Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE UPPER EAST SIDE
The defining characteristic of Manhattan's Upper East Side is wealth. While other
neighbourhoods were penetrated by immigrant groups and artistic trends, the area has
remained primarily a privileged enclave of the well off, with high-end shops, clean and
relatively safe streets, well-preserved buildings and landmarks, most of the city's finest
museums, and some of its most famous boulevards: Fifth, Madison and Park avenues.
Madison Avenue is lined with designer clothes stores, while primarily residential Park
Avenue is stolidly comfortable and often elegant, sweeping down the spine of upper
Manhattan. It has awe-inspiring views south, as the avenue coasts down to Grand Cent-
ral and the Met Life Building. Things are changing, however: in recent years rents have
lowered considerably, and the streets a few blocks back from Central Park are begin-
ning to lose their air of exclusivity.
