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entertainment, shopping, restaurants, hotels and transportation.
The information below provides an overview of some of Manhattan's finest neighborhoods.
SoHo is one of Manhattan's neighborhoods with endless rows of cast-iron columns, cobblestone streets, and buildings that appear to have been warehouses. Once known as "hell's hundred acres", it actually was an area of factories and sweatshops. When artists began arriving in SoHo to escape from Greenwich Village's ever-rising cost of living, the area took on a new complexion. Renovation began on the warehouses and lofts with large windows and high ceilings. These units became their “live-in” studios, thus initiating the style of loft living.
Strolling through SoHo, you can enjoy the ornate wrought iron architecture which the artists preserved. You can window-shop until your heart’s content or browse through all the trendy boutiques and many art galleries such as Leo Castelli, Gagosian, Pace Wildenstein, and Sonnabend or visit museums like the Guggenheim SoHo and the New Museum of Contemporary Art.
Tribeca shares a border with SoHo, so the two share the same attractions for visitors. However, Tribeca does stand apart in a few things. At the restaurants and bars you can do some celebrity-watching as well as  enjoying some exquisite cuisine.
Washington Market Park has a nice playground for kids with basketball and tennis courts nearby for adults. There are bike paths and miniature golf in Hudson River Park. And for a little unusual excitement, you can visit the Trapeze School of New York and learn what it is like to fly through the air with the greatest of ease.
In Central Park, you can visit a zoo, a castle, go ice-skating, rent rowboats from a boathouse, visit a beautiful conservatory garden or bike, take a stroll, or jog along the many trails. There are also performances of Shakespeare's plays in the summer, as well concerts on the Great Lawn that culminate in a spectacular fireworks. Then after the performances, you can stop at the bar at one of the neighborhood's hotels.
Since the Upper West Side is separated from the Upper East Side by Central Park, they share the same activities found in and around Central Park; but the Upper West Side also offers its own attractions such as museums, galleries, and notable or historic buildings. Riverside Park, a four-mile-long park along the Hudson River, offers a place for jogging, rollerblading, and a place for Fido to get his exercise, too! |