Where to Stay in New York: A Neighborhood Guide
Short answer: for a first visit of three or four days, stay in Midtown or the Flatiron area for convenience, or the Village if you care more about atmosphere. Stay near a subway station with several lines and the rest of the city is easy.
Midtown
Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central and Broadway are all on your doorstep, and almost every subway line runs through. The downside is character: at street level it's offices, chains and crowds. Stay a few blocks away from Times Square itself, for example near Bryant Park or in Murray Hill, and you get the convenience without the noise.
Flatiron and Chelsea
A good middle ground between Midtown and downtown, with Madison Square Park, the High Line, Chelsea Market and plenty of restaurants. Well connected and more pleasant to walk around in the evening.
Greenwich Village and the West Village
Our favourite. Crooked streets, brownstones, jazz clubs, Washington Square Park and some of the best small restaurants in the city. Hotels are fewer and pricier, and rooms are often small.
Lower East Side and East Village
Younger and louder, with bars, late-night food and the old tenement streets where immigrant families once lived. Katz's Delicatessen is here. Not for light sleepers on a Saturday night.
Upper West Side
Residential and calm, between Central Park and Riverside Park, near the Natural History Museum. The 1, 2, 3 and B, C trains run straight downtown. Ideal for families and for longer stays.
Brooklyn
Williamsburg, DUMBO and Downtown Brooklyn all have hotels, often better value than Manhattan and one or two stops across the river. DUMBO has the view. Our Brooklyn guide covers what's around them.
Long Island City
The cheapest sensible option. A cluster of newer hotels in Queens, one subway stop from Midtown on the 7, E or M trains, with a waterfront park that looks across the East River at the UN building. There's not much to do nearby at night.
The Financial District is quiet after office hours and on weekends, but works well if you get a good rate.
About Airbnb. Since Local Law 18 came into force in September 2023, stays of under 30 days are only legal in a registered host's own home, with the host present and a maximum of two guests. Whole apartments for a short stay are almost always illegal, and a listing can be cancelled before you arrive. For a trip of a few days, book a hotel. Our best time to visit guide shows which weeks hotel prices peak.