The rooftop garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum floors below are a maze of tremendous art and inspiration, and taking the elevator to the rooftop garden is the icing on the cake. 360' views of verdant green Central Park bordered by cool glass and steel of Manhattan's cityscape in the distance.

Offering 20% off on current “indie bestsellers” (and 10% off picks from their well-read staff), you can still get a good deal while supporting one of the city’s last independent bookstores. They also carry an impressive selection of magazines and literary journals that you can flip through in their café. McNally’s event calendar is packed with appearances and readings by authors like Zadie Smith and Chris Kraus, but they're perhaps best known for their in-store printing press and self-publishing services.

Cafe Mogador has been serving modern takes on traditional Moroccan dishes for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner in the East Village since 1983.

Like Barbapapa’s house with a beautiful garden.

A spin around the park on a bike makes me feel good. One lap is about 6.13 miles. I've trained here for longer rides (including this London to Paris ride on a track bike that was 86 miles one day, rest on the second day, and 136 miles on the third day). I've sat there on a Sunday afternoon and have done as many as 10 laps (with rests in between). I switch in-between my carbon road bike and my steel track bike.