//
Neighborhood in New York City
Photo: User PerryPlanet, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The Upper West Side (including Morningside Heights) covers a large area in upper Manhattan bounded by 59th Street on the south, 125th Street on the north, the Hudson River on the west, and Central Park and Morningside Park on the east. The area encompasses four distinct Manhattan neighborhoods – the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, Bloomingdale, and Manhattan Valley – and includes one of its finest parks, Riverside Park, which including Riverside South runs along the river all the way from 59th Street to 158th Street.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
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.
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.
This building, which is occupied by Apple Bank for Savings, is a notable Italianate palazzo whose stone facades and metal-barred windows are meant to ooze a sense of security.
This massive apartment building has been (and is!) home to many celebrities. Probably best known was the former Beatle John Lennon, who was gunned down outside the building on December 8, 1980, by a crazed fan. Lennon had been living at the Dakota with his second wife, Yoko Ono, who still resides in the building. A memorial to the former Beatle exists nearby in Central Park. The building has become a popular place of pilgrimage for many who admire Lennon.
Has the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for dining, drinks, and Chihuly chandeliers. It also has a small, ultra-high-end mall with luxury shops and Botero sculptures. In the basement is a large Whole Foods Market, and there is seating for eating their prepared food and salad bar items (cheaper than eating in a restaurant). Or better yet, on nicer days, pick up a prepared meal to go and venture across the street to Columbus Circle or Sheep's Meadow in Central Park for a nice outdoor meal.
The historic building with the distinctive, iconic twin towers and a star-studded housing cooperative board. Built in 1930 in a vaguely Art Deco style to the design of Emery Roth, the San Remo actually has two separate addresses, lobbies and sets of shafts, each for a half of the building topped with a tower.
A museum dedicated to folk & self-taught artists.
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.
Americana including Audubon’s watercolors of birds.
Collection of more than 200 paintings of the artist, exhibited on three floors of a classic townhouse.
A children's museum home to exhibits featuring Adventures with Dora & Diego.
The world's largest neo-Gothic cathedral, the place has been a work in progress for over a century! There are also resident peacocks on campus, and many songbirds stop by during their seasonal migrations.
A large and historically important Protestant church and center of progressive social activism. Also neo-Gothic.
A famous Ivy League college that has existed since British colonial times, when it was called King's College. The campus is closed to non-affiliates. To visit the campus, you will need a guest pass issued by a Columbia affiliate or sign up for a campus tour.
One of the Seven Sisters colleges, and is affiliated with Columbia University.
Affiliated with Columbia, Teacher's College is an architectural gem with its block length Beaux Arts and neo-Gothic façades.
One of the foremost conservatories of those disciplines in the United States.
Another conservatory of music.
A branch of Fordham University, whose main campus is in the Bronx.
Grant's Tomb
General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife are buried in this imposing mausoleum, the largest tomb in North America. If you come when it is closed, you can still see the impressive facade, but coming during open hours gives you the opportunity to view the murals, the tomb and various documentation inside. Across Riverside Drive, there is a viewpoint to look across the Hudson River, a museum, gift shop and restrooms.
Staring pensively across Riverside Drive at the children playing in the park is the statue of Shinran Shonin, a 13th-century Buddhist reformer. In another life, the statue stood in Hiroshima and witnessed the devastation caused by the bomb. His New York home is between two Riverside Drive buildings right next to the New York Buddhist Center.
A memorial to the Civil War dead (though, in typical New York fashion, it wasn't constructed till 1902, almost 40 years after the Civil War ended). The Hudson Warehouse stages plays (mostly Shakespeare) on the steps of the monument every summer.
This is a major music performance venue for big-time solo acts and groups, and many, many famous artists have performed there, including The Rolling Stones, Jerry Garcia, Aerosmith, Michael Jackson, James Taylor, Radiohead, Queen and the Allman Brothers. Prices are not cheap, and tickets sometimes sell out well in advance.
The world's largest cultural complex, where you can see theater, symphonies, ballet, opera, movies, art exhibits or just wander the architecturally beautiful buildings. The buildings are modern, and even have modern chandeliers. There are two opera companies, and the famous Juilliard School of Music is also here. Also part of the complex is the New York Public Library's Library for the Performing Arts, containing circulating and non-circulating collections in music, drama, and dance, as well as special collections of priceless documents that scholars from around the world come to look at.
Confusingly referred to simply as "the Met" (together with the Metropolitan Museum of Art), the premier opera company in New York has been housed at Lincoln Center since 1966, behind five soaring glass arches in the east facade, and within a vast white travertine-clad building. Two Marc Chagall murals grace the foyer. The hall has wonderful acoustics, and its ceiling is lined with gold leaf and chandeliers.
The home of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the premier film society in the United States. The theater is a good place to catch the latest trends in cinema from all over the world with annual showcases from Africa, Spain, France, Italy, Israel, and Asia. The film society organizes the annual New York Film Festival in early October, one of the country's best film festivals, with great films from around the world accompanied by interesting discussions, lectures, and panels. Tickets go on sale the Friday after Labor Day and sell out quickly.
The home of the New York City Ballet. The Nutcracker staged by the Ballet every December is a holiday classic, popular with New Yorkers and tourists alike.
This organization was founded by the well-known jazz trumpeter and educator, Wynton Marsalis. Many famous jazz musicians perform solo or small combo sets at this venue and there is also a Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, which is quite excellent.
Important and fairly prestigious venue for classical music, much of it contemporary, and various other kinds of performances. The hall seats about 250 people and has good acoustics for chamber music. This hall is near Lincoln Center but is not part of it; instead, it is part of the Kaufman Music Center, which also runs music schools for children.
Symphony Space used to be the Symphony movie theater back in the 1970s, and it still occasionally screens films, but it is more often used, nowadays, as a performance venue. The offerings are eclectic, and though ticket prices have crept up, there are quite a few inexpensive shows, especially at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia, another former movie theater around the corner on 95 St. between Broadway and West End Ave.
Miller Theater is Columbia University's main performing arts venue and is well known for its classical music performances.
A dance club/dinner club near Columbia University. Swing dancing is on Monday nights (8:30PM-midnight, $25), with a 13-piece swing band. Friday nights at 8:30PM are taken over by Latin Dance ($20) with a live 14-piece band playing merengue and bachata, appropriately for Dominican-heavy West Harlem. Th 8PM and Sa 9PM are jazz/dinner and dancing nights ($55) for a southern cooking buffet and swing band, while Sa-Su have gospel brunches at noon and 2:30PM ($45).
Live jazz seven days a week. Performers often jam late into the night so go for the late set if you can.
While nearby Central Park is justly famous and finds its way onto a "must see" list for most visitors to New York, Riverside Park also has its charms, as its riverfront location provides pleasant views of New Jersey and sometimes breezes off the river. Summer brings al fresco movies, plays and music to Riverside Park.
Morningside Heights remained relatively bucolic till the turn of the 20th century because of its relative inaccessibility, and most of the existing apartment buildings were constructed between about 1900 and 1910. The buildings survive because elevators were being introduced then, and consequently most of the buildings are ten- to twelve-story apartment blocks rather than smaller townhouses or single family homes. Juliet balconies, details on the facades, and grand lobbies make this neighborhood a great place to explore the local architecture. The Cathedral of St. John's the Divine and 115 buildings in the area bounded by Riverside Drive, Amsterdam Avenue, 110th Street and 119th Street are designated as landmark buildings by the New York City Landmarks Preservation committee. On the border between Morningside Heights and Harlem is Morningside Park, once the murder capital of Manhattan in the 1970s but now a peaceful, beautiful space of greenery with some plunging hillsides.
A multiplex two blocks from Lincoln Center, showing major, first-run films on 13 screens. It also contains an IMAX cinema showing mainstream feature films.
A Dominican restaurant known as one of the best places for pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken) in Manhattan. They also serve a number of daily specials for lunch and dinner.
This is a Peruvian-Chinese restaurant, owned and staffed by Peruvian immigrants of Chinese descent. However, because there are way more Dominicans than Peruvians in the area, they have catered to the Criollo taste. They have long been known in the neighborhood for reliably tasty pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken), served with a delicious garlic sauce (if they don't automatically bring it for you, ask for it). They also offer specifically Peruvian dishes, which are well worth your trying if you are not in the mood for the chicken. Their Chinese dishes are in a style similar to the American-Chinese restaurants of the 1970s - perfectly acceptable, though perhaps a bit oily. They have another location at 484 Amsterdam Ave, between 83rd and 84th Sts, which some people prefer.
One of the best hot dog joints in Manhattan (the "Recession Special" is a popular favorite), Gray's also serves up some excellent tropical drinks.
Tex-Mex. The bar is the best part. A rooftop terrace is open on warm days for al fresco dining.
A very good pizza parlor serving the Columbia University area. They specialize in large pies and large slices, amongst the largest in the city.
Faux French food but a great international beer selection and good burgers.
Diner with long, varied menus for all meals.
One of the oldest Ethopian (Eritrean) restaurants in the city, but renovated. Good food, service, and a well stocked bar.
Workday Chinese. Fast and cheap lunch or dinner, but don't expect anything close to average Chinatown quality.
Vegan food only.
The restaurant from the comedy series Seinfeld. This place is a shrine for many TV pilgrims; for the locals, just a diner.
Good chicken, veggies, lamb with rice combos for lunch. Coffee and bagels in the mornings.
Late Spring to early Fall only.
A popular stand with good tacos. Nights only.
Barney Greengrass has been known as the "Sturgeon King" for a very long time, having opened his original store in 1908. The smoked fish that this establishment is known for is not cheap: Smoked fish platters in the restaurant range from $28-58, not counting the "deluxe platter for two," which will set you back $95. You can save some money by having eggs with a side of smoked fish; that'll still cost you between $14.50 and $20.75, but you won't regret it. This place is a real New York institution, and the only place in Manhattan that is generally considered to rival it for what's traditionally called Jewish "appetizing" (that is, pareve products that are neither meat nor milk but include fish) is Russ & Daughters on the Lower East Side.
A classy Northern Indian restaurant that serves excellent food. Their lunch special is a bargain; dinner is a little more, but still a fine value.
A Manhattan outpost of a very popular upscale Peruvian chain. Serves great rotisserie chicken, and tends to be very loud due to the large crowds of locals that come here.
The cuisine of this restaurant is based on excellent salumi (cured meats), and the other ingredients are fresh and high-quality. The "small" selection of salumi is quite substantial, and the salads are large and quite good. The antipasti, while tasty, are rather small, so they're worth getting but can add up more quickly. Good cheeses, too. The front of the shop is a counter that sells salumi and cheeses to take out. Informal atmosphere, serious cuisine, and good service. It isn't cheap, but it is a very good value, especially for the neighborhood.
Seafood; sushi, oysters and simply grilled fish à la carte.
Probably the most expensive restaurant in New York, so go only if money is no object. Those who have been there strongly recommend that you sit at the sushi bar in order to have the best experience. Reservations necessary.
The New York outpost of Chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry in Yountville, which is in the Napa Valley of California. Chef Keller is one of the most famous and highly praised chefs in the United States. It used to be necessary to call months in advance for reservations, but same-day reservations may be worth attempting.
Started out as a fish market, then added an increasingly large meat section. They also sell some prepared items. Can be pricey.
Probably the best-known supermarket in New York, Fairway sells a wide variety of specialty and prepared items, in addition to usual supermarket fare, and has large produce sections. Lots of good values to be had, but watch out for elbows and aggressive shopping cart drivers at peak times. Great values in produce, but they don't take good care of their cheese. Yogurt and other products not kept in shrink-wrapped plastic are fine.
Italian products with a good deli, reasonable cheeses, and a good selection of international beers.
Totally friendly, great meats, great butchers, order by phone, and cheaper than Citarella. And they will cook dinner for you if you like. Recognizable by the life-size plastic statue of a cow, which is outside the shop when it's open.
An old neighborhood establishment gone upscale. Amazing choice of prepared foods and good fruits and vegetables. The cheese section is outstanding, as also are the meats and fish.
A very well-known store in New York, with an enormous selection of delicious (and often expensive) foods. Foodstuffs (cheeses, olives, smoked fish, prepared foods, breads, etc.) are sold on the first floor. The second floor is where you will find all sorts of devices related to cooking and food processing at price points ranging from inexpensive bargains to very expensive luxury items. As with Fairway, do not go the day before Thanksgiving, and think carefully before going on a busy weekend. They also have a small cafe at the corner of 80th St. that has quite decent offerings (for example, frozen yogurt and sandwiches with some of the good products sold in their store) and is not expensive.
Food and drink in a large pub-like space.
Local pub specializing in microbrews.
One of the few bars in the neighborhood with any type of scene during the week. Good whiskey selection, good bartenders.
Neighborhood bar.
Excellent beer selection
Café, sports bar, Latin American restaurant, and lounge.
Good tea selection, excellent scones and an Alice in Wonderland theme. Very popular with families with daughters
Bakery specializing in cupcakes, including the Oreo cupcake and the Hostess cupcake cupcake
Coffee and super-rich pastries in a "bohemian" setting. A Columbia University neighborhood fixture, the cafe has been in business since 1963. There is no WiFi, but that doesn't stop it from being perpetually crowded.
Bakery best known for their big, dense cookies.
Part of the cupcake bakery chain
A local chain with good coffee and excellent teas.
HI-New York is the largest hostel in North America. Close to the subway, with internet, 24-hour reception, laundry, a lounge area, a small cafe, and no curfew. The building is old, but in decent shape and pretty clean.
Budget hotel with amenities like microwave ovens, mini refrigerators and flat screen televisions.
On-site cafe, 24 hour internet and reception, ATM, laundry, no curfew.
Rates are a bit more than your average youth hostel but still inexpensive for Manhattan.
The rooms are larger than in most Manhattan hotels, with a modern design.
Studio apartments; extended stay.
Free high-speed internet, complimentary breakfast, and an exercise room.
A restored upscale boutique hotel that has been recognized as a landmark building.
The hotel has a spa, upscale dining at MO Lounge, amazing views, and a fitness center on the premises.
An elegant 52-story hotel designed by noted architects Philip Johnson and Costas Kondylis.
A spacious apartment-like hotel with kitchenettes and upscale amenities. The hotel has a lobby with fireplace, library/lounge and soft couches, computer room and exercise facility.
A large Barnes and Noble bookstore in the neighborhood.
Formerly known as Labyrinth Books, Book Culture is a scholarly bookstore, worth browsing for the books on science and the liberal arts. The sale tables on the second floor are full of bargains that will delight any booklover.
Books (fiction, travel, non-fiction) and gift items.
Run by Barnes and Noble, this is the best place in the neighborhood to pick up travel guides for anywhere as well as Columbia University branded gifts.
Specializing in used books.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
New York · International · LGA
Loading places around the airport…
Articles and travel topics about Upper West Side and United States.
Travel tipsFind the cheapest countries to fly to from the US and UK in 2026. Compare realistic round-trip flight deals, budget airlines, and prime booking windows.
8 min read
Travel tipsFind the best time to visit Hawaii in 2026. Compare whale seasons, big-wave surf, dry shoulder months, hotel rates, and island microclimates.
8 min read
InspirationDiscover the best places to visit in April. Compare Dutch tulip fields, Thailand's Songkran water festival, Roman spring gardens, and cherry blossoms.
6 min read
Travel tipsA practical guide to travelling with medication and refrigerated drugs like insulin and GLP-1s. Learn airline rules, customs papers, and cooling tips.
7 min read
Every section of the guide. Open one to read it in full.