Poughkeepsie

Poughkeepsie is the name of both a town and a city in Dutchess County in New York's Hudson Valley. The City of Poughkeepsie is along the Hudson River on its eastern shore, where the river marks the boundary of the city and of the county (Ulster County is on the other side). The Town of Poughkeepsie encompasses surrounding areas of Dutchess County bordering on the city, and is more suburban in character.

By plane

 * Stewart International Airport, 1180 First St, New Windsor, +1 845 564-2100. The closest major airport, but offers few direct flights to major destinations.
 * Westchester County Airport}, 240 Airport Road, White Plains, +1 914 995-4860 (airlines). Two counties away, but an alternative to the congestion of the 3 major international airports around New York City. Rental cars available.
 * Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport: Livery cars offer service to and from 3 major international airports. It is possible in a convoluted sort of way to get to and from JFK via Metro-North Railroad and New York City Transit.

By car

 * US Route 9 passes through Poughkeepsie in the north-south direction, so you can get there on it by heading north from New York City or south from Albany (or beyond in the Adirondacks), though people usually use expressways for at least part of those trips rather than taking Route 9 all the way.
 * US Route 44 and New York State Route 55 pass concurrently through the city of Poughkeepsie in an east-west direction (forming the East-West Arterial, with the westbound and eastbound lanes on separate streets several blocks apart). East of the city, the two routes split, with US-44 heading northeast and NY-55 southeast, both in the direction of Connecticut. To the west, they cross the Hudson River (on the Mid-Hudson Bridge, a toll bridge) and head towards the Catskills.
 * Interstate 84 goes through Fishkill, south of Poughkeepsie, where you can take it west from Connecticut or east from Pennsylvania, then get off at exit 13 and take Route 9 north to Poughkeepsie.
 * The New York Thruway (Interstate 87) is west of the Hudson River, where you can get from it to Poughkeepsie by getting off at New Paltz (exit 18) or Newburgh (exit 17) and crossing the river to the east. It runs between New York City and Buffalo by way of Albany.

By train

 * Train operators:
 * Metro-North Hudson Line commuter train out of New York City. Poughkeepsie is the terminus stop on the Hudson Line. Express service between Poughkeepsie and Grand Central Terminal is about 1 hour and 40 minutes; late-night local service (after about 10PM) takes considerably longer. A one-way ticket to or from Grand Central costs $20.00 off-peak and $27.00 peak. Local service is also available to other Metro-North commuter stations. Full weekday and weekend schedules are available online. On-board train fares are subject to a stiff surcharge, so buy your tickets at the vending machines located on the platform or from a ticket agent. On trains departing from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, get a seat on the left side of the train, while on trains departing from Poughkeepsie, sit on the right side. Opposite Yonkers and Hastings-on-Hudson, you will be treated to great views of the sheer cliffs of the Palisades, and between Cold Spring and Beacon, you will get a glimpse of Bannerman Castle on an island offshore, in addition to the beautiful Hudson River Valley.
 * Routes stopping in Poughkeepsie:
 * Adirondack operating daily between Montreal and New York City including stops along the way in Saint-Lambert, Rouses Point, Plattsburgh, Westport, Ticonderoga, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers.
 * Ethan Allen Express operating daily between Burlington and New York City including in Middlebury, Rutland, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers.
 * Empire Service operating twice daily between Niagara Falls (New York) and New York City including stops in Buffalo, Buffalo (Depew), Rochester, Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers. Additional daily trips operate between Albany (Rensselaer) and New York City.
 * Maple Leaf operating daily between Toronto and New York City, in partnership with VIA Rail Canada. Stops between Toronto and Niagara Falls (New York) include in Oakville, Burlington, Grimsby, St. Catharines, and Niagara Falls (Ontario). Stops between Niagara Falls (New York) and New York City are the same as those made by the Empire Service. Border crossing processing takes place in Niagara Falls, where passengers must detrain with their baggage. Train crew members are staffed by VIA Rail within Canada, and by Amtrak within the United States.
 * Lake Shore Limited, operating daily between Chicago and Boston or New York City. It makes stops at most stations along the route, though it does not stop at some of the smallest stations. Trains consist of train cars from both branches between Chicago and Albany (Rensselaer).   The trains split into separate branches between Albany (Rensselaer) and both Boston and New York City.   Stops between Chicago and Albany (Rensselaer) include South Bend, Elkhart, Waterloo, Bryan, Toledo, Sandusky, Elyria, Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo (Depew), Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, and Schenectady.  Stops between Albany (Rensselaer) and New York City include Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, and Croton-on-Hudson.

Get around

 * Within the City of Poughkeepsie, streets with a "North" or "South" prefix are usually north or south of Main Street, which runs east-west from the riverfront to the outskirts of town. Formerly part of Main Street was closed to traffic as the pedestrian Main Mall, but this has been converted back to a driveable street.
 * Within the City of Poughkeepsie, Route 9 is an expressway, but outside the city it becomes South Road and North Road, commercial thoroughfares lined with strip malls and the like.
 * There were formerly separate bus systems serving the City of Poughkeepsie and the rest of Dutchess County, but they have been combined into one county-wide Dutchess County Public Transit bus system centering on Main and Market Streets in the City of Poughkeepsie.

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From Poughkeepsie you can explore the entire Hudson Valley, or head north for the Adirondacks, west for the Catskills, east for New England, or south for New York City.