Covid has taught us to be humble about predictions, but the latest numbers are heartening: U.S. cases have fallen 35% in the last month. This follows many expert predictions about the Delta variant and comes with other good numbers: hotel demand and Times Square pedestrian traffic are hitting pandemic-era highs. Manhattan office leasing is at its highest level since 2019. The volume of Manhattan home sales is the highest it's been in 30 years. People are betting big on New York City.

With the return of international tourism imminent, pieces are falling into place. Airline routes will stabilize and other nations will follow the U.S.'s lead, unfreezing borders around the world. We are confident a significant traveler flow is coming our way. The timing is excellent for the city's holiday push. The return of tourism tracks other indicator's of the city's health, like the luxury sales market—which is breaking records with three months of the year yet to go. There are lots of bright points on the opening/reopening front as well.

Although the Delta variant's impact on the economy is drawing most of the headlines, it's worth noting the good news for New York that's out there as well. The city will not be competing with European destinations in light of new international restrictions. On the domestic front, the number one fall destination for Airbnb searchers? That would be New York City. NYC will be ready to greet these visitors—many coming for longer stretches than usual—as reopening news continues to post.

There haven't been many ticker tape parades through downtown in recent years, making today's celebration all the more inspiring. At 11am, the city will celebrate our "Hometown Heroes" with a big thank you to healthcare, transit, and all the other frontline workers who kept the city going through the pandemic. Although we are not clear of COVID yet, the success of the July 4th weekend bodes well for recovery.

You know the city's coming back when you score a seat at Carbone and they sit JLo and ARod next to you—as experienced by a Davler staffer this past weekend. Beyond celeb sightings, we're excited about the boatload of city reopenings the week is bringing...

We have the latest for tourism professionals on what's going on around NYC.

New York is home to an incredibly rich diversity of sacred structures, many with magnificent artistic treasures in their carved stonework, intricate ceilings, and beautiful stained glass.

A morning visit to one of New York’s wonderful museums demands a refueling lunch break. Some museums have simple cafes, but several have great restaurants that are worthy destinations in themselves. Includes New-York Historical Society, The Brooklyn Museum, Cooper Hewitt-Smithsonian Museum, The Jewish Museum, Museum of Arts and Design, and the Morgan Library & Museum.

The American Folk Art Museum, located at Lincoln Center, will unveil a New York City-themed exhibition next week. Made in New York City: The Business of Folk Art will debut at the museum on March 19 and run through July 28. This is a cultural institution for everyone: admission to the American Folk Art Museum is completely free!

There’s no reason to skimp on culture when you’re in New York. If you want to see some of the world’s great art works and learn fascinating stories from history, take advantage of the many free and cheap museum events throughout the city.

College comes with a lot of challenges (term papers, being broke), but there are plenty of perks too (boundless opportunities, free time on weekdays). Take advantage of your four years by checking out New York’s many student discounts, whether you’re a local student or here on a visit.

The highly anticipated exhibit “Harry Potter: A History of Magic,” is coming to the New-York Historical Society October 5. The show comes straight from the British Library in London, where, not surprisingly, it was its most successful exhibition.

Always modestly dressed, veteran New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham preferred the attention on his subjects. In the new exhibit at the New-York Historical Society, Celebrating Bill Cunningham, he gets his time in the spotlight.

For three decades, along with running his eponymous company, Stuart Weitzman and his wife Jane have been collecting vintage footwear. Now, 100 items from their cache are on display in Walk This Way at the New-York Historical Society, supplemented by items and archival items from the museum’s own collection and some contemporary creations by Weitzman and other designers.

In the midst of the chaos and social upheaval of the 1960s, perhaps no figures epitomize the era better than the Kennedys and Martin Luther King Jr. That intersection is at the heart of Rebel Spirits, a new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society that explores the two distinct, yet often overlapping, paths of King and Attorney General-turned-Senator and presidential front-runner Robert F. Kennedy.