New York

Why New York works

Manhattan's skyline, punctuated by the Empire State Building's Art Deco spire and One World Trade Center's glass tower rising near the 9/11 Memorial, is best appreciated from the Top of the Rock or from the Staten Island Ferry, which passes the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for free. Central Park's 341 hectares — designed in the 1850s as an escape from the surrounding grid — hold boating lakes, the Bethesda Terrace and Strawberry Fields, a memorial to John Lennon who lived and was killed nearby. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's encyclopaedic collection and the Museum of Modern Art's Van Goghs and Picassos anchor a museum scene rivalled by few other cities, while Broadway's theatre district stages long-running musicals and new productions nightly along a stretch of dazzling marquees. Times Square's saturation of screens and crowds represents one New York, while the High Line — a disused elevated railway converted into a landscaped walkway — represents another, threading through the Meatpacking District and Chelsea's gallery scene. Brooklyn, once purely residential overspill, now rivals Manhattan for dining and nightlife, particularly in Williamsburg and DUMBO, the latter offering a classic postcard view of the Manhattan Bridge framed between converted warehouses. New York's food scene spans everything from Michelin-starred tasting menus to a dollar slice of pizza eaten standing on the sidewalk — both equally essential to the city's identity.

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