Rensselaer

Sitting on the east bank of the Hudson River directly across from Albany, Rensselaer is a little New York city with a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size, an unusual number of churches, and river views toward the state capital. Settled by the Dutch in the 17th century as t'Greyn Bos — later anglicised to Greenbush — it became an early centre of the U.S. dye industry and home to the country's first aspirin factory, before evolving into a railroad hub whose Amtrak station remains one of the busiest in New York State.

• Population9,433
• Nearest water from center0.1 km
• Nearest mountain from center2.3 km