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Upper West Side & Central Park

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Overview

Walking past rows of brownstones on quiet side streets, the Upper West Side still has the power to make you feel like you've stepped out of a New York movie. Diners and delis harbour vestiges of old communities in this noted family neighbourhood, now being given new verve by artisan coffee shops and designer emporiums. It is bordered by two parks: Riverside Park lines the Hudson River, while the verdant expanse of Central Park stretches off to the east. It's also where you'll find the stellar Lincoln Center cultural enclave, and American Museum of Natural History.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • OCTOBER 2015: Visitors paddle in boats near a bridge at Central Park..

    Central Park

    Upper West Side & Central Park

    One of the world’s most renowned green spaces, Central Park comprises 843 acres of rolling meadows, boulder-studded outcroppings, elm-lined walkways,…

  • The entrance to the American Museum of American History.

    American Museum of Natural History

    Upper West Side & Central Park

    Founded back in 1869, this venerable museum contains a veritable wonderland of more than 34 million objects, specimens and artifacts – including armies of…

  • Lincoln Center

    Lincoln Center

    Upper West Side & Central Park

    This stark arrangement of gleaming modernist temples houses some of Manhattan’s most important performance companies: the New York Philharmonic, the New…

  • Nicholas Roerich Museum

    Nicholas Roerich Museum

    Upper West Side & Central Park

    This compelling little museum, housed in a three-story town house from 1898, is one of Manhattan’s best-kept secrets. It displays 150 paintings by the…

  • NEW YORK, NY - MAY 20: The Barber Chair at 'The Hirschfeld Century: The Art of Al Hirschfeld' Exhibit at the New York Historical Society on May 20, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Walter McBride/WireImage)

    New-York Historical Society

    Upper West Side & Central Park

    As the antiquated hyphenated name implies, the Historical Society is the city’s oldest museum, founded in 1804 to preserve historical and cultural…

  • NEW YORK CITY - MAY 2015: Entrance of American Folk Art Museum. It is an art museum devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of folk art and creative expressions of contemporary self-taught artists.

    American Folk Art Museum

    Upper West Side & Central Park

    This small institution offers rotating exhibitions in three small galleries. Past exhibits have included quilts made by 19th-century soldiers and…

  • The Bethesda Terrace Central Park.

    Bethesda Terrace

    Upper West Side & Central Park

    The arched and frescoed walkways of Bethesda Terrace, crowned by the magnificent Bethesda Fountain, have long been a gathering area for New Yorkers of all…

  • Strawberry Fields

    Strawberry Fields

    Upper West Side & Central Park

    Standing inside the park across from the famous Dakota Building, where John Lennon was fatally shot in 1980, is this poignant, tear-shaped garden – a…

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