Newark is New Jersey's largest city and one of the oldest in the United States, founded in 1666. It sits on the western shore of Newark Bay directly across from lower Manhattan — the skyline is visible from the Ironbound, Newark's most energetic neighbourhood. The city gets a bad reputation it does not entirely deserve; it has real character, a diverse population, and a cultural life that punches above its weight.
The Ironbound, named for the railway lines that once enclosed it, is the neighbourhood to come for. It is home to a large Portuguese and Brazilian community, and the restaurants along Ferry Street rival anything in Newark's more celebrated neighbour across the water. The Newark Museum of Art is one of the better art museums in the northeastern United States — larger and less crowded than many New Yorkers realise. The New Jersey Performing Arts Center brings serious classical and jazz programming to the downtown. And just north of the centre, the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart is a genuinely impressive French Gothic structure that most people have never heard of.
Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the three major airports serving the New York metropolitan area, makes the city an accidental gateway for millions who never leave the terminal. It is worth staying a few hours for a meal in the Ironbound alone.