New York - Overview
New York is a city fascinating collection of neighborhoods, each with its own distinct character. Explore the bustling shops of Chinatown and Spanish Harlem, the stately museums of the Upper East Side and the lively arts scene in Greenwich Village. The city is all about neon lights, busy roads, yellow cabs, street performers, bookstores, restaurants, night life and beautiful landscaped parks. Not to mention its ten million inhabitants living side-by-side and running with the flow of this vibrant, energetic hub of commerce, art and culture. New York will challenge and stimulate you every step of the way.
Manhattan
Some people think that Manhattan and New York City are synonymous, but they are not. Manhattan is only one of the five boroughs that make up New York City; the others are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. There's much to see and do in the other boroughs but exploring Manhattan thoroughly could take weeks in itself.
Upper East Side
From the Plaza Hotel at the edge of Central Park to the top of Museum Mile at El Museo del Barrio at 105th Street, this is the city's Gold Coast. Its wealth of museums includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world's best, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Midtown
Beginning at 34th Street with the Empire State Building and Macy's, midtown attractions range from the fascinating Morgan Library to the awesome New York Public Library, both of which have changing exhibitions. Behind the latter library is the lovely Bryant Park, which hosts free movies and music events in summer.
Upper West Side
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts sets the stage for the Upper West Side: the New York State Theater home to the New York City Ballet and the New York City Opera; The Metropolitan Opera House with seven different grand opera productions a week; Avery Fisher Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic; the Vivian Beaumont Theater; the Library and Museum of the Performing Arts; and the Julliard School whose concerts and recitals are usually free.
Tribeca/Civic Center/Chinatown
The triangle below Canal Street (TriBeCa for short) is a neighbourhood that has been recycled from a manufacturing and warehouse district into a community of art galleries and some of the best restaurants in town.
Soho/Little Italy
The blocks south of Houston (pronounced HOW-ston) and north of Canal streets are the city's largest concentration of cast-iron fronted buildings, built as warehouses and manufacturing spaces, but converted to living spaces, called "lofts," for artists and sculptors who appreciated the elbow room.
Harlem
No other Manhattan neighbourhood offers such a variety of experiences as this one above 110th Street. To many, it is a place to hear the best gospel singing at churches like Abyssinian Baptist, Salem United Methodist, and Metropolitan Baptist, where visitors are given a warm welcome every Sunday morning.
Greenwich Village
To New Yorkers, it's simply called "The Village" Visitors from all over the world flock to see Greenwich Village, a neighbourhood with a powerful mystique that continues to attract the creative, the iconoclastic, the chic and the just plain curious to this day.
Yankee Stadium
The Bronx
The Bronx is the only borough attached to the mainland, and it's the greenest with 6,000 acres of parkland. Start your day with an insider's tour of the most famous park of all: Take the 4 or D train to Yankee Stadium, built in 1922, the largest baseball park in the U.S.
Brooklyn
A great place to start is by walking across the soaring span of the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Heights - America's first suburb and NYC's first official Historic District. With tree-lined streets and 1,100 elegant 19th-century row houses, Brooklyn Heights is both historic and cosy.
Staten Island
One of the best travel bargains in town, the world-famous Staten Island Ferry is a free 25-minute cruise across the New York Harbour, offering magnificent views of the city skyline, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Compiled with the kind assistance of
NYC & Company