Stand on the corner of Broadway and 72nd Street and the neighborhood announces itself: the Dakota's gables rising over Central Park West, the Ansonia's curve further up Broadway, and the traffic of a working residential district moving between them. This is a part of Manhattan that feels lived-in rather than staged, where the cultural institutions sit beside apartment blocks and grocery stores.
The Upper West Side suits travellers who want museums, architecture and performance within a walkable stretch of Broadway, and who are happy to spend a morning indoors and an afternoon along the Hudson. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south and West 110th Street to the north.
1. American Museum of Natural History
Occupying the entire block of Central Park West between 77th and 81st Streets, this is the largest single commitment of time in the neighborhood.
Highlights include the Rose Center for Earth and Space on the northeast corner, with its seven-story glass cube holding the Hayden Planetarium; the habitat diorama halls on the first, second and third floors; the Hall of Minerals and Gems; and the natural history halls on the fourth floor. Note that it closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that special exhibitions cost extra.
2. Dakota Building
At 1 West 72nd Street at Central Park West, the Dakota is a massive apartment building that has been home to many celebrities, most famously John Lennon, who was gunned down outside on December 8, 1980. Yoko Ono still resides in the building, and a memorial to Lennon exists nearby in Central Park.
The building has become a place of pilgrimage for those who admire Lennon. Combine it with a walk into Central Park to see the memorial, or with the San Remo a few blocks north on Central Park West.
3. Central Savings Bank building
At 2112 Broadway, occupying the block between 73rd and 74th Streets between Broadway and Amsterdam, this building is occupied by Apple Bank for Savings. It is a notable Italianate palazzo whose stone facades and metal-barred windows are meant to convey a sense of security.
It sits directly across from the Ansonia, so the two are best seen together on the same short walk along Broadway.
4. Ansonia
At 2109 Broadway between 73rd and 74th Streets, this 17-story Beaux Arts building was completed in 1904 and designed to be New York City's first air conditioned hotel. As a residential hotel it housed Babe Ruth, Enrico Caruso, Igor Stravinsky, Arturo Toscanini, Theodore Dreiser and Isaac Bashevis Singer. It is now a condominium.
View it from the street alongside the Central Savings Bank building opposite, then continue north on Broadway toward the Apthorp.
5. Apthorp
At 2211 Broadway and 390 West End Avenue, between 78th and 79th Streets from Broadway to West End, the Apthorp is an early 20th-century high-rise luxury apartment building taking up the entire square block. Its companion, the Belnord, takes up the square block between 86th and 87th Streets between Broadway and Amsterdam; both were completed in 1908.
Pair the Apthorp with the American Museum of Natural History, which is a short walk east, or continue north to see the Belnord on the same avenue walk.
6. The San Remo
At 145 and 146 Central Park West between 74th and 75th Streets, the San Remo is the historic building with the distinctive twin towers and a star-studded housing cooperative board. Built in 1930 in a vaguely Art Deco style to the design of Emery Roth, it has two separate addresses, lobbies and sets of shafts, each for a half of the building topped with a tower.
It stands on Central Park West, so it fits naturally into a walk that takes in the Dakota to the south and the museum block to the north.
7. New York Historical Society
At 170 Central Park West at 77th Street, this museum holds Americana including Audubon's watercolors of birds. It is open Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday to Sunday from 11AM to 5PM, and Friday from 11AM to 8PM.
Because it sits at 77th Street, it makes an easy companion to the American Museum of Natural History next door, and the later Friday closing gives you an option if you want a museum visit after a daytime walk.
8. Deutsche Bank Center
Formerly the Time Warner Center, at 10 Columbus Circle at Broadway and 59th Street, this complex has the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for dining and drinks, with Chihuly chandeliers, and a small ultra-high-end mall with luxury shops and Botero sculptures. In the basement is a large Whole Foods Market, with seating for eating prepared food and salad bar items.
On nicer days, pick up a prepared meal to go and cross the street to Columbus Circle or Sheep's Meadow in Central Park for an outdoor meal. The subway at Columbus Circle serves the A, B, C, D and 1 trains.
9. General Grant National Memorial
At Riverside Drive and 122nd Street, General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife are buried in this imposing mausoleum, the largest tomb in North America. Opening hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 10AM to 4PM in fall, winter and spring and 10AM to 5PM in summer, and admission is free.
If you come when it is closed you can still see the facade, but visiting during open hours lets you view the murals, the tomb and various documentation inside. Across Riverside Drive there is a viewpoint looking over the Hudson River, plus a museum, gift shop and restrooms.
10. Riverside Park
Riverside Park was conceived in 1866 and approved by the state legislature through the efforts of parks commissioner Andrew Haswell Green, with the first segment acquired in 1872 and construction following a design by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed the adjacent, gracefully curving Riverside Drive. In 1937, under commissioner Robert Moses, 132 acres were added, primarily by creating a promenade over the Hudson River Railroad tracks, along with playgrounds, distinctive stonework and the 79th Street Boat Basin.
The Hudson River Greenway along the river edge of the park is a common route for pedestrians and bicyclists. Note that the Henry Hudson Parkway cut pedestrians off from direct access to most of the riverfront, so plan your route along the park rather than expecting to reach the water everywhere.
11. Soldiers and Sailors Monument
At Riverside Drive at 89th Street, this is a memorial to the Civil War dead, constructed in 1902. The Hudson Warehouse stages plays, mostly Shakespeare, on the steps of the monument every summer.
It sits on Riverside Drive between the park's southern stretches and the monuments further north, so it works well as a stop on a walk up the drive.
12. Shinran Shonin
At 331-332 Riverside Drive between 105th and 106th Streets, this statue of the 13th-century Buddhist reformer stares pensively across Riverside Drive at the children playing in the park. In another life the statue stood in Hiroshima and witnessed the devastation caused by the bomb. Its New York home is between two Riverside Drive buildings right next to the New York Buddhist Center.
It is a short, quiet stop on a northward walk along Riverside Drive toward the General Grant National Memorial.
13. Nicholas Roerich Museum
At 319 West 107th Street, this museum holds a collection of more than 200 paintings by the artist, exhibited on three floors of a classic townhouse. It is open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5PM and Tuesday to Friday from noon to 4PM, and admission is free.
It is close to the Shinran Shonin statue on Riverside Drive, so the two can be combined in a single afternoon.
14. American Folk Art Museum
At 2 Lincoln Square, at Columbus Avenue and 66th Street, this museum is dedicated to folk and self-taught artists. It is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11:30AM to 6PM, and admission is free.
The 1 train stops at 66 Street-Lincoln Center. It is a short walk from the Deutsche Bank Center at Columbus Circle, making it a natural pairing with the mall and the circle.
15. Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
At 1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street, this is the world's largest neo-Gothic cathedral and has been a work in progress for over a century. There are resident peacocks on campus, and many songbirds stop by during their seasonal migrations.
It sits just beyond the northern edge of the Upper West Side as defined by 110th Street, so treat it as an extension of a northward walk rather than a stop in the middle of the neighborhood.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start at the Deutsche Bank Center at Columbus Circle, where the subway delivers you directly. Browse the shops and Botero sculptures, then walk north to the American Folk Art Museum at Lincoln Square before it fills up. Continue north on Broadway to the Dakota Building at 1 West 72nd Street, then cross to Central Park West for the San Remo between 74th and 75th Streets.
Afternoon: Walk east to the American Museum of Natural History and give it the bulk of the day, or split the time with the New York Historical Society at 77th Street if you prefer a shorter museum visit. On the way, look at the Ansonia and the Central Savings Bank building on Broadway between 73rd and 74th Streets, and the Apthorp between 78th and 79th Streets.
Evening: Head west to Riverside Park and follow Riverside Drive north, stopping at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at 89th Street and the Shinran Shonin statue between 105th and 106th Streets. Finish at the General Grant National Memorial at 122nd Street if it is open, or view the facade if it is not.
When is the American Museum of Natural History closed?
It is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Otherwise it operates from 10AM to 5:30PM, and special exhibitions cost extra beyond the general admission price.
Do I need to pay to visit the Nicholas Roerich Museum and the American Folk Art Museum?
No. The Nicholas Roerich Museum is open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5PM and Tuesday to Friday from noon to 4PM, while the American Folk Art Museum is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11:30AM to 6PM.
Can I visit Columbia University while I am in the area?
The campus is closed to non-affiliates. To visit, you will need a guest pass issued by a Columbia affiliate or you must sign up for a campus tour. The visitors center is in Low Library, Room 213, and is open Monday to Friday from 9AM to 5PM.
What is the best way to reach the Upper West Side by subway?
The Deutsche Bank Center at 10 Columbus Circle is served by the A, B, C, D and 1 trains to Columbus Circle. The American Museum of Natural History is served by the B on weekdays only or the C to 81st Street-Museum of Natural History, and the American Folk Art Museum is served by the 1 to 66 Street-Lincoln Center.
Start with the museum block and the Broadway landmarks, then let the day carry you west to the river.