The Bronx, the northernmost of the five New York City boroughs, and the only one fully attached to the U.S. mainland, is a neighborhood full of heritage as well as some of the best kept secrets in New York tourism.
Bronx New York is named for the Bronx River which runs through the borough. Named for the Swedish man Jonas Bronck, the area’s first European settler establishing a large farm here in 1639, the Bronx River is also a Bronx travel destination for urban canoeing enthusiasts. However, don’t let serene activities, quaint beginnings, or the term ‘neighborhood’ fool you: Bronx New York, if listed as its own city, would (as of 2005) be the ninth most populous city in the United States. The Bronx is one large bite of the Big Apple.
Whether it includes sampling an unbelievable Italian
Bronx restaurant, taking in a sunny matinee at Yankee
Stadium, or walking among the animals at the largest
metropolitan animal park, the Bronx
Zoo, Bronx travel is a hip addition to any New York
tour, and even has the makings for a full vacation in
itself.
One thing that continually draws people north of Manhattan and into the world of Bronx travel is the world-famous Arthur Avenue. Many contend that this Little Italy district, full of old-world-style restaurants, shops, bakeries, meat markets, and delis, contains the best Italian food New York City has to offer. It isn’t hard to find a Bronx restaurant here that treats you like family and fills you up on savory stuffed pastas until you can’t walk back to the subway station. Bronx NY offers a taste of Italy that is a totally unique… just take the B or D Subway to Fordham and head south to Arthur Ave on 187th, and don’t ask the owner of a Bronx restaurant for any recipes!
For a brush with Mother Nature in the big city, Bronx New York offers two noteworthy centerpieces of Bronx travel: the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden. These major attractions, perhaps “sandwiched” around a lunch stop at a Bronx deli, can make for a pleasant day trip in Bronx NY. Both major landmarks are easy to get to: for the Bronx Zoo, take the #2 or #5 train to East Tremont Ave/West Farms Square. Walk uptown on Boston Road 2½ blocks to the Zoo’s Asia gate entrance. For the garden, Take the B, D, or 4 train to the Bedford Park Blvd Station. Walk eight blocks down the hill on Bedford Park Blvd to the end, turn left onto Kazimiroff Blvd and walk one block to Mosholu Gate entrance.
If these national landmarks (or the baked ziti) haven’t
filled your appetite for Bronx travel, when night falls
in the summer, enjoy the ultimate New York pop-culture
experience seeing the Bronx “bombers” do their
thing at Yankee Stadium. The history of the park itself,
the incredible talent between the chalk lines, and the
animated fans in the seats create the perfect end to a
spectacular day of Bronx NY sightseeing.
