A gorgeous place to wander and explore, especially during cherry blossom season when the colonnade of soft pink cherry trees are in full bloom on the esplanade. I’m also a big fan of the tropical and desert gardens.

"Mills" is my local bar, I live in that block, it's an old horse stable (for two horses) it's tiny, cozy, great drinks, food is great too - in the summer you can sit outside

The best part of the new Whitney Museum is the view in all directions from the terrace - and also from the staircase facing West. I'm afraid it upstages the Art.

For brunch, the classic dish to get is the Feijoada, but the benny is also solid (and i don't recommend a benny lightly)—you can also ask for ham and spinach together (my favorite). For dinner you can also get the same thing, or the Moqueca (shrimp stew) is incredible. Pro-tip: if you're there for breakfast on a weekday, ask for a egg and cheese (add bacon or ham or avocado) on a croissant. Not on the menu—sounds basic, tastes amazing.

I'm a huge Japanophile: if there's one other place I'd like to live, it's Tokyo. I must have been there seven or eight times, most recently just after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Anyway, EN is a gem on Hudson Street, serving real Japanese cuisine. It turns out that EN is a chain in Japan; there are a lot of branches making lovely bosky food in cosy neighbourhood locations. But their New York incarnation is grand in scale and ambition, with solid, warm interiors (not unlike if the Whitney were a Japanese restaurant, oddly) - a remarkable hybrid of this city, and the other one that I'd love to live in.