Things to Do in Downtown New York: Your Full Guide

Downtown Manhattan is where the settlement of New York City began. We're talking specifically about the southern tip of Manhattan, the area we know today as Downtown or Lower Manhattan.

This is where you'll find the city's civic center, its oldest streets and its most classic neighborhoods.

Downtown Manhattan matters a lot, because this is where most of the immigrants who built the city we admire arrived, welcomed by the Statue of Liberty.

What to see in Downtown Manhattan

Downtown is home to the oldest and most famous neighborhoods in New York. So one of the best ways to get to know it is by walking through each of its most iconic neighborhoods.

Downtown New York Neighborhoods

Here's a rundown so you can plan your exploring. Remember that clicking the links will get you more details.

1. Little Italy

Little Italy today is more of a stage set of what it was decades ago. As the city grew and Chinatown expanded, many Italian American families moved to quieter neighborhoods like Belmont in the Bronx.

Even so, it's still an iconic Lower Manhattan neighborhood worth visiting. Watch out for the outrageous prices at the tourist restaurants. If you want to eat well, go to the real Little Italy in the Bronx.

But everything turns gloriously Italian again during the Feast of San Gennaro in September, a great time to visit.

 2. Chinatown

People singing, practicing tai chi and playing mahjong, more than 200 restaurants, the best dumplings, shops full of trinkets and knockoff brands, old Chinese pharmacies, exotic fruit and live animals waiting to be eaten.

During Chinese New Year the place is buzzing.

This is one Manhattan neighborhood you absolutely have to visit. It's home to one of the largest Asian communities in the world.

3. Wall Street

Downtown Manhattan is also home to New York's Financial District and its famous Stock Exchange.

This area, along with the World Trade Center, is a monument to a way of life admired by devotees of financial wizardry.

SoHo

SoHo was once a major Downtown hub for artists, galleries and new trends. Today it's a lively shopping district and one of the best neighborhoods for shopping. In summer its streets (between Broadway and 6th Ave) fill up with musicians, painters and vendors selling every kind of craft.

Meatpacking District

A small neighborhood once filled with slaughterhouses and butcher shops, now converted into studios, workshops, boutiques, restaurants and bars, which has turned it into a sophisticated, bohemian area. A good neighborhood to stay in. The High Line Park runs through it too.

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Greenwich Village

The Village, in Downtown, was a key neighborhood for the Beat generation and the gay liberation movement. Its heart is Washington Square.

If you love theater, it's packed with Off-Broadway venues. It also hosts the wonderfully fun Halloween parade (New York's Village Halloween Parade).

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East Village

The center of New York's Beat generation: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs, among other writers, made this Downtown neighborhood a touchstone of sixties counterculture and a breeding ground for movements like punk rock. The famous CBGB was here.

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West Village

Christopher Street is lined with gay bars and clubs, and like the Village, this area witnessed the first movements for gay rights.

This is also the neighborhood where plenty of scenes from Sex and the City were filmed.

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Lower East Side

The Lower East Side is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Downtown Manhattan. Many immigrants came straight here after getting off the boat.

Today it's full of nightlife and venues for concerts and bands. Stop into one of its bakeries and kosher shops. The pastrami at Katz's Deli comes highly recommended.

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TriBeCa

A formerly industrial neighborhood, now a fashionable cultural hub. Lots of shops and art galleries.

Home to the well-known Tribeca Film Festival and the Ghostbusters headquarters (the old firehouse is still standing).

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Civic Center

This neighborhood revolves around New York City Hall, set in the middle of a beautiful square (City Hall Park).

It's the usual gathering point for protests and street demonstrations. From here you can walk across to Brooklyn over the mighty Brooklyn Bridge.

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Nolita

Nolita is a trendy neighborhood «North of Little Italy.» Its streets are perfect for soaking up the latest in design and food.

This part of downtown is home to many of the best restaurants according to popular user rankings.

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Noho

NoHo is a small neighborhood just north of SoHo. Mostly residential, it's full of big, light-filled lofts.

If you're into movies, check out the Angelika Film Center & Cafe. Another draw is the Astor Place Theatre, with its long-running comedy-musical Blue Man Group.

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Other Manhattan neighborhoods

To round out your visit, take a look at the neighborhoods of Midtown Manhattan and Uptown Manhattan.

And don't forget to explore New York's other boroughs: Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.

If you've already been to New York a few times, it might be time to check out some nearby cities 🙂

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Map of Downtown Manhattan

There are different takes on where Downtown actually begins. Some say the northern boundary is Houston Street, others say 14th, and some even push it to 23rd.

In colonial times the city ended at Wall Street, named for the protective wall that once stood here, but over time the city spread north up the island.

Getting your bearings is harder downtown, since most of the streets kept their original names, like Wall Street, instead of the numbers used across the rest of the city's grid.