Westchester County

Understand

Westchester County ranks number two (after NYC) for wealthiest areas in New York State, and is the seventh wealthiest county nationally. Westchester has long been associated with "old money", and some of the country's wealthiest families for generations have lived "upstate" to escape the crowds of New York City but close enough to the Big Apple for business or pleasure. The county maintains its rural appeal with thousands of acres of parks and through a political system of townships containing villages containing hamlets that discourages large cities and preserves small municipalities. Although Westchester is home to nearly one million residents, a village like Briarcliff Manor has a population just under 8,000. Small businesses abound in the towns and villages and you'll need to visit the larger cities and towns like Yonkers, White Plains and Mt Kisco, to find national chain stores and malls. European settlement of the area began with enormous tracts of farmland held by Dutch manor lords and some of their place names continue to this day, such as Tappan Zee (the Tappan sea), Peekskill (Peek's creek), and Verplank (from van der Planken, near the bridge). Other names honor the Native Americans who lived here like Ossining (from the Sint Sinck tribe), Mount Kisco (allegedly named for Chief Cisqua), and the Kitchiwan neighborhood of Ossining (Kitchiwank tribe). The political geography of Westchester confuses locals and visitors alike. The county has cities, towns, villages, and hamlets, many of which share names and sometimes overlap. ZIP (postal) codes don't follow municipal boundaries, so the place names in street addresses often don't match the city, town, or village that the address actually resides in.

Visitor information Visit Westchester County NY, ☏ +1 914-995-8500, toll-free: +1-800-833-9282, [email protected]. (updated Apr 2021)

Getting there

By plane

Westchester County Airport (HPN IATA) — The biggest airport of the lower Hudson Valley, other than the New York City/New Jersey airports. Tickets can be pricey, but it's oh-so-convenient to arrive smack in the middle of your destination and bypass the traffic around the three major international airports. Rental cars are available. John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport — The three major international airports in the New York City area offer service to just about anywhere. Westchester-based taxi and livery cars offer regular service to and from the three internationals from most areas of the county. New York City yellow cabs will take to you Westchester in a pinch, but the fares can be exorbitant. If staying in Westchester, ask if your hotel offers shuttle service.

By train Amtrak. Some trains make stops at Yonkers and Croton-on-Hudson (Empire Service) and in New Rochelle (Northeast Corridor). However, if you are coming from New York City, keep in mind that Amtrak trains from there are much more expensive than Metro-North to these stops. Metro-North Railroad. Three branches of Metro-North Commuter Railroad serve the county, all from Grand Central Terminal: The Hudson Line travels the far west flank of the county along the bank of the Hudson River. For the best views on trains departing from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, get a seat on the left side of the train: opposite Yonkers and Hastings-on-Hudson you will be treated to great views of the sheer cliffs of the Palisades. The Harlem Line runs up the middle. The New Haven Line serves communities on the Long Island Sound shore and continues into Connecticut. New York City Subway. Termini of several lines to the Bronx are close to the southern edge of Westchester County. From there, you can take a Bee Line Bus to points in Westchester County.

By car The main Interstate highways leading to Westchester are:

I-87—named "New York State T

Getting around

By bus Bee-Line Bus System, ☏ +1 914-813-7777, [email protected]. Westchester County's Bee-Line Bus System provides wide coverage within the county and connects passengers to New York City subway stations in The Bronx. Yonkers and White Plains have the best service overall, with the system being generally densest in the southern portion of the county, but nonexistent in the northeast corner. $2.75, seniors & disabled $1.35, full pricing details. (updated Apr 2021)

By car

It's possible to plan getting around by bus or train, but to make the most of your visit, a car is recommended. In addition to I-87 and I-95 listed in Get in, Westchester has two auxiliary interstates.

I-287 (Cross-Westchester Expressway) — connects I-95 in Rye to I-87 in Tarrytown via White Plains. It crosses the Tappan Zee Bridge into Rockland County and continues into New Jersey. I-684 — connects I-287 at White Plains to I-84 in Putnam county to the north Westchester has several parkways, which permit "passenger cars only", no trucks. These roads were built before the rise of interstate freeways. Many are narrow and pass under low bridges, but often traverse scenic, park-like stretches.

Bronx River Parkway — from the Bronx, through Yonkers, Scarsdale, and White Plains to Valhalla Cross County Parkway — from Yonkers to New Rochelle via Mount Vernon Hutchinson River Parkway — from the Bronx to the Connecticut border at Rye Brook via Pelham, New Rochelle, Scarsdale, and Harrison Saw Mill River Parkway — from Yonkers to Katonah via Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Pleasantville, Chappaqua, Mount Kisco, and Bedford Sprain Brook Parkway — Yonkers to Hawthorne via Ardsley, Greenburgh, and Elmsford Taconic State Parkway — from Valhalla it counties north of Westchester via Mount Pleasant, Briarcliff Manor, and Yorktown

See

In Mount Vernon, be sure to visit Saint Paul's Church, a National Historic Site. In Tarrytown, you can visit Lyndhurst, "America's most famous Gothic Revival Mansion", and Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving, author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip van Winkle. Philipsburg Manor is a historic Dutch manor and mill restored to its appearance in the late 17th/early 18th century. You can visit it and Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate when you're in Sleepy Hollow. While you're there, stop by to admire the stained glass windows by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall at Union Church of Pocantico Hills, and walk through Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the final resting place of Washington Irving, Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, and Elizabeth Arden. It also contains the Old Dutch Church and Burying Ground, the churchyard from Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Hudson River Museum in Yonkers has exhibitions on regional history, Hudson Valley art, and a planetarium. In Purchase, you can visit the Neuberger Museum of Art, which features modern, contemporary, and African art, and stroll through the Donald M Kendall Sculpture Gardens, which has more than 40 major sculptures amongst 12 outdoor gardens. Across the entire county is the Taconic State Parkway, where you can