Lincoln Center

The 16-acre Lincoln Center complex includes a dozen large performance spaces built in the 1960s, which controversially replaced a group of tenements called San Juan Hill, where exterior shots for the movie West Side Story were filmed. The latest controversy has been a massive redesign, by New York ‘starchitects’ Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which began in 2007 as a way to usher in Lincoln Center’s 50th anniversary celebration. That milestone came and went in 2009 and, though much of the work has been finished, construction still dragged on at the time of writing. Still, some of the new additions are worth taking a look at, including Alice Tully Hall and its modern-glass facade, and the modernized Revson Fountain, which now dazzles passersby with light shows in a bit of Las Vegas–esque flash. And one of the most exciting new additions has been that of the David Rubenstein Atrium, a modern public space offering a lounge area (with free wi-fi), a cafe, an information desk, a ticket vendor offering day-of discount tickets to Lincoln Center performances and a roster of Thursday-eve free performances, ranging from jazz and chamber music to opera and ballet. Still to come are a public roof lawn and a Street of the Arts.

New buildings aside, though, if you have just a shred of culture vulture in you, Lincoln Center is a must-see, since it contains the Metropolitan Opera House, its lobby adorned by two colorful murals (viewable from the plaza beneath) by Marc Chagall, and the New York State Theater, home to both the New York City Ballet and the New York City Opera (the low-cost and more-daring alternative to the Met). The New York Philharmonic holds its season in Avery Fisher Hall, and you’ll find constant high-quality theatrical productions at both the Mitzi E Newhouse and Vivian Beaumont Theaters.

To the right of those theaters stands the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, which houses the city’s largest collection of recorded sound, video and books on film and theater. And then there’s the Walter Reade Theater, the city’s most comfortable film-revival space and the major screening site for the New York Film Festival, held there each September. On any given night, there are at least 10 performances happening throughout Lincoln Center – and even more in summer, when Lincoln Center Out of Doors (a series of dance and music concerts) and Midsummer Night Swing (ballroom dancing under the stars) lure those who love parks and culture.

Daily Tours of the complex explore at least three of the theaters (which three you visit depends on production schedules), and are a great way to get acquainted with the complex. Unfortunately, they have been suspended indefinitely due to construction; call to see if they’ve resumed when you’re in town.