Hi everyone, I will be spending 4 weeks in New York in November. My last visit there was April '06 (I was there for a week) when I attended my aunt's wedding. I stayed with family in Brooklyn but during the day I spent pretty much the whole time walking around midtown Manhattan.

This time I want to venture out to see other areas. So what I would like to know from you is what are some of your favorite areas and why. I would also like to hear about the east and west village, SoHo and Harlem. All others areas would be of interest also.

many thanks
Mirabelle

Upper east and west sides have tons of museums (Met, Frick, Natural History, NY Historical Society, Museum of the City of New York, Whitney, Museo del Barrio, etc) and lots of interesting residential areas.

You could check out Gracie Mansion (Mayor's official residence) right on the river near Carl Shurz Park and the super expensive co-op high rises on Fifth and Park Ave, as well as the mansions on many of the side streets.

On the West Side check out the unique mansion townhouses on Riverside Drive, Cathedral of St John the divine and Central Park (Strawberry Fields and a host of other places - check out the Central Park Conservancy web site).

For another great area head up to the Cloisters Museum, then have a look at the multi-ethnic and gentrifying neighborhoods nearby (one of the last semi-affordable places to live in Manhattan).

NY Magazine has a small write in their real estate section on all the various neighborhoods that would be good reading for you.
nymag.com/realestate
Scroll down the page and you'll see clickable links on the bottom right under neighborhood guides.

One area that's very "hot" that you didn't mention is Chelsea with lots of art galleries, clubs, restaurants and new buildings. Don't miss the meatpacking district (on the edge of Chelsea to the north and the west village to the south). Lots of trendy shops, restaurants, bars and 2 uber trendy hotels. Go to the Gansevoort Hotel roof bar for a drink with lovely views.

You should buy yourself the notfortourists.com book and you might consider the box of 50 Walks
http://www.libraryshop.org/citywalks.html

PS, a day trip to Philadelphia is an easy thing to do and there are some other day trips you could do by train.

http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/outbound.htm

Thanks, but are these your favorite neighborhoods or are they the usual tourist spots.

I really want to know what you like about the city and why. For example, you like Brooklyn because of the beautiful brownstones or ues because of the influx of celebrities around there...etc.

Mirabelle

I don't think NYers have favorite neighborhoods "in general" but favorite neighborhoods or parts of them for certain things like clothes shopping or food shopping or eating or strolling.

None of these are what I'd call typical tourist spots. Those are mostly in midtown (Times Square, area around Macy's, Rockefeller Center, Fifth ave.)

Soho feels like tourist central on weekends b/c many people who live outside NY come into the city on weekends to eat and shop there. NYers complain it's become like a mall with all the chain stores, but it's still a great place to explore, imo.

The meatpacking district is also fun to explore with all the chic shops and restaurants.

Mirabelle- I notice this is your first post. Welcome.

Forgive me if I sound cynical, but usually first time posters are looking for advice, and happy to get four replies in one hour.

Your response doesn't seem like you want our recommendations though. Instead, you "... really want to know what you like about the city and why. For example, you like Brooklyn because of the beautiful brownstones..." .

It sounds like you are looking for quotes to use in an article.

Again, forgive me if I'm wrong. It's just that I feel if someone is wanting others to do their research, they should say so up front.

Maybe I need to start over. I'm not looking for quotes to use in an article. I'm not a writer.

About a year ago on this board a poster was asking "what are some of your favorite places to visit in America, and why". He or she got really good resonses so I decided to do the same since I plan to visit New York. So rather than just visiting the usual museums and so on, I wanted to experience the city from a natives point of view. I just wanted to do something different.

Also, I said I would be in NYC for 4 weeks in November. The only research I'm doing is for my trip. I'm not writing any article. Maybe this wasn't a good question.

Mirabelle