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The Manhattan Bridge framed by brick warehouses on Washington Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn

Life in New York City

Neighborhoods

Five boroughs, hundreds of neighborhoods. Start with a borough, then dig into the blocks, history, and local spots that make each one different.

Start with a borough

The Empire State Building and Midtown Manhattan at dusk, seen from Top of the RockManhattanThe island most visitors picture first: Midtown towers, downtown history, Harlem, and the parks in between.Stories →The Brooklyn Bridge seen from the Brooklyn waterfrontBrooklynThe most populous borough, with brownstone blocks, the waterfront, Coney Island, and Prospect Park.Stories →The Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, QueensQueensOne of the most diverse places anywhere, home to both of the city's airports and neighborhoods like Flushing and Astoria.Stories →The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden in the BronxThe BronxThe only borough mostly on the mainland: Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Zoo, the Botanical Garden, and Arthur Avenue.Stories →A Staten Island Ferry boat docked at the Whitehall terminalStaten IslandA free ferry ride from Manhattan, with greenbelt trails, historic Richmond Town, and the island's own food scene.Stories →

Manhattan

The smallest borough by land area and the one most visitors know first. North of 14th Street the streets mostly follow the 1811 grid, so it's easy to find your way. Below it, the older streets wind and change names.

  • Financial District & Battery Park: Wall Street, the 9/11 Memorial, and the ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Staten Island.
  • Greenwich Village: Washington Square Park, small crooked streets, and a long history of jazz, folk and comedy clubs.
  • Lower East Side & Chinatown: immigrant history in tenement blocks, and some of the city's best-loved cheap eats.
  • SoHo & Tribeca: cast-iron buildings, shopping, and converted warehouse lofts.
  • Chelsea & the Meatpacking District: the High Line, art galleries, and Chelsea Market.
  • Midtown: Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central, the Broadway theaters, and the skyline icons.
  • Upper West Side & Upper East Side: they face each other across Central Park. The American Museum of Natural History is on the west side, and Museum Mile, with the Met and the Guggenheim, is on the east.
  • Harlem: the Apollo Theater, brownstone blocks, and the home of the Harlem Renaissance.
  • Washington Heights & Inwood: hilly parks, Dominican culture, and The Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park.

Brooklyn

The most populous borough, and a big city in its own right. Brooklyn was an independent city until the five boroughs joined in 1898.

  • Brooklyn Heights & DUMBO: the Promenade, Brooklyn Bridge Park and the classic bridge-and-skyline views.
  • Williamsburg & Greenpoint: waterfront parks, music venues, and Greenpoint's Polish bakeries.
  • Park Slope & Prospect Heights: brownstones, Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
  • Bedford-Stuyvesant & Crown Heights: some of the city's finest rowhouse blocks, and Caribbean culture along Eastern Parkway.
  • Coney Island & Brighton Beach: the boardwalk, the Cyclone roller coaster, the beach, and the Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking community of "Little Odessa."
  • Bay Ridge & Sunset Park: Verrazzano views, a waterfront promenade, and Brooklyn's Chinatown along Eighth Avenue.

Queens

The largest borough by area, and one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world. Both of the city's airports, JFK and LaGuardia, are here.

  • Astoria & Long Island City: Greek tavernas, the Museum of the Moving Image, MoMA PS1, and skyline views across the East River.
  • Flushing: one of the largest Chinatowns in the city, plus Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the Unisphere from the 1964 World's Fair, Citi Field and the U.S. Open grounds.
  • Jackson Heights: South Asian, Himalayan and Latin American food along Roosevelt and 37th Avenues, and landmark garden apartment buildings.
  • Forest Hills: Tudor-style streets in Forest Hills Gardens.
  • The Rockaways: the city's longest stretch of ocean beach, a boardwalk, and surfing, all reachable by the A train.

The Bronx

The only borough mostly on the U.S. mainland, and the greenest: Pelham Bay Park is the city's largest park.

  • Belmont & Arthur Avenue: the Bronx's Little Italy, with bakeries, delis and the Arthur Avenue Retail Market.
  • Fordham & Bronx Park: the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden, side by side.
  • Concourse & Highbridge: Yankee Stadium, Art Deco apartment houses on the Grand Concourse, and the High Bridge, the city's oldest standing bridge.
  • Mott Haven & the South Bronx: widely recognized as the birthplace of hip-hop in the 1970s.
  • City Island: a small fishing-village island with seafood restaurants and a New England feel.
  • Riverdale & Van Cortlandt Park: leafy hills, Wave Hill's gardens and long trails.

Staten Island

The least populous borough, linked to Manhattan by the free Staten Island Ferry and to Brooklyn by the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

  • St. George: the ferry terminal, a waterfront promenade, and the minor league ballpark.
  • Snug Harbor: a 19th-century sailors' retirement home that's now a cultural center and botanical garden.
  • Historic Richmond Town: a living-history village with buildings from the 1600s onward.
  • The Greenbelt: miles of wooded trails in the middle of the island.
  • Fort Wadsworth & the South Shore: harbor fortifications, bridge views and beaches.
  • Tottenville: the Conference House, where British and American delegates met in 1776 for a peace conference that failed.

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