Categories: Best Places to Stay

Where to Stay in NYC: A Guide to the City

← Back to ‘How to Choose the Best Places to Stay When Traveling’

As New Yorkers, one of the questions we’re asked the most is regarding finding a place to stay in the City That Never Sleeps. For an outsider, understanding the neighborhoods and the nuances that make them unique, as well as the accessibility and convenience of the different subway lines, can be quite overwhelming — which is why we’ve created a guide to break everything down.

By Nathan Hurst

Understand the boroughs

New York City is big, and a traveler’s first mistake is underestimating the distance between the boroughs. There are five boroughs in New York City: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. Outsiders often think of the four latter boroughs as “outside” of New York City, but the truth is that they offer just as much diversity, culture and entertainment for out-of-towners that Manhattan does.

So — when you’re looking for a place to stay, the first step is identifying the borough you want to stay in. There is so much to learn about each of the boroughs, but for the sake of brevity in this post, we are creating this guide for a first time tourist in NYC, assuming that said tourist is staying in the city for between 3 and 7 days, and has interest in seeing the main must-see attractions as well as a healthy selection of off-the-beaten-path gems. With that in mind, we’re breaking down our guide to include information on Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn (but we still love you, Bronx and SI!). Again, please note that these are generalizations and do not fully represent the diversity of our city.

By Rainer Lesniewski

Manhattan

22 square miles in diameter, the island of Manhattan is what most outsiders typically think of as NYC. From Times Square to Central Park, most of your top touristy destinations are on the island. The AllTheRooms offices are in Manhattan, so this is certainly our home turf!

By Liam Macleod

Queens

Considered by most a very up and coming borough, Queens is the largest of the five boroughs. Queens has been claimed to be the most diverse place on earth (according to the Guinness Book of World Records), and we’re pretty sure this is why you can find some of the best food here.

By Luca Bravo

Brooklyn

The Brooklyn brand reaches far and wide, but the borough has much more to offer than the stereotype of the standard millennial hipster. Brooklyn is a thriving hub for entrepreneurship, artists and innovators.

By Kyler Trautner

Navigate the subway 

The biggest consideration when finding a place to stay is looking at the proximity of the location to the nearest subway. Space is extremely limited in NYC, so you’re always going to have to play a balancing act between price, location and size. Decide what factors you want to prioritize the most, and then weigh these options against one another.

*A note on transportation between boroughs: It’s easy to get to Manhattan from either Brooklyn or Queens, but based on the subway system, it can be harder (more time-consuming) to get from Brooklyn to Queens (and vice versa). An easy fix for this is the bus system, although, for first-timers, we would probably opt for sticking to the subway just to make it easier on understanding a new system.

By Tim Gouw

The subway system runs on both local and express trains (which essentially means that some trains [local] stop at every station but run slower, and other trains [express] stop at only select stations but run much faster). This can be a little harder to understand at first, but it basically means that distance can be deceiving as far as the time it takes to move from place to place. For example, taking the 77th Street 6 train (local) to 42nd street, which is 3 stops and about 20 blocks, probably takes about 7 minutes. But taking the 86th Street 4 or 5 trains (express) to 14th Street, which is 3 stops and about 70 blocks, can also take about 7 minutes.

By Asael Pena

Choose a neighborhood

Manhattan

As a general rule, it’s faster to go north or south (uptown –> downtown) in Manhattan than it is to go east and west (like say, from the Upper East Side to the Upper West Side). Again, appearances can be deceiving. Keep this in mind when looking for a space to stay.

Our recommendations on a neighborhood to stay in would be: in the Village, including the West Village, Greenwich Village and the East Village (pretty much anything along the L train) for anyone interested in a central downtown location. The Village area caters to younger locals (it’s close to the NYU and The New School) and is great for art, nightlife and more. As a general rule, the West Village is home to picturesque cobblestone streets and brownstone buildings (and also pricier), and the East Village is a little grungier and up-and-coming.

By Leonard Alcira

For those more interested in some of the traditional tourist destinations, midtown is a solid option, both for convenience and price point — but the con is that there isn’t much to do in this neighborhood outside of these tourist options. We would opt to stay in Chelsea if this is more your vibe.

If you’re looking for a quieter home base, the Upper West Side and Upper East Side can be great options for a cute place to stay, especially on a tree-lined street that offers an oasis from the hustle and bustle of downtown. We would recommend staying near an express train line so it’s easy to move uptown and downtown.

Last but not least, if you’re into shopping and boutiques, we love Nolita (close to Bowery on the map below). Most tourists think of SoHo when they consider shopping in NYC, but we love the local vibes in Nolita. It’s also easy to pop over to the Lower East Side from here, which is known for its nightlife and bar scene.

By Anthony Ginsbrook

Queens

For the first-time visitor, we would recommend staying in Long Island City, which, contrary to the name, is not in Long Island but indeed, just a subway stop away from Manhattan. A trendy neighborhood with a ton of young professionals moving in, LIC is a solid bet for both proximity and price.

We also love Astoria, which is our top recommendation for any of our foodies. You can get more bang for your buck as far as space in Astoria, and it’s still really easy to get into Manhattan via the subway.

By Josh Appel

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is big. Like really, really big. To travel from side to side, it can take upwards of an hour of travel time on the subway. We love spots like Coney Island or Brighton Beach for a fun trip to the beach, but would definitely recommend taking a day trip to these neighborhoods, as opposed to staying there.

By Jessica D Vegas

When most people think of the Brooklyn brand, the neighborhoods they are visualizing are Williamsburg, Bushwick and Greenpoint. Think HBO’s Girls and you’ve got what is essentially the first 10 stops or so along the L train line into Brooklyn.

We also love Cobble Hill, an adorable neighborhood that is somewhat similar to what you might consider as Brooklyn’s version of the West Village, and it also happens to be a foodie’s haven. Crown Heights is a great option for those who are looking for more space at a better price range. We also love Prospect Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux after their completion of Manhattan’s Central Park (and they have been quoted as saying Prospect Park is where they fixed all the mistakes they learned from Central Park). You can stay in a ton of neighborhoods around the park, but we would opt for something new at the Brooklyn Museum or Brooklyn Children’s Museum.

By Avi Werde
5.0
03
Share this post now:
AllTheRooms

AllTheRooms is made up of a range of travelers who have lived, worked, and partied in all areas of the planet. We research the best places and most important tips for all types of globetrotters looking to scratch their wanderlust itch.

Share
Published by
AllTheRooms

Recent Posts

How to Plan a Family Vacation

The following is a sponsored post. You have been working hard and finally saved up enough for a nice vacation…

5 years ago

Glamping in Ontario Canada

Ontario may be thought of as the province with Toronto in it, but the 6-god metropolis sitting in the south…

5 years ago

Best Places for a Luxury Couples Getaway

Destination plays a very big role in your romantic getaway. With the right setting, it’s easy to enjoy your partner’s…

5 years ago

The Best Salsa Dancing Cities in the US

Maybe you’ve recently visited a Latino country and have the salsa-bug, or you might have started learning salsa and Latin-style…

5 years ago

Home From Home: The Vacation Home Landscape in Boulder

Boulder lies at the base of the Rocky Mountains and is known as one of the best places to stay…

5 years ago

Vacation Rentals Without Fees: How to Rent Directly From the Owner

Are you looking to rent a vacation home but want to avoid fees from some of the world’s top platforms?…

5 years ago