A local guide to Upper Manhattan
Find neighborhood restaurants, places worth the walk, and the stories behind the streets. Locally researched, source-linked, and independent.
George Washington Bridge
8 places
One day in Washington Heights: coffee, Fort Tryon Park and The Cloisters, ramen, the High Bridge, and a Dominican dinner across from the United Palace.
Beyond My Ken (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0
10 places
Revolutionary War history, the High Bridge, a landmarked theater, the Malcolm X memorial, and a baseball-themed pub: history in Washington Heights.
Kidfly182 (opens in a new tab)CC BY 4.0
9 places
A local's shortlist for Hudson Heights: Fort Tryon Park, The Cloisters, coffee, ramen, a pub, and a bookshop along W 181st and W 187th Streets.
Beyond My Ken (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0
6 places
A sweet-tooth guide to Washington Heights: carrot cake on Broadway, Southern biscuits and custom cakes on W 187th St, and Colombian pastries.
Beyond My Ken (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0
17 places
The hilltop, Art Deco corner of northwest Washington Heights, above the Hudson and below Fort Tryon Park. The name dates only to the early 1990s, and its edges are still argued over.
Beyond My Ken (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0
6 places
The stretch of Broadway around the United Palace theater, with Malecón across the street and the Plaza de las Americas pedestrian plaza on W 175th St.
Beyond My Ken (opens in a new tab)Public domain
7 places
The busy shopping street along W 181st St from Broadway toward Amsterdam Ave, with side stretches of St. Nicholas Ave and Broadway. It is the commercial heart of the Washington Heights BID.
Jim.henderson (opens in a new tab)Public domain
8 places
The Broadway and W 165th St area around the former Audubon Ballroom and the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia medical campus, with a few small shops on Amsterdam Ave a few blocks east.
Beyond My Ken (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0
8 places
The quieter eastern slope of northern Washington Heights, east of Broadway from W 181st St north to Dyckman St, running up to Highbridge Park's Fort George Hill.
Beyond My Ken (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0
3 places
The southeast corner of Washington Heights, on the bluff above the Harlem River, where the Morris-Jumel Mansion and Sylvan Terrace sit and the area shades into Sugar Hill.
Beyond My Ken (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0
5 places
The long, forested park along the Harlem River on Washington Heights' eastern edge, home to the High Bridge, the Highbridge Water Tower, and the cliffs of Coogan's Bluff.
Jim.henderson (opens in a new tab)CC BY 4.0
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins are places on this site that have coordinates.
Businesses that just opened. A page we published recently is not a new business. A sale, a closing, or plans for a place will be noted here once there is a source to cite.
Promising and brand new, with a bread-first menu in a storied space; too early to call, so check hours before a first visit.
Bakery daily 6:45am–7pm; bistro Mon–Sat 5–10pm
Broadway at W 169th St
The latest dates an address and hours were verified. These are not new businesses.
The best-stocked bottle shop in Hudson Heights, with real depth in both wine and spirits and delivery across most of the Heights.
Pinehurst Ave & W 181st StHudson Heights Downtown
Hudson Heights' longtime Indian standby: dependable curries and tandoori near the 187th St strip, if not a destination for regional cooking.
Fort Washington Ave between W 187th & W 190th StsHudson Heights
A warm, family-run neighborhood coffee bar a few blocks from the medical campus; great for a cup to go, less so for a long laptop session.
Open nowMon–Fri 7am–5pm; Sat–Sun 8am–5pm
W 167th St near Amsterdam AveAudubon / W 165th St
LandmarkJumel Terrace & Edgecombe Ave
A landmark for Harlem Renaissance and jazz-era history; it is a private apartment building, so see it from the sidewalk.
Edgecombe Ave at W 160th StJumel Terrace & Edgecombe Ave
2024
Billy Joel's 2024 video, his first in decades, is set on the stage of the United Palace.
2023
The theater scenes that open season 3 of the Hulu series were shot at the United Palace.
2022
Madonna and Dominican rapper Tokischa filmed this street-party video on Labor Day 2022 at W 175th St and Audubon Ave.
Former residentBorn 1926; high school 1940–43
Greenspan was born in Washington Heights in 1926, grew up there with his mother and grandparents, and attended George Washington High School.
George Washington High School
Former residentBorn 1975; family left in 1979
A-Rod was born in Washington Heights in 1975 to Dominican immigrants and moved with his family to the Dominican Republic when he was four, then to Miami.
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Historic event1904–1930
Huntington founded the Hispanic Society in 1904 and planned Audubon Terrace as a cluster of cultural institutions on John James Audubon's old estate.
Audubon Terrace
Historic event1985–2020
Coogan's was an Irish bar and restaurant at 4015 Broadway that opened in 1985, closed in March 2020, and was honored with a co-named Coogan's Way in 2022.
4015 Broadway
