Manhattan

11 Madison Park

Has one of the most beautiful rooms of any restaurant in New York. Long well-liked for its upscale American cuisine and helpful service, it has in the last few years been graced with a new chef who has been getting rave reviews from many quarters. Call ahead for reservations.

2 Bridges Music Arts

2 Bridges Music Arts sells new and used records, tapes and books while staging exhibitions and events from their post in a Chinatown mall. The space is meant to host overlapping tendencies in experimental music, art and knowledge production internationally.

200 Fifth Avenue

This building, formerly part of the Toy Center, used to be connected to the formerly matching one that was between 24th and 25th Streets by a pedestrian bridge, but that building was torn down and substituted for with a new building in the 2010s. However, the remaining landmark building between 23rd and 24th Streets and 5th Avenue was built in 1909 and as of 2021 is occupied most prominently by Eataly, a large purveyor of foodstuffs that concentrates particularly on Italian foods that are imported or made on site.

23 Wall Street

Located across from the Stock Exchange is this imposing office building which was constructed in 1914 and served as the headquarters of JP Morgan. The Wall Street Bombing of September 16, 1920 damaged the building, with shrapnel blasting several holes in the limestone facade. The holes are still there for any to see.

2nd Ave Deli

This famous kosher delicatessen, which used to be on 2nd Av. and 10th St., reopened at its new location a few years ago. The place is a real throwback, which really feels like an old-school Jewish deli. The menu is more extensive than old-school delis were, however, and includes what used to be considered "appetizing" (i.e., pareve - neither meat nor milk) foods. Try their tongue, corned beef, pastrami, and kasha varnishkes, and enjoy their freebies of artisanal cole slaw, pickles, and gribenes (chicken fat cracklings). The food may be bad for the heart, but it's good for the soul.

40 Wall Street

Trump Building

A very impressive skyscraper with a green spire which was completed in 1930 and surpassed the height of the nearby Woolworth Building (see Manhattan/TriBeCa), making it the tallest building in the world until the Chrysler Building was completed just a month later (which in turn lost that title to the Empire State Building less than a year later). The building was leased by Donald Trump in 1995, hence its current name.

55 Bar

This bar has some good blues and jazz acts, but what's so unusual about it is that it dates back to 1919 and still has a lot of the original furnishings and Beaux Arts-style lamps. Keep your drink orders simple and enjoy the atmosphere.

92nd Street Y

92Y

A full season of concerts, lectures, and other events takes place here. The Y's Kaufmann Concert Hall is one of the premiere concert halls in the city, and its lecture and concert series feature many well-known groups and individuals. Some fans particularly recommend the chamber music concerts featuring members of the New York Philharmonic. The Y also offers classes in various subjects through art, culture, and entertainment. Judaism is also a major part of the community here as well, being a Jewish-based organization with a variety of classes based on religion.

May Center: Mon-Thu 5:30AM-10:30PM; Fri 5:30AM-9PM, Sat Sun 7:30AM-8PM. Resident Office: Mon Wed 9AM-7PM, Tue Thu 9AM-8:30PM, Fri 9AM-5PM, Sat noon-8:30PM, Sun 10AM-6PM

ABC Carpet & Home

A sprawling NYC department store occupying two landmark buildings, it is considered by many to be an iconic institution in the Flatiron district of Manhattan. Its offerings include furniture, rugs, lighting and accessories.

AMC Empire 25

This large multiplex cinema shows first-run, mainstream films on 25 screens. It also contains an IMAX cinema showing mainstream feature films.

First showings begin around noon, last showings begin at around 11PM·$6-14

Adorama

One of the country's largest suppliers of cameras, film, and photographic accoutrements of all kinds. Staffed largely by Orthodox Jews, Adorama is closed on Friday nights, Saturdays, and all Jewish holidays except Hanukkah, but packed to the rafters every other day. And they provide very good service.

Aeon Bookstore

This subterranean bookstore is a neighborhood gem, with a carefully curated selection of books. The books are fairly prices and cover a range of topics, such as philosophy, art, culture, history, mysticism, and esoterica.

African Burial Ground National Monument

For most of the 18th century, Africans in New York City were buried in a graveyard outside the city. The graveyard was eventually forgotten and was rediscovered in 1991. This museum and memorial site commemorate the estimated 15,000 Africans that were interred on the site of the memorial. Note that the museum is located inside of a Federal building so airport-style security should be expected.

Visitor Center: Tue-Sat 10AM-4PM except Federal holidays; Memorial: Daily 9AM-5PM except Federal holidays. Memorial closed November–March·Free

Ai Fiori

This Ligurian restaurant has delicious cocktails (the fiori d'arancia, made with Old Forester bourbon, is absolutely delightful) and equally fine food, made with the freshest, highest-quality ingredients and with some kind of pleasant surprise in every dish. And unlike most other New York restaurants, it has plenty of space between tables. It is expensive but worth the money. The room is large, so while reservations are recommended, this is one upscale restaurant where it's usually possible to reserve at short notice.

Breakfast daily 7-10:30AM (limited menu in bar/lounge only Sat Sun); lunch daily 11:45AM-2:30PM (limited menu in bar/lounge only Sat Sun); dinner Sun-Thu 5:30-9:30PM, Fri Sat 5-10:30PM; bar menu Sun-Thu 5:30-11:30PM, Fri Sat 5PM-midnight·Around $125/person for dinner, including drinks, tax, and tip

Aji Ichiban

Hong Kong snack shop, very popular with locals and tourists alike. The staff are friendly and give samples.

Alamo

A sculpture at the center of Astor Place. This steel cube actually rotates as you push on any side, though you may need the strength of two or three people for a complete rotation. One of its sister cubes resides on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This sculpture was removed in 2015 but returned to an enlarged pedestrian area in the fall of 2016.

Alice's Tea Cup

Good tea selection, excellent scones and an Alice in Wonderland theme. Very popular with families with daughters

American Irish Historical Society

Yet another unique but rich treat on 5th Avenue, the AIHS is a non-profit organization that educates visitors on Irish American culture and history. Immersive and traditional events are held often along with exhibits showcasing the array of unique art and music. If performing and visual arts aren't your thing, you can visit the library instead with over 10,000 books, newsletters, newspapers, and pieces of literature dating back to the 1700s that feature a wide variety of otherwise unknown topics that are great for anyone interested in European culture and history.

Mon-Fri 10AM-5PM

American Museum of Natural History

Holding a remarkably large collection, each of the 5 floors of this massive building has expansive and well-designed exhibits devoted to astronomy, biology, geology, anthropology, climatology, and paleontology. You will want to allow a full day if you hope to see the entirety of the museum. Some of the highlights are the Rose Center for Earth and Space on the northeast corner of the building, which contains a seven-story glass cube holding the Hayden Planetarium, a huge sphere suspended above the exhibit halls below and holding a "cosmic pathway" exhibit; the numerous habitat diorama halls on the first, second and third floors, with recreations of African, Asian, North American, and ocean plants and animals, including a full-size model of a Blue Whale suspended above the Ocean Life Hall; a Hall of Minerals and Gems, which contains many rare and beautiful specimens, including the largest star sapphire in the world and a chunk of a massive meteorite; extensive anthropology halls on the first, second, and third floors, with exhibits devoted to people of Asia, Africa, Central America, the Pacific, and Native Americans; and the natural history halls on the fourth floor, with one of the largest collections of dinosaur skeletons in the world.

10AM-5:30PM (closed Thanksgiving/Christmas)·$30/adult, $24/senior/student, $18/child, pay-what-you-wish for NY/NJ/CT residents, special exhibitions cost extra

Ancient Playground

Inspired by the nearby Egyptian Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this playground contains several pyramid-like play structures.

Angelika Film Center

Just down the street from Film Forum, the Angelika plays new independent and foreign films, many of which are screened in no American city but New York. The cafe upstairs is something of a hotspot as well.

Ansonia

formerly the Ansonia Hotel

This pretty 17-story Beaux Arts building was completed in 1904 and designed to be New York City's first air conditioned hotel. It was a residential hotel, and housed a number of very famous people, including the Hall of Fame baseball player, Babe Ruth; the Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso; the modernist composer, Igor Stravinsky; the Italian conductor of the NBC Symphony, Arturo Toscanini; and writers Theodore Dreiser and Isaac Bashevis Singer. The building is now a condominium.

Anthology Film Archives

A varied program of unique films, both repertory and new, most playing for only one or two screenings. Many of the films shown here can't be seen anywhere else (for better or worse). It also plays host to several film festivals yearly.

Anthropologie

A small store selling boho-chic accessories, home decor, and womenswear.

Mon-Sat 10AM-9PM, Sun 11AM-7PM

Apple Store

Located beneath a giant glass cube, this flagship Apple Store is open 24/7 and is crowded with shoppers all day long. Come here on the day the company releases a new gadget and you'll see lines that wrap around the block.

Apthorp

A beautiful early 20th-century high-rise luxury apartment building, taking up the entire square block between 78th and 79th Sts. between Broadway and West End Avenue. Its companion, the Belnord, takes up the square block between 86th and 87th Sts. between Broadway and Amsterdam. Both buildings were completed in 1908, at a time when the Upper West Side was still full of wide open spaces.

Ariana Afghan Kabob

Very good food, which of course includes kebabs, but also peppery Aush (a type of beany noodle soup), Badinjan Burani (a fried eggplant appetizer garlic and yogurt, served with bread), etc. Salads, which come with main dishes, have a dressing which includes mayonnaise. Ask for no dressing and put the green hot sauce on them yourself.

noon–11PM daily·$25-30/person for a large 3-course meal with a non-alcoholic beverage

Arsenal

A picturesque brick building that actually predates the park. It was built in 1851 to serve as a munitions supply depot for the New York State National Guard, and was designed to look like a medieval fortress, with battlements overlooking the area. Today the building holds a refreshment stand and a small art gallery with rotating/seasonal exhibits.

Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM·Free

Arturo's

A popular local pizza restaurant with an "old-time" theme, serving coal oven pizza with a lightly charred, crispy crust and other dependable Italian-American dishes. There is live jazz there every night.

Sun 3PM-midnight, Mon-Thu 4PM-1AM, Fri Sat 4PM-2AM

Asia Market

Renovated several years ago from a dusty, old grocery store with tight aisles and rusty shelves into a brighter, more spacious store with a wider selection of goods, Asia Market supplies a variety of Asian ingredients, snacks, and drinks. Usually the difficult, hard to find Southeast Asian ingredients will most likely be available at this store. Even if something you want isn't available, the staff here is very friendly. You may leave the brand name of the product you want and they may try to order it for you. There is also a vegetable and fruit stand outside the store. Basically, this may be your one-stop store to shop for everything. One good example of the products this store has is fresh kaffir lime leaves.