When I moved to NYC in the summer of 2009, my wife Hannah and I went straight to Central Park and the Belvedere Castle. It was the first time I fully grasped that I lived in New York and it felt euphoric standing on that hill. For me this place is still a romantic symbol and reminder of the spirit and essence of the city and the reasons I live here.

After the full moon, when the tide is the lowest, you'll find a century of fossils from a gone NY, trails of washed-out rainbow colored bottles, a graffitied shipwreck buried by time. Hundreds of years of history written in the sand.

Bluestockings Cooperative is a community-supported bookstore and activist space.

Coney Island is the best for everything - the beach, the rides, the beer - but mostly for the Skee Ball. It's incredibly addicting, affordable and satisfying (depending on your aim).

A stunning place to watch the ocean.