downtown New York sights

the Oculus and Liberty Tower (c) 2023 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Downtown Manhattan is distinctly different from uptown or midtown. During my previous stays in NYC, I've (mostly) stayed at hotels in midtown — the vicinity of 59th Street (Central Park South) — and the Upper East Side. These parts of New York feature world class museums (the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim, the American Museum of Natural History), high end shopping on Madison and Fifth Avenue, and of course Central Park, one of the world's greatest urban parks.

East River bridges (c) 2023 by David Ourisman

Downtown has a different character. It's a mixture of old buildings, new skyscrapers, and ethnic neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Little Italy, and Greenwich Village. We are staying at Four Seasons New York Downtown, a hotel so close to the Oculus that I am looking at it through my desk window as I write this article. And just a half mile to the east is the historic South Street Seaport where I walked at lunchtime, grabbed a slice of pizza, and snapped this photo of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

Where to stay downtown? We are enjoying our Oculus Suite at the Four Seasons (to which we were graciously upgraded) and are going to do a site inspection tomorrow afternoon at the new Ritz Carlton NoMad. And there are plenty of other choices including The Greenwich Hotel, an intimate downtown boutique property owned by famed actor (and new papa) Robert De Niro, another favorite of my clients.

Next trip to New York, consider staying downtown!

copyright (c) 2023 by Ourisman Travel LLC.  All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member.

 

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Brooklyn, NY | well worth a visit

view of lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge

More than Manhattan, New York City is comprised of five boroughs. Brooklyn is the most populous of the boroughs with 2.5 million residents – the fourth largest city in the United States (after NYC combined, LA, and Chicago). Literally just across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan, which is an interesting walk in itself (see picture above), Brooklyn is well worth a visit.

Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain is a living relic from the past. No longer a pharmacy, it remains a popular ice cream shop located in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. Every table was full when we dropped by on Friday afternoon, but after a short wait, we got a table for four. Claire and I split a Hot Brownie Sundae, Jessica had a root bear float, and Josh ordered an egg cream (half an inch of cold milk, 2 Tsp. of chocolate syrup, the rest of the glass filled with seltzer water, then the entire concoction vigorously stirred).

My verdict? Not bad, and worth the nostalgic experience, but not up to the standards of a true chocoholic. Hey, I'm just being honest.

On leaving Brooklyn Farmacy, we walked along picturesque Henry Street all the way back to the Brooklyn Bridge and over the East River to Manhattan, then hopped an express subway back to 59th Street.


copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website. .