Because it is a city – and a major one at that – New York doesn’t have any limitations when it comes to the right time of year to visit. Certainly it will be warm and sunny during the summer and bitterly cold at times during the winter, but neither condition really stops you from getting the most out of a long weekend here.

This is good news if you are thinking of going to New York in the not too distant future for a weekend of exploration and shopping. Be prepared for the weather to be changeable in the winter months though. At the time of writing the temperature was forecast to be six degrees above freezing to kick off the week, with a nice sunny day predicted. However in four days time New Yorkers will be facing temperatures of minus three with snow showers in the offing as well.

The main thing you need to bear in mind when it comes to visiting New York in the winter months is to dress for it. Make sure you pack enough to wrap up, especially if you are thinking of exploring the city during the evenings as well.

If you want to go when the weather is a bit less on the nippy side, wait until March and beyond. March typically sees the temperatures staying above freezing by a few degrees, although there might be more in the way of precipitation as well. However with New York offering plenty to do whatever the weather might throw at you, you won’t be too worried by how good or bad it is when you arrive.

A winter trip does benefit from being prepared in other ways as well. New Yorkers don’t tend to let a lot get in the way of them going about their daily business. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding things to do and places to go, even if the weather is bad. Just be prepared with a list of indoor activities and leave Central Park for later if the heavens really do open in a big way.

Even if you haven’t yet been to New York, you will no doubt be familiar with Central Park. It has featured in plenty of TV programmes and films, so the sight of it is familiar to most people.

But there is more to the park than may at first meet the eye. For starters there is a Conservatory Garden included within the park, and if you like more formal gardens you should definitely make the time to see it. Look for the Vanderbilt Gate as this will lead into the Conservatory Garden.

So what can you expect to see here?

There are several distinct sections to the garden, and each one is quite delightful. There is a huge pergola around which there are several benches arranged so you can sit and appreciate the work that has gone into this wonderful place. The level of detail here is quite stunning. Nothing is out of place and everything is grown specifically to grace a certain area.

The Untermeyer Fountain provides a nice centrepiece in one part of the formal gardens, while a long walkway lined with trees provides some shade elsewhere during the summer months. Every part of the garden is a discovery waiting to be made, and it changes through the year just as all gardens do. It doesn’t however lose its formality though – which is a good thing of course.

The Secret Garden water lily pool is also worth looking for, as it is so named in memory of the author Frances Hodgson Burnett, who wrote ‘The Secret Garden’. This is just one example of the delightful nature of the formal gardens, which consistently appeal to you in different ways as you explore them.

As you can see, Central Park may indeed be slightly different in some areas than you would expect. If you are intending to visit the park while you are in New York, make sure you make some time to see the more formal Conservatory Gardens as well as the rest of it. They hold an appeal that is hard to deny, and hard to miss out on as well.

One thing is for sure when you go and see New York for yourself – you will realise that New Yorkers love to eat. They have amazing tastes in food and you would have too if you lived in a city with so many amazing flavours and meals around every single corner.

But let’s break this down a bit and see if we can focus in on one meal in particular. Breakfast is the biggest meal of the day for some – and it certainly should be for tourists who are looking to start the day on a full stomach. If you have lots of sightseeing to do you will want to get started in the right way, and there are plenty of venues you can head to for a proper New York breakfast experience.

The great thing is that no matter where you might be staying in the city, you will have a superb choice of venues to go to. If you want to try dim sum for breakfast then look no further than Ping’s Seafood in Chinatown. If you were thinking of eating something more all American than this, try it for a totally different way to wake up your taste buds!

If you still hanker after something all American, then you should definitely pay a visit to Good Enough to Eat. With a name like this you can be sure you will have a great time there, but the good news is that if you want a lie in you can still have breakfast there, as they never stop serving it.

They specialise in all kinds of American dishes here, so you will get the opportunity to try all those American foods and breakfast choices you always wanted to. This is one of the best restaurants in the city for a home cooked feel, so don’t pass it by.

Perhaps you don’t want to have a long drawn out breakfast though, not when you have so much to explore in the city. If this is the case you should make a point of visiting the City Bakery. There is no better way to start the day than with one of their pastries.

Let’s face it – New York is extremely difficult NOT to fall in love with. Whatever kind of holiday you want to have there, it can give it to you. Maybe you want to go on a long shopping weekend to take in all the major brand name stores. Perhaps you would rather explore Central Park and all the other green spaces in this most populated of cities. Perhaps you have a long list of all the major sights to go and see, such as the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and Times Square. The truth is, whatever you want to make of your holiday there, you will be able to have it.

New York is not just lovable for the things you want to do there though. It is also a big hit because of all the things it shows you that you aren’t expecting to see. There is fascination around every corner and whatever holiday you have in mind you will be able to experience all kinds of other things as well.

For instance have you considered seeing some of the city’s great artworks? There are museums and galleries galore here that would amaze you – even if you aren’t an art lover. Furthermore you might find you are captivated by the food that is available. From huge burgers eaten on street corners to gourmet tastes and meals eaten in swish restaurants, New York has it all.

We all know the song uses the name New York twice, but once you see it for yourself you will see just why this is the case. It is a city that has so much to share with you that a weekend will never be enough. Whatever your main reason for visiting the city might be, make sure you are aware that you will be pulled in for lots of other reasons as well.

Once you have visited for the first time, you will see that you can be prepared to visit again as soon as possible. Once is never enough and once you realise just what it has in store, you won’t want to leave either.

Every major city in the world has sights that absolutely must be seen to be believed. One of the main ones in New York is the Brooklyn Bridge and it is quite incredible to see it in person if you have only ever seen it on TV or in films.

The fact that it took a full fourteen years to build in the first place tells you something about how important and involved the construction process was. The building work began in 1869 and at the time New Yorkers thought it would be a waste and a folly. Little did they know the finished bridge would become an icon of the city, and a much loved one at that.

The bridge was officially opened in 1883 and since then its popularity has grown. It is one of the major New York sights that is well worth seeing whenever you plan a long weekend in New York. The total length is just short of 6,000 feet, which equates to around 1.1 miles. You can drive across it if you wish, but the best way to travel across the Brooklyn Bridge is to walk across it.

There is a walkway that goes right through the centre of the bridge, so you can walk underneath the two main and very distinctive pillars. It is also a terrific way to see much of Manhattan and Brooklyn as you cross from one borough to the other. But the bridge itself is amazing to see as you take your time in walking across it.

Another good thing about walking across is that you won’t have to tolerate cars speeding past you. The bridge was built so that pedestrians could use their own walkway a level above the road itself, so you will be able to see out and through the cables that hold the bridge in place.

There is no doubt that the Brooklyn Bridge is spectacular in many ways. It may have been deemed a folly before the first pieces of the bridge were created, but thankfully the project proceeded to give us one of New York’s best sights.

When you think of New York at New Year’s Eve, you cannot fail to think of Times Square. But there is a lot more to the location than that. No matter when you happen to be visiting this amazing city, you can’t go back home again without having seen Times Square for yourself.

Maybe it wouldn’t quite have the status it has if it still went by its original name of Longacre Square. This was the name it was known by before the New York Times newspaper moved into the Square in 1904. Not only did they manage to get the name changed to reflect the title of the newspaper, they also held a party to remember in the Square that New Year’s Eve.

But as we’ve mentioned already, Times Square is not just about New Year’s Eve. There is every reason to visit the area during the rest of the year too. There are several major attractions near here, including Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Odditorium. Of course you will also see the famous signs that advertise several well known companies here. Lots of tourists cannot resist whipping out their cameras to take some pictures of these signs – after all they are a famous and integral part of the Square itself.

There are famous shows in the area too so if you want to take in a Broadway production now is your chance to do so. Alternatively if it’s shopping you like to do, Times Square can cater for those needs as well.

You can even walk quite happily around Times Square at the moment without having to dodge lots of cars. This is because it has been pedestrianised in part. Although this is a trial there is every reason to hope it will become permanent, as it has led to more people being able to enjoy the area in a more relaxed way.

It’s clear that Times Square is an iconic part of New York and it is therefore one of the best spots to visit while you are there. Don’t miss it – and make the most of it.

When you think of New York you probably think of it as one large city. But in reality it is more than this. It is divided into areas that can be viewed as being very different from each other – because this is exactly what they are.

One such area is the Upper East Side. It is immediately to the east of Central Park, which makes it very easy to find when you arrive in the city. It is notable for several different reasons, but perhaps the biggest thing of all is that it is a very expensive area to live in. Madison Avenue is in this area of New York, and when you consider how pricey the shops are there, you’ll see why this area has people with expensive tastes and pockets living in it.

If you can’t quite stretch to having a shopping spree in this area you should definitely indulge in some window shopping. This is free of charge of course and it is great to see how the people living in this part of New York really live.

There are other attractions here as well, not least of which is Museum Mile. This is so called because one section of town has lots of museums virtually all one after the other.

Museum Mile used to go by another name – Millionaire’s Row. You’ll see why when you take a look at the buildings other than the actual museums here. It is still an incredibly wealthy area, and simply looking up at the apartment windows and buildings is an experience in itself in this part of New York.

The City of New York Museum is also in this area, and if you want to know more about the history of the city as a whole (as well as the Upper East Side) this is the place to come. It’s worth seeing this part of New York because of the architecture as well as the attractions, and you’ll learn more about it if you venture into that particular museum.

Window shopping and history – what better mix could there be?