New York Offers

They don't come any bigger than the Big Apple - king of the hill, top of the heap, New York, New York. It's got its fair share of the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses, but it also has world-class museums, big statues, even bigger buildings, outrageous excess, and a whole lot of whooo-wheee!

New York is a densely packed mass of humanity and all this living on top of one another makes the New Yorker a special kind of person. It's hard to put a finger on what makes the place buzz so hard, but the city's hyperactive rush keeps drawing more and more people to it.

Generally the nicest and most temperate time to visit New York is from mid-September to mid-November, along with all of May and early June. Unfortunately, as these months are popular with tourists, hotel prices are scaled accordingly. Long periods of wet weather are common in November and April, with freezing rain and often snow from December to February. In summer, humidity reigns supreme to make a unique, quintessentially New York kind of soupy heat that drives everyone to despair. This is perhaps the time to explore further afield and leave the city to its temper.

If it's first-class international events and gallery openings you're after, the question is when not to go. Despite the fantastic atmosphere around Christmas/Hanukkah and the New Year, the weather can be gaspingly chilly. In summer the prices rise and the tourist numbers soar. It can also be oppressively hot. Aim for spring (March-June) and fall (September-November).