Midtown

If you're the type of person that likes to be in the thick of it all, then Midtown is the place to be. This is where you will find Times Square and a bulk of the businesses that drive the commerce of the city. Large business buildings, theaters, tons of shops along the avenues, eateries, clubs -- you name it, it is all here and more. You could spend the whole day here just visiting the many different stores. Apartments are available but are extremely expensive especially the more central the location. The area is typically quite clean because of the prominence of tourists, and there are many hotels which afford a nice diversion. The Marriott in Times Square for instance features the only revolving restaurant and is a nice place to bring tourists who will appreciate the view! Other places that are fun to visit are the Toys R Us also in Times Square which features an indoor ferris wheel, and Caroline's on Broadway which is one of the oldest and most prominent comedy clubs in the country.

One can always find interesting places to eat along the side streets or visit a museum or two. The Metropolital Museum of Art is along 52nd Street and offers a great escape from the NY summer heat. Lots of transportation here as this is where tons of people come to work every day. Because of that, lunch specials in restaurants abound to draw commuters. Take note, that summers and Christmas time are quite busy. Radio City Music Hall is often busy with concerts but during Christmas it features its famous show with the rockettes.

If you can though make sure you visit the skating rink at Rockerfellar Center and stroll along Fifth Avenue if only for the window shopping.

Times Square is simply too much of a tourist trap for New Yorkers to actually ever go there. There are no apartments so all you really have are theme restaurants and other cutesy attractions.

The big movies theaters are here, so are the big Broadway theaters and a few major shopping venues (though nothing you can't find elsewhere) are the only things that may draw some New Yorkers to the area. When you are here, prepare to move at the speed of paint drying as the foot traffic, street vendors selling tours, nuts, pretzels, and sodas, and tourists stopping to take photos impede your every move.

For tourists, I'm sure this is a great experience. The area is filled with things to do at tourist prices. There are a lot of studios and tapings going on, there are stageplay and film theaters, restaurants like Olive Garden, The Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, and countless other theme restaurants. There are big flashing lights everywhere, tall historic buildings (which look cool from the outside but are filled with very miserable people on the inside), shopping as far as the eye can see, and even a few nifty museums (the Wax Museum, Ripley's Believe It or Not, etc.). It is all very touristy. Every major city has one of these neighborhoods but it's New York and it's Time Square so take any tourist trap and multiply it by a thousand and that is what you get. It is like Vegas without all the fun parts.

Midtown Manhattan is not so much a neighborhood as a force of nature – or a force of mankind, I should say. There's very little natural about it. Don't get me wrong; I love midtown. It's the pulse of New York City, and it's great for tourists. It's also great if you need to shop or do business. But it certainly isn't for living.

Some other neighborhoods are technically considered to be in midtown (as opposed to uptown or downtown), but they are west or east of the central avenues of Fifth Avenue, Broadway, Madison Avenue, Park Avenue, and much of Sixth Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas). There are some residences in this central midtown area, but for the most part, it's a commercial neighborhood with office buildings, stores, and landmarks. This is where tourists go – and should go. It's where you'll find Times Square, the theater district, the giant Toys R Us store, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Radio City Music Hall, and Rockefeller Center.

But I can't imagine living in this area. It's entirely too expensive, crowded, and noisy. The truth is that locals only go into midtown proper to see a show, go to work, or shop. We steer clear of touristy areas otherwise because we're trying to get from point A to point B, not stroll and look around. Whenever I have to go near Times Square, I cringe because I know I'll have to fight crowds of tourists to get where I'm going. But as I said, this is the life blood of New York, so you've gotta love it.

Midtown has an awesome energy and if you can't feel it you have no business being in New York. Hustle and bustle is not something to avoid at all costs, hustle and bustle can infuse your lifestyle and keep you energized and eager to succeed. I personally love seeing young professionals dress well, ready to take on the world. Midtown has a snap to it. If you don't like it, move to the country.

There's more than just finance and industry. Midtown has the Museum of Modern Art--the best museum in the city with the most exciting exhibits, Carnegie Hall, New York Library, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Rockefeller Plaza, home of NBC studios. Central Park is just a few blocks to the North and Midtown Madison Avenue has the best shopping in the city.

Is it crowded? Sometimes. When you live there you know how to avoid the crowds. Any neighborhood in New York City can be crowded at anytime. What are you going to do about it? Hide in your apartment? Brave the crowds...they'll get out of your way if you know where you're going.

Midtown skyscrapers are also inspiring. Again, if you find them ugly it's your own loss. To live in midtown you've got to love the crome and steel.

If you live in Times Square, you don't live in New York. You live in a Theme Park.

People who live in New York avoid this area, and unless you're a tourist you should too. It's crowded, awful, and the stores and "restaurants" (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co) cater exclusively to tourists. The only museum is Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.

Please understand. Nobody eating at these restaurants actually live in New York. They're from Middle America or Europe. If you want to experience New York Culture, you have to go far, far away from Times Square.

Unless it's New Years Eve...in which case you should leave the state.

The street merchants and tourists make navigating the sidewalks impossible. The I heart NY products that are for sale are an embarrassment.

If you live here, you need to live high up in one of the luxury buildings--so high you can't see Times Square, just the far reaches of the city.

Homeless people flock to Times Square, hoping to take advantage of scared tourists, and various scam artists annoy and follow you.

There's nothing good to say about Times Square. In fact, as a proud New Yorker, I apologize for it.

I'm sorry.

There are some horrible things about Midtown: the crowds, the noise, the people stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to take pictures, the swell of busy busy business people during the day. The winter holidays are by far the worse, when those red tourist buses are packed and there are hoards of gawkers trying to find their way down to the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center. It’s amazingly annoying, to be sure.

There is a lot of high-end shopping here, but many of the more common stores are repeated farther down 5th, around the teens and twenties. If you need to go to Express, the Gap, H&M, or Barnes and Noble, save yourself and headache and get thee down the street a bit.

However, Midtown has many redeeming factors for residents. Many of the apartments are new and really beautiful, with full amenities. They’re also pricey, but less expensive than comparable abodes on the Upper West or East Sides. It’s a nice location to live in, with easy access to any other part of the city. It’s close to Central Park, which – even at the very busy southern end – is great for calming strolls. Midtown is fairly safe and clean and nearby some of the greatest restaurants in the city.

If you can talk yourself into enduring the holidays, consider living in Midtown.

Established and received wisdom tells us that Times Square is anything but New York proper: a gaudy, glitzy array of chain stores, tourist traps, and blaring traffic, suitable for little more than a cursory glance by a passing tourist checking off items on a to-do list. But such a dismissal overlooks the very heart of Times Square's appeal. It's glitzy. It's gaudy. But above all things - in its camp and tacky way - it is New York. It may not be where the Upper East Side crowd goes to brunch, or where the hipsters have their raves, but there's something unbeatably corny about Times Square. It's the comfort-food of the city - a place to gorge on all the lights and sounds New York has to offer. Its shopping and dining options may not sound like all too much, but for this seasoned New Yorker, sometimes a walk through the neon lights of Times Square is just what the doctor ordered.

If you are a businessman, or even a sales person, you would love midtown. There are stores, offices, and restaurants in the area. This is known as the center of Manhattan and should be considered the center of business and commercialism. Everywhere you go you see stores, commercial buildings, and what not. Of course, on top of the stores are apartment buildings. You will not go one place in NYC and not see apartment buildings over businesses. That is just the way Manhattan has been built.

There are schools around as well as medical facilities. You will see just about anything in this area. Getting here is easy. Just take the subway to any stop from 40th St to 60th St and from 3rd Ave to 9th Ave. In fact, if you walk down 42nd St, which is considered Midtown, you will eventually run into Times Square.

While I understand the power this place has over tourists and people who have otherwise never seen New York City - and, hey, I even encourage them to go! check it out! make up your own mind! - I absolutely hate this horrible neighborhood. But, then, I rarely have an occasion to go. It's not as if I'm one of those people who needs to check out the latest Broadway musical - especially when the powers that be are letting people like Green Day contribute to the art form - and I don't especially want to spend ridiculous amounts of money at Saks or any of the chain restaurants that roost here in great numbers.

This is the neighborhood of flashing lights and sparkling sidewalks - as seen in Times Square - and it tends to be overwrought with crowds, which may be something that most people expect from this city, but in this case the crowds are a bit out-of-control and entirely slow-moving. Besides tourists, plenty of people make the trek to this neighborhood to go to their corporate professions so it stays incredibly packed during business hours.

I've seen Midtown - even Times Square - looking pretty desolate during the weeknight hours, and I suppose that while there are plenty of bars to be found they tend to cater to the after work crews and the tourist types rather than the trendy New York club goer.

Although it is hands-down the greatest commercial district in the world, or maybe because of this fact, Midtown is just really un-endearing. I routinely see people come out of the subways in Midtown, looking around with wide eyes, and going, “Wow.” Yeah, okay, wow. I see why the lights and the hullaballoo can be breathtaking and exciting to someone who has never been to New York before, but it's really hard to maintain that level of enthusiasm when you live in this city. The day-to-day reality of Midtown kicks in pretty soon: unbelievable congestion, gawking annoying tourists who all say the same things and marvel at the same details, stylized and corny commercial detritus, over-priced food, over-priced drinks, over-priced everything. I've also heard the phrase “epicenter of American theater” used to describe Midtown, but this really scares me, since I don't think that what passes for theater inside Broadway venues deserves that name. It is much more appropriately called entertainment, and what scares me is that your typical tourist from the Midwest wouldn't know the difference. Trust me, theater is something other than what you would see on Broadway, but since the Marketing Department at the NYC tourist office tells everyone so, that's where they all go. And since I'm on my Midtown gripe, let me just say that few other areas in the city show off the shocking contrast between rich and poor in NYC as does Midtown. There's something about those vintage Beaux-Arts skyscrapers and modern glass and steel mega-buildings that just drips wealth and privilege. Meanwhile, if you bother to notice, you might see some poor guy offering shoe shines at the train station, or standing all day next to a hot dog cart and selling hot dogs at $2 a shot. If you look closely at the details in this mess of lights and colors and money and tourists, you might just get vertigo.

Times Square is one of the most talked about and visited parts of Manhattan, but it's definitely not a neighborhood -- it's more of a spectacle. I remember when I first came to New York and walked through Times Square at night: it's really mind blowing. Lights flash from every different direction, the crowd of people is insane, horns honking, police whistles, people yelling, the Naked Cowboy. It's really a unique experience. The first time you take in Times Square at night, you really really feel the energy of New York . . . not, a real New York New York energy that you come to know as you live here. But, this crazy energy of a city that people flock to by the thousands. It's a pretty incredible experience.
But, after you live here a while, Times Square is a word you groan at. I do everything in my power to avoid this place. The lights make me feel like I'm going to have a seizure, the crowds don't walk fast enough and it's impossible to get around them, the horns honk over and over again. It's an impossible area of town 24 hours a day. God, I hate Times Square. The tourists alone are enough to drive anyone crazy. And, it's really gimmicky. All of the stores and restaurants are completely catered to tourists so it's mostly big, crappy chains and a lot of smoke. It's really not a place you hang it. It's a place I go to great lengths to avoid.

Midtown has everything that people talk about when they reference the New York dream. It's where the Broadway is, Rockefeller Plaza, the Empire State building, Times Square, etc. You have to walk around mid - town when you visit New York -- it's a requisite.
It's great because you can go to an old restaurant where all the old Broadway stars hung out after shows, like Carmine's. Then go to a great show with the cream of the crop of the acting world, head to the Top of the Rock to see the city in panoramic view. . .
Times Square is visually overwhelming the first time you walk through it at night. The lights alone are incredible and there are so so many people on the streets any time of day or night. You really do feel like you're in a dream when you're in midtown in so many ways.
But, it's also an incredibly annoying neighborhood to walk through or even go near if you live in the city. It's always crowded with tourists and slow walkers / gawkers. It's always dirty and loud. It's impossible to get anywhere in a timely manner if it involves midtown. This is really unfortunate because some of the nicest restaurants in the city are in this area. Le Bernadin and Jean Jacques along with a slew of other uppity, foodie haunts are all located within a few blocks of each other in this neighborhood. You exit a tranquil and very pampered dinner and get hit, immediately, with people exiting the TGI Fridays on their way to gawk at the Rockefeller Christmas tree. There are solicitors everywhere and a lot of gimmicky and dumpy chains everywhere and it just makes the whole are completely unpalatable.
I wouldn't live in this neighborhood if someone paid me. The amount of time that I have to spend in the neighborhood is irritating already; and the living situation is really depressing. It's not less expensive than a lot of desirable neighborhoods, but it's noisy, and too congested and makes your blood pressure boil within about five minutes. It's also rather difficult to get a cab because of the amount of people, so you feel stuck there for way longer than you want. . which for me, five minutes is already way to much.

well its always busy i mean millions of people everywhere. not to mention the noise and during rush hour there is a flood of people n not to mention ur average everyday pit-pocketer. so watch out if your a tourist. and never look up at the buildings u will fall backwards. also there are some great resturants and oh yeah if u like rats n roaches well be my guest quite frankly its not my cup of tea.

Midtown East encompasses most everything that you think of when you think NYC: tall buildings, Bryant Park, an H&M across the street from a Zara, a Starbucks on every corner and just as many hot dog stands, United Nations and Rockefeller Center. This is a great area, and though it's crowded (especially in areas with multiple department stores), it's not nearly as packed as some places in Midtown West (Times Square, anyone?).

Tourists should take a stroll up and down Fifth Avenue, and so should residents at that. Midtown is full of hotels and caters to out-of-town visitors, so tourists should feel right at home here, because they practically are.

If you like dazzling lights, large TV monitors, digital screens, and all the glitter, but the onslaught of wall-to-wall people, you are in for a treat. Times Square has it all. If you are driving, it is hard to get around, but if you take the bus or subway, you can get right to it without a problem.

There are a ton of tourist that go through there every day. It is worth the time to check it out. There are many places to eat and tons of shopping. Make sure to bring your credit card.

Midtown Manhattan is at once the most New York and the least New York of neighborhoods. It contains some of the city's most recognizable landmarks, like Broadway, the gleefully garish Times Square, and Rockefeller Square, home to the famous Christmas tree and winter ice skating ring, along with the Empire State and Chrysler buildings. And yet it's a neighborhood of New Yorkers at work, not at play, and lacks the real neighborhood character and feel of areas like Carnegie Hill, Greenwich Village, or the East Village. The glistening skyscrapers belong to a New York that's highly mythical, a New York of film and legend, and it's true that spending time in this district, particularly around Christmas, can be breath-taking at first. It's fast-paced, exciting, and altogether exhilarating. That said, it's best an area to visit or to work in: the lack of "down-time," both in terms of leisure activities and in term of quieter streets, can often begin to feel overwhelming.

That said, any visitor to Manhattan should make sure to do the basics: take a walk through Times Square (it must be done!), and see the city's new, bizarre lawn chairs in the middle of the city, meant to promote eco-friendly walking as opposed to cars. Visit a Broadway show - from the old chestnuts to avant-garde pieces of new writing, Broadway really does have something for everybody. Key restaurants in the area include touristy-but-fun theatre standby Sardi's, the more authentic Joe Allen's, and the charming Trattoria dell'Arte on 57th Street and 7th Avenue, known as much for its delicious antipasto bar as for the enormous marble body parts with which it is decorated.
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Some years ago I had the chance to spend a few months at cousin’s apartment that was located in Midtown on W38 Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Though the apartment building ( The Atlas) was quite nice as it had many coveted amenities like a roof deck and a gym , the area of Midtown where it was situated was quite characterless dominated as it was by office buildings that housed showrooms of garment manufacturers, bead and bauble stores and beauty salons that offered waxing and threading services.
What I did however enjoy was the apartment’s proximity to the city’s 34th Street retail corridor and its ease of access to Midtown’s premier patch of green, Bryant Park. Bryant Park is an oasis of calm located in the heart of the perennially busy neighborhood of Midtown West . This park which has the largest patch of green after Central Park provides a welcome refuge away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city.
In fact the park is a favorite of office goers who work in the various office buildings that surrounded and are located near the park as they enjoy kicking back in its lush green environs during their lunch hour or having an after-work drink at the park’s raucous open air bar at the Bryant Park Café.

Bryant Park which hosts New York City’s foremost fashion event, the New York Fashion Week twice a year is a center for much activity in Midtown for during the summer months when it is the choice location for concerts and movie screenings while in the winter months it offers free ice skating on 'The Pond' and a holiday market.

Moreover Bryant Park is also equipped with enough seating, free Wi-fi access and reasonably clean restrooms if you ever fancy working in the park on a beautiful New York summer’s day.

Manhattan's Times Square is exclusively for tourists; nobody else could be that deranged, right? Think again, there are many who call Times Square their home and live among the throngs of photo snapping crowds that move at a snail's pace along the sidewalk. Personally, you could not pay me enough to live in this neighborhood. If you hate peace, love ear buzzing and neon lights, this could be your haven.

The area is packed with theaters, tourist "traps," and glowing neon signs. More than one visit is one too many, but you should visit at least once in your lifetime. The Broadway marquees and MTV studio are fun to see, but again, get me out of here soon! I won't even return on New Year's Eve.

There is plenty to do and plenty to see. If you must, take the Big Onion Walking Tour and explore the history, architecture, and the "underworld" of Times Square. This will give you all you need to satisfy that touristy desire, then you can skip over to Fifth Avenue for some real shopping and retail therapy. "Therapy" being the operative word.

One of my friends has a theory that all cities make a point of designating certain parts of their property as tourist attractions, and in this way the tourists stay out of everyone’s hair. I’m not sure how true this is, but if there was any neighborhood in Manhattan that attracted the most tourists, it would certainly be Midtown. Midtown is the tourist’s dream – particularly the Broadway theatre-going tourist. International tourists can get their fill of American chain restaurants (because certainly any U.S. citizen must be bored of eating at Hard Rock Café or Chilis), and admire the sparkling glass that lights up the sidewalks of Times Square. During my entire New York residency, I think I have graced this neighborhood with my presence all of two or three times. If you want to go see the Broadway show In the Heights, by all means check out Midtown. But if you’re looking for something that resembles real New York culture (besides a Broadway show), then run far away from Midtown.

Regardless of how many television shows and films you have seen this historic area in, you won’t believe your eyes when you first arrive. Busy and over the top doesn’t do it justice and you can easily spend a large part of your day wandering around in a daze looking up and trying to take everything in, all the while trying to dodge traffic and people going about their daily routine. It must be something to see Times Square that often that you become blasé about it but as a tourist, it’s a must see place in New York.

Any true new yorker will squirm at the slightest mention of times square.
...crawling with overzealous tourists that stop at the most uncalled-for moments when you need to be somewhere...
...bad overpriced fast food... red lobster, tgif, and any other restaurateur must not be serious about good food if they're opened in times square... olive garden might be your best option but did i mention overpriced food?
really.. what's there to like about new york??
...this is really not what new york is about but what the tourist want new york to be about... i really really dislike times sq

I always love going to Times Square on Broadway. I enjoy going here in the early morning when the people are busy bustling about to get their day started. I can be a bit frustrating trying to get through here when you're in a hurry and then have a tourist just stop in front of you to take a picture. Coming here at night is a whole other experience. The lights from the neon signs make it look magical. There is so much going on here it's like sensory overload.

Although it’s not really a “street,” it is home for the best restaurants and bars, for the best happenings in town, for the flashy advertisements, and it is exactly where the entire city joins together as it celebrates the New Year countdown every New Year’s Eve and where the new year ball drops.