Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
has a lit light on its roof. Also know that it can be difficult to score a taxi in the rain, at
rush hour and at around 4pm, when many drivers end their shifts.
NEW YORK STATE
There's upstate and downstate and never the twain shall meet. The two have about as
much in common as NYC's Upper East Side and the Bronx. And yet everyone shares the
same governor and dysfunctional legislature in the capital, Albany. While this incompat-
ibility produces legislative gridlock and downright operatic drama, it's a blessing for
those who cherish quiet and pastoral idylls as much as Lower East Side bars and the sub-
way. Defined largely by its inland waterways - the Hudson River, the 524-mile Erie
Canal connecting Albany to Buffalo, and the St Lawrence River - New York stretches to
the Canadian border at world-famous Niagara Falls and under-the-radar Thousand Is-
lands. Buffalo is a cheap foodies' paradise and wine aficionados can pick their favorite
vintage from around the state, but especially in the Finger Lakes region close to the col-
lege town of Ithaca. From wilderness trails with backcountry camping to small-town
Americana and miles and miles of sandy beaches, from the historic, grand estates and
artists colonies in the Hudson Valley and Catskills to the rugged and remote Adiron-
dacks, it's easy to understand why so many people leave the city, never to return.
NEW YORK STATE FACTS
Nicknames
Empire State, Excelsior State, Knickerbocker State
Population
19.6 million
Area
47,214 sq miles
Capital city
Albany (population 98,000)
Other cities
New York City (population 8,245,000)
Sales tax
4%, plus additional county and state taxes (total approximately 8%)
Birthplace of
Poet Walt Whitman (1819−92), President Theodore Roosevelt
(1858−1919), President Franklin D Roosevelt (1882−1945), first lady Eleanor
Roosevelt (1884−1962), painter Edward Hopper (1882−1967), movie star
Humphrey Bogart (1899−1957), comic Lucille Ball (1911−89), filmmaker Woody Al-
len (b 1935), actor Tom Cruise (b 1962), pro athlete Michael Jordan (b 1963), pop
star Jennifer Lopez (b 1969)
Home of
Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, first US cattle ranch (1747, in
Montauk, Long Island), US women's suffrage movement (1872), Erie Canal (1825)
