Albany NY New York

USA

Albany has watched over the Hudson for four centuries. Dutch merchants already held a fur trading post there in 1624, long before the metropolis located 220 kilometres downstream took the name New York. Become the state capital, the eldest of the river has preserved from this long history a compact old centre, streets bearing names inherited from the first colonists and a close relationship with the water. River ships dock steps from the city's heart, allowing exploration without transport or waiting.

The Climb to the Capitol

From the dock, State Street climbs gently toward the hilltop. As you ascend, business buildings yield to public edifices, until the imposing mass of the state legislature appears. Completed in the late nineteenth century after more than thirty years of work, the building surprises first by its lack of a dome, then by the richness of its interiors. Guided tours lead to the famous sculptured stone staircases, including the "Million Dollar Staircase" and its hundreds of hand-chiselled faces. Few North American parliaments offer such density of detail.

The Empire State Plaza and Its Contrasts

Just beside, a complete change of era. Empire State Plaza aligns its marble towers and basins in a modernist ensemble of the 1960s and 1970s. The ovoid form of the Egg, a performance hall set like a sculpture amid the esplanade, invariably attracts photographers' lenses. A collection of modern art punctuates the public spaces, and the whole composes a striking face-off with the neighbouring Capitol, all worked stone.

The New York State Museum

Bordering the esplanade, the state museum tells the entire New York territory, from the Adirondack forests to the metropolis's neighbourhoods. The halls devoted to First Nations, immigration and natural history can be toured easily in an hour or two. The institution makes an excellent complement to the urban walk, especially if the weather turns fickle.

The Return to the River

Coming back down toward the Hudson, a few detours are worthwhile. The streets of the old quarter reveal brick houses with worked cornices, century-old churches and carefully maintained Victorian façades. By the water, the Corning Preserve riverfront path invites a peaceful walk facing the current, on the traces of the schooners and barges that made the city's fortune. You encounter runners, cyclists and fishers there, a sign that residents have fully reclaimed their bank.

Practical Reference Points

Distances remain modest and everything is on foot, but the hill imposes a slight effort going up. Those preferring to avoid the climb will easily find a taxi near the landing.

A Capital on a Human Scale

Albany makes no attempt to impress. It rather allows itself to be read like an open history book, where each era has deposited its page: the Dutch trading post, the merchant city of the Erie Canal, the political capital with assured architectural ambitions. A few hours suffice to grasp the essentials, between marble, brick and river reflections.

As the ship resumes the course of the Hudson, the silhouette of the Capitol lingers an instant above the roofs. The valley that unfolds afterwards, punctuated by lighthouses and wooded hills, naturally extends the visit. The eldest of the river returns to her business, and you to your voyage, with the feeling of having travelled back in time as much as upstream.