Travel to New York now

We know it well: due to the Coronavirus emergency, we cannot travel at this time and it is goThe Metropolitan Museum of Art project called Met 360 ° is also interesting.

It consists of six short videos (each lasting less than 2 and a half minutes), made with 360 ° spherical technology, designed to show the museum's artistic treasures and architecture from a beautiful perspective.

Spoiler, spoiler!

We want to tell you in advance where these videos will take you:

1. Great Hall
2. The Met Cloisters
3. The Temple of Dendur
4. The Met Breuer
5. The Charles Engelhard Court
6. Arms and Armor Galleries
7. 
   

od to stay at home .

But ... not for this the lovers of the Big Apple (therefore us and you 😊) will want to "hang on the nail" the dream of going to New York!

Fortunately, we have many free resources on the web that allow us to virtually visit New York and its attractions , while we wait to be able to really go (or return). ❤️

These are engaging and useful resources to get informed, distracted, travel with the mind, have the feeling of being at least a little bit in New York City, and get ready for the next trip to the Big Apple.

Some of the sites that we will suggest will allow you to travel virtually to other places in the world: not bad!

So let's find out how to go to New York by sitting on the sofa at home.

See New York with live webcams 🧐

To see what's happening right now in New York, we recommend you visit EarthCam Inc. , A New Jersey company that provides webcam content, technologies and services.

Their site shows in real time, and from different angles, iconic places such as Times Square , the Brooklyn Bridge , the bull of Wall Street , the Statue of Liberty . And the list goes on.

For example, try peeking into the Times Square webcams: look at the lights, notice the movement of some cars, the background noise, and then tell us if it's not exciting.

It seems to be really there.

On the site you will also find interesting time-lapse videos (those that run faster than normal) and many images.

If you are ready, click the button below, then type "New York" in the search field " search" (in the top of the screen), and you're done!

Visit the museums of the Big Apple 🏤

Thanks to Google Arts & Culture , we can admire a large online collection of high resolution images of the works of art exhibited in various museums around the world.

On the project website, by typing "New York" in the search field with the lens icon (which you will find at the top right) you will be offered the collections of the most famous museums of the Big Apple, such as MoMA , the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) , the Guggenheim , the Whitney Museum , the Brooklyn Museum .

The only difficulty will be to ... choose!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art project called Met 360 ° is also interesting.

It consists of six short videos (each lasting less than 2 and a half minutes), made with 360 ° spherical technology, designed to show the museum's artistic treasures and architecture from a beautiful perspective.

Spoiler, spoiler!

We want to tell you in advance where these videos will take you:

1. Great Hall
2. The Met Cloisters
3. The Temple of Dendur
4. The Met Breuer
5. The Charles Engelhard Court
6. Arms and Armor Galleries

See New York in 360 ° in about 15 minutes! ⏰ 🤓

How long does it take to visit the Big Apple? Usually we recommend at least a week (however here you will find suggested itineraries ranging from 1 to 7 days).

For a virtual visit , however, a quarter of an hour or so on the YouVisit website could also be enough , a company that transforms - "magically", we could say - traditional photos and videos into immersive and interactive content.

On YouVisit you will find, therefore, images and videos with excellent definition , and you will have the possibility of

• rotate the images 360 °
• enjoy in-depth content by clicking on specific points on the screen
• listen to a nice virtual guide who will provide you with explanations in English

But let's go to New York !

Its dedicated section on YouVisit seems very successful to us ; Did you have doubts that the Big Apple could be a perfect model ?!

It starts with a two-minute presentation video , shot from a helicopter flying over the city (because, you know, flying over the Big Apple by helicopter is a must in New York).

Mink recommended even for those who would not have the courage to get on a helicopter!

The images are so realistic that you will feel that you can touch the skyscrapers: if you want, you can also stealthily reach out to the tip of the Empire State Building or try to caress the Freedom Tower .

So, while you gesticulate trying to reach these buildings nobody will see you or, at most, your family or roommates will notice you, they will have a laugh 😂 (very well: a laugh lengthens life!).

You can also admire, with 360 ° images, numerous attractions, described by your virtual guide, Maria:

• Statue of Liberty
• Ellis Island
• South Street Seaport
• Union Square
• Herald Square
• Madison Square Garden
• Empire State Building
• Times Square
• Grand Central Terminal
• Top of the Rock
• Brooklyn bridge

The Colonia Tovar

It was 1843. A group of German immigrants, specifically 145 men, 96 women and 117 children from the German cities of Wyhl, Edingen and Oberbergen, embarked for Venezuela to give life to that colonization plan created by the Italian cartographer Agustin Codazzi on the specific will of the local government, a project that aimed to revitalize the country's economy after the gap created by the war for the independence of Venezuela .

Not everyone knows the history of Colonia Tovar , a pretty village with a typically European style nestled on the first offshoots of the Andes in the state of Aragua. A story of good wishes but also of suffering. The Germans, in addition to carrying the tools of the rebirth, such as seeds, seedlings and equipment, also brought with them a fearsome disease, at that time highly fatal, smallpox. As many as 70 people died during the trip and only after 40 days of quarantine inside their boat were they able to settle in that corner of Venezuela wanted by Codazzi, as suggestive as it is isolated, both for geography and for internal rules that prohibited marriage outside outside the colony. So it was that for over 100 years all their traditions were passed down from generation to generation, including language.

I reached the Colonia Tovar by bus, leaving from the ground terminal of the city of La Victoria. Easy to understand why a city like this had remained isolated for a long time. Asphalt roads have now been built for a location that has become the staple in the tourist economy of the area but once it had to be an ordeal: an inexorable climb between hairpin bends and precipices for a jump of over 1300 meters in 35 kilometers. The Colonia Tovar is located at an altitude of over 2000 meters above sea level and the climate here becomes an opportunity to escape the high temperatures of other areas of Venezuela. Suffice it to say that here the average annual daytime temperature is around 16 degrees centigrade while the night temperatures are around 5 degrees Celsius. A perfect climate for growing vegetables and fruit trees. That's why walking here it is very frequent to see colorful stalls adorned with fresh fruit. A tip: try the strawberries or peaches accompanied by a delicious pastry cream.

The atmosphere in the city is different from other destinations I have touched in the country. The architecture refers to the traditional German one with reddish roofs and half-timbered facades, the food sees typically German dishes with frankfurters, sauerkraut and beer, people show mixed somatic features and it is not difficult to find men and women with blond hair and blue eyes. Clearly, isolation is now only a memory and all German descendants speak Spanish and the population has rapidly grown, from 1300 inhabitants in 1963 to over 20,000 today.

If you can, try to come here during the week when there are few tourists and it is pleasant to walk. On holidays and weekends, in fact, the Colonia Tovar is filled, above all with "caraqueños" that from the capital Caracas, just 50 kilometers away, come here to escape the frenetic rhythms of the metropolis. 

What to see in Colonia Tovar:

• Historic center . The heart of the town is Plaza Bolivar, around which most of the most important buildings are located, such as the Iglesia de San Martín de Tours, the Casa Codazzi and the Old School. 
• City museum . It offers an insight into the history, customs and traditions of the Germanic people in Venezuela. 
• Breikanz Mall . a series of shops offering particular crafts in Germany and typical of the region. 
• Tovar Brewery : the first Venezuelan beer produced here since 1843. Since then the production has been the same since then and the quality standards are those required by the Bavarian purity law of 1516. 

Unfortunately, the economic crisis that is currently going through is also felt here. Local residents are forced to wait in long lines to purchase basic necessities or simply to withdraw current money from an ATM. The city is quieter than other cities in Venezuela, however especially when traveling it is good to take the necessary precautions (do not flaunt wealth, do not bring valuables etc.) and remember to take out travel insurance for a more peaceful stay.

WHERE TO SKI IN AUTUMN: SÖLDEN, AUSTRIA

The ski resort of the Ötztal , valley of the Austrian Tyrol, is the first to appear at the starting gate of the 2019/2020 ski season and not only for the now classic opening of the men's and women's World Cup.

Since September, the slopes of the two domes skiable on the Rettenbach and Tiefenbach glaciers , at over 3000 meters above sea level , are available to enthusiasts . The novelties also include the 10-seater gondola gondola lift in Hochsölden , which can also be used by non-skiers, which leads to the Giggijoch ski area and its gourmet restaurants.

The largest skiable area on glaciers in the whole of Austria

Sölden first! Not far from the Brenner border, the skiable domain of the Tyrolean valley of the Ötztal proposes itself in pole position for the 2019/2020 skiing season allowing, already at the beginning of autumn (ski lifts opening on 13 September), the first fantastic descents thanks to the perfectly prepared slopes on the two glaciers, the Rettenbach and the Tiefenbach (connected by a spectacular ski tunnel), both at an altitude of over 3000 m: this makes the area, 20 km², culminating at 3340 m of the Schwarze Schneid, the largest Austrian glacier area dedicated to skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts.

But you don't have to wait long: on November 14, shortly after the vernissage of the Ski World Cup at the end of October - because all 31 ski lifts in Sölden and its appendix at altitude, Hochsölden, are open giving access to 144 kilometers of routes for all abilities with absolutely guaranteed snow. With the possibility of relying on a network of hundreds of accommodation solutions among hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfasts, apartments etc.

Pleasant moments of rest in a spectacular alpine environment are also ensured by more than 30 mountain huts and restaurants. And on the top of Gaislachkogl (3,048 m), reachable in just 12 minutes from Sölden thanks to a comfortable cable car, a gastronomic must is represented by Ice Q, the highest gourmet restaurant in Europe , futuristic glass and steel structure, flanked by an option for a spectacular après-ski: the 007 Elements interactive installation, dedicated to the most famous secret agent in the world and in particular to the latest film, "Specter", which right here, in a breathtaking location among the peaks of the Ötztal saw some exciting scenes filmed.

From 25 to 27 October on the slopes of the Rettenbach the Ski World Cup begins with the giant male and female slalom

The first stage of the Ski World Cup circuit cannot fail to have Sölden as its inaugural date (this has been happening since the 93/94 edition) and in particular the snows of the Rettenbach glacier. Here, from 25 to 27 October, the weekend will be dedicated to female and male giant slalom. Among the blue and red doors of a very steep track, all the best specialists will compete: in the first season that does not see two absolute myths like Linsday Vonn and Marcel Hirscher at the starting gates , who will be their emuls? And for fans there will be a way to measure themselves, after the races, on the tracks crossed by the champions.