If you’re planning a visit to New York City, one of the best places to start is at the state’s official visitor’s bureau. They can be reached on the internet at www.iloveny.com, and offer a variety of information on sites, accommodations and other resources to help you plan your trip. For international travellers, there is even a special department for helping you with any special needs or information. The NYS Division of Tourism (International Travel) office can be contacted through the same website as above.

Once you are in the city, you’ll have a number of resources available for tourist information. There are visitor’s centres at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal and at Penn Station as well as other locations around town. But one of the best resources for tourists in NYC is the Big Apple Greeters. This non-profit organization uses volunteers to give visitors a kind of ‘introduction’ to the city via informal walking tours through different neighbourhoods. They’ll make accommodations for various language needs or disabilities as well. Be sure to contact them at least a month before arriving by filling out a Visit Request Form on their website at www.bigapplegreeter.org

If you have a specific area of interest, such as arts and cultural programs, history and heritage programs or even information on one of the other Burroughs of New York City, there are a number of specialty information offices that you can find through the iloveny.com website as well.