Midtown West

Luckily, you needn't go far from Times Square to get away from the hustle and bustle. Head over to 9th Avenue—also known as Hell's Kitchen—and the calmer side streets, home to mixed bag of locals, many who work in the theater industry. There are lots of ethnic restaurants, pretheater options, and cute boutiques for shopping.

You can score good seats to some of the hottest Broadway and Off Broadway shows for half the going rate at the TKTS booth in Duffy Square at 47th Street and Broadway. Although people think of Broadway as the heart of the theater scene, few theaters actually line the thoroughfare. For some of the grandes dames, head west on 45th Street. There are several Broadway beauties here, including the Booth, the Schoenfeld, the Jacobs, the Music Box, and the Imperial. On the southern side of 45th Street there's the pedestrians-only Shubert Alley, distinguished by colorful posters advertising the latest hit plays and musicals, and the Shubert Theatre, one of Broadway's most lustrous gems. Head west along 44th Street to see its neighbors, the Helen Hayes, the Broadhurst, the Majestic, and the St. James.