New York state is best known for its single largest city of the same name. Millions of Americans make New York City and its environs their home, and this great density of population means that several of the state's key tourist attractions are located here. Among them are the Metropolitan Museum of Art, better known simply as "The Met" and heavily featured in the movie The Thomas Crown Affair; and the Empire State Building, which for decades was the tallest building in the city and also served as the setting for the climax of the movie classic King Kong.
New York City also offers access to important historic sites such as the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the nation of France more than 100 years ago, and Ellis Island, where generations of Europeans disembarked before being permitted entrance into the United States. One thing is certain: tourists staying in vacation rentals in New York will never run out of things to do.
New York, however, is much more than a city. "Upstate New York" refers to the areas further north, which are largely unpopulated in comparison and offer a chance to enjoy small towns and country living. Areas north of the Mohawk River are generally considered to be part of the upstate region, which contains several groups of Native Americans whose ancestral presence here predates European settlement of North America. These groups include the Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk nations.