The best place to see museum-quality gallery shows has perfected this high-end form. Shows such as “Picasso and Marie-Thérèse: L’Amour Fou” prove you don’t have to be MoMA to stage a blockbuster. Read more.
Together with the 92nd Street Y, this is the best place in NYC to see a not-boring lecture. Events here are typically quirkier and cheaper then uptown and often include a beer. Read more.
Arrive early at this best bar for birthdays to claim to prime barside real estate, and order a round of original cocktails mixed by rascally, white-jacketed gents. Read more.
This beloved dive is the best bar to sing your heart out in a group. Every night, a pianist mines the Great American Songbook well into the wee hours for Broadway babies from all over the city. Read more.
This West Village institution is the best bar to sing solo in front of strangers. Just scrawl your name and request on a napkin and leave it atop the baby grand for the live pianist. Read more.
Come here for 718 Sessions, the best party to dance your heart out to. The vibe (and crowd) harks back to the scene-starting, dance-all-night ’70s club Paradise Garage. Read more.
Come to this seductively lit haunt for the House of Scorpio’s Lip Service the best party to kiss a stranger. It’s a naughty and nice make-out mixer. Read more.
The best Off-Broadway theater has produced such hits as Bruce Norris’s Pulitzer Prize–winning satire Clybourne Park. $25 rush tickets for under-30s are available an hour before each performance. Read more.
The best literary hot spot boasts a warm atmosphere, well-curated selection and convivial café. It also has the city’s first Espresso Book Machine, which prints a growing number of texts on demand. Read more.
This adored staple of Off Broadway also produces Under the Radar, the best Off-Off Broadway festival. Jump on tickets to see the daring international program of experimental theater. Read more.
Catch the Happy Ending Series here, it’s the best reading series with a twist. Big names are required to take a risk onstage: Jesse Ball once taught the crowd how to steal a book from B&N. Read more.
The best place to remember why you love Brooklyn examines the borough’s historical, cultural and gastronomic legacies through its permanent collection, rotating exhibitions and events. Read more.
The best small venue for checking out headlining comics has seen Dave Chappelle, Susie Essman, Tracy Morgan and others grace its stage. Read more.
The best hotel for a staycation has perfected the urban-resort concept. The tri-level pleasure complex boasts a pool with an open view of the Empire State Building, five bars and the Exhale spa. Read more.
The best year-round market brings together 150 local vendors carrying all manner of vintage, handmade and antique wares. The Flea will move to its winter location on November 26.
