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Neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City
Photo: Thegayfrenchbullie123, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Upper East Side of Manhattan is one of the city's wealthiest districts. Spanning the stretch of island between 59th Street to 96th Street east of Central Park, the neighborhoods of Lenox Hill, Yorkville, and Carnegie Hill are full of luxurious townhouses and apartment buildings on some of the most affluent addresses in New York. Madison Avenue holds a multitude of fashionable boutiques and fine restaurants catering to the upscale crowd. While the endless Madison Avenue shops and the lavish hotels near Grand Army Plaza are what have typically this place on the map, the Upper East Side features an endless amount of other authentic, exciting sites for every crowd. Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor; many other historic buildings; superb art museums; and many consulates are part of what makes this neighborhood special. The historic Czech, German, Hungarian, Irish, Polish, and Slavic influences are apparent in this neighborhood through the classical buildings and restaurants mixed in between the modern affluent areas where one can find almost anything they'd want in a small and exciting area.
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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.
The Asia Society is a unique educational organization like no other in the area promoting relationships and understanding among and of leaders, people, and organizations of Asia. It features a vast array of Asian art including art, business, culture, and education, promoting collaboration and a new, progressive understanding of Asian relations. The opportunities for discovery here are endless, with lessons about art, calligraphy, language, literature, politics, and religion.
A branch of the Smithsonian Institution, the Cooper Hewitt is devoted to over 240 years of contemporary and historic design, with changing exhibits.
The former home of steel baron Henry Clay Frick, this sprawling mansion is filled with Frick's enormous personal art collection, displayed as he left it. It's worth a visit for the house alone, which is explained nicely in the audio tour. The collection is impressive, including works by Whistler, Corot, El Greco, Turner, Renoir and Rembrandt.
Containing artifacts spanning 4,000 years of art and Jewish culture, with a collection of 26,000 objects – paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological artifacts, ceremonial objects and broadcast media. The museum also hosts the annual SummerNights concert series and the annual New York Jewish Film Festival.
Hidden in the small pocket of the very southeast Upper East Side, this rustic site dates back to 1799 as a carriage house, and was converted into a hotel in 1826. Sitting on land historically owned by Abigail Adams Smith, daughter of John Adams, it is home to beautiful historic gardens, halls, and taverns.
Museum for German and Austrian Art
A vast collection of early-20th century Austrian and German art and design, including famous artists such as Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh alongside less well-known, equally fascinating designers and artists. They host a German-language film series, which is a good value if you can get tickets. Due to the unprotected display of many fragile items, children under the age of 12 are not permitted in the museum except during special family events, though they are allowed to go in the café and the museum store.
The Park Avenue Armory is, again, a site not to be missed. The Armory is a venue for unconventional performing and visual arts with a vast array of unique storytelling methods and programs.
The Society of Illustrators is one of the many off the beaten path museums in New York City, and while it may not have as many visitors, it certainly isn't a place to miss. Certainly don't miss the art of illustration featured here, with countless historical galleries since the museum's opening in 1901. It's even the origin of the famous "I Want You For U.S. Army" poster of World War I and II.
Probably the most famous of the Guggenheim foundations (others found in Bilbao and Venice), which hold avant-garde modern art by artists such as Kandinsky and Mondrian, the New York branch is housed in a unique and famous building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and rendered in a rounded, organic form and completed in 1959. Be sure to take the elevator to the top floor, then follow the spiral viewing floors downwards to the street level. One of eight buildings by Wright to be listed as a world heritage site.
This temple traces its lineage to the founding of the Reform Jewish community in New York in 1845, although this building itself dates from 1929. The building is an important and impressive landmark, and the congregation numbers among its members many of the pillars of the Jewish community in New York, including major philanthropists, businesspeople, and politicians. If you don't arrange to visit the interior, it's worth just walking past the building and looking at the decorations on its exterior.
The Ukrainian Institute has a plethora of history on the culture-ridden Eastern European country of Ukraine, promoting the variety of art, music, and literature from the past centuries. In fact, you can not only be educated on but learn the Ukrainian language here. Art exhibits, concerts, films, lectures, literature readings, poetry, and even educational programs for both adults and children all contribute to the education of this fascinating yet too often forgotten culture.
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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.
Asphalt Green
With a massive fitness and pool center in the area's signature arches, there's an endless array of activities here, including baseball, flag football, gymnastics, lifeguard training, martial arts, soccer, swimming, tennis, and yoga. On the western half of the block is a turf field that provides a vast playing field for games, playing around, and relaxing. There is a playground just north of the fitness center.
Home of Gracie Mansion, the Official Residence of the Mayor of New York, Carl Schurz Park also boasts wonderful views of Hell Gate and the East River. Compared to other New York parks, Carl Schurz is extremely quiet, given that the surrounding area is almost exclusively residential. The park features two bustling dog parks, two playgrounds, a sports court, multiple fields of grass to rest on on a peaceful spring day, and a boardwalk with beautiful views of Roosevelt Island. This is a great destination for any visitor sick of the overwhelming crowds elsewhere in the city.
Not many know of the peaceful nature of the area of Manhattan just by the East River, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have any special gems nearby. Just along the bustling FDR Drive is the peaceful yet impressive John Jay Park, which doesn't only include traditional benches and playgrounds for a quick rest but an outdoor pool in the summer that makes this area great for anyone looking for water sports in this area of New York City.
A hidden gem that's been a hotspot for Upper East Side recreation since 1996. While the area may seem like any park welcoming screaming children from nearby areas and plenty of areas to exercise such as basketball courts and the running track, this park is so much more. Such a small park is so rich in history, mimicking Rome's Santa Maria Sopra Minerva church and including many Roman-influenced details few and far between. If you're in this area, be sure to pay the park a visit.
Modern, Barcelona-style tapas are served in a warm environment alongside many other meat and seafood dishes with fresh, Spanish ingredients and authentic meals.
Restaurant with an array of classic, cozy Italian-American cuisine. Classic dishes such as French onion soup, penne alla vodka, seafood risotto and spinach and ricotta ravioli, are all delicious at this restaurant.
One of the best hot dog joints in the city, Papaya King was also the originator of the papaya drink/hot dog combination, which has inspired similar chains around Manhattan, although this, their flagship location, is as of August 2020 the only location of this former chain. A classical counter-service restaurant, it's great for travelers on a budget. If hot dogs aren't your thing, then they also have other classic items such as frankfurters and onion rings.
Fresh, classic New York pizza slices.
Upper East Side branch of this increasingly large New York chain of ice cream shops, albeit pretty good ones that have vegan flavors as well as regular soft-serve. They also sell coffee.
Local branch of an increasingly large New York chain of authentic Xi'an-style noodle shops, using recipes by a Xi'an native. The name of this place certainly doesn't lie – even Anthony Bourdain, world-renowned chef, praised this restaurant, and for good reason. They make a variety of rich, hearty noodle dishes topped with carefully picked spices.
Café Sabarsky is in a beautiful room with wood furnishings on the ground floor, across from Central Park, and Café Fledermaus has tiled floors and is inspired by the Cabaret Fledermaus in Vienna but is in the basement and has no view; however, the two cafes have the same lunch/dinner menus. These cafes are not cheap, and part of what you're paying for is the location and the decor/atmosphere, but you also get value, in the form of genuine Viennese cuisine and pastries. These cafes are a good option if you're visiting the Metropolitan Museum and prefer to eat something nearby that's better than the merely OK food at the Met's Snack Bar. You may have a significant wait for a table at peak hours, but it's worth a try.
Felice 83 isn't just another Italian restaurant, but instead provides delicious and rustic Tuscan cuisine with fresh dishes, particularly carbonaras and omelettes, and a bounty of wine. Be sure to get there early as it's a favorite among locals, and for good reason, with the classicly romantic atmosphere
German-style schnitzel and beer at an authentic 1936 beer garden in Yorkville, the historically German neighborhood of Manhattan's Upper East Side. Gulasch, sauerbrauten, sausage, schnitzel, and schweinebraten can be found here.
Levain is chock full of classic desserts such as double chocolate cookies and banana bread with chocolate chips. However, don't expect your average bakery here, as specialty yet finger-licking items are sold for fairly moderate prices here.
An Italian winebar that has excellent Italian food including house made pastas. The special wines are worth a try and the wait for the table. Also well worth going to for special Meatball Mondays and delicious, fresh pasta dishes on other days with all sorts of meats, noodles, sauces, and rich desserts.
Classic, elegant Italian restaurant that lures locals and tourists alike with brick-lined walls and delicious Italian pasta dishes.
Restaurant located in a classy boutique hotel, with elegant dishes made with care and precision from very fresh ingredients. Serves breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner menus.
It's a very refined (bordering on pretentious) bakery, but the desserts are exceptional, with excellent cheesecake, and decadent crêpe cakes and eclairs to give this bakery its own flair. If sweets aren't your style either, then you can certainly try the flavorful salads and sandwiches, of which there are many choices.
Fine Mexican, creative, seafood-laden menu, turning classic Mexican dishes into elegant, vibrant dishes full of meat and spices.
Classic French restaurant with elegant beef and fish dishes garnished with fresh ingredients and sauces.
Delicious, rustic brunch spot by day and unique cocktails draft beers by night, this spot is ideal for everyone. The food here is based on classical dishes such as steak and eggs but is specialized with delicious garnishes that make this place unique and a great spot for anyone looking for either a relaxing place to rest during the day or a crazy party at midnight.
A 1970s-themed bar with specialty drinks and quick yet delicious bites, Ethyl's certainly isn't a place to miss if you're into funky dancers, live music, and DJs.
Free high-speed Internet & large work desk in each room, along with an exercise room open 24/7 with a wide range of equipment and services for everyone. A steam room is also present. The hotel is in walking distance of many close-by vibrant destinations along with quaint spots for any tourist.
European style boutique hotel with numerous accommodations, free WiFi, paid parking, and elegant rooms with careful designs even for the cheapest traveler. Hotel Wales also prides itself on being an LGBTQ+ friendly hotel and has historically contributed to the movement.
A luxury boutique hotel, the Carlyle offers rooms and suites for extended stays, and luxury apartments and rentals. Art and music are historical landmarks of this hotel, with many murals and historic musical performances taking place at this elegant hotel.
Full concierge assistance, elevator attendants, and beautifully furnished rooms are all present at this fairly small but decadent hotel that has beautiful views and is within walking distance of both many bustling destinations along with Central Park. Amazing for visitors who have a bit more cash to spend.
A small store selling boho-chic accessories, home decor, and womenswear.
An enormous department store that is frequented by the glamorous and the masses. A must-visit for any serious shopper, with 9 floors filled to the brim with designer clothes, dresses, handbags, shoes, and tuxedos.
J.Crew features classic men's and women's apparel and a small but quality collection.
By subway
The primary subway service to the Upper East Side is via the express lines and local line, which run under Lexington Avenue.
By ferry
Limited ferry service is available at the Yorkville NYC Ferry stop at East 90th Street and York Avenue within Carl Schurz Park.
On foot or by bicycle
From the Upper West Side, a walk or bike ride to the Upper East Side through Central Park is very pleasant in good weather.
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