New York neighborhoods
You know what you want to pay for a night's accommodation, but where should you stay? Our New York guide will help you sort it all out.
Chelsea
Bordered by the West Village to the south and the Garment District to the north, Chelsea boasts a staggering concentration of art galleries. In addition, it's home to the Dia Center for the Arts, the Chelsea Art Museum, and the Joyce Theater—a Mecca for modern dance lovers.Chelsea is also the epicenter of New York's gay scene, with countless businesses, ranging from nightclubs to yoga centers, catering to its vibrant gay community. Hip restaurants, swanky boutiques, and bars abound. However, at its heart, Chelsea is a residential area, characterized by long streets lined with century-old brownstones.
East Village
The down and dirty East Village really isn't so down and dirty anymore. It used to be New York City's troubled teen—a hub for bad-boy rock-and-rollers and other rabble-rousers. But things took a turn in the late '80s and '90s: the homeless squatters were ousted from Tompkins Square Park, and the drug dealers were cleared from (most of) the street corners of Alphabet City—the area between avenues A and D.Now it's all about NYU students, quirky shops, cheap food, raucous pubs, and sleek little bars. There's still a little edge left to the East Village: the legendary rock venue CBGB is still alive (though perhaps not kicking). And St. Marks Place has its share of freaks. Traces of the neighborhood's Ukrainian community remain, and there's a cluster of back-to-back Indian restaurants and eateries catering to Japanese expats.
Greenwich Village & West Village
Watch some intense b-ball at the caged courts on West Fourth Street. Munch on a seriously sweet cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery. Tap your feet to the offbeat at a not-so-smoky jazz club, and get your, uh, anything pierced on Eighth Street. Welcome to "the Village."Running west from Lafayette Street and north to 14th Street, Greenwich Village is, in many ways, classic New York—brimming with history, culture, and lively characters. It's also home to New York University, which, despite having no conventional campus, completely permeates the area with its presence and purple flags. And there are more than enough cafes, used book shops, and cheap restaurants to accommodate its students.
Lower East Side
Ah, gentrification. The Lower East Side, which extends southwest from the intersection of Bowery and Houston Street, is an area in flux. Since the 1800s, it's been a neighborhood of immigrants: starting with the Irish, Germans, Jewish, and Eastern Europeans, whose often unbearable living conditions are well-documented at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.However, these days the LES is known more for its hipster denizens than anyone else. The ever-expanding Chinatown and ever-shrinking Little Italy form the neighborhood's western border. The East Village is just north, while SoHo and the Financial District are in walking distance.
Midtown East & Murray Hill
Midtown East begins at Fifth Avenue and works east toward the water, encompassing the residential Murray Hill along the way. More business-oriented than Midtown West, Midtown East is home to many of New York's biggest and best law firms, investment firms, publishing houses, and advertising agencies, which fill up the many skyscrapers linking the avenues.Still, there are plenty of noteworthy tourist sights in Midtown East, including Grand Central Terminal, the United Nations headquarters, Trump Tower, the Chrysler Building, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Midtown East is also somewhat of a shopping haven. The flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store is located here, as are Takashimaya, Chanel, Burberry, Calvin Klein, and Niketown.
Midtown West & Times Square
Midtown West is chockablock with tourists sights, so it comes as no surprise that it's also packed with tourist-class hotels. Working west from Fifth Avenue to Hell's Kitchen and stretching north from 37th Street up to Central Park, Midtown West is home to the Theater District, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Museum of Modern Art. Whew!And then there's Times Square—an entity within itself. Though most New Yorkers steer clear of this congested area, the neon lights, larger-than-life billboards, and wise-talking street vendors keep the visitors coming.
Soho & Tribeca
SoHo—South of Houston—once associated with bohemian artists, is now the territory of the wealthy and hip, as well as the designer stores, pricey boutiques, and swank restaurants they patronize. Prada? Agent Provacateur? Chanel? Check, check, and check! Now tour buses regularly patrol the area. And the chain stores on Broadway are slowly invading this upper-crust neighborhood.Tribeca—the Triangle Below Canal—is still somewhat arty but increasingly filled with financial types who work in nearby Wall Street. On weekends, the area is best for brunching at a see-and-be-seen restaurant. Nighttime can seem somewhat desolate in parts, though hip shows at the Tribeca Grand or The Knitting Factory bring in music-loving New Yorkers.
Union Square & Gramercy
Once the provenance of political rallies and drug pushers, Union Square underwent a complete overhaul in the '80s and is now lined by trendy restaurants and giant chain stores, including the scene-y Coffee Shop and the massive, aptly named Virgin Megastore.Four times a week the park hosts the Greenmarket, where local vendors fill tents and stands with regionally produced products and organic vegetables. Union Square is one of the best people-watching spots in the city: New Yorkers flock to its steps and benches at the first sign of pleasant weather. Artists, avant-garde T-shirt vendors, and political activists are quick to follow.
Upper East Side
To some folks, the Upper East Side should be called the Upper Crust Side, drawing to mind ladies who lunch in Chanel and immaculately groomed poodles. This reputation is not entirely undeserved. After all, the UES is one of the highest rent districts in the nation. It's home to Barneys, Bloomingdales, Cartier, and Sotheby's, as well as any number of the top designer stores along Madison and Lexington avenues. And the elegant brownstones and town houses, nestled in the streets between Central Park east to Third Avenue, shelter some of the wealthiest families in the country.Upper West Side to Harlem
More laid-back, and allegedly more intellectual, than its East-Side cousin, the Upper West Side is a largely residential area, filled with tall apartment buildings and stately brownstones. This area, which begins at Columbus Circle and ends at Morningside Heights, is home to the Lincoln Center, the American Museum of Natural History, and Columbia University. However, one of its greatest attributes may be its borders: sandwiched between the iconic Central Park and leisurely Riverside Park, greenery is never more than a few blocks away.Famous Harlem, whose importance as a historically African-American neighborhood cannot be matched, begins north of Morningside Heights. Despite its dangerous reputation, Harlem has become much safer... and much more popular with tourists.