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Manhattan/East Village

The East Village, east of the Village on Manhattan, was traditionally considered part of the Lower East Side, and constitutes the portion north of Houston St., south of 14th St., and east of Broadway. Although increasingly gentrified, with former crack dens that are now modern apartments so hip you can't afford them, it remains an ethnically diverse area of students, young professionals, immigrants, and older longtime residents. This colorful neighborhood is full of eateries as diverse as its population, and there's always something happening on St. Marks Place, 24/7.

East of 1st Av., encompassing the area from Av. A to the East River, is a sub-neighborhood often called Alphabet City or Loisaida (Spanglish for "Lower East Side"); Av. C's alternate name is "Loisaida Avenue." Parts of Alphabet City still have a Hispano-Caribbean feel, especially on Avs. D and C, but since most of Alphabet City is similar to the rest of the East Village now (diverse, gentrified, stylish), the separate designations are less used than was the case 2-3 decades ago. The area between Broadway and 3rd Av./Bowery, on the other hand, is sometimes called NoHo, for "North of Houston St." by analogy to SoHo to its south.

Early days
The neighborhood now called the East Village was part of the hunting and gathering lands of local Native American tribes for thousands of years before the white man arrived. What's probably the oldest street in the neighborhood is now called Stuyvesant Street (with a listing in "See" below). Before it was a path during the time when Peter Stuyvesant, the only governor of New Netherland, owned a farm there (starting in 1651), it was a Native American trail. Stuyvesant continued to live in the area after New Netherland was ceded to the British, and his body was buried at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (q.v.).

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, some lovely multi-story buildings were built for wealthy pillars of New York society in the neighborhood. Many such buildings still stand, including the 1804 Hamilton Fish House at 21 Stuyvesant St.

Waves of immigration
Following the failure of the 1848 democratic revolution in Germany, thousands of Germans immigrated to New York City and set up shop in what's now the East Village, the Lower East Side and Chinatown, and the entire area was known as Kleindeutschland ("Little Germany") until the early 20th century, when disaster struck. In the incident that caused the worst lost of life in New York of any single disaster prior to 2001, a ship called the General Slocum, which was ferrying Lutheran parishioners including most of the leading local German-American citizens to Long Island for a picnic in 1904, caught fire in the East River, killing over 1,000 people and essentially decapitating the community, many of whose remnants went uptown to Yorkville. If you look carefully, especially on St Marks Place, you can see relics of those days, including the Deutsch-Amerikanische Schützengesellschaft (German-American Shooting Club) near 3rd Av. and the German (now Korean) Evangelical Lutheran Church just east of 2nd Av., as well as the Ottendorfer Library on 2nd Av. between St Marks Place and 9th St. — and the Sixth Street Community Synagogue on 6th St. between 1st and 2nd Avs., which was once the St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church that had rented the ill-fated ship. In the same period, refugees from the Irish Potato Famine arrived in the U.S., and some of them set up shop in the East Village as well, including John McSorley, who is said to have opened McSorley's Old Ale House in 1854.

Starting around the 1880s and continuing apace until the immigration laws were tightened in the 1920s, the neighborhood, as part of the Lower East Side, hosted a large number of Eastern European immigrants, including Polish Catholics, Ukrainian adherents of Eastern Rite Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, and Yiddish-speaking Jews, and also many Italians. Second Avenue on the Lower East Side — as it was then universally known — became synonymous with Yiddish theater, with Jews streaming into the area from other parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and beyond to hear the biggest stars from the U.S., Poland, Romania and other areas with active Yiddish theaters sing musicals in their language. Many of those theaters still exist, though they've been repurposed as movie theaters (as on 12th St. and 2nd Av.), English-language theaters (as in the case of the Orpheum Theatre on 2nd Av. between 7th and St Marks Place) or for other more prosaic functions. Unfortunately, Yiddish theater died an unnatural death in the Nazi extermination camps, combined with younger generations of American Jews ceasing to speak the language. However, there are still a large number of very active Polish and Ukrainian Christians in the neighborhood, replenished by new immigration in more recent decades, and their churches can be seen, though most of the inexpensive Polish and Ukrainian restaurants and shops that used to be a mainstay have been forced to close their doors one after the other, due to gentrification.

From bohemia to riches
Starting in the 1950s, the East Village was a very bohemian neighborhood that bebop saxophonist and composer Charlie Parker (his residence, on Av. B across from Tompkins Square Park, is memorialized with a plaque), Beat poet Allen Ginsberg and many other members of the counterculture called home. It was also, starting in the 1960s, a focus of alternative rock, electronic music, and multimedia and performance art. Sadly, during and since the 1990s, an increasing number of venues for live music were forced to stop the performances or close their doors outright, including the world-famous CBGB; however, there is still quite a lot of live performance in the neighborhood, including at the grand 1880s-vintage Webster Hall, now host to many rock performances; a strip of theaters on E. 4 St. between the Bowery and 2nd Av.; and the Bowery Electric and other venues on the Bowery.

Another important change for the neighborhood was a wave of immigration by Puerto Ricans and Dominicans, starting around the 1960s, which was felt particularly strongly in Alphabet City/Loisaida. Like the rest of the neighborhood, that area of the East Village has gentrified considerably in the last couple of decades, but it still has some Latin feel, especially further east.

The neighborhood fell on hard times along with the rest of the city in the 1970s and 80s, when the East Village was a very gritty high-crime area, full of crumbling buildings, empty lots and homeless people, plagued by crack and heroin, and ravaged by the AIDS epidemic. Many abandoned buildings were occupied by squatters, Tompkins Square Park was the site of encampments of homeless people, and empty lots were cleared of rubble and turned into community gardens, some of which still exist, but the crime remained a problem for a long time. The year 1988 marks a turning point for the neighborhood. The police surrounded and attacked the homeless people camped out in Tompkins Square Park, their supporters and some people who were simply watching. Many people in the neighborhood believed this was due to pressure from the first wave of gentrifiers — wealthy people who moved into a poor neighborhood and then found it inconvenient to have to witness the poor conditions that predated their arrival.

Fast forward to 2022, and you'll find some homeless people on the street (in fact, a greatly increased number since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020), but the neighborhood, like the rest of New York, is way lower in crime — but it is also too expensive for many people to live in. Although quite a lot of relatively high-rise luxury construction has taken place, much of the area is now part of one or another "historic district", thus preserving at least a good chunk of its substantial remaining architectural heritage from the wrecking ball. However, the vaunted edginess of the neighborhood is now mostly a memory, and especially on weekends, the East Village is instead overrun by well-to-do, slow-moving young people, many of whom drink to excess and can't hold their liquor. If you'd like a quieter experience of a neighborhood that for better and worse is no longer very edgy but still has charm, a visit on a weekday and walks on side streets other than St Marks between 2nd and 3rd Avs. may appeal to you more than barhopping on a Saturday night.

By subway
The best subway line for getting into the heart of the East Village is the 6 train, which stops at Astor Place, just one short block from St. Marks Place. You can also get out at Bleecker Street for more southerly East Village locations between Houston and 4th Streets.

The R and W trains run under Broadway along the western edge of the neighborhood, stopping at 8th Street/NYU station near Astor Place.

The L train is a rare crosstown train that runs along 14th Street, the northern edge of the East Village. The 3rd Avenue and especially the 1st Avenue stations can save you some steps if you're headed for more northerly or easterly destinations. The L can also take you to Greenwich Village or Brooklyn's Williamsburg, for a tour of bohemias of the comparatively recent and more distant past.

There are also trains that run along the southern edge of the neighborhood, under Houston Street - take the B, D, F, or M to the Broadway-Lafayette station. The F also runs to the 2nd Avenue station.

There are many trains that stop at Union Square, which is just past the northwest corner of the East Village - but it's something of a hike to the center of the neighborhood. Take the 4, 5, 6, N, Q, R, W or the L.

By bus
Numerous MTA bus routes serve the neighborhood. Of particular note, however, are the crosstown buses. The M8 travels east on 8th St., then turns north on Av. A and travels on 10th St. the rest of the way. The M8 travels west on 10th St. and then starting on Av. A, on 9th St. The M14 14th St. crosstown is also notable because after going crosstown on 14th St. from the west side, the M14A bus turns down Av. A, whereas the M14D turns down Av. C and travels down Av. D starting at 10th St. You can also try your luck with the M21 Houston St. crosstown, though it doesn't run very frequently most of the time and like most other crosstown buses in Manhattan, it can also get caught in slow traffic. The 14th St. crosstown also used to get backed up on 14th St., but there are now bus lanes on that street and the M14 is a select bus, for which you must purchase a ticket from a machine at any stop before you board.

By bicycle
This is absolutely the best way to catch all of the East Village action. If you are coming from uptown on the West Side, take the West Side Green Path down to 14th Street. Cross east on 12th, or any street with a bike lane that runs east! If you are coming down from the East Side, there is an East Side bike path that is interrupted by the United Nations. Simply cross over to Second Ave. and ride south until you cross 14th St.

If you don't have your own bike, one option is the very popular CitiBike bike sharing service ($6/half hour), which has numerous locations throughout the neighborhood.

By car
Parking in the East Village can be difficult. If you plan to park on the street, be patient and opportunistic, and take care to observe posted parking regulations and avoid parking in front of houses of worship and funeral homes, lest your car should be ticketed or towed. There are also some parking garages in the neighborhood, if you don't mind paying.

On foot
If you are within walking distance of the East Village in decent weather, walking to the neighborhood is the most interesting way to go, and certainly the best way to get around.

By taxi
There are usually many taxis in the East Village. It is easiest to flag down a cab on avenues, rather than side streets, but if you are on a side street, look for cabs, anyway, while you walk toward an avenue. Be warned that at peak times and in bad weather, it can be hard to find empty cabs.

See

Do

 * The and the adjoining Joe's Pub at 425 Lafayette St, are part of the lifeblood of the East Village. You can see shows, events, art, and Shakespeare, and hear some excellent performers of jazz, world music and so on at Joe's Pub.
 * The and the adjoining Joe's Pub at 425 Lafayette St, are part of the lifeblood of the East Village. You can see shows, events, art, and Shakespeare, and hear some excellent performers of jazz, world music and so on at Joe's Pub.

Buy
Many souvenirs, articles of clothing, and new and used records are on sale on St. Marks Place between 2nd and 3rd Avs. in storefronts that open onto the street and indoor stores.

Eat
There are hundreds of eateries in the East Village, which is among the best neighborhoods in Manhattan for sampling a variety of different cuisines and has lots of good values at a wide spectrum of price points. That said, with the rise in real estate prices, there has been a proliferation of upscale restaurants, with several budget restaurants having closed in the last couple of years, and prices have gone up palpably almost everywhere. In this neighborhood, nowadays, a meal that costs $30-65 or so per person before tip is mid-range. The "splurge" category starts no lower than the $70s.

Respect
The East Village is a residential neighborhood. Visitors are of course welcome. But please do not block the sidewalk, entrances to residences, or intersections where people may want to cross the street on green or red lights, and do not make a lot of noise outside at 3 in the morning. Remember that local residents have places to get to quickly day and night, and though New York is called the "City That Never Sleeps" (a name that's particularly apt in the East Village), most residents above a certain age do need some shut-eye before 5AM, even on St Marks Place.

Connect
There is a Starbucks on Astor Place right near the exit from the downtown 6 subway (closes at 11PM), with other East Village locations at 3rd St. and 1st Av. (closes at 7:30PM) and 13th St. and 1st Av. (closes at 8PM). Starbucks gives customers free Wi-Fi, and many people spend hours working or surfing there. Van Leeuwen ice cream shop, 48½ E. 7th St. (just east of 2nd Av.), which also serves coffee, et al., provides free Wi-Fi, too. There are also some New York Public Library branches, such as the Ottendorfer Branch (see "See" above) and the Tompkins Square branch on 10th St. between Aves. A and B, where patrons can use the library's terminals to surf the web for 30 minutes, free.

Go next

 * The Lower East Side, just across Houston St. from the East Village, though perhaps even more crushed with young clubbers, is in many respects a continuation of the East Village, or vice versa.
 * A bit further south but still at most a moderate-distance walk away (15-30 minutes) for a reasonably able-bodied person is Chinatown.
 * To the west is the West Village.
 * To the southwest (Lafayette St. and further west, south of Houston) is SoHo.
 * To the north are Gramercy Park and Murray Hill, including the small but vibrant and interesting sub-neighborhood of "Curry Hill."
 * Williamsburg, Brooklyn is as little as one stop away on the L train, and is an interesting counterpart to the East Village, as a happening neighborhood with excellent eateries and a very active night life.

title: Manhattan/East Village


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Manhattan/Gramercy Flatiron

In the shadow of the skyscrapers of Midtown sit some of Manhattan's most colorful and vibrant neighborhoods. Busy Flatiron is one of the borough's most active shopping and entertainment districts, situated between Union Square and Madison Square Park, two of the most popular meeting places for Manhattanites. Just to the east is quiet Gramercy, a residential neighborhood centered around the park of the same name and holding some of the most pleasant streets in Manhattan. North of Madison Square Park, the bustle of Midtown spills over into this historic neighborhood, filled with shops and grand old buildings.

Understand
This area derives its name from two New York landmarks - the Gramercy Park and the Flatiron Building. The loosely-defined "Flatiron District" extends east from 6th Avenue and north of Union Square, centering on the famed Flatiron Building on 23rd Street. Tranquil, exclusive Gramercy Park is open only to immediate area residents, though the old brownstones surrounding the park and on Irving Place make some of Manhattan's most attractive streetscapes. Union Square was revitalized in the 1990s and is now one of the city's premier shopping, dining and entertainment districts. Toward the north is Kips Bay, an affluent residential neighborhood. There's also a sub-neighborhood comprising approximately 26th-29th Sts. on and around Lexington Av., a part of Murray Hill which is nicknamed "Curry Hill," due to the agglomeration of Indian stores and restaurants there.

Get in

You can get in via many different subway lines. The 6 line runs under Park Avenue, stopping at 28th St., 23rd St., and 14th St./Union Square, with the 4 and 5 stopping at Union Square as well. The R and W lines run under Broadway, stopping at 28th St., 23rd St., and 14th St./Union Square, with the N and Q also stopping at Union Square. The F and M lines run under 6th Avenue, stopping at 14th St. and 23rd St. The L train runs under 14th St., stopping at 1st Av., 3rd Av., Union Square, and 6th Av. Additionally, PATH trains to Hoboken and Jersey City, New Jersey stop at 14th and 23rd Sts. on 6th Avenue. There are plenty of local buses, but they can be slow, especially on crosstown routes and on Park Av. South. Time allowing, walking is highly recommended.

Landmarks
The Flatiron District contains three great examples of classic New York skyscrapers, all within a few blocks of one another:

Buy

Eat
In the low 30s near Herald Square is Koreatown, an emerging Little Korea of BBQ restaurants and Asian markets centered on 32nd St. between Madison Avenue and Broadway.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Manhattan/Gramercy Flatiron


text:
Manhattan/Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village (often referred to as "West Village" or simply "the Village") is a well-known, largely residential district in Manhattan, once famous for its vibrant art and literary community. Nowadays the neighborhood is so gentrified that the artists and poets who once lived here wouldn't be able to afford the rents, but the Village is still worth a visit for its lovely tree-lined streets and colorful history. Centered around Washington Square Park and the campus of New York University (NYU), the neighborhood sits west of Broadway between Houston Street and SoHo on the south and 14th Street and Chelsea on the north.

Understand
Greenwich Village was once a large industrial park; later, it was colonized by radicals, bohemians, beatniks, artists, and literary greats squatting in abandoned factories. High rents exclude most of their ilk today (their countercultural counterparts are NYU students with parental support) but the Village still has its charm.

Greenwich Village, home to a vibrant artistic and literary community in the 1950s, occupies the space between Houston Street and 14th Street. The central portion surrounds Washington Square Park and includes much of NYU's large campus and a thriving B&T (bridge & tunnel - a pejorative term) nightlife scene on MacDougal Street. West of University Place are many historic and attractive brownstones and some of the city's best restaurants and bars. The area's traditional avant garde reputation - it was a major center of the gay rights movement in the 1970s, for example - has somewhat faded as yuppies and movie stars move in.

Greenwich Village is also the main setting for the TV series Friends as Monica's apartment has a Grove St. address, and there are numerous references to nearby areas such as Bleecker St. and SoHo (although the series was actually filmed in the Warner Brother studios in Los Angeles).

Note that the "East Village" was not historically part of Greenwich Village and is still considered by many New Yorkers to be part of the Lower East Side, but the term "West Village" is synonymous with Greenwich Village, or at least that part of the neighborhood that is west of 6th Av. or so. In the 19th century, Greenwich Village's eastern portion was better known as Washington Square. Washington Square Park remains a neighborhood landmark, but the terms "The Village," "Greenwich Village," and "West Village" are practically interchangeable.

By subway
Greenwich Village is served by many subway lines:
 * The 1, 2, and 3 lines run under 7th Avenue, with the 1 stopping at Christopher Street station (next to the picturesque Sheridan Square) and all three stopping at 14th Street (a passageway allows free transfer to 14th St./6th Av. station).
 * The A, B, C, D, E, F, and M lines stop in the middle of the Village at the West 4th Street station (at the intersection of West 4th Street and 6th Avenue), with the A, C, and E serving 14th St. and 8th Av. station and the F and M lines serving 14th St. and 6th Av. station (a passageway at 14th St./6th Av. allows free transfer to 14th St./7th Av. station).
 * The R and W line runs under Broadway, along with the N at night and on weekends, serving the 8th Street NYU and Union Square stations on the edge of the neighborhood.
 * The L line runs under 14th Street, stopping at the 14th St./6th Av., 14th St./8th Av., and Union Square stations.
 * The 4, 5, 6, and Q lines also serve Union Square.

By PATH
The PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) train, a subway-style transit system, is convenient and inexpensive for going to points on 6th Av. up to 33 St. (one block east of Penn Station) and to Hoboken and Journal Square in New Jersey. One can transfer from Journal Square to the PATH line that terminates at Newark - Penn Station (not to be confused with New York's Penn Station), and get from there to Newark Airport by local Newark bus. Within Greenwich Village, the PATH stops at Christopher St. between Hudson and Greenwich Sts. and at both 9th St. and 14th St. at 6th Avenue.

By bus
The double-decker tour buses whisk their way up 6th Av., but why not take an MTA bus, get off, and do your own tour?

In this neighborhood, the following uptown/downtown buses operate:

 * The M20 goes uptown on Hudson St. and 8th Av., downtown on 7th Av.
 * The M5 and M6 go uptown on 6th Av.. The M6 goes downtown on Broadway, the M5 on 5th Av. to 8th St., then east on 8th and downtown on Broadway to its terminus on Houston St.
 * The M3 goes uptown on University Place and downtown on 5th Av.
 * The M2 goes uptown on 4th Av. and downtown on 5th Av.
 * The M11 goes uptown on Greenwich St. and downtown on Hudson St. to and from Abingdon Square.
 * There is also the M7, which has its downtown terminus on 14th St. and Broadway, just south of Union Square.

There are also crosstown buses:

The M14 is by far the most frequent at all hours. There is also a crosstown bus on Houston St., the M21, but it runs fairly infrequently and tends to get backed up in traffic, so it is not recommended if there is a good alternative. The M21 does not run between approximately midnight and 6AM See the MTA website for more information.
 * The M14 goes across 14th St.
 * The M8 goes west on 9th and Christopher Sts., east on 10th and 8th Sts.

On foot
If you are close enough to walk to the Village, do it. Walking is the best way to experience the character of neighborhoods in Manhattan and the contrast and continuity between them.

By bicycle
The park along the Hudson River has a popular bike path. Many people also ride along city streets in this neighborhood, many of which are pretty quiet side streets.

Get around
It is possible to take some of the aforementioned buses along the avenues in the Village, but there are so many side streets that are worth wandering on and cannot be accessed by public transit. Walking is really optimal, or you can cycle. Cabs are numerous throughout the neighborhood, too.

Do
Greenwich Village has developed as a home for a significant number of off-Broadway theater companies and lots of music venues.

Buy
The Village is full of unique stores, sometimes so specialized in what they sell that you might feel as if you just walked into your secret collection of some obscure item that you assumed nobody else cared about. There are record stores which sell only oldie vinyls, bookstores larger than an average library, and chess shops where a full chess set might rival with a car in price.

Eat
You'll find hundreds of restaurants and sidewalk cafés of virtually every culture. All-American, Mexican, Indian, Italian, Polish, Pakistani, Spanish, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese...the list goes on... At many spots you'll find affordable eats with the chance to enjoy your meal on the sidewalk, and there are also even more upscale restaurants. There are also some well-known upscale restaurants in the neighborhood.

Respect
The Village thrives on French tourists, honeymooners from Texas, and day-trippers from uptown and all around the region. Having lots of people around all the time makes it feel safer, and the residents appreciate that. Most will happily take your picture, give you directions, and advise you about where to eat, etc. At the same time, the Village isn't an amusement park. The people who live there are generally rather sedate, and they cannot be on perpetual holiday. Most need a good night's sleep so they can get up for work in the morning. Have a heart: Don't make a lot of noise, or do anything else in public that you wouldn't want someone to do in front of your house!

title: Manhattan/Greenwich Village


text:
Manhattan/Harlem and Upper Manhattan

Upper Manhattan is a large, relatively under-visited area that ranges from 125th Street to Inwood Hill Park on the west and from 96th Street northward on the east (where the island of Manhattan tapers off unevenly). The area includes Harlem, recognized globally as a center of African-American culture and business and home to America's historic Black nationalist movements, and East (Spanish) Harlem. Other areas of interest include the neighborhoods of Washington Heights, a center of Dominican culture in New York and the home of The Cloisters museum and the huge Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center; and Inwood, the home of the last remains of the marshes and forests that once covered the island.

Understand
Upper Manhattan is a large and fascinating place where the identity and characteristics of the neighborhoods change almost every few blocks. Harlem itself consists of several neighborhoods each with its own distinct culture and history. Spanish Harlem, also known as El Barrio, is the famous heart of Puerto Rican culture in the United States. Once known as Italian Harlem, today this area on the East Side, bounded by 96th Street and the Harlem River, is a polyglot mixture of renovated and gentrified streets sharing space with West African immigrants in single room occupancy hotels and the many Latinos who still live in the area. The Latino population of the neighborhood is also diverse, and is now more Mexican than Puerto Rican.

Further north and west, centered around 125th Street, is the Harlem of the Harlem Renaissance, the center of African-American culture in the early twentieth century. While old standbys like the Apollo Theater are still going strong, Harlem and particularly 125th Street are amidst a renaissance as new homeowners renovate historic brownstones and new development surges. There are famous churches in the area, such as the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and some of these have famous gospel choirs. Former President Bill Clinton's offices are in the neighborhood as well.

The western side of Harlem is now roughly divided into Manhattanville, an area being developed as a new campus by Columbia University; Hamilton Heights, north of about 133rd street and south of 155th street, which contains City College, the alma mater of quite a few Nobel Prize winners and other notables; and Sugar Hill, east of Amsterdam Avenue and north of 145th street, an area that was always associated with African-American culture but is best known because of the Ella Fitzgerald rendition of Take the `A' Train, a song by Billy Strayhorn which describes how to get to the place where his famous musical collaborator, Duke Ellington, lived. The entire west side of Harlem is a surprising mix of rundown streets with car repair garages, stately single-family town houses, and boarded-up buildings. Even further west, along Riverside Drive running all the way to 165th street, are delightfully preserved apartment buildings from the turn of the twentieth century.

North of Harlem are Washington Heights and Inwood, unlikely to be on most tourists' radar screen except for The Cloisters but also fast improving from their days as by-words for urban blight. Washington Heights is the acknowledged center of Dominican culture in New York. Today, it is an ethnic mix with recent immigrants from Bangladesh and young artists and professionals in search of relatively low rents rubbing shoulders with long-term Dominican residents in the south and the Jewish residents of the northern Cabrini Boulevard area. Columbia University's Medical School and Hospital, New York Presbyterian Medical Center, dominates the neighborhood. At the northern end of Washington Heights, The Cloisters, a medieval museum and gift of the Rockefeller family, lives inside the beautiful Fort Tryon Park. Further north lies the neighborhood of Inwood, a mostly residential area, and Inwood Hill Park, a marshy and forested park that is the best approximation of what Manhattan island was five hundred years ago. Even further north is Marble Hill, a small residential area north of the Harlem River that's the only part of Manhattan on the North American mainland. Originally, it was on Manhattan Island, but became its own island in 1895 when a canal was built to straighten out a severe bend in the Harlem River, and was connected to the mainland in 1914 when the bypassed section of the river was filled in. Many residents consider it part of the Bronx, the borough to which it is attached.

History

The original village of Harlem was established in 1658 by Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant and named Nieuw Haarlem after the Dutch city of Haarlem. Throughout the Dutch and British colonial periods, rich farms were located in the region's flat eastern portion, while some of New York's most illustrious early families, such as the Delanceys, Bleeckers, Rikers, Beekmans, and Hamiltons maintained large estates in the high, western portion of the area.

In the early 1900s, particularly in the 1920s, African-American literature, art, music, dance, and social commentary began to flourish in Harlem. This African-American cultural movement became known as "The New Negro Movement" and later as the Harlem Renaissance. More than a literary movement, the Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American expression. African-Americans were encouraged to celebrate their heritage.

During the 1920s and 30s, many African-Americans were excluded from witnessing performances of much of the great music that members of their community were creating. Many jazz venues, like Small's and the Cotton Club (where Duke Ellington played), were open to white customers only. The Savoy, which was integrated, was closed down by municipal authorities in the 30s amid concern over interracial relationships engendered by the easy mixing there. Fortunately, segregation in New York clubs is long past, and visitors to Harlem can still listen to jazz over a meal or a few drinks today.

Street names
The avenues that are officially designated Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Malcolm X Boulevard are very commonly called by their old names: 8th Avenue, 7th Avenue and Lenox Avenue. This is even more true of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, which is just about always called 125th Street. Similarly, Cathedral Parkway and Central Park North are usually considered parts of 110th Street.

By subway
Many subway lines pass through the neighborhood. The A, C, and 1 go up the West Side to Manhattanville, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood and Fort Tryon Park. The 2 and 3 go up Lenox Avenue more or less in the center, and the 4, 5, 6 on the East Side. The B and D go up 8th Av. and St. Nicholas Av. along with the A and C as far as 145th St., and then following a stop at 155th St, go under the Harlem River to Yankee Stadium and other stops in the Bronx. The A and D and the 4 and 5 are fast express trains during the day, as the A and D whiz passengers from 59th St. directly to 125th St., while the 4 and 5 go from 86th St. to 125th St. in one stop. The 168th St and 181st St stops on the 1 are among the prettiest stations in the system and deserve a visit.

By commuter train
The Metro-North Railroad has a station at 125th Street and Park Avenue with easy connections to and from the Hudson Valley and Connecticut. See the By train section on the main New York City page for more info.

MTA bus
There is plenty of MTA bus service to the area. The M4 makes its slow way up to the Cloisters from Midtown via the East Side (Madison on the way up and Fifth Avenue on the way down), across 110th St, and via Broadway and Fort Washington Av further north – a nice way to see the changing face of Manhattan, but a very slow way! Or you can take the M5 uptown to Washington Heights from Midtown via the West Side, traveling along 5th & 6th Avs, 59th St, Broadway, and Riverside Dr.

Commuter buses and jitneys
There is also the large, though sparsely occupied, a commuter bus terminal that is under the ramps to the George Washington Bridge (at 178th Street between Broadway and Fort Washington Av). The station can be reached via an underground tunnel from the 175th Street stop on the A subway line. Jitney and bus services are available to points in suburban New Jersey and Rockland County, New York. The jitneys, which are to be found in the parking lanes just outside the Fort Washington Av. doors of the station's lower level, are inexpensive and a very good option for trips to and from various communities in northern New Jersey, including Fort Lee, Englewood, Teaneck, and Paterson.

Performing arts

In addition to the above, the Cotton Club was a famous club and speakeasy during the Harlem Renaissance. There has been for a number of years a new incarnation of the Cotton Club, and it is part of the fabric of Harlem, but since it is on the south side of 125th St. west of Broadway, it is covered in Manhattan/Upper West Side.

Walks
There are several interesting and pleasant routes for walking through Harlem, including:
 * 125th St, Harlem's main commercial corridor. Expect bustling street life, big crowds, a varied lineup of shops, and major historic landmarks like the Apollo. Some of the local shops have been displaced by big-box stores, and some upscale boutiques more reminiscent of Soho than the Harlem people used to know have opened, but the local color has not (or at least not yet) disappeared.
 * St Nicholas Ave in the 140s and 150s is lined with some beautiful apartment houses with ornate facades and front doors. As you walk on that stretch of St Nicholas Ave, you will also see some lovely buildings on Edgecombe Ave if you look to the east, or you could choose to walk on that avenue as well. South of 142nd St, you pass by the tree-lined expanse of St Nicholas Park until 128th St. Here, some of the more interesting buildings you can see are up the hill past the park on Convent Av, but the St. Mark's United Methodist Church of Harlem, occupying the square block between 137th and 138th Sts between St Nicholas and Edgecombe Aves, is a lovely neo-Gothic building with multi-toned stones. There are more worthwhile buildings to see south of St Nicholas Park, as the avenue cuts diagonally on its way to Central Park North.
 * Convent Ave in the 140s and 150s is also lined with pretty brownstones. It is quieter and less populated than St Nicholas Ave, which is downhill from Convent and on the other side of St Nicholas Park. South of 140th St, Convent Ave is lined on both sides by City College of New York, a historic public college and part of the City University of New York. Some of its buildings are landmarked neo-Gothic structures and some are more utilitarian modern structures. South of 127th St, Convent Ave turns into Morningside Ave.
 * Broadway north of 132nd St and especially past 155th is the center of a lively Dominican neighborhood, filled with the colors of fresh produce, smells of roasted chicken, and sounds of bachata.
 * East 116th St is the main commercial street of East (aka Spanish) Harlem. While most famously the heart of New York's Puerto Rican community, it today is an ethnically mixed area, and no less interesting because of that.

Shopping streets
There are also several shopping streets in Uptown Manhattan: 125th St. is lined by many shops, restaurants and department stores; E. 116th St. is known as "La Marqueta" and is the major numbered shopping street in Spanish Harlem, where you can buy cloth as well as cuchifritos, and further west on Lenox Av. (Malcolm X Boulevard), 116th St. is home to the Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market, an outdoor market where you can buy kente cloth and all manner of African and African-American products; 3rd Av. is the main shopping avenue in Spanish Harlem, lined by many convenience stores and Puerto Rican and Mexican eateries; and Broadway is the main business avenue and the most important city street in West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood.

Jazz
Jazz and Harlem are so inextricably intertwined that anyone paying the neighborhood a visit should try to make a performance. The jazz scene here is a mere shadow of its former self, when saxophones rang out the door of every bar up and down the main streets and even side streets. But it's still vibrant enough to have several options most nights of the week, which is more than you could say about almost every other American city!

Stay safe
Violent crimes have declined dramatically in Harlem and Washington Heights, and the relative safety in upper Manhattan varies greatly depending on where and when one travels. Most of the tourist destinations are very safe. However, crime still exists, as it does throughout New York City. As in all neighborhoods, exercise caution when walking in the neighborhood at night, but don't let that stop you from going out. Subway stations are generally safe and are patrolled by uniformed and undercover police. Consider staying on main thoroughfares, especially after dark. Population density is generally high in Washington Heights, and most residents are Spanish-speaking and friendly.

title: Manhattan/Harlem and Upper Manhattan


text:
Manhattan/Lower East Side

The Lower East Side of Manhattan is a mix of old and new, bohemian and upscale: you can find trendy bars and music venues, a venerable old no-nonsense place that just might serve up the best pastrami sandwich in the world, and great bialys.

Understand

The Lower East Side is bounded by Houston Street, the Bowery, the Manhattan Bridge, and the East River, with the neighborhood's center being Orchard Street. For over 200 years, the Lower East Side has been a working-class immigrant neighborhood: it had large Irish and German populations in the early 19th century, and was a wholesale Jewish enclave by 1900. This street is now a true multicultural blend, with trendy boutiques, French cafés, and velvet-roped nightspots sprinkled among dry-goods discounters, Spanish bodegas, and mom-and-pop shops selling everything from T-shirts to designer fashions to menorahs. The East Village was also traditionally considered part of the Lower East Side, but that neighborhood has developed its own identity.

It was here that the New York garment industry began. The area used to be known as one of New York's favorite bargain beats, where serious shoppers found fantastic bargains (especially along Orchard Street on a Sunday afternoon), but this is a thing of the past as rents skyrocket and cutting-edge new designers and boutiques formerly seen in SoHo flock to the area.

Much of what used to be considered the Lower East Side, east of Bowery and the Manhattan Bridge overpass, is now functionally part of Chinatown, as another wave of immigration continues to move further north and east.

Get in
Several bus lines go to the Lower East Side, or you can take the J, M, or Z subway lines to Essex Street; the F to Delancey Street (which is connected to the J/M/Z Essex St. station), East Broadway, or 2nd Avenue; or you can take the B or D to Grand Street.

Eat

Drink
The Lower East Side is a very popular neighborhood for drinking, especially on the part of young people, who come from nearby, other parts of town, the suburbs, and even foreign countries — meaning that, especially on weekend nights, it can be uncomfortably packed, with tremendous crowding on the streets as well as on lines to get into bars and in the bars, themselves. Here are some highlights of the scene:

Go next
The obvious places to go next are
 * the East Village, which is to a large extent a northern extension of the Lower East Side;
 * Chinatown;
 * NoLiTa, a neighborhood of upscale boutiques, quiet residential streets and loud clubs that was once the northern part of Little Italy and is not part of Chinatown but is covered in the Chinatown guide; and
 * SoHo, a little ways further to the west than NoLiTa, much more crowded with tourists and shoppers, but with a lot of beautiful, classic buildings and cobblestoned side streets. All of these neighborhoods are easily walkable from the Lower East Side, for a person of normal fitness.

You can also access Williamsburg by taking the M, J or Z trains or walking across the Williamsburg Bridge, and DUMBO and Downtown Brooklyn are on the other side of the Manhattan Bridge or the first and second stops on the F train in Brooklyn, respectively.

title: Manhattan/Lower East Side


text:
Manhattan/Financial District

The Financial District comprises the southern tip of Manhattan, with the Hudson River on the west, the East River on the east, New York Harbor to the south, and Barclay Street on the north. It is one of the two largest business districts in New York City - the other being Midtown Manhattan - and is the historical core of the modern city, a fact reflected in the convoluted street pattern compared to the grid of regular streets and avenues found uptown.

The "lowest" part of Lower Manhattan is home to some of New York's most famous and evocative landmarks: Wall Street, the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island and Ellis Island in the harbor, both accessed by ferry boat from the financial district.

History
The southern tip of Manhattan was the site of earliest European settlement in the New York area - the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. Established in 1625, the settlement became the capital of New Netherland, the colonial Dutch province which controlled the area along the Hudson River. In 1664, the British conquered New Netherland and New Amsterdam became "New York".

In the late 18th century, with the American Revolution brewing, New York became a major political center for the colonists. Protests against the Stamp Act led the so-called "Stamp Act Congress" to convene here and sign a Declaration of Rights and Grievances, asserting the concept of "no taxation without representation." British soldiers captured New York and maintained control of the city until the war ended, when George Washington triumphantly returned to Manhattan. He would return again in 1789 to take the oath of office and become the nation's first president, as New York briefly served as the first capital of the United States, where the Bill of Rights was drafted and ratified.

Shortly after the creation of the United States, Lower Manhattan started becoming an economic and financial center for the new nation. In 1792, a group of stock brokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement, which created the New York Stock Exchange, underneath a buttonwood tree at 68 Wall Street. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the corporate culture of the area fueled the construction of many skyscrapers in the district, and as the financial power of New York grew, so did its influence; as evidenced by the 1929 Wall Street Crash, which ushered in the Great Depression.

Through the 1940s and 50s, new economic growth on Manhattan was centered in Midtown. Desiring to concentrate new growth in Lower Manhattan, and coming in at the height of the urban renewal movement, local leaders demolished most of the old structures to make way for the gleaming office towers of today's Lower Manhattan, not the least of which included the World Trade Center. The World Trade Center, a complex of two identical skyscrapers (the Twin Towers) and five low-rise buildings constructed in the 1970s, defined the Lower Manhattan landscape until it was destroyed during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A new World Trade Center complex is in the process of being built on the site, opening in stages alongside a large museum and outdoor memorial to the September 11th victims.

Layout
This part of Manhattan has an irregular street grid system, a throwback to the original Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. This street pattern seems even more irregular when compared to the neat grid system seen just about everywhere else in Manhattan. Major avenues here run in a north-south direction - West Street along the Hudson River, Church Street and Broadway through the middle of the district, and Water Street and South Street (the former running beneath the elevated FDR Drive) along the East River. With the exception of these roads, almost every street in the financial district is very narrow and often clogged with traffic during the day. The blocks immediately surrounding the intersection of Wall and Broad Streets (where the stock exchange and Federal Hall are located) are blocked off to automobiles; only pedestrians may enter.

Visitor information

 * District information from the Downtown Alliance
 * District information from the Downtown Alliance
 * District information from the Downtown Alliance

By subway
Most of the city's subway lines have stops in the Financial District, making it one of the best ways to get there. There are few express stations in the area, so most trains will stop at every station in this neighborhood. Though many city bus lines serve the area, traffic is often slow on the winding streets.

The 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 lines connect the district to Uptown and the Bronx, with the 2, 3 and 4 also running to Brooklyn under the East River (along with the 5 during rush hours). The A and C lines run Uptown and east out to Brooklyn, with the A continuing to the JFK Airport area. The E runs alongside the A and C lines to Midtown, where it breaks off and runs out to Queens, towards JFK Airport. The R heads north to Midtown and Queens on the weekdays. Finally, the J and Z lines head northeast to Brooklyn and Queens.

Additionally, PATH subway trains connect the World Trade Center site to New Jersey. There are two lines: one to Newark and one to Hoboken, both with stops in Jersey City. The PATH costs $2.75 per ride and accept MetroCard for payment.

There is a free circulator bus around the Financial District called the Downtown Connection.

By ferry
The Staten Island Ferry connects the, located at the southern tip of Manhattan, to the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island. The ferry is absolutely free and is popular for tourists since the route offers excellent views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. The ferry runs 24 hours a day, usually running at 30 minute intervals, with more running during rush hours and fewer running at very late hours.

NY Waterway operates ferry services from the World Financial Center ferry terminal and the Pier 11/Wall St. ferry terminal to several points in New Jersey along the Hudson River, including in Hoboken and Weehawken. Fares vary by route.

New York Water Taxi operates ferry services from World Financial Center, Battery Park, Pier 11/Wall St. and the South Street Seaport to points in Midtown, Brooklyn, Queens, Yonkers, and Breezy Point. Their boats are painted to look like taxis and fares vary by route.

Landmarks

New York Harbor

The Financial District is the primary gateway to three islands in New York Harbor: Liberty Island (home to the Statue of Liberty), Ellis Island, and Governors Island. Another ferry runs to Liberty and Ellis Islands from Liberty Park in Jersey City, but most tourists use the Manhattan ferries. These are some of the most popular destinations in New York City and access is available only by ferry boat.

If you're visiting New York on a budget or you don't want to wait for hours to get near the Statue of Liberty, you may want to consider taking the Staten Island Ferry, which is absolutely free and offers excellent views of the Statue of Liberty from its route to Staten Island from the South Ferry Terminal, just east of Battery Park.

Ticket Options
Visitors to Liberty Island and Ellis Island have three reserve ticket options:

 * 1) Reserve Ticket – includes ferry transportation; provides access to Liberty Island and Ellis Island, including the grounds of Liberty Island and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. The Reserve Ticket allows you to save time when waiting for the ferry; instead of waiting on the longer line, the Reserve Ticket allows you to go through the priority entrance at the security check-in. The Reserve Ticket does not allow entry to the crown of the statue. The cost of the Reserve Ticket is the same as the Ferry ride; there is no additional cost for the Reserve Ticket.
 * 2) Reserve with Pedestal Ticket – same as the above option but with additional access to the statue's pedestal base.
 * 3) Reserve with Crown Ticket – includes ferry transportation; in addition to the access that is provided with the Reserve Ticket, this ticket also allows access up to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty. Visitors to the crown will be required to go through a secondary security screening. Reserve with Crown Tickets are very limited and should be obtained three or four months or longer (up to one year) in advance.

Tickets can also be purchased through concierges at major hotels and at the ticketing windows in the Castle Clinton National Monument inside Battery Park, New York, or inside the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, New Jersey.

Note: There is a separate Reserved Ticket entrance (at the security check-in) for the reserve tickets. If you purchase any of these reserved ticket options, then you can take advantage of this priority entry (Reserve Ticket entrance) and you could easily save an hour of waiting during busy times.

Caution: Avoid the scammers who congregate near Battery Park and Bowling Green who may try to lure you into buying a fake ticket. They may ask to see your ticket or pretend to work for the City of New York. They may present fake security credentials. A simple "no thanks" will suffice.

Eat
Broad Street has several chain eateries.

title: Manhattan/Financial District


text:
Manhattan/Midtown East

Midtown East is the core retail and commercial neighborhood of Manhattan, containing the highest concentration of business and money this side of, well, the planet. The Empire State Building, the most iconic building (even if no longer the tallest) in the city is here. Shady Bryant Park abuts the imposing New York Public Library main branch at 42nd Street, while to the east is the magnificent Beaux Arts Grand Central Terminal. Le Corbusier's landmark UN Headquarters is located on the East River. The masterpiece art deco towers of Rockefeller Center and adjoining Radio City sit opposite 5th Avenue from St. Patrick's Cathedral, the seat of the city's archdiocese. Fifth Avenue below 59th remains the toniest and most exclusive retail neighborhood in New York City, home to names like Saks, Tiffany and Bendel (and Apple!). Murray Hill north of 34th Street is home to some of the city's nicest brownstones. Much of the real estate in this neighborhood is likewise quite expensive, and the restaurants, bars and other facilities notably cater to a higher-paying clientele.

Orientation
Midtown, also called Midtown East to distinguish it from the Theater District to the west, is the area between around 34th St and 59th St (beyond which is Central Park), and from the East River through First, Second, Third, Lexington, Park, Madison, and Fifth Avenues, with Sixth Avenue as the western boundary of the district.

There is a small but vibrant Koreatown neighborhood, which is focused on 32nd St. between Broadway and 5th Av. and extends a bit north, south and east. It has a Midtown character and has been included in this article.

By subway
There is plenty of subway service to this area. The 4, 5, and 6 lines travel under Park Avenue (south of Grand Central Station) and Lexington Avenue (north of Grand Central), stopping at 42nd St. (Grand Central Station) and 59th St., with the 6 also stopping at 51st St. and 33rd St. Running under 6th Avenue are the B, D, F, and M lines, which stop at 34th St. (close to the Empire State Building), 42nd St. (at Bryant Park, near the library) and 47-50 St. station (near Rockefeller Center). The F line continues up 6th Avenue, stopping at 57th St., while the E and M lines head under 53rd Street, stopping at 5th Av. and Lexington Av. (a passageway offers a free transfer to the 6 line). The 7 and S (Grand Central Shuttle) lines run under 42nd St. Both of them stop at Grand Central Station, with the 7 also stopping at 5th Av. (free transfer to the B, D, and F lines). Also serving the neighborhood are the N, Q, R, and W lines, which stop at 34th St. and 6th Av., close to the Empire State Building.

By MTA bus
Regular MTA buses run along every avenue except for short avenues like Vanderbilt, and there are also many crosstown routes. These include the M34 and M34A SBS (34th St), M42 (42nd St), M50 (49th/50th Sts), and M31 and M57 (57th St). Local buses charge $2.75 and enable free transfers to other local routes and the subway. In addition, express buses stop along these avenues, providing service to other boroughs. Express buses charge a $6.75 fare, with free transfers available to other routes.

By Metro-North commuter rail
Metro-North commuter trains originate and terminate at Grand Central Terminal on E. 42 St at Park Av. See the By train section on the main New York City page for more info. Note that the train terminal (but not the subway stop serving it) closes from 2 am to 5:30 am daily.

Do

 * Walk on 5th Av. Around Christmas, it is usually mobbed, but off-season, it can be downright pleasant, and you can get to see just how pretty some of the department stores and high-end shops are. You may even be able to walk around Rockefeller Center at a strolling pace and see a view of the entire plaza.

For great views:

 * Walk or bike across the Edward I. Koch Queensboro Bridge.
 * Take the Roosevelt Island Tram.

More about Roosevelt Island below:

Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island is an elongated island in the East River between Manhattan Island and Queens. Originally a cattle farm, over the years it has had various names and uses, including as an asylum and a quarantine hospital. Today called Roosevelt Island, it is the home to several thousand New Yorkers who like its calm ambiance and connection to Manhattan. The island offers excellent views of the Manhattan skyline, particularly at the, just north of the Tramway stop, and , a public space at the southern tip of the island, accessible by one of the riverside promenades. The island also affords one of the best views of the city's 4th of July Fireworks displays when they take place nearby in the East River (some years, they are too far away); in such cases, get to the island very early, or you'll find that the seats are sold out.

There are two ways to access the island from Manhattan. The most popular way for tourists (and certainly the most scenic) is to take the, an aerial tram which crosses over the stretch of the East River between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island next to the Queensboro Bridge, offering splendid views of the skyline along the way. You can board the tram on Second Avenue at 60th Street; the one-way fare is $2.75; subway MetroCards accepted, but as of early 2023 the contactless OMNY system is not. Make sure you have a MetroCard before you arrive, as there are always long lines to buy them. The second option is to take the subway: the F train makes a single stop on the island at Roosevelt Island station, connecting it to Midtown Manhattan to the west and Queens to the east. Additionally, a road bridge connects the island to the intersection of 36th Avenue and Vernon Boulevard in Queens, allowing you to drive, walk, bike, or take the Q102 bus to the island from Queens.

Buy
Fifth Ave is a shoppers' paradise from 42nd to 60th Streets, boasting numerous flagships stores of national chains. Perpetually mobbed with shoppers and tourists, Fifth Avenue is a virtual standstill during the Christmas shopping season, when FAO Schwarz, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Cartier, Tiffany's, and Lord and Taylor put out their holiday displays. Other popular stores include Niketown, NBA Store, Versace, Gucci, Armani Exchange.

47th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues is a large wholesale and retail Jewelry District. It is said that nearly every diamond sold in the US passes first through this street. On this street a dealer's reputation among the community of jewelry dealers is all-important, and million-dollar contracts are agreed to with just a handshake because of the reputation of each dealer.

title: Manhattan/Midtown East


text:
Manhattan/SoHo

SoHo, short for "South of Houston" and a reference to its supposed similarities to the London Soho, is a diverse and increasingly upscale neighborhood of Manhattan. SoHo used to be a bohemian quarter of artists who subsisted in lofts, which at first weren't recognized as legal housing, and teeming art galleries. By now, the neighborhood has become so expensive that the art galleries have been generally priced out and have moved to the far west of Chelsea, while the struggling artists have had to move further and further into the other boroughs to find affordable places to rent. Now it is a neighborhood of expensive boutiques, but its narrow cobblestone side streets retain their charm, and even if the crowding on Broadway between Canal and Houston Streets can be draining, it is still a good neighborhood to walk through.

Get in
There are numerous subway lines that serve the neighborhood, and which one you use depends on which part of the neighborhood you wish to access. The 1 line runs under Varick Street in the quieter western part of the neighborhood, stopping at Houston and Canal Streets. The A, C, and E run under Sixth Avenue, also fairly far to the west, and stop at Canal Street, with the C and E also stopping at Spring Street. The N, Q, R, and W run under Broadway; the R and W stop at Prince and Canal Streets, while the N and Q express trains skips Prince and stops at Canal. The B, D, F, and M serve the Broadway-Lafayette station at Houston Street in the northern reaches of SoHo, with a free transfer available to and from the downtown 6 train at Bleecker St. The 6 runs under Lafayette Street, roughly the boundary between SoHo and the Lower East Side, stopping at Spring and Canal Streets, and the J (and during rush hours, the Z) stop at Canal Street under Lafayette.

There are also several city bus lines that serve the neighborhood. Take the M1, M6, or M20 bus for uptown/downtown (north/south) service. The M21 runs crosstown, but traffic on Houston Street often makes for slow service.

If you are coming from a nearby neighborhood, walking is the best way to get into SoHo.

See
It's best just to walk around, look at the pretty old buildings on Broadway and the cobblestoned side streets, and if you like, shop at clothing stores and such on Broadway. West Broadway is another interesting and very upscale shopping avenue in the neighborhood.

Buy
SoHo is a prime shopping destination, especially on the weekends, when the sidewalks of West Broadway, Prince Street, and Broadway become almost impassible. Be warned though that the boutique stores have mostly been replaced by high-end chain stores.

title: Manhattan/SoHo


text:
Manhattan/Theater District

Broadway. Times Square. Madison Square Garden. The name says it all: the Theater District is the entertainment hub of the city, and possibly the entire nation. The western half of Midtown Manhattan (to be distinguished from Midtown East), this is where you'll find Times Square, the streets packed with people taking in one of the brightest entertainment districts in the world. Despite its gaudy signage and superficial nature, a place where no local would want to be caught dead, it's hard not to be awestruck by it all. This is where the famous musicals of Broadway perform, where many famous TV shows are taped, and where the Knicks and Rangers play to sellout crowds.

It's easy to get distracted by Times Square; even in this city of giant skyscrapers and famed landmarks, the night glow of the Theater District overwhelms everything around it, making the rest of Manhattan look dark in comparison. It draws your attention away from anything else, much like a stage light focused on a theater set. But there is more to this area than bright lights and big-name shows, with revivified neighborhoods surrounding the core entertainment zone. To the south of Times Square lies the Garment District, center of New York's fashion scene, while to the north and west are more residential areas. West of Times Square is Hell's Kitchen, long the site of many smaller theaters and studios, less flashy than their counterparts on Broadway but no less active. There's much to see and do here — just try not to forget about the rest of Manhattan while you're here.

Understand
This district stretches from 31st St, through the heavily commercial West 30s up to 59th St (beyond which is Central Park), and lies west of 6th Ave. The West Side is home not only to the famed "Great White Way" (Broadway), but to the emerging business district centered on the now thoroughly Disneyfied Times Square. The Theater District centers on the outlandishly commercial "New" 42nd Street and heads up Broadway and 7th Avenues, melding to the west with the resurgent neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen and its commercial strip on 9th Avenue, and to the north with the newly-built Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. South of Times Square is the Garment District, where most of the city's showrooms and many well-known designers occupy the area between Times Square and Madison Square Garden, the famous sports arena located atop Pennsylvania Station. The area becomes increasingly residential as you go north or west, and more commercial to the east and south. Many of Manhattan's largest hotels (including the Hilton and the Sheraton) are located on 6th or 7th Avenue in this area.

Broadway is one of the leading venues in the world for musicals, on equal footing with London's West End, with both musical scenes often influencing each other and shows from one side of the pond touring on the other or having sister productions quite often.

By subway
The Times Square–42nd St subway station is one of the major nerve centers of public transit in New York, with the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and S (Grand Central Shuttle) lines all stopping there, while a pedestrian tunnel provides a free transfer to the 42nd St–Port Authority station, which serves the A, C, and E lines. Nearby, though not connected to Times Square–42nd St. station, the B, D, F, and M lines stop at 42nd St–Bryant Park station.

South of Times Square, the 1, 2, and 3 lines run under 7th Avenue, the A, C and E lines run under 8th Avenue, the N, Q, R, and W lines run under Broadway, and the B, D, F and M lines run under 6th Avenue, with all lines stopping at 34th Street, near Penn Station. Additionally, the 7 line runs southwest to 34th Street and 11th Avenue, adjacent to the Javits Convention Center. From outside New York City, Penn Station, located underneath Madison Square Garden, is the east coast hub of Amtrak services and is the regional hub for Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit commuter rail services. See the By train section on the main New York City page for more info. Also serving the neighborhood is PATH subway service to Hoboken and Jersey City, New Jersey, which runs under 6th Ave., stopping at 33rd St., 23rd St., and 14th St.

North of Times Square, the 1, 2, and 3 lines run under Broadway, with the 1 stopping at 50th St and 59th St–Columbus Circle. The A, C, and E lines run under 8th Avenue, with the C and E stopping at 50th St, before the E branches east to head under 53rd St. to Queens, stopping at 7th Av, while the A and C lines continue north, stopping at 59th St-Columbus Circle. The N, Q, R, and W lines run under 7th Avenue, stopping at 57th St–7th Av (the ideal stop for Carnegie Hall), with the N, R, and W lines also stopping at 49th St. The B, D, F, and M lines continue along 6th Avenue, stopping at 47th–50th Sts.–Rockefeller Center, before the lines branch out in different directions. The F train continues along 6th Avenue, stopping at 57th St, while the B and D trains head northwest, stopping at 7th Av and 59th St–Columbus Circle.

By MTA bus
Quite a number of city bus routes serve the area (see the MTA website for a map), but crosstown routes in particular can be subject to gridlock at peak times.

By long distance bus
Manhattan's main long distance bus station is the Port Authority Bus Terminal, between 8th and 9th Avenues and 40th and 42nd Streets. Connections are available on commuter buses to New Jersey and Rockland County, New York, and on long-distance routes through the country and to Canada.

By taxi
Taxis ply the area day and night but can slow to a standstill during rush hour, lunchtime, and even mid-afternoon. However, if you need a taxi and are unfamiliar with normal taxi fares, do not hail anything but a yellow cab. Drivers of black limos who offer to pick you up may try to cheat you.

On foot
Walking is the way you can see the most, but even walking can be a problem, particularly in Times Square (on Broadway and 7th Av. between 42nd and 48th Sts). Large numbers of tourists are liable to be standing still and looking up every few feet, and of course, you may be one of them. But if you prefer to take a walk at a steadier pace, take a side street and walk on another avenue.

Eat
Times Square can seem to be overrun with glorified, tacky, and overpriced versions of chain restaurants like McDonalds, Bubba Gump Shrimp, Red Lobster, and Applebee's that you can find anywhere else in America. These restaurants are more expensive than their suburban counterparts (a Big Mac costs $6). However, there are better food options available in the area, especially if you get away from Times Square proper and explore other areas in the Theater District.

Splurge

Go next
Too many travelers spend all or most of their time in the Theater District and other largely non-residential areas of Midtown Manhattan. From the viewpoint of many New Yorkers, the "real New York" is elsewhere, in the residential neighborhoods uptown, downtown, and even a couple of blocks west of Times Square and the bright lights of the Great White Way. If you want to find out how New Yorkers live, work, and party and feel the pace of the city, go to neighborhoods like Greenwich Village, the East Village, Chinatown, Harlem, the Upper West and Upper East Sides, or just walk to 9th or 10th Avenues.

title: Manhattan/Theater District


text:
Manhattan/TriBeCa

A former industrial district in Lower Manhattan, TriBeCa, short for "Triangle Below Canal Street", has transformed from artist community to upscale residential district in the 21st century. Sitting on the Hudson River and sandwiched between Canal and Chambers Streets west of Broadway, the neighborhood's cobblestone streets and loft buildings give it a surprisingly quaint feel for Manhattan. Nevertheless, numerous art galleries, fine restaurants, and a growing film festival have brought an element of prestige to this old port neighborhood.

Understand
Previously farmland, TriBeCa became a central transfer point for textiles and dry goods in the mid-1800s. In the 1960s, the Washington Market Urban Renewal Project transformed the area from commercial to residential by replacing the industrial buildings with apartment houses, office buildings and schools. Between 1970 and 1980, the population of TriBeCa jumped from 243 to 5,101. Today, TriBeCa features numerous galleries, stores and fine restaurants and is home to the burgeoning Tribeca Film Festival organized by Robert De Niro to help revitalize lower Manhattan after 9/11.

TriBeCa is one of the few neighborhoods in Manhattan that embodies a sense of community. The neighborhood has that quaint, safe, and comfortable feeling which are not typical adjectives that come to mind when thinking of NYC. Although the neighborhood is transforming into more of a place for the rich and famous, you will still find the struggling artist and average New Yorkers that were there before TriBeca became one of NYC’s most desirable residences.

Another aspect that separates TriBeCa from the rest of the neighborhoods in the city is its general appearance. The neighborhood represents historic Lower Manhattan. Unlike most areas, the Triangle Below Canal street still has the cobblestone streets and loft apartment buildings that disappeared in most areas years ago.

By subway
You can get in by bus or subway. The 1 train runs through the middle of the neighborhood under Varick Street, stopping at Canal, Franklin, and Chambers Streets. You can also take the 2 and 3 trains to Chambers Street. The A, C, and E stop at another Canal Street station, with the A, C, E, 2, and 3 also stopping at Chambers Street–World Trade Center / Park Place station. A third Canal Street stop, several blocks east of the heart of the neighborhood, is served by the N, Q, R, J, Z, and 6 trains.

By PATH
The PATH stop at World Trade center is connected to the Park Place/Chambers Street Station.

Do

 * Halloween in TriBeCa is a great experience for kids. Traditionally trick-or-treating in New York City happens floor to floor in the tall apartment buildings. However, in TriBeCa, all the restaurants, stores and galleries participate in the holiday. Trick or treating outside gives kids the exciting experience that usually only happens in suburban areas.

 * The TriBeCa Film Festival is another fun activity to not miss out on. Stop by to sample some delicious food from all the nearby restaurants. There are also many fun activities and games for the younger generation, as well as some dance, instrumental, and vocal performances. It's also a great opportunity to catch some celebrity sightings, and if you're lucky enough, even snagging a ticket to one of the films participating in the festival.

 * Taste of TriBeCa is a yearly food festival that everyone should attend at least once. It takes place every year on May 16 from 11:30AM to 3PM on Duane and Greenwhich St. It was developed by parents of the children in the neighborhood in 1994. During the festival the best restaurants come together and cook their best dishes, giving visitors the ability to have six tastings for a set fee. Along with the restaurants, there are visiting corporate donors, like UNICEF, live entertainment, and some designers offering items like. T-shirts and hats. Just a few of the participating restaurants include, Acapella (Italian), Flor de Sol (Spanish), and Salaam Bombay (Indian).

Go next
Cross Canal St. to visit SoHo, another upscale neighborhood, or take a 10-minute walk east to Chinatown, a neighborhood that's quite different and features some good, inexpensive food.

title: Manhattan/TriBeCa


text:
Manhattan/Upper East Side

The Upper East Side of Manhattan is one of the city's wealthiest districts. Spanning the stretch of island between 59th Street to 96th Street east of Central Park, the neighborhoods of Lenox Hill, Yorkville, and Carnegie Hill are full of luxurious townhouses and apartment buildings on some of the most affluent addresses in New York. Madison Avenue holds a multitude of fashionable boutiques and fine restaurants catering to the upscale crowd. While the endless Madison Avenue shops and the lavish hotels near Grand Army Plaza are what have typically this place on the map, the Upper East Side features an endless amount of other authentic, exciting sites for every crowd. Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor; many other historic buildings; superb art museums; and many consulates are part of what makes this neighborhood special. The historic Czech, German, Hungarian, Irish, Polish, and Slavic influences are apparent in this neighborhood through the classical buildings and restaurants mixed in between the modern affluent areas where one can find almost anything they'd want in a small and exciting area.

Neighborhoods
There are three main sub-neighborhoods within the larger area of the Upper East Side. Each has its own historical culture and influence and almost act as an individual neighborhood of their own.

Understand
The Upper East Side is one of the richest neighborhoods in New York City. It may seem to the casual observer to contain nothing but expensive restaurants and shops and elaborate museums, but it also has many pretty buildings worth looking at for their own sake, and as you get farther east, especially in the upper 70s and further north, things become a bit less expensive and more informal. 5th Avenue is bordered to the west by Central Park. Toward the west of the neighborhood you can also find a plethora of museums displaying a wide variety of culture ranging from Ancient Egypt to modern-day Asian culture and sites from the very beginnings of the neighborhood. Because of its dense concentration of museums, 5th Avenue from 82nd to 105th Streets has been nicknamed the "Museum Mile".

Travel a bit to the east and you'll find a shopper's heaven between Madison Avenue and 3rd Avenue, especially near the UES's southern border at East 59th Street. These stores and galleries sell gooey cakes and candy, women's clothing, jewelry and watches, books, art, etc., virtually all upscale. 2nd Avenue (and to a lesser extent, 3rd Avenue) is known for its bars and restaurants, with everything from authentic Japanese ramen and sushi to New American food and ceviche. The historical influence shines its brightest along 2nd Avenue, with its Central European eateries and stores. The rest of the neighborhood, ranging along Park Avenue and from 2nd Avenue to the bank of the East River, is mostly residential, with historical landmarks and parks. If Central Park is too crowded for you, then Carl Schurz or John Jay Parks are certainly worth going to.

Demographics
Historically, Yorkville was a German–dominated area (with some rich Anglo–Saxon Protestant families along 5th Avenue), and was, to a lesser extent, also populated by other Central European groups such as Austrians, Czechs, Hungarians and Slovaks, and also Irish. Although many of these folks have departed since the 1960s and 70s, their influence can be seen in the architecture, food, and cultural institutions lining 5th Avenue, and to some extent in the eastern reaches of 86th Street and environs, the core of Yorkville, which until the 1970s or so was utterly dominated by a Central European vibe. You'll likely walk on 86th Street if you visit this neighborhood, as that's the main east-west commercial street on the Upper East Side.

Park Avenue throughout the neighborhood is known as the elegant abode of old money, particularly white Anglo-Saxon old money, and this largely applies to residential buildings on 5th Avenue and side streets between 5th and Madison as well. Many of these buildings are early 20th-century luxury high rises with beautiful exteriors and interiors.

Side streets in the 60s and 70s are full of beautiful brownstones; quite a few of them are occupied by consulates and tony social clubs, while some others are owned in full by wealthy families.

History
It's likely that the beginning of the Upper East Side's history was as fishing camps for the Lenape Native Americans who inhabited the New York City area from 1000 BCE, with a fairly open oak–hickory forest area to make space for food. The area was developed in the 1800s as a farming and market district, and the area of German Yorkville grew around the New York and Harlem Railroad's purchased area around its now-demolished 86th Street station. Many rich men began purchasing farmland here, and in the 1870s, James Lenox (for whom Lenox Hill was named) began major economic development in the area, constructing Lenox Library on 5th Avenue and donating the block between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue from 70th to 71st Streets for Presbyterian Hospital. The stretch along 5th Avenue became a hotspot for stylish townhouses and even some mansions during the early 20th century, most notably those of Andrew Carnegie and his assistant, Henry Clay Frick. Later, numerous rich individuals continued to reside up here, including members of the politically active Kennedy, Roosevelt and Rockefeller families.

Alongside the high-rise development of the 1950s came the demolition of the Third and Second Avenue Els (elevated lines), leaving the IRT Lexington Avenue Line with the trains as the only form of transportation in the neighborhood aside from the crowded bus network. This had an adverse effect on the entire East Side, but especially the Upper East Side. The newest advancement, however, came with the construction in the 2010s of the Second Avenue Subway, served by the train with three stations at 72nd Street, 86th Street, and 96th Street, along with the newly renovated Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station. This raised real estate prices in the area even further.

By bus
Every avenue from 5th to York except for Park Avenue has at least one bus route. Madison Avenue (northbound) and 5th Avenue (southbound) are served by local M1, M2, M3, and M4 and limited M1, M2, and M4 buses (limited buses stop only at major intersections, such as transfer points for crosstown buses). 3rd Avenue (northbound) and Lexington Avenue (southbound) are served by the local M101, M102, and M103 buses and, during rush hours only, limited M98 and M101 buses. 2nd Avenue (southbound) and 1st Avenue (northbound) are served by the local M15 and the express M15 Select Bus Service, the latter of which instead has ticket machines at the bus stop rather than requiring payment on the bus itself, and runs along exclusive bus lanes.

In addition, a crosstown bus serves each major street. Along 57th Street, the M57 runs the length of the line, along with the M31 which doubles as the York Avenue bus. 66th and 68th Streets are served by the M66, 72nd Street by the M72, 79th Street by the M79, 86th Street by the M86 Select Bus Service (with identical features to the M15 Select Bus Service), and 96th Street by the M96.

Fares for all these buses are $2.75 and are purchased by inserting the MetroCard at the front of the bus when boarding, except in the case of Select Bus Services (including the M15, M79, and M86), which require that you purchase a bus ticket from the ticket machines at the stop before you board your bus. Makes sure to keep your ticket, as cops periodically board Select buses to check for fare-beaters, and if you are caught without a ticket, you will be fined $100.

Some express buses from the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens serve this area during rush hours. Unlike regular buses, they are not useful for getting around the neighborhood but serve residents of the outer boroughs, and they are useful for getting into the neighborhood from far-flung areas of the city. These include the BxM1, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, and BxM10 along 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue. These buses cost $6.50 rather than the typical citywide transportation cost of $2.75.

By subway
The primary subway service to the Upper East Side is via the express lines and  local line, which run under Lexington Avenue. All three lines stop at 59th Street and 86th Street, with the 6 also stopping at 68th Street–Hunter College, 77th Street, and 96th Street. 5th Avenue is only three blocks west of Lexington Avenue. These trains can get very crowded during rush hour, as this is the only north-south line running the full length of Manhattan on the east side. Another option is the newly-built line, which runs under 2nd Avenue and has stops at 96th Street, 86th Street, 72nd Street, and Lexington Avenue–63rd Street.

Serving the very southern end of the neighborhood is the line, which stops at Lexington Avenue–63rd Street, and the  lines, which run along 59th Street, stopping at 5th Avenue and Lexington Avenue. Both Lexington Avenue stations have a free transfer to the lines at the 59th Street station (the  station is a free out-of-system transfer, meaning you have to walk 4 blocks south to 59th Street from 63rd Street). You can access the subway with a MetroCard. Each entry costs $2.75.

By ferry
Limited ferry service is available at the Yorkville NYC Ferry stop at East 90th Street and York Avenue within Carl Schurz Park. The Soundview ferry provides service every 30 to 35 minutes during rush hours, every hour during middays and evenings, and every hour and a 40 minutes on weekends. The Soundview ferry runs from Soundview in the Bronx, a riverside residential neighborhood, and travels down the East River, providing service to Yorkville along with service at the East 34th Street Ferry Landing in Gramercy and Pier 11 at Wall Street in the Financial District, where you can connect to a variety of other ferry services throughout the city.

An adult one-way ticket on the ferry costs $2.75, while a 30-day adult pass costs $121. Bringing a bike, which is certainly an option with the extensive bike paths in the neighborhood, brings a $1.00 surcharge (or a $141 price with a 30-day pass). Children under 44 inches (112 centimeters) can ride for free and reduced fares are available for the elderly and those with disabilities. Tickets can be purchased on the NYC Ferry app, the ticket machines at the landings, or a ticket agent (present only at Pier 11/Wall Street).

On foot or by bicycle
From the Upper West Side, a walk or bike ride to the Upper East Side through Central Park is very pleasant in good weather. Exclusive bicycle lanes are featured on 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue, while Carl Schurz Park features multiple beautiful pedestrian paths and bike lanes, some of which extend up and down the FDR Drive.

There are multiple, public CitiBike stations all around the neighborhood that have a $3 per trip single ride, a $12 day pass with unlimited 30-minute rides, or a $169 annual pass with unlimited 45-minute rides. One can easily take out a bike for a quick ride through the quaint streets or to visit some of the neighborhood's famed destinations.

See
The stretch of Fifth Avenue alongside Central Park in the Upper East Side is commonly referred to as "Museum Mile" between 82nd Street to 105th Street, though museums and galleries are also to be found off this particular beaten track. Note that the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the primary museum in this area, is covered under the Central Park page. Additionally, the El Museo del Barrio and the Museum of the City of New York are on Fifth Avenue just to the north in Spanish Harlem.

 * Cooper-Hewitt-MattFlynnAHHP.jpg
 * Cooper-Hewitt-MattFlynnAHHP.jpg
 * Cooper-Hewitt-MattFlynnAHHP.jpg

 * Neue Galerie.jpg
 * [[Image:Guggenheim New York.jpg|right|thumb|Interior of the Guggenheim Museum]]
 * Temple Emanu-El New York 1272detail.jpg
 * [[Image:Guggenheim New York.jpg|right|thumb|Interior of the Guggenheim Museum]]
 * Temple Emanu-El New York 1272detail.jpg
 * Temple Emanu-El New York 1272detail.jpg
 * Temple Emanu-El New York 1272detail.jpg
 * Temple Emanu-El New York 1272detail.jpg

Do
The Frick Collection and the Metropolitan Museum and are among the many venues in the neighborhood that host concert series.

Buy
Madison Avenue is the center of New York's haute couture, full of small shops selling fabulously expensive clothes, accessories, and housewares to people who can afford not to look at the price tag. Even if it's out of your price range, it's worth a visit just to gawk. Dozens of shops selling a variety of different items are present around the neighborhood as well.

 * NYC Bloomingdales.jpg
 * NYC Bloomingdales.jpg
 * NYC Bloomingdales.jpg

Eat
The Upper East Side is a very expensive neighborhood — though less so east of Lexington Avenue — and this is reflected in the categorization of a restaurant that serves a $32 goulash as "mid-range." However, if you're willing to pay up, there's a wide selection available, from delicious French pastries to steaming Korean comfort food.

Drink
The Upper East Side is primarily a land of sports bars and Irish pubs, though a few exceptions can be found. Generally, 2nd Avenue contains the highest concentrations of bars and restaurants in this part of the city.

Sleep
As the Upper East Side is the legendary location of the Park Avenue duplexes of the super-rich, the expensive boutiques of Madison Avenue, and the gorgeous doorman buildings of 5th Avenue, you would figure to be hard-pressed to find inexpensive accommodations there, unless you have a friend you can stay with. If you want to try your luck with apartment-rental websites, you are more likely to find relatively cheaper accommodation east of Lexington Avenue than further west. Otherwise, fortunately, the Lexington Avenue subway line is generally quite good, though crowded, and will speed your way downtown from Harlem and the Bronx or uptown from areas further south if you would like to take an afternoon trip to this neighborhood.

Connect
Free wireless hotspots are available all over the city, but especially in the Upper East Side, with hotspots such as the LinkNYC machines spread all throughout the city that have advertisements, emergency services, special facts about New York City, updates on things such as New York City Subway service and the weather, and USB charging ports. These machines are quite common and can help any lost traveler get back on track within minutes. Many establishments, such as cafes and restaurants, also have free WiFi so you can pop in and get a snack while also having ample access to the Internet. Many restaurants and stores also have charging ports for electronics.

Stay safe
While most of New York City remains fairly safe, the Upper East Side is one of the safest neighborhoods in the entire city, and potentially the whole region. It's patrolled by the NYPD 19th Precinct which is ranked 14th safest out of 69 precincts throughout the area for per-capita crime, and the incarceration rate of 71 per 100,000 people is the lowest in the entire city. Many areas, especially subway stations and more crowded areas, have a high police presence, and be sure not to forget about LinkNYC, which has quick emergency access, a USB charging port, secure WiFi, updates on subway service and other events, and factual New York City tidbits. To ensure your safety, however, don't walk in dimly lit areas alone at night, including most minor streets east of 2nd Avenue and especially in Carl Schurz Park. Abide by the typical rules of safety: be aware of your bags and don't let go of them at anytime in public, leave your valuables in a secure place (preferably at your hotel), and don't flaunt expensive clothing, items, or jewelry. However, don't be anxious, as this part of the city is known as one of the safest.

Three New York City Fire Department (FDNY) stations serve the Upper East Side: Engine Co. 39/Ladder Co. 16 at 157 East 67th Street between 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue, Engine Co. 44 at 221 East 75th Street between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue, and Engine Co. 22/Ladder Co. 13/Battalion 10 at 159 East 85th Street between 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue. Alongside LinkNYC, fire services more than blanket the entire neighborhood.

The Upper East Side is also one of the healthiest neighborhoods in the city, too. Lenox Hill Hospital is at 100 East 77th Street between Lexington Avenue and Park Avenue, next to the 77th Street station. The New York Presbyterian Hospital, the best in the state and 5th best in the country, is at 425 East 61st Street between 1st Avenue and York Avenue, and is one of the largest hospitals in the world with a plethora of medical and scientific research. Weill Cornell Medical Center, an Ivy League medical school and part of New York Presbyterian, is close by at 525 East 68th Street next to York Avenue. Other hospitals in the Upper East Side include Hospital for Special Surgery Main Hospital and Rockefeller University Hospital Memorial next to Weill Cornell, Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's Outpatient Center at 205 East 64th Street between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue, and the Urgent Care Center at 425 East 67th Street between 1st Avenue and York Avenue. Health throughout individual Upper East Side residents is great, with a far lower amount of preterm births, smokers, teenage births, uninsured residents and those with diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity than the rest of the city, and the eating choices here are generally very healthy. The air quality isn't the best here, with 0.0083 milligrams of fine particulate matter per cubic meter, higher than the city average.

New York City has its share of odd and uncomfortable people, and the Upper East Side is a hotspot for these ones. Whether it's advertisers, the homeless, the mentally ill, pan-handlers, religious preachers, don't feel pressured or threatened by these people. Most New Yorkers simply breeze by or apologize and walk off, so don't feel guilty for doing the same, especially when these people are potential pickpocketers.

Since the Upper East Side is fairly close to the main United Nations Headquarters at East 42nd Street in Murray Hill, many diplomatic missions are present here, especially in the 50s and 60s. Virtually every country on Earth has a diplomatic mission here, and these missions often double as consulates.

Consulates
Due to the Upper East Side's proximity to the United Nations Headquarters at 1st Avenue & East 42nd Street along the East River, there are many consulates in and around the neighborhood acting as diplomatic missions to the UN, even if those countries do not have diplomatic relations with the United States. Consulates or embassies are always closed on holidays in the United States and holidays in the respective country of the consulate or embassy. There are 117 diplomatic missions in the city, and there are 9 that act as the official embassy to the USA. If you are a foreign citizen of one of the many countries that have consulates here, they can be help you especially in health emergencies, legal situations, or violence.

Go next
The most obvious place to go next is Central Park. The Upper West Side is on the other side of the park, accessible by walking, bike riding, taking a crosstown bus at 96th, 86th, 79th, or 66th Streets or using a taxi or private car. Also, Midtown and the bright lights and ritzy department stores of 5th Avenue in the 40s and 50s are just south of the Upper East Side. East (Spanish) Harlem is a lively neighborhood that starts just north of 96th Street, though the Upper East Side has increasingly been bleeding into the southern reaches of the Barrio. Roosevelt Island and Queens are on the other side of the East River.

title: Manhattan/Upper East Side


text:
Manhattan/Upper West Side

The Upper West Side (including Morningside Heights) covers a large area in upper Manhattan bounded by 59th Street on the south, 125th Street on the north, the Hudson River on the west, and Central Park and Morningside Park on the east. The area encompasses four distinct Manhattan neighborhoods – the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, Bloomingdale, and Manhattan Valley – and includes one of its finest parks, Riverside Park, which including Riverside South runs along the river all the way from 59th Street to 158th Street.

Often called the city's quintessential neighborhood, the area includes delightful residential streets, the twin-towered facades of the old apartment hotels on Central Park West and Riverside Drive, two of the city's best-known markets (Zabar's and Fairway), one of its major museums (the American Museum of Natural History) and several smaller ones. Morningside Heights has an Ivy League university (Columbia University), and the Neo-Gothic Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Riverside Church. The area is an architectural historian's delight with many of its buildings (especially in Morningside Heights) built before the Second World War and quite a few built before the First World War, though many new and large condominium buildings have been built south of 110th Street.

The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, running from 62nd Street to 66th Street, contains the Metropolitan Opera; the David H. Koch Theater, home of the New York City Ballet; Geffen Hall, the home of the New York Philharmonic; the Juilliard School; and the New York Public Library's Library for the Performing Arts, among other institutions.

Understand
From west to east, the Upper West Side is oriented along Riverside Drive, West End Avenue (which is called 11th Avenue south of 59th St.), Amsterdam Avenue (called 10th Avenue south of 59th St.), Columbus Avenue (9th Avenue), and Central Park West (8th Avenue). All these avenues change from numbers to names north of 59th Street. The 66-block stretch of Broadway forms the backbone of the Upper West Side and lies diagonally across the avenues; it begins at its juncture with Central Park West at Columbus Circle (59th Street), crosses Columbus Avenue at Lincoln Square (65th Street), crosses Amsterdam Ave. at Verdi Square (72nd Street), and then merges with West End at Straus Square (aka Bloomingdale Square, at 107th Street).

By subway
The primary subway service to the Upper West Side is the 1 local train and the 2 and 3 express trains, which run under Broadway. All three lines stop at 72nd St. and 96th St., with the 1 also stopping at 59th St. (Columbus Circle), 66th St. (Lincoln Center), 79th St., 86th St., 103rd St., 110th St., 116th St. (Columbia University), and 125th St. The 1 line continues north along Broadway, while the 2 and 3 lines branch east north of the 96th St. stop and head into Central Harlem.

Also serving the neighborhood are the A, B, C, and D lines, which run under Central Park West (called 8th Av. north and south of Central Park), although the A and D express lines usually stop only at 59th St. (Columbus Circle) and 125th St.(at St. Nicholas Av.), except after midnight, when the A goes local for a few hours. The B (weekdays only) and C local lines stop at 59th St., 72nd St., 81st St. (Museum of Natural History), 86th St., 96th St., 103rd St., 110 St., 116th St., and 125 St.

By bus
Numerous bus routes serve this neighborhood, including:
 * M5, on Riverside Drive north of 72 St. and Broadway south of that street
 * M104 on Broadway
 * M7 and M11, which go uptown (north) on Amsterdam Av. and downtown (south) on Columbus Av.
 * M10 on Central Park West.
 * M4 on Broadway coming from the north to 110th Street, then crosstown to 5th Avenue.
 * M60 from Broadway and 106th Street to LaGuardia Airport via Broadway to 120th Street and Amsterdam Avenue to 125th Street.

There are also crosstown buses on 65th/66th Sts., 72nd St. (the M72, which uses the 66th St. transverse through Central Park), 79th St., 86th St., 96th St., 106th St. (to and from East 116th St.), and 125th St.

On foot or by bicycle
A walk or bike ride to the Upper West Side is a very pleasant way to get in in good weather, whether going through Central Park from the Upper East Side or heading north from the Theater District. The Hudson River Greenway provides easy access through Riverside Park to Upper and Lower Manhattan. The Citibike bike share system has stations all around the neighborhood and most of Manhattan.

Buy
The neighborhood, especially the Morningside Heights area, is home to several excellent bookstores.

Cafes
The Upper West Side has many idiosyncratic cafes, some of long standing in the neighborhood. Of course, there is no shortage of Starbucks in the area, but for something different try one of the following:

Go next
Other than visiting Central Park, obvious places to go next are the Theater District and the Village, easily reachable via all subway lines that run through the Upper West Side; and the Upper East Side, for visits to the Metropolitan Museum and any number of other museums along 5th Avenue. In addition, Harlem is easily walkable from the northern reaches of the Upper West Side, and well worth exploring.

title: Manhattan/Upper West Side


text:
Manhattan Beach

Manhattan Beach is in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County in Southern California, USA. With its expensive homes, fancy restaurants, and wealthy residents, Manhattan Beach is like Beverly Hills-by-the-sea.

By car
5 Miles south of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Take Interstate 105 and South on the 405 freeway. Exit Rosecrans or Inglewood Avenue or Artesia and head west.

By train
Metro Green line last stop brings you the Marine Avenue Station. Local buses have routes throughout Manhattan Beach.

By bike
The Strand, officially called the Marvin Braude Bike Trail, begins just north of Santa Monica and runs all the way down the coast to Torrance with a stop in Manhattan Beach along the way. So from any beach in the Los Angeles area, you are able to take the bike path directly in.

Get around
Bicycle, skate, or walk along the Strand, Manhattan Beach's picturesque boardwalk which spans along the Pacific. Multimillion dollar homes, busy sand volleyball courts, and bike paths line the walk.

See

 * The Manhattan Beach Pier.jpg

Buy

 * The shops and boutiques along Manhattan Avenue, stretching down to the pier provide the best flavor of this upscale community.
 * The shops and boutiques along Manhattan Avenue, stretching down to the pier provide the best flavor of this upscale community.

Breakfast
Manhattan Beach is known for its numerous breakfast spots. Many people consider breakfast to be the meal that the town does best. But beware, on weekends crowds can be heavy and waits can be long.

Go next

 * - The city's northern neighbor is mostly an industrial town, although visitors are generally surprised to find a sleepy downtown that is home to numerous restaurants and bars.
 * - The city's northern neighbor is mostly an industrial town, although visitors are generally surprised to find a sleepy downtown that is home to numerous restaurants and bars.

title: Manhattan Beach