Great gallery space in Brooklyn/Bushwick with oftentimes pop-up-exhibitions like the picture above during the opening of @preludeprojects

When I first moved to New York, enamoured by its parks and museums and design firms and restaurants and bars, I never imagined that there could be much more to its geography than that. How wrong I was. My first drive across the George Washington Bridge was jaw-dropping - the cliffs of New Jersey are astonishingly tall, covered in a dense thicket of trees. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Drive up 87 to the Catskills or the Adirondacks and you'll witness the Hudson River winding its way through spectacular scenery and unforgiving seasons. Now I can't get enough; just two hours up the road, it's like the city never existed. Perfect recuperation after a long week.

AIR at Summit One is a multi-story, completely immersive environment 91 floors above the street in midtown Manhattan. A stunning, transportive world created by digital and installation artist Kenzo, it is designed to transport you to another world away from the street culture of NYC and into an alternate state of consciousness. Peak time to go is sunset, when the mirrored environment transitions from magic daylight vistas to an internal LED system that removes all sense of time and space.

Tucked away on the second floor, it’s easy to forget you’re in the middle of Manhattan. Order the Ika geso (squid legs) and the nankotsu (chicken cartilage), my personal favorites. You might notice people waiting around a nondescript door inside the restaurant; this is actually the entrance to the speakeasy bar Angel’s Share.

Chuko has the best vegetarian ramen I've ever had. It's kind of ruined me for other types of Ramen. Favorite neighborhood spot with good people running it.