Lower East Side: What to See, Eat and Do After Dark

The Lower East Side is one of New York's oldest neighborhoods, and it's where thousands of immigrants landed after stepping off the boat. They turned Orchard Street into one of the busiest streets in this part of the world.

Today it's a great neighborhood for live music and for nightlife lovers (much like neighboring East Village). It's also an ideal area to stay thanks to how close it is to many of New York's biggest attractions, all clustered in Lower Manhattan.

What to do in the Lower East Side

Hardworking immigrants turned the Lower East Side into a busy commercial district, a character the neighborhood still has today, even with a different cast of residents.

You'll find small shops selling all kinds of goods on the ground floors of the classic tenements, those low-rise apartment buildings with the famous fire escapes you've seen in a thousand movies and TV shows.

Tenement Museum

If you want to know how the immigrants who made the Lower East Side their home actually lived, visit the Tenement Museum, dedicated to the history of immigration in New York (103 Orchard Street).

There are several apartments and businesses that recreate the lives of Italian, Irish, and German immigrant families. These are real stories, and the curation is genuinely moving.

This visit is a trip back to the mixed-up origins of the city we love.

New York's First Jewish Neighborhood

Walking the streets of the Lower East Side is a walk through the origins and history of modern Manhattan.

One of the largest communities to live here were Jews from Eastern Europe.

They left plenty of traces you can visit, like the Eldridge Street Synagogue, the oldest Jewish temple in the city (12 Eldridge Street).

Today it's a synagogue museum, and beyond the ritual objects, documents, and photographs on display, it lets you see the inside of the house of worship and hear the stories of the neighborhood's earlier residents.

On other streets like Hester, Essex, and Grand you'll still find synagogues, schools, and a number of shops belonging to the Orthodox Jewish community that originally settled the Lower East Side.

Many of these streets are now part of Chinatown, and the old Jewish families moved on to other neighborhoods like Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

The best pastrami sandwich

The bakeries and kosher shops are well worth your time, among them the famous Katz's Deli (205 E Houston Street), where they serve glorious pastrami sandwiches you shouldn't miss.

Katz's was made famous by a scene in When Harry Met Sally (1989), when Meg Ryan fakes an orgasm and scandalizes the other diners.

Essex Market

At the corner of Essex and Delancey (88 Essex Street) you'll find Essex Market, a market that has been feeding Lower East Side locals for more than 100 years.

Its small vendors carry an enormous range of products, including fruit, coffee, cheese, spices, craft beer, and delicious prepared food at very good prices. Perfect if you happen to be in the neighborhood around lunchtime 🤤.

Essex Market is open Monday through Thursday from 8 am to 8 pm, Friday and Saturday until 9 pm, and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.

Music in the Lower East Side

Consider that from 1973 to 2006 the Lower East Side was home to the legendary CBGB (315 Bowery, between First and Second Streets), where bands like the Ramones, Blondie, and Talking Heads played, and which drew figures like Andy Warhol.

The Lower East Side also picked up important venues for concerts and bands, like the Bowery Ballroom (Delancey Street), with a steady lineup of indie acts, and the Mercury Lounge on East Houston Street.

Plenty of bars host sets by alternative bands too. Fun fact: Lady Gaga lived in the LES and played her first show here.

Nightlife

I won't give you specific club, bar, or restaurant picks, because part of being cool in this New York neighborhood is constant change, so whatever you see on one visit probably won't be there on the next. That's life in the LES.

It's a good idea to stop by the Lower East Side Visitor Center (261 Broome Street, between Allen and Orchard), where you can get up-to-date information on the best nightlife.

Neighborhood History

It was once home to a large German community, so much so that it was known as Little Germany.

About 200 years ago, more and more Jews from Eastern Europe began arriving, half a million of them by some counts, and they gave the neighborhood much of the character it still has.

Over time the area grew poorer and became dangerous. But it was rescued by Puerto Ricans and Dominicans who made it friendlier and nicknamed it «Loisaida«, a Spanish-accented take on its name.

Thanks to Mayor Giuliani's «cleanup» (zero tolerance for crime), the neighborhood became safe at night, which drew plenty of artists, musicians, and night owls and filled it with exclusive nightclubs.

Decades ago the East Village was part of the Lower East Side, but in the seventies it became its own neighborhood, though the two still share a lot.

Where to Stay in the Lower East Side

Its proximity to the big sights and its appealing nightlife make the Lower East Side one of the best neighborhoods to stay in New York. You can search for hotels that fit your budget here.

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Address

The Lower East Side runs from Bowery to the East River, and from Houston Street on the north to East Broadway on the south

Getting there

Subway Line F. East Broadway and Delancey Street stations
Subway Lines J, M, Z. Essex Street station

Map

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