Central Park South

Verticality reigns in Central Park South, where a collection of supertall structures don’t so much scrape the sky as they pierce through it into the stratosphere. The view from the top surely isn’t half bad either, with the remarkable Manhattan skyline in one direction and the entire expanse of Central Park in the other. However, these pencil-thin towers are not the be-all-end-all, as more classic buildings like the Art Deco-style Essex House or the French Renaissance-inspired château-style Plaza Hotel continue to define the area’s character.

 

Some of the city’s absolute premier shopping and dining destinations anchor each end of Central Park South. The Shops at Columbus Circle bless the West with Michelin-starred restaurants and a whole host of shopping options — clothes, food, etc. Down the other end of 59th Street, the retail wonders of Fifth and Madison Avenues on the Upper East Side are close at hand. Even in between, this brief section of Manhattan teems with some of the city’s finest dining establishments. You also cannot do much better than Central Park South in terms of proximity to revered cultural institutions. Columbus Circle is the site of the Museum of Arts and Design, Carnegie Hall is on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 57th Street — no practice is required to get there — and the wondrous Museum of Modern Art is only a few blocks to the southeast.