photographed more than any top supermodel, is seen by millions in photographs, movies, and postcards all over the world. Built during the Depression, it grew at an impressive rate of four and a half stories per week and its total of 102 stories were completed in a short 14 months. An outstanding symbol for the city of New York, it comes with no surprise that tourists from all over rush to visit the building when site-seeing. Each year, 3.5 million people, come to take an elevator (the real determined ones actually take the stairs) that climbs up more than a quarter of a mile into the atmosphere until they reach the 86th floor observatory. The glass observatory, which was opened in 1931, offers awe inspiring views of the city and elsewhere with its panoramic views from the sky. The observatory is open from 8 a.m. to midnight - allowing tourists to catch the breathtaking city at night with its twinkling lights.

Central Park, another of New York City's major attractions, isn't exactly something that seems like it would fit into such an urban place like New York City, but the park, which has been around since 1855 and receives 25 million people each year with open arms, has taken its stand and proven that nature still has a place in the city. Central Park was founded in 1855 by wealthy merchants and landowners who wanted New York to have a park that compared with the ritzy parks of Paris and London. The area that was chosen for the park -843 acres of swamp and muddy terrain- has come a long way since the 1800s. The zoo, which was founded in 1871, quickly became the public's favorite. The zoo still remains a favorite today, however, the park has much more to offer, including: concerts, ice skating (during the winter), gardens and a pond, roller-skating, yoga, basketball and other sports, tours, horseback riding, fishing, and even cross-country skiing.

For any tourist visiting New York City, The World Trade Center site is definitely a must see. The site, once home to the beloved and missed Twin Towers, shows tourists the destruction that occurred on September 11, 2001, first hand. The sacred site cannot be walked in, but can be seen through fences and is accompanied by photographs of the former Twin Towers and of the present day site. As an event that will stand out forever in our nation's history, it is a site that has to be seen and remembered for a lifetime.

It's hard not to want to visit New York City, with its ever so enticing and provocative buildings, parks, museums, restaurants, and streets. With so much to see and so much to do, the sheer excitement of just being in such a thrilling city can be overwhelming, and a lot of tourists may make the mistake of not planning enough. Sure, money is something that is always necessary, and a camera is almost never forgotten with so many photo opportunities that await you in this wonderful city, but a lot of tourists make the crucial mistake of not planning transportation. This mistake can inevitably lead to a horrible chain reaction of headaches and what can be worse while traveling - a large loss of time.

Yet, aside from economical values of taking the bus when visiting New York City, peace of mind is also very important. Parking isn't easy in a city with a population of 8,085,742 people. Finding a place to park could take an hour or more depending on what neighborhood you are in, and what could be worse is having to park in a zone with meters. Having to worry about putting a quarter in the meter every couple of hours and be a pain the you-know-where, and even the worry of whether or not your car is still in one piece or stolen can ruin anyone's day. In addition, driving in New York City isn't a Sunday drive through the park and can be one of the most stressful hassles a person can encounter. With the never ending traffic jams that would lose a race to a slug on any given day and road rage from other drivers, driving in NYC can easily become a person's worst nightmare. More importantly, a recent statistic has shown that riding a bus is 91 times safer than riding in a car (a train is 15 times safer) which can be an important factor if traveling with a family or even for an individual.

Author Resource: Kurt Clark is a freelance writer, as well as CEO of Kurt Clark, Inc, a web development & internet marketing firm. Read more at: http://www.kurtclarkinc.com

Research: http://www.uscoachways.com, a provider of charter bus travel throughout the United States.

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