The Upper East Side is New York City at its most wealthily sedate – but there are some excellent museums and mansions to explore.
What makes the Upper East Side unique?
Those hunting for hip, energetic New York City are unlikely to find it in the Upper East Side – but that would be like hunting for street art in the Louvre.
The Upper East Side is NYC at its most reserved and elegant, where old money oozes from the leafy streets lined with immaculate tiny gardens and implausibly handsome brownstone houses.
It’s where porters in absurd costumes stand inside the entrances to expensive apartment buildings, and longevity rather than innovation is seen as the sign of a good restaurant.
In amongst these lashings of grace, however, are most of the city’s cultural highlights and some of the world’s top shopping. The Upper East Side may be sedate – but it is not dull.
Why book a Fifth Avenue Gilded Age Mansions tour?
- 🏛️ Explore magnificent Gilded Age mansions along Fifth Avenue narrated by a knowledgeable guide
- 📚 Learn about the elite families and architectural styles of New York’s golden era
- 👓 See opulent interiors, lavish gardens, and iconic urban estates
- 🚶♀️ Walk or ride through wealth and history in one of Manhattan’s most famous neighborhoods
- 📸 Discover hidden gems and photo-worthy spots you might otherwise miss
A walk through Upper East Side’s highlights
It’s worth ducking into the side streets to soak up the atmosphere, but the cultural highlights are all along Fifth Avenue. The Frick Collection is art done the eccentric industrialist way, with Vermeers, Rembrandts and Monets displayed somewhat unconventionally inside a lavish mansion.
Further north is the Guggenheim, which is justifiably famed for its striking Frank Lloyd Wright architecture as well as the collection inside that errs towards the modern. Kandinsky, Chagall and Picasso are well represented.
Heading further north, you’ll eventually get to the Museum of the City of New York, which isn’t as high profile as it could be, but the old photographs of the city inside prove to be absolutely absorbing.
The Upper East Side’s top attraction
The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum has some marvellous installations – such as exhibition on how Pixar films are made or the room full of mirrors from around the world and eras with scores of silver shoes on the floor. But it also does a brilliant job on the interactive front, with electronic ‘pens’ that allow you to scan artefacts, then bring them up on giant screens, then design your own hats or chairs based on them.
Where to eat on the Upper East Side
The Daniel is THE classic Upper Eastside restaurant – a jacket required, unapologetically formal French affair that goes in for fin-de-siecle glamour and four course prix fixe menus. The food isn’t quite as by-the-book as the setting, though – dishes range from roasted quail to wasabi-cured Spanish mackerel.
Things get a little less stiff as you head further east, though, and there are several appealing places to eat along Second Avenue. Amongst them is Uva, a relaxed Italian joint that serves up the likes of grilled jumbo shrimp with braised sweet peppers and pesto sauce.
Many American cities have embraced the food cart scene, but New York isn’t one of them. The carts in the Upper East Side seem to stick to grim-looking hot dogs, pretzels and gyros – and going hungry is arguably the better option.
Where to shop on the Upper East Side
Those who come to New York expressly for the purpose of shopping are likely to spend an awful lot of time round here. Madison Avenue may be better known as the heartland of the advertising industry, but an awful lot of designer names cluster there too. As a taster, the block between 62nd and 63rd Street has Hermes, Hublot, Faberge, Chopard and Jimmy Choo stores…
The big department stores – Barneys and Bloomingdales – are also here. The latter is an awe-inducing credit card-splasher’s wonderland, taking up an entire city block and feeling more like a mall than a store. The likes of Dior and Longchamp have stores within a store.
Where to stay on Manhattan’s Upper East Side
If you’re after budget accommodation, you’re frankly in the wrong place – but some of New York’s top treats are here. The Loews Regency is one, lavishing massive superking beds, grey marble bathrooms with in-mirror TVs and tremendously effective black-out blinds on guests. Unusually soft robes and umbrellas can be found in the wardrobes.
The Lowell has an air of discrete elegance entirely fitting with the area. In-room amenities are secluded behind doors, lush rugs lie on wooden floors, and the reception area exudes an intimate, timeless class. The likes of Robert Redford and Cindy Crawford are known to stay when in town.
The third stunner is the Pierre, a 1930 landmark now run by the Taj group. The building is one to soak up – with the Rotunda’s murals giving it a European palace feel – and some of the rooms have staggering views out over Central Park.
More New York City travel articles
Planet Whitley has a growing archive of New York travel stories. Those on New York City include:
- Why Ellis Island deserves more time than the Statue of Liberty.
- Going beyond the musical on an Alexander Hamilton walking tour.
- Stories of Nolita on the Catacombs by Candlelight tour.
- Seeing Manhattan a different way on a Central Park scavenger hunt.
- New York City city slavery and underground tour review.
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