Ithaca sits at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. It's a college town shaped by Cornell University — an Ivy League campus perched on hills above the city — and Ithaca College. That student presence keeps the food scene lively, the politics progressive, and the bookshops well stocked.
The gorges are the other great draw. Streams cutting through the hillsides have carved deep ravines lined with waterfalls, and several state parks give access to them. Buttermilk Falls, Taughannock Falls, and Robert Treman are all within a short drive. After heavy rain, cascades appear all over the landscape — even Ithaca Falls within the city limits.
The Ithaca Commons is the pedestrianised downtown core, with restaurants, cafes, and independent shops spreading out from it. Collegetown, adjacent to the Cornell campus, is busier and more student-oriented. The walk between them up the Cascadilla Gorge Trail is, when open, the best way to do the trip.