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New York Attractions: Manhattan's Popular Neighborhoods

Attractions | Popular Neighborhoods | Christmas | Thankgiving | New Years Eve

When to Go and What to Do in New York City

SoHo

SoHo (from 'south of Houston') is New York City's leading area for art galleries, clothing stores and boutiques selling oh-so-precious curios. The area is a paradigm of inadvertent urban renewal, having transmogrified from New York's leading commercial district post-Civil War, to a tuned-in artists colony in the 1950s, to the impossibly expensive gorgeousness of today. Its beautifully restored cast-iron buildings are some of the best examples of this style in the world. Some cutting edge cats (self-styled, of course) say it's all over for SoHo - too self-conscious, too trendy, too pricey - but the galleries are undeniably good and no-one's forcing you to buy autographed tea-cosies from hustler-designers with wares to sell.

Tribeca

Though not as touristy or architecturally significant as SoHo, Tribeca has an even cooler etymology: it's the 'TRIangle BElow CAnal' St. This neighborhood of old warehouses and loft apartments has a fair share of sceney restaurants and bars, along with Robert De Niro's Tribeca Films production company. It's not unusual to spot a star hanging out at a local restaurant or bar, and Tribeca's desolation chic makes the area a favorite for fashion photographers. As yet, the neighborhood isn't overrun with boutiques and chain stores, and some of the warehouses are still derelict. It won't stay like this for long though - the music of Tribeca is a chorus of cash registers pinging in developers' heads.

Greenwich Village

The Village (as New Yorkers call it) is one of NYC's most popular neighborhoods, and a symbol throughout the world for all things outlandish and bohemian. The area's reputation as a creative enclave can be traced back to at least the early 1900s, when artists and writers moved in, followed by jazz musicians who played at famous (still functioning) clubs like the Blue Note and Village Vanguard. By the '40s the neighborhood was known as a gathering place for gays. The coffeehouses on Bleecker St hark back to New York's beatnik '50s and hippie '60s. Bob Dylan reputedly smoked his first joint in the Village, Jimi Hendrix lived here and the Rolling Stones recorded here. Greenwich Village is still a vibrant and varied area, packed with historic sites, cafes, shops, gay bars, and Washington Square Park, purportedly the most crowded recreational space in the world.