Must-see attractions in East Village & Lower East Side

This museum allows visitors to briefly inhabit the Lower East Side's heartbreaking, hardscrabble but unexpectedly inspiring heritage. Two remarkably…

The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a sight to behold: a seven-story stack of ethereal, off-kilter white boxes (designed by Tokyo-based architects…

This small gallery specializes in documentary photography and photojournalism. Expect evocative, thought-provoking works covering subjects such as poverty…

One of the most magical things about New York is that every street tells a story, from the action unfurling before your eyes to the dense history hidden…

This 10.5-acre park dating from 1879 is like a friendly town square for locals, who gather for chess at concrete tables, picnics on the lawn, and…

This landmark house of worship, built in 1887, was a center of Jewish life before suffering a decline in the congregation in the late 1920s. After WWII,…

Follow St Marks Pl from Broadway to Ave A to seek out the tile-encrusted street poles of this grassroots civic-art project, now in its fourth decade. In…

In addition to the great ballparks, running and biking paths, 5000-seat amphitheater that hosts concerts, and expansive patches of green, this park has…

Even with the Alamo, an iconic piece of public art more often referred to as 'The Cube,' restored after several years absence, this is not the Astor Place…

Though it’s most popular with East Village locals for its cultural offerings – readings hosted by the Poetry Project or cutting-edge dance performances…

During Prohibition, New York had an estimated 30,000 speakeasies – including one hidden away in this building (and later turned into an off-Broadway…

Mahayana is the biggest Buddhist temple in Chinatown and its magnificent 16ft-high Buddha statue – sitting on a lotus and edged with offerings of fresh…

This raw space is the Bowery branch of an Upper East Side gallery and its location beside the New Museum makes it a key player in the downtown art scene…

This small synagogue is home to an obscure branch of Judaism, the Romaniotes, whose ancestors were slaves sent to Rome by ship but rerouted to Greece by a…

The largest green space in the neighborhood, this three-block-long park is a hive of activity on warm weekends, with basketball courts, a small soccer…

Three dramatic weeping willows grace La Plaza Cultural, one of the loveliest public gardens in the East Village. The verdant, flower-filled space forms…

This state-of-the-art academic building, which opened in 2009, was designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Thom Mayne. One of the more eye-catching…

The Sperone Westwater gallery represents heavy hitters such as William Wegman and Richard Long. Its new home was designed by the famed Norman Foster, who…

Le Petit Versailles is a unique marriage of a verdant oasis and an electrifying arts organization, offering a range of quirky performances and screenings…

Known for its excellent installations, this 4000-sq-ft gallery is an anchor of the downtown art scene with monthly solo and group shows.