365 Things to Do in Ithaca, New York: Complete Insider's Guide to All Things Ithaca

by Laurel Guy

On Cayuga Lake in the heart of the Finger Lakes, Ithaca, NY, is home to Cornell University and Ithaca College. Gorges. Enlightened. Quirky. Ithacans do things differently. For every day of the year, there is something interesting in this guidebook to see or do. Laurel Guy weaves 10,000 details into a portrait of the town, its people, and yes, the weather. Follow the original Yellow Brick Road. Hunt for the stone VW. Go rutabaga curling. Find Carl Sagan s house, and more. Guy serves up Ithaca with irreverent humor, whimsy, and a touch of nostalgia. Natural wonders. Best views. Offbeat outings. Secret history and little-known stories. Cool Ithaca characters. Cornell trivia. Architectural treasures. Shops. Best restaurants. Bars. Coffee. Art. Festivals. Theatre. Wineries. Craft beer. Music. Dance. Waterfalls. Trails. Kidstuff. Day trips. Seasonal rituals. A celebration of Ten Square Miles Surrounded by Reality. "

192 pages, Paperback

Published December 28, 2016

About the author

Laurel Guy knows Ithaca—its people, landscape, architecture, history, and spirit. She arrived in January, 1981, terrified of driving in snow. Once she discovered Smartwool socks, Sorel boots, and all-wheel drive, she never looked back. One of the founders of the Ithaca Artists Market and Circus Eccentrithaca, she served as director of the Ithaca Festival and the Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts. A 35-year resident, Laurel Guy is one of the most successful Realtors™ in the region. You may find her downtown on The Commons or out in the field making plein air pastels.

Reviews

[Makayla]

preemptive nostalgia moment

[La La]

I live about an hour from Ithaca, so it was fun going through the book and seeing where I have been during my many trips to this lovely and lively city on a lake. I now have a list of new places to experience in the years to come. This book was chock full of entertaining places to visit, and interesting things to see. The only big minus I found was the quality of some of the photographs.

I was approved for an eARC, via Edelweiss, in return for an honest review.

[fiytdsif;fldo fiytdsif;fldo]

365 Things transports the reader to Ithaca, New York, through vibrant photographs and telling descriptions of all the places to see, foods to try, and experiences to be had throughout the city. Unlike other travel guides, Laurel Guy makes you feel like a native Ithacan by giving an inside look into the arts, culture, and people, who make the city what it is.

This isn’t only for tourists. This book is for anyone who wishes to take part in a culturally diverse landscape that will force you to not only visit Ithaca, but stay and experience the city.

I never knew about Ithaca until I picked up Guy’s book. After reading about this small, yet bustling community, I definitely plan to stop and see the local history museums. Sometimes, it’s the finer details of a city which make it, and its people, thrive!

(Trace Sonnleitner)

[Skye Iwanski]

From the perfect perspective of a realtor who has lived in the city for 35 years, this book brings to readers the wondrous adventure that is life in Ithaca, New York. This travel guide is for anyone curious about visiting Ithaca to native Ithacans themselves, and it serves as a superb collection of facts and historical notes about one special city. Not only for flipping through, it is an interesting read to turn page by page for those who are fascinated with unique city culture. Everything from bands to antique shops to restaurants of all flavours to historical figures to local legends to copious different forms of entertainment to specific places to stop by and just bask in the glow of natural beauty are covered in this aesthetically formatted guide to Ithaca. Filled to the brim with color photos of just about anything and everything Ithaca, this book is thoroughly a good read.

[Sharon K.]

What an amazing and diverse city I live in! It's the Western Hemisphere seat of the Dalai Lama, it has the Carl Sagan Walk, it has Amy Dickinson of "Ask Amy", it has Moosewood Restaurant and both a swimming pool and a reader's bench in honor of Alex Haley. And, this is just the surface.

I have lived in Ithaca for about 40 years and I've never regretted it. But with this book, I now have about almost 100 new things to check into! She has been a real estate agent for a few years which benefits this book well. I'm very impressed with the depth Laurel has come up with in these selections. This collection of ideas in this book are long-term assets of Ithaca.

There is always so much *NEW* in Ithaca all the time, but this book gives you the best of Ithaca for years ahead! A perfect gift for relatives...

[Susan Tripp]

What a fun book! I've lived in the surrounding area for over 20 years and my husband lived here his whole life. We spent hours going over this book checking to see how many spots we were familiar with and we discovered there's a lot more out there to discover. We always knew and appreciated that we work in and live near a very unique and exciting town. I loved that the book covered things from fully engaging events to simple Sunday drive bys. We've marked many pages and can't wait to start our quest. I'm very excited that this will make an excellent gift book for some friends who have visited and will want to come back.

[Jill D.]

I've enjoyed reading one fun thing a day for a year since my copy of this gorgeous book arrived a year ago. Now that I don't live there anymore, it's fun to think about all the things to put on my to-do list when I visit the Finger Lakes of upstate New York. Having lived there more than a quarter century, it's like finding the postcards from my past in a book. Beautiful photos of a community that can't be compared to any other. A special place I once called home. Follow the yellow brick road is more than a metaphor in the town which inspired Frank Baum to describe a place called Oz. This is a complete guide to all things Ithaca. Timeless calendar of celebrating community.