5 Best Sights in Lower East Side, New York City

This seven-story structure—a glimmering, metal-mesh-clad assemblage of off-center squares—caused a small neighborhood uproar when it was built in 2007, with some residents slow to accept the nontraditional building. It also caused a stir when it shut down in 2024 and reopened a year later with a Rem Koolhaas--designed extension that has nearly doubled its exhibition space. Not surprisingly, given the museum's name and the building, shows are all about contemporary art, often provocative and frequently with a video element. Free tours are offered; check the website for times.

Started in 1940 as an attempt by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to corral street pushcarts and vendors (and thereby get them off the streets), the Essex Street Market was defined early on by the Jewish and Italian immigrants of the Lower East Side and went through several incarnations. The latest and most exciting is the wholesale move from its original location on the northeast corner of Delancey and Essex Streets, across the street to the southeast corner, trading in a windowless and cramped space for one spread over three levels, including a light-filled atrium and plenty of seating. Although many of the vendors selling meat, fish, cheeses (vegan and dairy), produce, bread, pastries, and coffee, tacos, and tajines remain—as does the eccentric Shopsin's restaurant—there are many new shops and restaurants.

Founded in 1974 by photojournalist Cornell Capa (photographer Robert Capa's brother), ICP continues to put on exhibitions that explore the timely social and political aspects of photojournalism. The institution, which has moved its collection of more than 150,000 original prints—spanning the history of photography, from daguerreotypes to large-scale pigment prints—several times, finally has a permanent home with both education and exhibition spaces. The new building's spacious, second- and third-floor galleries really allow the exhibits to shine. There's a gift shop and small café on the ground floor. It's pay-what-you-wish ($5 minimum) on Thursday night 5 pm–8 pm.

The exterior of this 1887 Orthodox synagogue-turned-museum (and community space), the first synagogue to be built by the many Eastern European Jews who settled in the Lower East Side in the late 19th century, is a striking mix of Romanesque, Gothic, and Moorish motifs. Inside are an exceptional hand-carved ark of mahogany and walnut (used to hold Torah scrolls), a sculptured wooden balcony, jewel-tone stained-glass windows, vibrantly painted and stenciled walls, and an enormous brass chandelier. Daily tours are included in the price of admission (check the website for times), and begin downstairs where interactive "touch tables" teach all ages about Eldridge Street, the Lower East Side, and the Jewish immigrant experience. The crowning piece of the building's decades-long restoration is a stained-glass window by artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans, which weighs 6,000 pounds and has more than 1,200 pieces of glass.

If you're looking for a good place to start your exploration of the Lower East Side, Orchard Street, from Houston all the way down to Canal Street, is probably the densest conglomeration of restaurants, cafés, boutiques, and art galleries. It's the perfect place to wander, checking out the art, browsing for clothes and knickknacks, stopping for a coffee or a glass of wine, and having a meal. Although no one gallery really stands out—you're best off visiting whatever catches your eye—look out for Perrotin ( 130 Orchard St.) and Krause Gallery ( 149 Orchard St.).