Five Different Places to Visit in New York City

New York City is one of the most amazing places in the world! It's a city of twenty-four hour energy, entertainment and action. I lived there for five years, and still don't feel I've discovered all of its nooks and crannies. When talking to would-be tourists, the usual suspects are on their list--Times Square, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park... they are all worthy places to go, but what about a few other lesser-known places to make you feel like a real New Yorker?

Why not give the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty a miss and see some more unique sights in New York? There really is so much to see! Here are five off-the-beaten-path attractions:

1.) Union Square Greenmarket: On Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays, and Saturdays, this long square at the top of the East Village in downtown Manhattan transforms into an amazing and extended farmer’s market. It’s lovely to stroll among the stalls and pick up fresh flowers, fruit, veg, and locally sourced meat, honey, jam, and beer and wine. There’s a little bit of everything, and there are some lovely coffee shops both indoor and outside to sit and enjoy the Greenwich Village-type scenery.

2.) Harlem Meer: This is a lake (meer is Dutch for lake) on the northern end of Central Park in the center of Harlem, and it feels a little bit like stumbling into the countryside, or back in time to what Manhattan must have been like a hundred years ago, and Harlem would have really been in the country! It's amazingly quiet and peaceful, with lots of green stretches around the lake, and there is even free catch-and-release fishing, although city fish seem to be quite savvy at eluding the bait!—and also open-air performances throughout the summer. It's a good forty blocks north of the usual Central Park attractions like the reservoir, Strawberry Fields, or the Angel of Bethesda, but it's worth the hike.

3.) Ancient Playground: Right next to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, this is a fantastic playground for all ages, with pyramids to climb and crawl into, tire swings, slides, and sprinklers in the summer. Great for a game of hide and seek, and also a great place to relax after having a stroll through the museum. We spent many a happy summer afternoon there!

4.) Café Gigi: This is a hole-in-the-wall French café in the Ukrainian part of the East Village, and it is a little gem. With tiny tables, mismatched armchairs, French jazz music, and wonderful coffee, it’s worth an afternoon or evening. I spent many evenings there in the late '90s, as a young New Yorker, but it's still got the same vibe over twenty years later. You can almost imagine it's 1920 New York or Paris, and Ernest Hemingway is about to walk through the door...

5.) Frick Collection: This is a small, private collection in a beautiful house on the corner of Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side. A lovely, soothing experience of art, furniture, and beauty, without the hustle and bustle of the bigger, more famous museums. You almost feel as if you're in someone's home, being given a private tour. A lovely way to spend a quiet afternoon in a big, busy city.

There are many more little-known attractions in the Big Apple--these are just a taste of all the city has to offer. But if you're planning on visiting New York, try to find the hidden gems rather than the more obvious pearls. They're well worth it--and you'll feel like a genuine New Yorker as a result!