NYC Fun Facts & Travel Tips – Illustrated Guide to New York City #marriottvacay #travel

New York City is a popular travel destination, and for good reason. There are a ton of things to do, it’s full of iconic landmarks, and delish dining can be found everywhere. Even at the heart of the city where people are bustling about day and night, several family-friendly hot spots can be found in and around Times Square. If you haven’t made it to that part of the country yet, a trip is definitely in order for you and your family!

The Best Time to Visit New York City

I’d definitely recommend traveling to New York in early fall, sometime around October. Practically all of the leaves change color and it’s gorgeous! It’s especially beautiful while driving through upstate New York with picturesque colonial homes and open fields housing colorful barns. Actually, it’s been a while since I’ve traveled to NYC. The last time was back in 2012 and I even ended up going twice, once in April (Marvel’s The Avengers press trip) and then again in May (BlogHer ’12. Looks like I’m due to plan a trip there too!

There’s also a rich history to be found and much of it is connected to the Netherlands aka Holland. When visiting New York City, my husband sometimes acts as my personal tour guide. He’ll point out names of streets, tunnels, buildings, etc. that have Dutch origins and shares interesting factoids about them. Did you know that Brooklyn was first called Breukelen, a town that still exists in the Netherlands? Did you know that Staten Island came from Staaten Eylandt, meaning State Island and named after the Dutch Parliament?

Fun Facts & Travel / Dining Recommendations

While you can’t borrow my hubby on your next trip to New York, you can learn more about the city in the infographic below. In addition to fun history facts, there’s also a list of key attractions and restaurant recommendations. Information is nicely laid out according to location and is sorted by New York City’s five boroughs – Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island! I think Marriott did a great job with this infographic.

New York City’s Five Boroughs An infographic by the team at Marriott New York

One time, we stayed at the Marriott in Brooklyn. The room was clean, the building was centrally located, and they had an indoor pool! I’d definitely recommend booking a reservation there. Even when traveling to other destinations, you can stay with Marriott as it has over 3,800 properties in over 74 countries and territories around the world.

So save your pennies and plan a trip to the Big Apple in 2014. Maybe we’ll even run into each other there 🙂

I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, however all content and opinions expressed here are my own.