Cornell’s McGraw Tower. Photo by S. Inman
Over the last several years, dozens of our interns have been Cornellians, and some have even been born-and-bred Ithacans. It is often said that Ithaca is “ten square miles surrounded by reality,” for reasons that we won’t go into here and might be gleaned from the text below. But if Ithaca is sometimes seen as a bubble, then it can be expected that students at Cornell University or, to a lesser degree, Ithaca College live in an even more insulated shell that separates them from the city of Ithaca.
So it’s somewhat refreshing to see a descriptive post by an Ithaca resident–but McGill University graduate–in National Geographic’s Intelligent Travel section. Under the “Beyond the Guidebook” category, Alizé Carrère wrote a quick but information-packed list of things that she loves about her city, which you can read below or here:
Summer is the best time to visit my city because that’s when Ithaca really comes to life. Many of the college students leave for summer break, so the city opens up and all of the best outdoor attractions are in their prime. You can enjoy waterfall hikes, summer concerts in the park, patio happy hours, fresh produce in local restaurants, and twilights that stretch into the nine o’clock hour.
You can see my city best from the top floor of Cornell University’s Johnson Art Museum, which reveals a near 360-degree view of Ithaca, including Cornell’s beautiful campus and the south end of Cayuga Lake. The museum itself, which looks like a giant sewing machine, was designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei, the creative mind behind the striking (and once controversial) glass pyramid in front of the Louvre.
