Midtown

Washington D.C.'s got its Mall chockablock with landmarks, and we've got ours: Midtown, mobbed with more massive urban monuments—Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and Grand Central Terminal among them—than any other part of the city.

The funny thing is—and this is true for many a landmark—there doesn't appear at first glance to be a whole lot to do at these places. Rockefeller Center cameos in a lion's share of the movies filmed about New York, but beyond the spectacle of the rink and Today show early risers, its charms are not immediately obvious. Grand Central is a commuter hub and an architecture buff's dream, but the building's individual diversions don't cry out to visitors as must-sees. And then there's Times Square, a triple threat: no great shopping, few notable restaurants, and meager cultural offerings.

So what's the secret? What brings people here? It's simple: all three are destinations in themselves. There's something so inexhaustibly classy about Rockefeller Center that you're happy just being here. Times Square, as excruciatingly crowded and unpleasant as it often is, has an undeniable gravitational pull, even to locals who firmly believe Times Square is not really part of NYC. And Grand Central—well, just trust us on this one: if stepping into the main concourse doesn't give you a chill, you're in need of a serious de-jading. And if that's the case, we've got an immediate antidote: look up at the ceiling.