Ithaca offers small city charm and big city culture. The downtown area is lined with art galleries, antique stores and a wide array of internationally flavored dining experiences. Its relatively small size means that it is easily experienced on foot. Arriving by car will open up the surrounding region and all that it has to offer.


The thriving art scene of Ithaca literally spills out of the galleries and onto the streets. While strolling down State Street, you can buy handmade jewelry at stalls run by the artists themselves. The town itself reflects the artistic nature of its population through its wide range of cultural offerings. Theaters operate year-round, and the area's only opera bases itself in Ithaca. Shopping is plentiful in Ithaca and while Ithacans may use "Hours" the local currency to support the economy, dollars and cents are glady accepted.

While Ithaca is famous for the series of gorges cutting their way through town, this built-in scenery is only a sampling of what the region has to offer. Located at the southern tip of Lake Cayuga, the longest of the Finger Lakes, Ithaca provides easy access to the surrounding countryside. The rolling farmland that follows Lake Cayuga north is home to one of New York's more productive wine regions. Nearby State Parks in Tompkins County contain miles of hiking and biking trails, access to the lake itself, and a waterfall higher than Niagara Falls.