New York walks appeal to currency-weary travellers

As more travellers opt to stay in the U.S. this year due to a weak dollar abroad, Context, the network of scholars who lead critically-acclaimed walking tours in several European cities, have opened their doors in New York City. A collective of professors, graduate students, and experts in a variety of disciplines, Context is known worldwide for their small-groups walks organized around a single theme and that appeal to an intellectually curious traveller.

The group has launched more than a dozen innovative walks in New York. These include the following:

Archaeology of Manhattan – a three hour walk of the city’s urban archaeology, including 17th century cisterns and pre-settlement artifacts collected in lower Manhattan over the last decades. Led by a practicing archaeologist, the walk includes a visit to the African Burial Grounds and NYC’s archaeology museum (normally closed to the public).

Impressionism (and Its Context) – a three-hour walk of the 19th century painting galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, led by a curator there who contextualizes Impressionism within that century’s art movements.

Jackson Heights: Immigration and Architecture – a three-hour walk of Jackson Heights, the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in New York. The walk also cuts through the historic garden district of the neighborhood, contrasting its historic past with its polyglot presence.

Morgan Library – a two-and-a-half hour walk of Pierpont Morgan’s library and world-renown art collection, led by a Library curator.

Architecture of NY – a three-hour “transect” of Manhattan down 42nd Street with a professor of architectural history, cutting through 120 years of American architecture from the 19th century Beaux Arts facades of Grand Central and the New York Public Library to Renzo Piano’s new New York Times building.

Chocolate Affair – a two-hour walk of Soho’s great chocolate shops, led by a pastry chef and food journalist.

“New York is a logical step for Context,” says the organization’s founder, National Geographic writer Paul Bennett. “Many of our clients are staying Stateside this year, and putting off their Paris or Rome trips until the dollar strengthens, the Euro weakens, or both. The city is as rich in art, culture, and history as our European bases; and a number of the scholars who lead our walks abroad have returned here to teach or do post-doctoral work.”

As is the case with its walks in other cities, all New York walks are led either by a scholar or expert in a relevant field. The fourteen “docents” comprising Context New York hail from the fields of historic preservation, art history, architecture, cuisine, and archeology. As with its other cities, group size will be kept small (6 people maximum) in order to maintain an intimate, conversational atmosphere that customers often liken to being in a college seminar class.

Founded by National Geographic writer Paul Bennett and interactive designer Lani Bevacqua, Context is a network of English-speaking scholars and professionals—including art historians, writers, architects, and gastronomes—who organize and lead didactic walking seminars across seven cities: Rome, Naples, Florence, Paris, Venice and (now) London and New York.

In May 2007, Travel + Leisure named Context one of the top European tour companies for its innovative approach to travel and the depth of its programs.

To learn more about Context visit its website at: Contexttravel.com