Boston & New York: East Coast Rivals

Follow a portion of the red brick trail that lines Boston's sidewalks and visit some of the most important historical sites of the American Revolution and the Abolitionist movement. This 2.5 mile walk, beginning at the Boston Common and ending at the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, also includes the site of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere's house, and the Old North Church.

Get a panoramic view of the Boston skyscape from the Prudential Skywalk. Currently the highest observation deck in New England that is open to the public, you can see all the way to the Boston Harbor to the east, and all the rest of this major Eastern metropolitan area to the west. See if you can spot the Old North Church, the Clock Tower, Quincy Market and many other Boston landmarks from your airy perch.

Salem, site of the first colony in Massachusetts, is remembered more for the fantastic events that occurred in 1692, when local girls accused three women of witchcraft. The accusations spread, and in one year nineteen women and one man were executed as witches. Theories about the reasons behind the witch hunt abound -- tension over traditional Puritan values conflicting with new commercial interests, fear of recent smallpox outbreaks and Indian attacks manifesting itself, even hallucinogenic fungus growing in the town's rye -- but not conclusive answer has been found. Explore the history, theories, and myths with your local step on guide. Want a more chilling witch experience? Visit the House of the Seven Gables, made famous in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short novel. In his version, the spooky, rambling house was cursed when bought unfairly from a witch. Even if you ignore the ghost stories, the house offers a great inside look at the oldest surviving 17th-century wooden mansion in New England.

Owned by relatives of Nathaniel Hawthorne, this house became the inspiration for the setting of one of America's most important first author's novels. Now reconstructed to specifically match some of the fictional liberties Hawthorne implemented in his novelistic descriptions of the house, the House of Seven Gables gives visitors a first-hand look at a re-creation of a novelist's vision, as well as a look at the architecture of a bygone era.

One of America's first cities, Boston straddles the Old and New World, its winding streets and busy harbor evoking Victorian England even while its skyscrapers and cutting-edge institutions reflect the American penchant for growth and change. See the city's (and nation's) origins at the Boston Common and State House, site of the Boston Massacre that helped spark the American Revolution. Copley Square and Back Bay bring to mind the literary Boston of Emerson, James, and Thoreau, with graceful houses and wide sidewalks testifying to the area's historic wealth (the posh area had more humble beginnings, however; it started out as a swamp!). You'll also see Boston's North End, which the city's large Italian population has claimed for its own since the 1920s. While the gelato and cannoli here may be sweet, they're no match for Boston's weirdest disaster -- in 1919, a giant storage tank of molasses collapsed, sending a 15-foot-high wave of the sticky sweet goo through the neighborhood and killing 21 people.

Take a walking tour through the humming streets of New York’s Midtown which is the home of famous sights such as Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Madison Square Garden and some of the city’s most revered museums and institutions.

The third-tallest building in the world (only the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur are taller), the Empire State Building rises over the Manhattan skyline like a throne. Admire its Art Deco curves up close as you ascend a quarter of a mile skyward to get New York's best aerial view. From the top, you'll see the Monopoly-board patchwork of skyscrapers, hotels, apartments, and parks that make up the city. Note that the tallest buildings cluster in Midtown -- this section of the island has the strongest foundations, making it the only area where skyscrapers won't sink into the harbor.

The statue, a joint venture between the U.S. and France, was commissioned to honor the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the friendly Franco-American relations established at that time. Once a gallows field for convicted pirates, Ellis Island became a federal immigration station in 1892. In the years that followed, Ellis Island saw roughly 12 million immigrants pass through its halls to enter the United States of America. In 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson declared the island part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, and in 1990 it was reopened as the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, which today attracts over 2 million visitors per year. Afterwards, take a ferry from the islands to Battery Park, a short walk to the 9/11 Memorial. (Note: The 9/11 Memorial is pending availability).

Tour Lower Manhattan, where industry, immigration, and colonial history converge. As the symbol of Western capitalism, Wall Street's modern traders bristle with cell phones, PDAs, and other modern tech accessories. This area's original traders, however, were Dutch colonialists, who gave the street its name by building a wall here to protect themselves from British settlers. Nearby Trinity Church, once the tallest building in the city, holds the grave of Alexander Hamilton and other Revolutionary luminaries who helped shape the emerging United States, and thousands of immigrants, who shaped the modern country, came in through Battery Park, the immigration entry point for the city until the operation moved to Ellis Island.

As Daniel Libeskind's design for the World Trade Center site slowly materializes, new hope and peace are infusing lower Manhattan. See the site where the original towers stood and where countless family members, friends, and sympathetic strangers paid their respects to those killed in the September 11th attacks, and witness the new plans for the future businesses, public space, and memorials that will soon stand here.

See the essentials of New York City on a tour with an experienced local guide. Stroll past the chic shops and art galleries of Greenwich Village and SoHo, and soak up the Bohemian style of the East Village. Then score authentic New York City pizza and knock-off designer sunglasses in Little Italy and Chinatown, respectively. The combination of each neighborhood’s ethnic enclaves creates the complex culture so characteristic of New York City.

The Metropolitan Museum, known to New Yorkers as the MET, houses a vast permanent collection of over two-million works of art, as well as cutting-edge feature exhibitions from the world’s most prominent artists. Tour the museum’s grand halls, drawing inspiration from the masters. Highlights include European Paintings, Modern Art & Photography, and The Costume Institute, as well as the stunning traditional works of Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.

Take a walking tour of the most famous park in the United States. With over 800 verdant acres located smack-dab in the middle of bustling Manhattan, Central Park has been a bucolic oasis amidst the towering buildings of urban New York. Your local guide will lead you through the park, as you make your way past bikers, rollerbladers, and the occasional horse-and-buggy! And don't forget to watch out for one of Central Park's most famous year-round residents, Pale Male, the red-tailed hawk that calls Central Park his home.

New York has always been the embodiment of the American melting pot, and nowhere is its ethnic and national diversity more on display than in the United Nations Building. The 18-acre complex is officially international territory, with six official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), its own postage stamps, and an enormous staff representing over 200 countries. See the chambers where the UN councils meet and learn more about the UN's peacekeeping and diplomatic goals and history. (pending availability)