5 Best Sights in New York City, New York

Had this charming cobblestone neighborhood not been declared a historic district in 1977, the city's largest concentration of early-19th-century commercial buildings would have been destroyed. Thankfully, they survived, and in recent years have come to enjoy new life. The landmarked "South Street Seaport Historic District" has undergone a thorough makeover as a diverse shopping and dining destination, with seasonal markets, art installations, IPIC Theater (a luxury cinema with dining), and live entertainment—plus a simplified moniker as The Seaport.

At the intersection of Fulton and Water Streets, the main Seaport gateway, is the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, a small white lighthouse that commemorates the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. Beyond the lighthouse, Fulton Street turns into a cobblestone pedestrian mall. On the south side of Fulton is The Seaport's architectural centerpiece, Schermerhorn Row, a redbrick terrace of Georgian- and Federal-style warehouses and countinghouses built from 1810 to 1812. Cross South Street to Pier 16, where historic 19th- and 20th-century ships are docked. Pier 16 also is the departure point for various seasonal cruises. (Ship tours are included in the admission to the South Street Seaport Museum).

Across South Street along the East River are Pier 17 and the renovated Tin Building. Previously the longtime site of the Fulton Fish Market, in 2022, the latter reopened as the Tin Building by renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, a high-end dining destination and specialty food market ( tinbuilding.com). In 2018, the Pier 17 building became a multilevel office complex with several restaurants and bars at street level, and a 60,000-square-foot rooftop that's programmed with concerts and seasonal pop-ups ( rooftopatpier17.com). But the real highlight is the wraparound public wharf that's open year-round, with seating and stunning views of the harbor and Brooklyn Bridge.

Most of Brooklyn Heights, with picturesque brownstones spanning Old Fulton Street to Atlantic Avenue, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. This includes the quiet "fruit streets"—Pineapple, Cranberry, and Orange Streets—named in the 19th century by one Lady Middagh, a resident who thought it was more democratic to get rid of the former names of aristocratic families. Ironically, Middagh Street still exists. One notable building in the area is 58 Joralemon Street, which at a glance appears to be a 19th-century Greek revival town house, but is actually a facade for an MTA ventilation shaft.

Landmarked in 1982, this historic district is lined with beautiful town houses. The area extends roughly from Calyer Street north to Kent Street, between Manhattan Avenue and Franklin Street. The brick homes date from the 1850s, when Greenpoint was a hub for shipbuilding and manufacturing. Walking along Franklin Street on a quiet morning is like stepping into an Edward Hopper painting.

Amid skyscrapers, the two low-rise blocks of bars and restaurants along historic Stone Street feel more like a village than the center of the financial universe. In summer, benches and long tables blanket the cobblestone street for a more convivial mood, especially on Thursday and Friday night. This was Manhattan's first paved street, and today the cluster of buildings along here—with South William and Pearl Streets, and Coenties Alley—make up the Stone Street Historic District.

Honoring the history of the 19th-century Black community of Weeksville, one of the first communities of free Blacks in New York (founded by James Weeks), this Crown Heights museum with an industrial-modern building by Caples Jefferson Architects has rotating exhibitions, botanical gardens, and three preserved houses on gravely Hunterfly Road in the back, dating back to 1838. Tours inside these structures depicting life in the 1860s, 1900s, and 1930s can be booked through their website.