For those art lovers seeking city breaks this year, New York is worth a look as its Washington Square Park plays host to the twice-yearly outdoor art exhibition this September.

The art exhibition will be shown twice in September this year, firstly on the 5th to the 7th September and then again the next weekend on the 12th and 13th September.

The exhibition gives approximately 200 artists the chance to show their work on the display. Artists range from the younger, relatively unknowns to more established artists in contemporary art.

Those visiting Washington Square Park will be able to view a wide range of art and media forms in the exhibition, ranging from sculpture, watercolour, metalwork and photography.

The exhibition dates back to 1931 from the time when two young artists, William DeKooning and Jackson Pollock showed their own paintings on the pavement to try and raise money to cover their rent.

City breaks for art lovers in New York are ideal, as other places like the Guggenheim Museum are also available. Currently, the Guggenheim Museum is showing a retrospective dedicated to Frank Lloyd Wright until the 23rd August.

Those looking for holidays to New York from the UK can fly from major airports with airlines such as Continental and British Airways.

Reportedly, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts in America is reaping the rewards from investing approximately $250 million (£152 million) into its property portfolio this year.

The company is part of the IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) and has invested through renovations at several of its major establishments.

A huge proportion of this budget was taken up by the Crowne Plaza at Times Square in New York with a reported $85 million renovation, making it one of the most highly prized locations for city breaks to New York.

Another hotel receiving some of the investment through the restaurant, meeting space, improved lobby and guest rooms is the Washington DC Crown Plaza Old Town Alexandria.

Gina LaBarre, Crowne Plaza’s Vice-President of Brand Management in the Americas, said:

“We’ve seen a period of incredible growth over the past few years, mostly with conversion properties. To become even stronger players in the market, we’re elevating the brand a step further through a resurgence of major property renovations.”

Holidays and the number of holiday deals available in America have been boosted recently by the movement of the pound as it strengthened against the dollar.

In June this year, IHG opened a second Holiday Inn Express property in Colombia thus boosting its presence in South America.

British Airways has confirmed its intention to continue with initial plans to launch the new London City to New York flights later this year despite the global recession affecting the aviation industry.

The route is due to commence with its first business class-only service on the 29th September and will be the first long haul route from London City airport. BA intends to offer flights twice a day on the Airbus 318, which will be complete with 32 convertible seats that can lie fully flat to function as beds.

From London City airport, the Airbus 318 will refuel at the Ireland airport in Shannon. Whilst refuelling, passengers will be able to clear US customs checks so they can pass through New York’s JFK airport faster upon arrival.

Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of British Airways, said:

“In the harshest trading environment airlines have experienced, we believe it is more important than ever to embrace the future and innovate. That is what this historic new route is all about. There is real enthusiasm from our customers for this project. This is BA at its best - stylish, British and ahead of the game.”

Certainly the enthusiasm for city breaks and holiday deals to both New York and Las Vegas has returned following the movement of the pound versus the dollar recently;
BA is also intending to fly new services from Heathrow to Las Vegas later this year, which will be welcome news to those seeking city breaks in Las Vegas.

New York Restaurant Week is an annual event that usually runs for a fortnight each year, but this July, according to the tourism and marketing company NYC & Company, it is to be extended to three weeks.

This year, the event will commence on the 12th July and run to the 31st July. Hundreds of restaurants will partake in the initiative which offers three course lunches and dinners for a fixed price of $24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner, and is an ideal way for locals and those on city breaks to sample a wide range of restaurants.

The announcement was made on the popular blogging platform Twitter and NYC & Company has stated it intends to continue using Twitter to offer last minute reservation openings, special offers and other exciting last minute deals such as surprise chef appearances with other things planned.

Angela Tribelli, a spokeswoman for the marketing company said:

“NYC & Company is excited to be able to take advantage of its growing Twitter presence to reach NYC Restaurant Week fans in a new way. By giving avid diners access to insider information and exclusive booking information, we plan to grow our online audience while providing them with real value during NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2009 and beyond.”

Those taking city breaks to New York in July will be able to check on the New York official website for a list of participating restaurants.

The state of New York will be welcoming the renowned Body Worlds and The Story of the Heart exhibition when it opens next month in the city of Buffalo in New York State.

The Body Worlds exhibition will have already been seen by over 27 million people across the world when it opens on the 9th July for a limited time at the Buffalo Museum of Science and those taking city breaks in New York will be interested in catching the exhibition whilst it is there.

This acclaimed exhibition is based upon the process of plastination invented in 1977 by Dr Gunther von Hagens, which allows the human body to be preserved for some time following death. The Body Worlds exhibition is not for the faint hearted as over 200 genuine human specimens are featured meaning visitors will be able to examine closely the workings of their own bodies.

For those perhaps familiar with the city of New York from city breaks, but not so with Buffalo, Buffalo is the second largest city in the State of New York and is on the banks of Lake Erie close to Niagara Falls, another great tourist attraction for those on holiday.

Those looking for cheap holidays or discount holiday deals should be careful they don’t overspend when it comes to using their debit and credit cards abroad, according to the Daily Mail earlier this month.

When holidaymakers decide to use their debit or credit cards abroad, they should check beforehand what charges they may be liable for.

Those taking holidays in America to places like New York and Florida should check the exchange rate differences in using their card versus taking travellers cheques if they want to make the most of the dollar versus sterling exchange rate. In the current economic climate, most holidaymakers are watching every penny to avoid spending unnecessarily and the only way to be certain of the exchange rate you are receiving when spending abroad is to exchange your foreign currency before you go as the exchange rates can fluctuate all the time.

The newspaper does highlight however, that thanks to the Banking Code, any unauthorised transactions or unauthorised spending will be covered by a bank’s guarantee if you lose your card.

Of course, if you take travellers cheques, this is in many ways better than cash, as they are useless without a signature and therefore the theft of TCs is not the end of the world. Holidays abroad are to be enjoyed, not spent worrying about exchange rates.

Disney World Florida is one of, if not the most famous theme parks in the world, but holidays to Florida may be changed to last minute holidays to Pennsylvania if this claim is true.

The state tourist board claims that the new attraction recently opened at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania can be considered the ‘coolest ride of the summer’.

The new attraction is an aquatic ride and has been called The Boardwalk: The Seaquel. This new ride has two dominant features, one of which is a wave pool holding 378,000 gallons of water and the other is a slightly more relaxing waterway where holidaymakers can enjoy a scenic ride. The ride takes the total of attractions at Hersheypark to more than sixty.

Herseypark was built more than a hundred years ago by Milton Hershey, who is a famous chocolatier in America. Chocolate continues to play a role in the park, which includes a chocolate-themed spa.

The state of Pennsylvania borders with New York and Ohio states so it is an ideal excursion for those taking holidays in the area and have a little time to explore.

The New York official tourism agency, the NYC & Company, has put together a new concert guide which can be used by any music fans visiting New York over the summer this year.

The concert guide is available from the tourism agency’s website nycgo.com and tourists will find the information it contains particularly useful if they want to view any of several low cost or even free concerts that are available within the five boroughs of New York.

George Fertitta, chief executive of NYC & Company, said:

‘the music programmes being offered throughout the five boroughs this summer are a wonderful opportunity for artists to share their talent and give back to the community. We invite everyone to immerse themselves in the excitement of the shows and support the arts by attending.’

Amongst the concert highlights over the next few months is the River to River festival in the famous Manhattan district, Summerstage in the world renowned Central Park and Celebrate Brooklyn, a free performing arts event that is one of the city’s longest performing arts events.

Those seeking direct holidays to New York are able to fly from all major UK airports with airlines such as British Airways, Continental Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

Holiday passengers of US Airways will be able to make use of a new complimentary wi-fi service at several of its airport lounges in airports across the USA.

This new free service was announced by US Airways this month and will be available to US Airways Club members. Non-members will also be able to request access cards at the lounges offering the service in order to use the wi-fi network themselves.

At the moment, US Airways has an Envoy lounge in Philadephia as well as 18 club lounges in 14 different cities.

New York is one of the first cities to be included in the launch of the new wi-fi service, along with Los Angeles, Tampa and Philadelphia among others.

According to US Airways, they expect all of the US Airways Club lounges to be able to offer the free wi-fi internet connection by the end of this summer.

An increasing number of passengers are expected to catch connecting flights at the hub in Charlotte, North Carolina from the end of this year when its new flight service to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is launched in December.

Most business travellers and an increasing number of passengers on holidays expect to be able to access the internet from wherever they are and so this new service is expected to be met with enthusiasm.

As reported in an earlier article, city breaks to New York have increased in demand recently due to the strength of the sterling against the dollar at the moment.

Virgin Atlantic is offering two return flight tickets to New York as prizes for a YouTube competition.

Their ‘Love at First Flight’ television advertisement generated several complaints when it was on TV but since it has proved so popular on the internet they are bringing it back with a twist to be aired on ITV from the 10th to the 22nd June.

Sir Richard Branson is celebrating on 22nd June, the 25th anniversary of Virgin Atlantic, by offering the New York flight tickets as a prize along with tickets to the birthday celebrations being held in Manhattan, New York. To enter, entrants must send in a video to form part or the entire advert, which will be judged by YouTube viewers.

There will be plenty who cannot wait that long though, and in order to take advantage of the stronger sterling at the moment will be looking for last minute holidays to New York. City breaks in New York are one of the most popular city breaks worldwide, but particularly with the British.