Getting Around Harlem
Harlem sits in Upper Manhattan, roughly bounded by the Hudson River to the west, the Harlem River and 155th Street to the north, Fifth Avenue to the east, and 110th Street to the south, with the wider Harlem area stretching further out to the East River and down toward 96th Street. The neighborhood is well served by New York City's public transit network, and most visitor trips within Harlem and to the rest of Manhattan can be made by subway, bus, or on foot.
Subway
Many subway lines pass through Harlem, making it easy to reach the neighborhood from Midtown and Lower Manhattan and to move between its different sections. The lines are laid out broadly by side of the neighborhood:
- The A, C, and 1 run up the West Side, serving Manhattanville, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, and Fort Tryon Park.
- The 2 and 3 run up Lenox Avenue, more or less through the center of Harlem.
- The 4, 5, and 6 serve the East Side.
- The B and D run up 8th Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue alongside the A and C as far as 145th Street, then continue under the Harlem River toward Yankee Stadium and other Bronx stops.
Some of these are express trains during the day, which makes them considerably faster for longer hops: the A and D run directly from 59th Street to 125th Street, while the 4 and 5 go from 86th Street to 125th Street in a single stop. If you are sightseeing rather than commuting, the 168th Street and 181st Street stops on the 1 are among the prettiest stations in the system and are worth a visit in their own right.
Commuter Rail
Metro-North Railroad has a station at 125th Street and Park Avenue, with easy connections to and from the Hudson Valley and Connecticut. This is a useful option if you are arriving from or heading out to those areas rather than staying within the city.
Buses
There is plenty of MTA bus service to the area, and buses can be a good way to see the neighborhood at street level, though they are slow. Two useful routes run the length of Manhattan:
- The M4 makes its slow way up to the Cloisters from Midtown via the East Side (Madison Avenue on the way up, Fifth Avenue on the way down), across 110th Street, and then via Broadway and Fort Washington Avenue further north. It offers a nice way to see the changing face of Manhattan, but it is a very slow way to travel.
- The M5 runs uptown to Washington Heights from Midtown via the West Side, traveling along 5th and 6th Avenues, 59th Street, Broadway, and Riverside Drive.
Commuter Buses and Jitneys
At the northern edge of the area is the large but sparsely occupied George Washington Bridge Bus Station, a commuter bus terminal tucked under the ramps to the George Washington Bridge at 178th Street between Broadway and Fort Washington Avenue. It can be reached via an underground tunnel from the 175th Street stop on the A subway line.
From this station you can pick up jitney and bus services to points in suburban New Jersey and Rockland County, New York. The jitneys wait in the parking lanes just outside the Fort Washington Avenue doors of the station's lower level; they are inexpensive and a very good option for trips to and from communities in northern New Jersey, including Fort Lee, Englewood, Teaneck, and Paterson. Long-distance buses also call at the terminal, such as OurBus from Upstate New York, and long-distance vans pick up curbside, such as Uptown Vans serving the Poconos, Lehigh Valley, and Northeast Pennsylvania generally.
Walking
Harlem is a walkable neighborhood, and several of its defining features are best experienced on foot. A chain of large linear parks runs through the area, including Morningside Park, St. Nicholas Park, Jackie Robinson Park, Rucker Park, and Marcus Garvey Park (also known as Mount Morris Park), which separates Central Harlem from East Harlem. West Harlem adds the West Harlem Piers and Riverbank State Park along its stretch, while East Harlem includes Thomas Jefferson Park. These green corridors make it practical to walk between sections of the neighborhood rather than always relying on transit.
Practical Notes on Tickets and Connections
Harlem is served by the New York City Subway and local bus routes, and the subway and bus networks connect the neighborhood to the rest of Manhattan and to the Bronx. The subway lines described above are the primary way visitors move between Harlem and the rest of the city, while the Metro-North station at 125th Street and Park Avenue handles commuter rail, and the George Washington Bridge Bus Station handles longer-distance and suburban bus and jitney services. For fares and passes, use the standard New York City transit fare system, which covers both subway and local bus travel.
Getting In from the Airport
The source material for this guide does not describe airport connections to Harlem, so no specific airport route is given here. In general terms, visitors arriving by air should plan to reach Harlem via the city's subway and commuter rail network once in Manhattan, using the lines and stations described above.