Three reasons to visit New York now

The September Spotlight, on sale from 31 August, visits New York!

Here, we look at three developments there that have recently added to the tourist experience. Now is a particularly good time to visit a favourite tourist destination that keeps on changing and adapting.

Reason no. 1: The rise of freedom

For nine years after the deadly attack on 11 September 2001, the former World Trade Center site was an ugly hole in the ground. Last year, that finally began to change when the structure of the new 1 World Trade Center — nicknamed the Freedom Tower — started to rise from the ground. As of August 2011, the steel structure is 78 storeys tall. Concrete has been poured to the 68th storey, and glass placed as high as the 49th. You can watch history being made as the tower climbs to its final height of about 100 storeys. The building will open officially in January 2014, but with Osama bin Laden eliminated and the 9/11 memorial now taking shape, now would be a good time for a first look.

Follow the progress of construction.