Guide to Manhattan Neighborhoods: Part 1

If you’re thinking of moving to Manhattan, or simply taking a vacation to Manhattan, you need a guide to Manhattan’s many multifaceted neighborhoods. New York City, and especially Manhattan, comprises many tiny neighborhoods stacked on top of one another, and each has its own unique identity, feel, energy, and personality. Let’s explore which you should place on your bucket list!

Battery Park, FiDi, TriBeCa

Battery Park and the Financial District, affectionately called “FiDi” are at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan. In New Yorker speak, they are the furthest “downtown.” This neighborhood is rich in history and contains sites such as The Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street, World Trade Center Site, and the boats that take you to the Statue of Liberty. It’s an upscale neighborhood that tends to be pricey and is very quiet at night. TriBeCa stands for “Triangle Below Canal Street” and is just north of the World Trade Center Site. It is the choice New York residential neighborhood for celebrities.

Chinatown and Little Italy

Once a neighborhood in New York City is an immigrant neighborhood, it tends to stay an immigrant neighborhood. The area we know as Chinatown today was originally Kleindeustchland or “Little Germany.” Once the German immigrants dispersed, assimilated, and left, the Irish immigrants came. They assimilated and left, and next came the Jewish immigrants. They assimilated and left and then Italian immigrants came to stay. That’s right, all we know today as Chinatown used to be Little Italy. The Italians immigrated and left, and the Chinese came in. (It’s sort of like painting your apartment a different color each time, over and over again. If you then look under the paint, you can see the many layers of years of different colors, preserved like a record of the room’s story. This is how NYC’s neighborhoods work). In truth, there is very little of true Little Italy left today. A visit to Ferrara’s Pasticerria and DiPaolo’s for meat and cheese will fit the bill (and you MUST go!). Otherwise, enjoy the rich and beautiful culture of Chinatown. New Yorkers especially love visiting the restaurants, which are some of the most affordable and delicious in the city. Our recommendations are Spicy Village, The Golden Unicorn, Xi’an Famous Foods, and Mosco Street Dumplings.

The Lower East Side

The Lower East Side is one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in New York City. Its streets are lined with unique boutiques, shops, and restaurants. Visit a place such as Ray’s Candy Store for deep-fried Oreos and a traditional New York City egg cream. Criff Dogs serves up arguably the best hot dogs in New York City. McSorley’s Old Ale House (also with frank fare from NYC’s oldest established hotdog company, Feltman’s) is arguably the oldest continually operating bar in the city, and contains many secrets such as a pair of Harry Houdini’s handcuffs! Oh, and if you seek Ukrainian food, Veselka is also a beloved New York City treasure, serving up pierogies and borscht daily.

NoLiTa and Soho

New Yorkers love to give neighborhoods snazzy nicknames. NoLiTa and SoHo are two perfect examples. NoLiTa stands for “North of Little Italy”. Like Little Italy, It is rich in many layers of immigrant history. We strongly suggest a visit to Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which offers tours of their crypts! NoLiTa and also home to Prince Street Pizza, arguably the best “grandma slice” or “Sicilian slice” in the city.

SoHo stands for South of Houston street. SoHo is renowned for it’s shopping, which offers everything from Tiffany and Co., to unique one-of-a-kind boutiques. If you’re hungry, walk along Spring Street for cute cafes and the world-famous Dominique Ansel Bakery, and their crowd-craved creation, the “Cronut.” (A Cronut is a cross between a croissant and a donut.)

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