Things to Do in Mount Vernon

NYSee Tours explores renowned sights in New York City with three combination bus-and-walking tours, each led by effusive guides who flavor the sights with history, anecdotes, and their distinct personalities. Under the direction of owner and lifelong New Yorker Fred Pflantzer, they lead tours to prominent destinations including Central Park, Grand Central Terminal, Greenwich Village, Chinatown, the Southstreet Seaport, Lower East Side, and parts of Brooklyn, including Williamsburg and Red Hook. The Brooklyn Grand tour shepherds tour-goers through notable Brooklyn neighborhoods and landmarks, including Prospect Park, Greenwood Cemetery, and Williamsburg, stopping for lunch at Fairway Market in Red Hook along the way. On the Get Acquainted East Side tour, passengers take in New York City history with stops at South Street Seaport, Chinatown, the Lower East Side, Union Square, and the New York Public Library.

For 34 years, artists, gallery owners, and publishers have travelled from all over the world to showcase their talent and favorite work in Artexpo's large exhibition space during an event lauded by the L.A. Times, Fine Art magazine, Wall Street Journal, and NBC. A diverse palette of renowned artists and their masterpieces have shown at Artexpo, including Robert Rauschenberg, Keith Haring, and Andy Warhol, whose work was overshadowed by the much-anticipated appearance of his beloved soup can. Today, Artexpo New York serves as an innovative marketplace where artists can garner attention and generate buzz.

Harlem’s illustrious past and multifaceted present open up to tourists courtesy of Welcome to Harlem’s knowledgeable guides, all of whom are residents of the neighborhood. Day and evening tours are organized by interest, showcasing culinary hot spots, historic jazz venues, stunning architecture, shopping destinations, or rollicking church services. Landmarks such as the legendary Apollo Theater, Columbia University, and the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine open up to guests, providing a casual, intimate view that can’t be attained on an unaccompanied stroll or while being chased by a clown car.

Collecting from the darkest depths of the ocean, beneath layered bedrock, or from the farthest reaches of space, the American Museum of Natural History catalogues, studies, and shares the latest knowledge about the natural world. The Museum's famed permanent halls explore an array of topics, from human ancestry throughout the ages to deep history of lands ruled by dinosaurs. The Museum’s far-reaching educational programs extend beyond the permanent exhibits and the confines of the building, reaching into middle and high schools to fund and conduct hands-on, student-driven experiments. The Museum also supports scientific expeditions around the world, providing archeologists and paleontologists with essential supplies and Indiana Jones Halloween masks.

Leading more than 30 bike tours across the nation, the cycling enthusiasts at Bike and Roll fuel a passion for healthy, eco-friendly transportation via guided tours and self-guided rides atop rental bikes. Their fleet of two-wheelers stakes a claim to Trek bicycles—the same brand that propelled Lance Armstrong to victory—and other recreation, transportation, road, and children's bikes. Riders can pedal behind a guide during the Ride 'Round Manhattan tour, which circles the Statue of Liberty and the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial before cruising along the Harlem River bike path. More adventurous cyclists can board rental cycles on their own and confer with free maps to conduct a jaunt across the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges while drinking in the skyline and making Waldo spottings along the river. Bike and Roll also outfits patrons with other specialty transportation, such as in-line skates, segways, and magic carpets programmed to swing past the tops of only historic buildings.:m]]

BumbleBee Tennis's wide spectrum of tennis programs for juniors and adults nurture players at every step of game development. Skilled instructors helm a variety of lessons from Intro to Tennis classes to private one-on-one intensives. All teachers are trained professionals and most have played competitively at the collegiate level. While helping students focus on technique and making solid contact with the ball, instructors also attempt to ensure that everyone from youngsters to veterans enjoys the game and knows which racket string corresponds with which guitar chord. Adults interested more specifically in the cardiovascular aspect of the game can enroll in Cardio Tennis, a 60-minute class comprised of high-intensity drills and games that elevate heart rates into the aerobic zone and subsequently evaporate calories.