A real urban jungle, New York fascinates its visitors. Between the impressive concentration of museums in the very chic Upper East Side, the exhilarating concentration of bars on the Lower East Side and the bohemian art of living in Greenwich, it's hard to get bored in the city that never sleeps! Especially during the end of the year celebrations when Big Apple dresses up in its most beautiful clothes in a magical atmosphere worthy of a Hollywood film. The perfect opportunity for a trip to the United States.

So vertical!

The first thing that strikes the visitor is that in New York, the horizon is definitely... vertical! Each skyscraper plays its part in the weaving of a modern tale. The most beautiful of them are in Midtown, between Downtown (to the south, the historic heart of the city) and Central Park to the north. Starting with the Flatiron Building, a famous 22-storey building in the shape of an iron - and one of the city's first skyscrapers - whose construction was completed in 1902, 20 years before... the Empire State, another equally mythical building, climbed by King Kong in 1933 ! Photographers go to his observatory perched on the 86th floor at 8am to embrace one of Manhattan's most beautiful panoramic views, while the romantics wait until nightfall to see it crackle under the neon lights of Times Square..

When it was built in 1931, the Empire State paved the way for another New York skyline jewel, stealing the world's tallest skyscraper square. A revenge of the Chrysler Building, recognizable by its stainless steel dome surmounted by an arrow: it is said to be the favorite of New Yorkers today. To observe this high iron forest, a privileged place: Central Park, the city's green lung and the favourite place for its inhabitants to relax. Then, towards the south of the island. At the site of the two twin towers, we find the memorial in honour of the victims of the September 11 attacks. Composed of two large parks and two basins and New York's tallest new tower, the One World Trade Center (1 WTC), nicknamed Freedom Tower, the visit is an emotional experience.

Cultural paradise and Christmas enchantment

Art lovers, the Museum Mile of the very chic Upper East Side is made for you! Over a few hundred metres, a unique concentration of such prestigious museums as the Guggenheim, the Neue Galerie, or the Metropolitan, just a few cables away from the beautiful mansion of the Frick Collection. The other side of Central Park is also home to the American Museum of Natural History, the jewel of the Upper West Side and the largest natural history museum in the world. Not to mention Midtown and its Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which houses nothing less than the world's largest collection of contemporary art. In short, a gold mine for amateurs! But New York culture is also two essential monuments: the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, accessible by boat from the southern tip of Manhattan Island. Now an immigration museum, the island still holds the hopes of the New World and the millions of European immigrants who arrived by boat through this door between 1892 and 1954

Finally, New York is also inseparable from its end-of-year celebrations. Starting with Thanksgiving. This typically American family celebration commemorates the meal given by the first immigrants - the Pilgrim Fathers - in gratitude to God and the Indians for allowing them to survive the first winter in the New World. On the menu: turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn bread, apple and pecan pie. And above all the big parade on the 4th Thursday in November, which attracts millions of people every year around its tanks. Then, at the end of November, New York transforms itself and adorns itself with its most beautiful clothes. Christmas markets in Bryant Park, Union Square and Williamsburg, the smell of cinnamon hot chocolate on the streets, the windows on 5th Avenue undecorated, the giant fir tree in Rockefeller Center, New York does not do things halfway when Christmas arrives. And during a stay at this time, some outings are unmissable such as the Rockettes musical show at Radio City Music Hall, the Nutcracker ballet at Lincoln Center, a visit to Dyker Heights' beautifully lit houses in Brooklyn or a mass at Saint John the Divine Cathedral

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