I have old friends in San Francisco who grudgingly tell me that the High Line is everything that's wrong with New York. Well, too bad. To me, it embodies a culture that's constantly reinventing itself: a defunct elevated railway that was becoming a burden to the city ("we used to climb up there to throw garbage bags full of rotting Korean food at the Hasids!", noted a successful photographer's assistant) becoming a startling example of urban greening for the public good. The expert landscaping makes it feel like walking on a Montauk beach - but a stone's throw from some of New York's most progressive galleries and hotels.

The Family Store is the best Mediterranean food you can get in New York City. That is all.

The design and photography floor at Barnes & Noble bookstore in Union Square.

Grand Central is big and beautiful and it also periodically hosts free cultural events - poets at typewriters custom-composing poems on demand - or Alvin Ailey dancers performing in Artist, Nick Cave's horse suits!

A documentary cinema where filmmakers and film lovers can come together in appreciation of nonfiction film. Housed in DCTV's beloved landmarked building in Chinatown, New York City, Firehouse features first run, curated, repertory, masterclasses, family programs, and more.