Introduction
Syracuse, established in 1848, is a medium-sized city located in the geographic center of New York State covering 25.6 square miles (66.4km2) with approximately 147,000 people. It is the county seat of Onondaga County and the economical and educational hub of Central New York, a region with over a million inhabitants. The city has museums, zoos, theatres, and parks as well as many cafés and restaurants featuring food from all over the world. Syracuse is also well provided with convention sites, with a downtown convention complex and the Empire Expo Center directly west of the city, which hosts the annual Great New York State Fair. New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Hartford, as well as Montreal and Toronto in Canada are all between 200 to 300 miles (1 mile = 1.6km) away (a driving distance of about 4 to 5 hours).
Syracuse was named after the original Syracuse, a city on the eastern coast of Sicily, Italy, with which it shares some similarities, including a formerly-important salt industry and a neighboring town of Salina. The city has functioned as a major crossroads over the last two centuries, first between the Erie Canal and its branch canals, then of the railway network. Today, Syracuse is located by the intersection of Upstate New York's two major interstate highways, and its airport is the largest in the region. Internationally, the city today is best known as the home of Syracuse University.
Syracuse is also home to many regional offices of the United States Government, such as the main office of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.
Syracuse Climate
Syracuse has warm summers and cold winters. Summer temperatures can climb to 90°F (32.2°C) and in the winter plunge to -10°F (-24.4°C). Another feature is its unpredictability—it has been known to be 60°F (15.6°C) in the middle of November and it has snowed in May! However, you should be aware that most buildings are centrally heated to about 70°F (21.1°C) so that when one dresses for the day during winter, one must actually accommodate a range of temperatures.
