Past the Esplanade on the Marina Promenade, the annual Singapore River Hong Bao, also a Lunar New Year celebration, will create a carnival of food stalls, souvenirs and performances by visiting acrobats from China.
On a recent Tuesday, the esplanade was filled with joggers running past patrons headed to new bakeries and restaurants, including the LTK Bar and Kitchen (225 Northern Avenue, 617-330-7430; www.ltkindandkitchen.cof), a kind of test-kitchen for the Legal Sea Food chain, which features tableside iPod stations, live music and a global menu.
Not for us, though – we drift on past Ryde's 19th-century esplanade with its souvenir shops.
Or walk west on Liberty to the North Cove marina, then along the mile-long Battery Park City Esplanade beside the Hudson all the way past Chambers Street.
Looking past the gazebo at the esplanade's western end, spectators could see pleasure boats anchored in Hempstead Harbor, but if they turned eastward they could see a large black-plastic-covered mound.
After faffing about with my various bags of kit, I checked out of the b&b and plodded past the drunk woman on the Esplanade and on up the bay to the start.
As I walked past Kaiser Wilhelm and Bismarck Strasses, intersecting the downtown esplanade running adjacent to the town's main beach, it felt like stepping through a portal, not only to a different time, but also somewhere firmly rooted in Europe.
The one leading from Kaivopuisto Park to Market Square (two hours on foot) takes visitors past Art Nouveau houses in the Eira neighborhood, then along the water's edge, through the gorgeous Esplanade and to the bustling seafront market.
In the past 20 years, handsome lime-stoned buildings have been polished and restored, the riverfront has been turned into an esplanade, the pedestrianised city centre is buzzing with cafes, and a sleek tram system sweeps residents and visitors – whose numbers have leapt from 2 to 6 million in the past five years – across 40km of the city and its suburbs.
Milford Road Esplanade, Scarborough.
