Saratoga Springs, New York, Part 3

Saratoga Springs, New York, Part 3: Congress Park and Downtown Area

One of our walking tours in Saratoga Springs was through the downtown area where we found unique shopping, art galleries, spas, boutiques, a variety of restaurants, and lots of people out enjoying the beautiful summer weather. We were delighted and intrigued with the 5-foot tall fiberglass ballet shoe sculptures that kept popping up. After we stumbled upon the first few, it became a treasure hunt, trying to discover the next shoe, and the next. Later we found out this was part of a project by The National Museum of Dance who selected 24 artists to create these fun and frivolous, and quite beautiful slippers, for a project called “Saratoga En Point”. We also explored Congress Park, 17 acres in the heart of the city, and a National Historic Landmark. At one time the park included an operating casino, the Congress Spring Bottling Plant, and a large resort hotel called Congress Hall. At the peak of its popularity this was a place where the wealthy, major gamblers and stars of the entertainment world mingled. Here are some pictures of our tour of downtown Saratoga Springs. 

Saratoga Springs, New York, Part 2 - Broadway District

Saratoga Springs, New York (Part 2)

Saratoga Springs is divided into several historic districts and neighborhoods which provide tourists options for walking or driving tours. We stopped by the Visitors Center for a map of walking routes through some of the more notable areas. Our first walking tour was through the Broadway District residential neighborhood with many large, gracious, traditional, and Victorian houses built by frequent visitors to the town, its spas, and the racetrack. Sprawling lawns and beautiful facades make these homes not only popular destinations for curious tourists like us, but also for local residents who are lucky enough to have this neighborhood to stroll through, use as a jogging route, or to walk their dogs. You can actually live here, too, but only if you have several pockets full of money, and a lot of patience. There is rarely new construction in this neighborhood, and turnover is slow. Here are a handful of pictures from some of these lovely homes.