Evening in Manhattan often begins with a walk: through Central Park, along the tree-lined streets of Greenwich Village, up the High Line, down Fifth Avenue, through the scruffiness of Chinatown or the bustle of Times Square. The borough is known for its fast pace and continuous urban energy, and much of the night is spent moving between neighborhoods rather than settling into one.
Nightlife here is broad rather than uniform. Theater dominates Midtown, music and dance fill the major halls of the Upper West Side and the Theater District, jazz anchors Greenwich Village and Harlem, and independent film thrives downtown. It suits visitors who want a structured evening of tickets and reservations, and equally those who prefer to wander and see what a neighborhood offers.
Where to go out in Manhattan
1. Times Square and the Theater District
This is the center of commercial theater, where Broadway shows play to houses of 500 seats or more. It is the most visitor-oriented night out in the borough, with major musicals and big-name dramatic works, and it suits anyone who wants a fixed curtain time and a large-scale production.
Tickets can run to hundreds of dollars a seat, though discounters make cheaper seats available. TKTS sells same-night tickets at its Times Square office, where lines are often hours long, and at a much faster office at South Street Seaport, where only cash is accepted; show up at opening time for the best selection.
2. Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway
Smaller stages run throughout Manhattan, with Off-Broadway houses seating fewer than 500 and Off-Off-Broadway playing to very small audiences of fewer than 100 seats. This is the choice for a cheaper, more experimental night; Off-Off-Broadway shows can be dirt cheap and often very good, but sometimes more avant-garde.
Off-Broadway tickets tend to range from $50 to $100. Venues worth checking out at the Off-Off level include the Rising Sun Performance Company and The People's Improv Theater.
3. Major concert and dance halls
Carnegie Hall in the Theater District is the premier venue for classical music in the United States, Radio City Music Hall in Midtown is home of the Rockettes, the Joyce Theater in Chelsea is a premier venue for contemporary dance and ballet, and Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side houses the Chamber Music Society, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet and the New York Philharmonic. An evening here suits anyone planning around a single performance.
Lincoln Center also hosts jazz concerts at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. Madison Square Garden, atop Penn Station in Midtown, is the main sports venue on Manhattan and also plays host to major concerts and conventions.
4. Jazz in Greenwich Village and the Theater District
Jazz aficionados should check out the Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village and Birdland in the Theater District. These are listening rooms rather than general nightlife, and they suit an evening built around a set.
5. Harlem
The legendary Apollo in Harlem remains the nation's most popular arena for emerging and established black and Latino performers. Harlem was the center of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, and a night here is built around a show rather than a circuit of bars.
6. Greenwich Village, SoHo and the East Village for film
These neighborhoods hold many theaters playing independent and foreign releases, many of which are screened only in New York, including Film Forum, the IFC Center, the Quad Cinema, the Angelika Film Center, Cinema Village and the Anthology Film Archives. This suits a low-key evening, and Film Forum also has an excellent repertory programming schedule.
Movies are popular, and even relatively obscure films at unappealing times of the day can still be sold out, so it is best to get tickets in advance whenever possible. As many films premiere in New York, you can often catch a moderated discussion with the director or cast after the show.
7. Midtown multiplexes and MoMA
Among the commercial multiplexes are the huge AMC Empire at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue, the Ziegfeld Theater on 54th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, and the Regal Union Square at Broadway and 13th. The MoMA in Midtown puts on a repertory program, and compared to other New York movie theaters, tickets to films at MoMA are a steal.
8. Greenwich Village and the Stonewall Inn
The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, part of the Stonewall National Monument, is considered the birthplace in 1969 of the modern gay-rights movement, cementing Manhattan's central role in LGBTQ culture. The Village more broadly is a walking neighborhood of tree-lined streets, and an evening here can be spent on foot between one stop and the next.
How a night out unfolds
Manhattan's nightlife is organized around fixed start times. Theatrical performances fall into Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway categories, and the Tony Awards, the culmination of the theatrical season, are always held on the first or second Sunday night in June. Film premieres cluster in the autumn, and repertory screenings sometimes come with post-screening discussions or parties. Summer brings the Public Theater's annual Shakespeare in the Park, a free performance for which you should get to one of the box offices ridiculously early, especially the one at the Park. Beyond these anchors, the sources do not specify when people eat or how late venues run.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- New York Film Festival — organized by the Film Society at Lincoln Center and held at Lincoln Center in early October, with a repertory program and a wide variety of experimental and foreign films.
- Tribeca Film Festival — originally organized by Robert De Niro, held every May and a major event for film-goers in New York.
- Shakespeare in the Park — the Public Theater's annual free summer performance, which often features big-time stars of stage and screen.
- Tony Awards — Broadway's biggest award ceremony, always on the first or second Sunday night in June.
- Big East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and National Invitation Tournament — both hosted at Madison Square Garden.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I get same-night theater tickets?
TKTS offers tickets for shows the same night at discounted prices, usually 50 percent off. It has two offices: one at Times Square, where lines are often hours long, and a much faster one at South Street Seaport, at the corner of John Street just south of the Brooklyn Bridge. Only cash is accepted at South Street.
What is the difference between Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway?
Broadway refers to shows near Times Square playing to theaters of 500 seats or more. Off-Broadway indicates performances in smaller venues of fewer than 500 seats, some around Times Square and others elsewhere in Manhattan. Off-Off-Broadway plays to very small audiences of fewer than 100 seats, with actors working without equity.
Where can I see jazz or dance?
For jazz, the Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village and Birdland in the Theater District, plus jazz concerts at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center. For contemporary dance and ballet, the Joyce Theater in Chelsea.
Can I watch a television taping?
Many major national networks are headquartered in Midtown and have studios where well-known programs are taped. Tickets are usually free but very high in demand, and the best route is to go to the website of the show itself for details on viewing a live taping. NBC Studios at Rockefeller Center offers tours of the facilities.
Decide which fixed start time matters most to you, then plan the rest of your evening around it.