The epicenter of the city's 1960s counterculture movement, the tree-lined streets of Greenwich Village are now a hub of popular cafes, bars and restaurants. Jazz clubs and Off-Broadway Theaters can also be found amid the brownstones and New York University buildings. At its heart is Washington Square Park, where people mingle around the central plaza. Rainbow flags attest to the neighborhood's LGBT-friendly vibe.

The Upper West Side is home to Lincoln Center, which hosts performing-arts institutions like the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Ballet. Amid the grand apartment buildings of Central Park West, the American Museum of Natural History presents everything from dinosaurs to outer-space exhibits. On weekends, families emerge from stately brownstones on quiet side streets to line up for brunch or bagels.

Tribeca is a hip area known for its old industrial buildings, many now turned into residential loft space. Cobblestone streets are lined with trendy boutiques and restaurants. Historic commercial buildings include the red-brick New York Mercantile Exchange edifice, from 1884. Weekends are quiet, though Washington Market Park and Hudson River Park draw families. The Tribeca Film Festival takes place here every spring.

The posh, residential Upper East Side is known for its wealthy denizens, fancy restaurants and designer shops along Madison Avenue. It's a pretty neighborhood, with a mix of classic brownstones and upscale high-rises. Museum Mile, a stretch of 5th Avenue next to Central Park, draws crowds to cultural institutions that include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and El Museo del Barrio.

The Hamptons, on eastern Long Island's South Fork, is a string of seaside communities known as a summer destination for affluent New York City residents. It’s marked by long stretches of beach and an interior of farmland, towns and villages with 18th-century shingle buildings and estates hidden behind tall boxwood hedges. East Hampton is home to high-end restaurants, bars and designer boutiques.

The West Village draws fashionable crowds to its designer boutiques and trendy restaurants. Quaint streets, some still cobblestoned, are lined with Federal-style townhouses and dotted with public squares. Notable venues include the Village Vanguard jazz club and the Stonewall Inn bar, site of the 1969 riots that launched the gay rights movement. The historically arty area also has piano bars, cabarets and theaters.