New York City: Neighborhoods

Midtown The epicenter of Manhattan’s bustle and buzz, this is also its largest neighborhood, and the setting for many attractions, restaurants, hotels, and retail businesses of interest to visitors.

The Village Defying Manhattan's grid with its zig-zag of historic streets and buildings, Greenwich Village and the West Village offer stellar shopping and dining. Edgier, funkier East Village has great music clubs and quirky bars and shops.

SoHo/TriBeCa When SoHo – a downtown quarter of cast-iron 19th-century buildings bursting with art galleries, restaurants, and boutiques – became too expensive for starving artists, they claimed now-trendy TriBeCa, converting warehouses into apartments and galleries.

Upper East Side The highlight here is Museum Mile, home to nine major cultural institutions including the Met and Guggenheim museums. Otherwise, the elegant town house-lined neighborhood is mostly residential.

Upper West Side Bordering Central Park’s western edge, this largely residential neighborhood is sprinkled with attractions like the American Museum of Natural History and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Lower Manhattan Check out Wall Street (New York’s financial headquarters), visit the Federal Hall National Memorial, pay your respects at Ground Zero, and ferry over to the Statue of Liberty.

Chinatown/Little Italy/Lower East Side Colorfully diverse, these traditionally ethnic enclaves combine international sights, tastes, and sounds. Funky bars and nightclubs line the Lower East Side’s Ludlow Street.

Harlem Saunter by historic brownstones, sample savory soul food, or experience legendary music venues and spirited Sunday gospel in the place that inspired novelists like Langston Hughes.

Chelsea/Meatpacking District Long known for gay culture and nightlife, Chelsea also encompasses the city's highest concentration of art galleries. The adjacent Meatpacking District is a trés trendy enclave of big-name designer boutiques and hip hotels.