Over eight million people call the Big Apple home,

and the city attracts up to fifty million visitors a year.

Ever since the Colonists arrived in 1624,

New York has been continuously shaped by the waves of immigrants drawn here

by the promise of hope, and liberty.

Every newcomer arrived with a cultural suitcase that contributed to the sounds,

tastes and textures of New York.

But it is their dreams which built the city. A city like no other!

New York touches not only the heavens with its mythic skyline,

its influence radiates to every corner of the globe.

Every street corner it seems, is familiar through documentary, movie and song.

New York's straightforward grid system makes it an easy city to explore

by foot, taxi, or on its subway, which, just like the city - never sleeps!

In Manhattan's Midtown, you'll find many of The Big Apple's most iconic symbols.

The Art Deco-designed Empire State Building is one of the most impressive

and endearing skyscrapers ever created.

The skyline may have grown up around it, but the view from the 102nd floor

is as breathtaking today as it was when it first opened in 1931.

New York has always been a place where "when the going got tough, the tough got going".

The Rockefeller Center, a visionary city within a city,

rose during the darkest days of the Great Depression.

Today, it's still a place of creativity, inspiration

and even more incredible views of the city.

Closer to earth is Grand Central Terminal.

Step into the Main Concourse, and feel the echo of every tearful farewell

and joyous greeting throughout the station's history.

New York has always been the gateway to the Land of the Free,

but it is also the city of the spree - the shopping spree!

This city is shopaholic heaven,

and Fifth Avenue with its eye-popping window displays

is the high temple of the retail world.

Times Square - one of the most visited tourist attractions on the planet.

Stand here, on the corner of Broadway and Seventh Avenue,

and you stand at the crossroads of the world.

It's also the place to snap up a half-price ticket to a Broadway show.

New York has been blessed with generous civic spaces.

But there is no greater chill-out space in the Big Apple than Central Park,

a beautiful 850-acre network of meadows and lakes.

This is the place where New Yorkers come to rest, romance, and express themselves.

Over the decades many New Yorkers made it big,

and much of that fabulous wealth was reinvested into collecting

some of the greatest artworks on the planet.

Nowadays, much of this art is available for everyone to enjoy.

A walk through the The Metropolitan Museum of Art

is a walk through 5000 years of humankind's greatest creative moments.

The Frank Lloyd Wright designed-Guggenheim is a different kind of walk,

one which spirals ever-upward through a dizzying collection

of 20th and 21st Century masterpieces.

Newcomers to New York spend much of their time looking skyward,

but since the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center,

a new attraction gives locals and visitors a chance to pause and bow their heads.

The Reflecting Absence memorial and museum honors the 3000 people

who lost their lives on that darkest of September days.

New York resonates with the sounds of over 800 language groups,

and nothing epitomizes this diversity like the city's neighborhoods.

Little Italy packs all the tastes and flavors of Italy into just a couple of streets,

while Soho attracts cool cats and well-heeled bohemians from all over the world.

A few streets away, Greenwich Village proudly retains the cafés and bars

where creative residents like Bob Dylan first performed before becoming American icons.

And then there are the boroughs.

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to the melting pot of Brooklyn.

With its own distinctive neighborhoods, museums, open spaces -

and who could forget Coney Island!

So welcome to New York City, The Big Apple.

We've only just given you a bite-sized taste of what this incredible city has to offer.

But if you've got an appetite for the very best things that life has to offer,

this is the destination for you -

there's enough to feast on here for a lifetime!