Sep 30, 2024 • 3 min read
04.10.2024 - 17:15 / cntraveler.com / New Yorkers
Fall in NYC comes as a relief. The city in summer has its virtues—emptier streets, more easily-acquired reservations at most of the best restaurants—but the heat and the reek of garbage baking in it more than wear out that season’s welcome well before September slouches, sweating, into frame. Flattering it is not that autumn follows on its heels, not only turning off the oven but also invigorating New Yorkers who can now don the jackets they are so proud of and walk at their usual bracing clips without perspiring quite so readily.
This is my fourth fall in NYC, and I can now say with ease that it is autumn—late September but especially October and November—that takes the crown as the best season in which to spend time in New York. Residents weather all seasons, of course, but if you’re merely paying us a visit it would be wise to do so during these months. The bearability of the temperature and mildness of the weather generally ensures that you can spend as much time walking around as you’d like between meals and museum visits. Walking around, if you are able, is the best way to see New York. (If you’re not, the open-air double decker tour buses are actually wonderful and make for a grand afternoon.) As icing, this time exists at the nexus of hot coffee-appropriate temperatures where you don’t necessarily need to be extending a gloved hand to the world (although the fabulous black leather pair worn by Meg Ryan in the to-be-referenced film below would not be out of place). The math is simple.
Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan enjoy autumnal Central Park in When Harry Met Sally…
Walking is also conducive to talking, and it follows that doing so as one should in fall breeds intimacy with one’s companions. Just think of When Harry Met Sally, when the titular characters as played by Billy Crystal and Ryan stroll Central Park over a bed of fallen leaves, with vivid reds still blazing overhead. Fall blazes through much of that film, in fact—in that scene, they’re talking about the recurring dreams that have long haunted their respective sleeps en route to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Once inside, the same scarlet foliage reappears, this time framed by the floor-to-ceiling windows that let the light in on the former Sackler Wing’s Temple of Dendur. It’s a fiery breach of an otherwise uniformly, serenely gray and brown space—an explosion of feeling, if you will, such reds and oranges being colors of passion, lava, and hot metal.
Although this sequence alone does more than enough for fall, the filmmakers went further to set it almost entirely within that season in New York (with the exception of the final scenes that move through wintry Christmas and New Year’s; never mind that such snow and ice do not come to the
Sep 30, 2024 • 3 min read
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October is here and so are these great points and miles deals, and the latest in credit card perks—all of which come in handy for leaf-peeping trips, spooky getaways for Halloween, and last-minute journeys to chase some autumn sun. (Need some ideas? Check out this list of the best places to visit in October to get the travel inspiration going.) And for the aviation geeks: Here’s a rundown of the latest loyalty industry news and perks, so you don’t have to scour the internet to find them. Register for these points and miles deals to boost your account balances, and then start planning where you want to go next. We've got all the best points and miles deals for October, below.
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There’s never a wrong time of year to visit the Berkshires, the mountainous stretch of western Massachusetts located just 140 miles north of New York City. You can thank the fall’s vibrant display of foliage, summer’s Tanglewood music festival that draws crowds from all over the world, and a steady tide of new hotel openings to take advantage of as cozy winter getaways and for ski season. The region also has strong roots as an artists community, with a robust community of galleries, independent boutiques, and museums. And for city dwellers looking to stretch their legs, the Berkshires is also home to scenic hiking trails and winter slopes for every activity and ability level.
Whether you're booking your first voyage or your tenth, narrowing down the best Alaska cruise in 2025 is a complicated task.
A town in Japan is taking necessary steps to block the iconic panoramic view of Mount Fuji from a popular photo spot due to a surge in tourist crowds trying to get the perfect shot. This has caused frustration and safety concerns for local residents and businesses in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, prompting authorities to erect a mesh barrier to ensure safety and order.
For dwellers of the mountains or high desert, a good pair of hiking boots is essential. As a gear tester and editor at Matador, I’ve worn many pairs from brands both established and new, and given that I hike hundreds of miles per year, have become quite picky about what I want in a pair of boots for the trail. I recently acquired a pair of Oboz Cottonwood Mid Waterproof hiking boots, listed with the term B-DRY on the REI website, after demoing them at a trade show, and after a month of constant trail use, the boots have earned their place in my gear collection as my new pair of go-to hiking boots. Here’s why.