An awesome, and sometimes free, ferry that links Manhattan at the Financial District to Ikea in Brooklyn via Red Hook. Very great views of the city and if you end up having to pay it's redeemable for a monetary discount towards an Ikea purchase. I think of it as a treat and an investment.

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.

Interference Archive is a volunteer-run library, gallery, and archive of historical materials related to social and political activism and movements.

I often run to this place and I love this perspective on glittering Manhattan and the feeling of coolness in the air from being so close to the water. To sweat and breathe and see this view of New York gives me a sense of being in this great City.

The Brooklyn Flea is another treasure trove of odd finds, cool artifacts, and handmade goodness. If you're looking for inspiration or just something cool to hang on your wall, you can probably find something here. And if all that treasure hunting leaves you hungry, you are in luck--there's a delicious assortment of local food vendors and artisans there too.