A world beyond the Big Apple

ONE of the crucial decisions before visiting the city that allegedly never sleeps is where to lay your head.

The neon of Times Square might be as relentless as the line of yellow taxis bouncing down Second Avenue at 2am on a Tuesday, but the majority of New Yorkers don’t buy into those old songs and myths about their town; they need their beauty sleep as much as anyone else.

Now, thanks to a city-wide tourism campaign, visitors are being encouraged to look beyond the tired old rip-off that is Midtown Manhattan. The diverse neighbourhoods of Upper and Lower Manhattan, along with the outer boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, offer a real alternative for the discerning visitor. Even the much-maligned Bronx and Staten Island are forging their own identities.