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Location - Ithaca and Tompkins County are located in the central Finger Lakes Region of New York State. 5 hours from NYC,3 hours from Niagara Falls, 2 hours from Rochester, 4.5 hours from Philadelphia.
The 14 counties in the Finger Lakes Region cover more than 9,000 square miles roughly the size of New Hampshire or Vermont, and slightly larger than the state of New Jersey.
Simeon DeWitt, at one time the State Surveyor General, founded Ithaca following the Revolutionary War.
Cayuga Lake is named after the Cayuga Indian Nation, one of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.
Ithaca is host to over 150 waterfalls, all of which lie within a 10-mile radius of downtown.
Tompkins County is home to 3 gorge parks. (There are only 6 within the entire state of New York.)
Taughannock Falls is 215 feet high, a greater vertical drop than Niagara Falls.
An avid boater can sail from the open ocean through the locks of the New York State Erie Canal, down Cayuga Lake to Ithaca.
The Sagan Planet Walk, built to honor the memory of Ithaca resident and Cornell University astronomer Carl Sagan, is a true-to-scale model of our solar system. It is one of the only walkable "planet walks" in the world. The Sciencenter, Ithaca's hands-on museum and outdoor science playground, is the sponsor of the Sagan Planet Walk, and is one of eight museums involved in the partnership of educational attractions called the DISCOVERY TRAIL. Some others include the Museum of the Earth and Cornell's Laboratory of Ornithology.
Ithaca offers more restaurants per capita than New York City.
The famous Moosewood Restaurant is located in Ithaca, and two of its famous cookbooks that present recipes for scrumptious vegetarian meals have won James Beard Awards in the healthy focus, and vegetarian categories.
The September/October 2003 issue of Organic Style magazine voted Ithaca the "best healthy city in the Northeast."
The downtown Ithaca Commons was named one of the New York's top design projects of the century by the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
With over 128 different species of fish in the Finger Lakes region, it is not surprising to see that Cayuga Lake was selected one of the top 10 bass-fishing lakes by Sports Afield magazine.
Ithaca was known as "The Film Capital," because from 1910-1920 silent movies such as The Perils of Pauline, were produced at Wharton Studios in Stewart Park.
Ithaca Hours, our local paper currency, has been featured in over 400 media venues nationally and abroad. The currency exchange has set standards worldwide and brings important visitors to Ithaca, such as Madame Mitterrand (former first lady of France,) and community development specialists from every continent.
Ithaca was designated "America's Most Enlightened City" by the Utne Reader in 1997.
   

photo © Kristian Reynolds



Notable Mentions

When you think of some of the great articles written about Ithaca, you probably remember the May/June 1997 issue of Utne Reader. The magazine ranked Ithaca as number one in an article titled, "The 10 Most Enlightened Towns in America." Well, needless to say, Ithacans are proud of this title that their town earned, and rightfully so, but, you may not know that many more articles were written within the past five years, many even within the past year, boasting Ithaca's beauty and numerous attractive qualities.

Here are just a few other notable titles our area has earned:

"America's 5 Best Mountain Biking Towns" Bike Magazine, June 2002.
"60 Best American Public Places," Utne Reader, January 2002.
"American Values-Where to Buy a Retirement Home," Smart Money Magazine, February 2002.
"Best Lesbian Places to Live-The Ten Lesbian Friendliest Cities in the USA," Girlfriends Magazine, November 2002.
"Best Places to Vacation," Money Magazine, April 2002.
"2002 Travel and Leisure 100 Great Escapes: Top 10 Trips," Travel & Leisure Magazine, March/April 2002.
"Best Fly Fishing Through North America, Fish and Fly Magazine, winter 2001.
"25 Terrific Places to Bring up a Family," Mothering Magazine, July/ August 2001.
Voted best healthy city in the Northeast by Organic Style Magazine, September / October 2003
"An artist-friendly alternative to New York and Los Angeles," By Susan M. Brackney in her new book entitled The No-so-Lost Soul Companion.
"Number 1 Emerging City," Cities Ranked and Rated by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander

The kudos keep coming! The New York Times featured Ithaca as a vacation destination in the October 25, 2003 issue. The article explores the captivating intellectual population, the perfect place to grab a happy hour special, where to eat, where to sleep and where to go for just about anything else an out-of-towner might want to do on a 36-hour trip to our city.

If you are interested in a press trip please let me know. Phone 607-272-1313, or contact me at Bruce@VisitIthaca.com


Ithaca/Tompkins County Convention & Visitors Bureau
904 East Shore Drive, Ithaca, New York 14850
Phone: 607-272-1313 or 800-28-ITHACA
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The official web site of Ithaca, New York and Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau in the Finger Lakes.
Complete guide to Ithaca, NY hotels, attractions, dining, shopping and recreation with maps and driving directions.