This is the best place in the city to search for the past. Originally established by the Dutch in 1625, New York's first settlements sprung up here. South Street Seaport, now touristy but still is a reminder of times when shipping & fishing were the lifeblood of the city. South Street Seaport & Battery Park open panoramic views to Brooklyn Bridge - ultimate engineering achievement of New York's 19th century Industrial Age, Stature of Liberty, Ellis Island, etc. The rest of the area is considered the Financial District with famous Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, Trinity Church & many amazing skyscrapers.

New York City's most famous ethnic neighborhood, formed by Chinese immigrants arrived from San Francisco in 1870. The area is full by exotic shops, Chinese restaurants and fish markets.

East Village is a fascinating mix of affordable ethnic and trendy restaurants, folk cafes, kitschy boutiques, thrived shops and Off-Broadway theaters. The neighborhood embraces great ethnic diversity, with strong elements of its Ukrainian, Polish and Irish heritage. Until a few years ago Alphabet District was a haven of drug dealers and other unsavory types. Now it has blossomed bolstered by a major real estate boom and French bistros and smart shops have popped up on every corner.

An industrial zone during the 19th century, SoHo is now a prime New York attraction thanks to its impeccably restored buildings, art galleries, fashionable restaurants and tremendous amount of stylish boutiques.

The Triangle Below Canal Street (TriBeCa) is one of the city's hottest residential neighborhood, where celebrities and families quietly coexist in cast-iron warehouses converted into spacious and very expensive loft apartments. The area contents a lot of antique and design shops and a lot of the city's best restaurants.

The streets west of Seventh Avenue boast a more relaxed vibe and some of the city's most charming and historic brownstones. Christopher Street is home for a large gay community.

The neighborhood has experienced quite a renaissance over the last few years. The area once housed some of the city's worst slums. Today, rents are rising and yuppies have arrived. The historic Orchard Street Shopping District operates among hip bars and nightclubs.

Located near Chinatown, just as ethic however not so vibrant, Little Italy is one of the most real estate developing area in Manhattan right now. Most of restaurants are located on Mulberry Street, which turns alive during the Feast of San Gennaro in September.

The Village got its reputation and free spirits from around the nation and generations, including famous artists like Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Edward Hopper and Jackson Pollack. The area embraces rows of Greek revival town houses, well-preserved Federal-style houses, squares and courtyards and has a lot of restaurants, bars and music clubs. New York University, Washington Square Park are surrounded by the area on the highest-priced real estate along lower Fifth Avenue (on the North) and emblematic historical part (on the South).

Up of 59th Street and east of Central Park is some of the city's most expensive real estate. Madison Avenue from 60th Street up to 80s is full of very expensive boutiques, stores and luxurious hotels. The main attraction of this neighborhood is Museum Mile, the part of Fifth Avenue where about 10 terrific cultural institutions, including Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Once a working class community, it recently became a hip address, especially for the gay community, as rents in Greenwich Village significantly rose. The Chelsea Piers sports complex and a host of shops, well-priced small restaurants and thriving bars have contributed to the area's rebirth. The newly developed Meat-Packing District is full with galleries and bars in converted warehouses and former meat lockers.

This is the area of the city's finest hotels mostly along Lexington Avenue and near Central Park at the top of Fifth Avenue, home to the most high-profile haute shopping (Tiffany & Co and Bergdorf Goodman), well-known boutiques and galleries. Magnificent architectural high-lights include Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, St. Patrick's Cathedral.

These adjoining and at places overlapping neighborhoods are some of the city's most appealing. These neighborhoods boast great shopping and dining opportunities and a number of impressive new hotels. Union Square is best known as the setting for New York's premier green market for four days a week. Gramercy Park, the only private park in the city, was built in the 1830s by Samuel Ruggles to attract buyers to his property in the area. The park is locked to all but those who live on its perimeter. The guests of Gramercy Park Hotel have park privileges also. Flatiron District centers around Flatiron Building on 23rd Street and Park Avenue.

East from Fifth Avenue Murray Hill claims the territory between north of 30th Street to 42nd Street. This is the large residential area with variety good budget and mid-priced hotels and new restaurants.

The city's biggest hotel neighborhood, with choices from cheap to chic, encompasses several famous names: Time Square, Madison Square Garden, Rockefeller Center, Garment and Theater Districts. This is New York's tourism central with the bright lights and bustle that draw people from all over the world. Most of the great Broadway theaters light up the streets just off Time Square, in the West 40s just east and west of Broadway. To the west of the Theater District is Hell's Kitchen, which has become much nicer than it sounds in recent years.

The Upper West Side contains Lincoln Center, the world's premier performing arts venue, the American Museum of Natural History, Columbia University and Cathedral of St. John the Divine. But prime Upper West Side is the area running from Columbus Circle at 59th Street up to 80s, between the park and Broadway.