Basil's NYC Guide
Bar
Cool, dimly lit bar featuring DJs, a photo booth & a rotating menu of astrology-inspired cocktails. If you're an astrology fan - it's a must.
74 locals recommend
Mood Ring
1260 Myrtle AveCool, dimly lit bar featuring DJs, a photo booth & a rotating menu of astrology-inspired cocktails. If you're an astrology fan - it's a must.
Do or Dive Bar
1108 Bedford AveThe Exley
1 Jackson St3 Dollar Bill
260 Meserole StMusic venue
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 N 6th StSkinny Dennis
152 Metropolitan AveKings Theatre
1027 Flatbush AveWebster Hall
125 E 11th StNeighborhoods
The West Village draws fashionable crowds to its designer boutiques and trendy restaurants. Quaint streets, some still cobblestoned, are lined with Federal-style townhouses and dotted with public squares. Notable venues include the Village Vanguard jazz club and the Stonewall Inn bar, site of the 1969 riots that launched the gay rights movement. The historically arty area also has piano bars, cabarets and theaters.
224 locals recommend
West Village
The West Village draws fashionable crowds to its designer boutiques and trendy restaurants. Quaint streets, some still cobblestoned, are lined with Federal-style townhouses and dotted with public squares. Notable venues include the Village Vanguard jazz club and the Stonewall Inn bar, site of the 1969 riots that launched the gay rights movement. The historically arty area also has piano bars, cabarets and theaters.
The East Village is known for its happening nightlife. Old-school bars, music venues, and performance spaces share the streets with posh cocktail lounges and hip restaurants. Daytime sees a more laid-back crowd browsing boutiques, vintage shops and tattoo parlors, and dining at casual cafes. Once the epicenter of the city's punk scene, St. Mark's Place now features of-the-moment fast-food eateries and souvenir shops. See SoHo, the Lower East Side and Chinatown.
216 locals recommend
East Village
The East Village is known for its happening nightlife. Old-school bars, music venues, and performance spaces share the streets with posh cocktail lounges and hip restaurants. Daytime sees a more laid-back crowd browsing boutiques, vintage shops and tattoo parlors, and dining at casual cafes. Once the epicenter of the city's punk scene, St. Mark's Place now features of-the-moment fast-food eateries and souvenir shops. See SoHo, the Lower East Side and Chinatown.
Williamsburg is a hip neighborhood in Brooklyn that draws the young and the fashionable to its chic boutiques, trendy cafes and buzzy restaurants. Street art brightens residential thoroughfares and repurposed factories, while the waterfront provides stunning views of Manhattan and seasonal venues for outdoor concerts and food markets. Dance clubs, happening bars and music halls liven up the nightlife scene.
997 locals recommend
Williamsburg
Williamsburg is a hip neighborhood in Brooklyn that draws the young and the fashionable to its chic boutiques, trendy cafes and buzzy restaurants. Street art brightens residential thoroughfares and repurposed factories, while the waterfront provides stunning views of Manhattan and seasonal venues for outdoor concerts and food markets. Dance clubs, happening bars and music halls liven up the nightlife scene.
Home to a large Polish-American community, Brooklyn's evolving Greenpoint neighborhood is a residential area with hipster appeal. Traditional Polish shops and restaurants share the streets with trend-setting eateries, bars and live music venues. Galleries and artist studios are found in converted warehouses. The revitalized East River waterfront has parks and new high-rises with sweeping views of midtown Manhattan.
119 locals recommend
Greenpoint
Home to a large Polish-American community, Brooklyn's evolving Greenpoint neighborhood is a residential area with hipster appeal. Traditional Polish shops and restaurants share the streets with trend-setting eateries, bars and live music venues. Galleries and artist studios are found in converted warehouses. The revitalized East River waterfront has parks and new high-rises with sweeping views of midtown Manhattan.
Lower East Side
175 Eldridge StPark / Nature
The isolated eastern end of the beach at Jacob Riis Park has been a location for LGBT sunbathing and cruising since the 1940s.
Historically, it has been the most popular gay beach in New York City.
28 locals recommend
The People's Beach at Jacob Riis Park
157 Rockaway Beach BlvdThe isolated eastern end of the beach at Jacob Riis Park has been a location for LGBT sunbathing and cruising since the 1940s.
Historically, it has been the most popular gay beach in New York City.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
990 Washington Ave
The Met Cloisters
99 Margaret Corbin DrConey Island
Prospect Park
Food scene
Mao Mao Restaurant
1000 BroadwayAmazing + authentic Thai restaurant
Sally Roots
195 Wyckoff AveFornino
291 Kent AveThe Turk's Inn
234 Starr StDock Asian Eatery
22 Wyckoff AveBrooklyn Whiskers
1037 Broadway
Dhamaka
119 Delancey StreetMoney Cat Vietnamese Kitchen
554 Wilson AvenueSports
Yankee Stadium
1 E 161 StBarclays Center
620 Atlantic AveCiti Field
41 Seaver WayTraveler advice
Getting around
Citymapper
Download the app "CityMapper" - it'll be your best friend and help you get around on the subway and bus lines as well as Citi bikes.
What to pack
External phone charger
Your phone will run out of juice faster then you'd think. Be sure to pack an external phone charger and keep it charged up.
Customs and culture
Don't stand in front of subway entrances
It makes sense to feel lost in a new place : especially NY! While you're figuring out directions don't stand in front of the subway entrances. It really bugs locals and slows down their commutes.