Union Square

Union Square refers to an area of the city anchored by Union Square Park, which resides between 14th and 17th streets and Broadway and Park Avenue South. If you're in this area on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Sunday, you've missed one of the best parts of being here, the expansive and colorful farmers' market. But don't despair if you're here on a nonmarket day: skateboarders keep the pace moving, artists and craftsmen add to the ambience, and vendors of all kinds lobby for your attention. NYU students, nannies with their charges, chess players, visitors, and locals feed the energy of this open space.

The haste and hullabaloo of the city calms considerably as you stroll through the mostly residential neighborhoods of Murray Hill and Gramercy Park to the east. Just above Union Square and to the west, the Flatiron District and the remnants of Ladies' Mile (as it was known in the late 1880s) continue the shopping and commercial buzz.

Murray Hill stretches from 30th to 40th streets between 5th and 3rd avenues. A charming, quiet neighborhood, it has tree-lined and town-house-filled streets and some high-profile haunts: the Morgan Library and Museum with its vast book stacks and rare manuscripts, and King Kong's favorite hangout, the Empire State Building.

Dignified Gramercy Park, named for its 1831 gated garden square ringed by historic buildings and private clubs, is an early example of the city's creative urban planning. Even though you can't unpack your picnic in the exclusive residents-only park, you can bask in its historic surroundings and artistic significance. Beautiful Greek Revival, Italianate, Gothic Revival, and Victorian Gothic buildings flank its sides. Off its southern edge is a small street honoring Washington Irving, where you can find one of the city's most charming inns, the Inn at Irving Place, and a number of casual restaurants. Just north of the park is Ian Schrager's cooler-than-cool reincarnation of the Gramercy Park Hotel on Lexington Avenue.

The Flatiron District—anchored by Madison Square Park on the north and Union Square to the south—is one of the city's busiest neighborhoods, particularly along 5th Avenue and Park Avenue South. In some ways it should still be called Ladies' Mile: the area is a favorite for spotting models because of the number of agencies and photography studios here. You can also see charming shops, some of the city's coolest hotels and trendiest restaurants, and an elegant turn-of-the-20th-century skyline that's brilliantly lighted at night.