Off the Beaten Track | 29 Awesome Hidden Gems in NYC

Built over 200 years ago to cater for the ever-growing Catholic population in the early 19th century, Old St. Patrick’s is an underrated icon of NYC and one of the most historic buildings in Manhattan. The church itself was once a place of lavish weddings and grand funerals, but today it’s a more humble place of worship, serving a diverse community in Nolita, Lower Manhattan. To really tread off the beaten path here, though, is to head below ground to the church’s spooky candlelit catacombs. These tunnels were long closed off to the general public, but now you can book tours with the folks at Catacombs by Candlelight, who will guide you along the historic underground cemetery that acts as the final resting place of some of the oldest and most significant figures in New York history.

While considered one of the most popular hidden gems, the Whispering Gallery is also on the list as one of the most romantic secret treasures NYC has to offer. Within Grand Central’s magnificent architecture lays an acoustic sensation. The secretive walls allow sounds to travel across the domed ceiling. Therefore, when two people stand at diagonal arches, they can hear each other’s whispers. According to experts, this occurs because the whisperer’s voice trails the curve of the domed ceiling. Located in the terminal’s dining concourse, in front of the famous Oyster Bar & Restaurant, travelers can witness the elaborate beauty of Grand Central’s murals while trying out the whisper gallery. Book a spot on the Secrets of Grand Central Walking Tour to have a go for yourself.

It was the pulsating energy and underground counter cultures of New York City that gave birth to hip-hop back in the ’70s. It fast became a cultural phenomena, then a commercial beast, and continues to influence modern pop music to this day. While there are still plenty of great hip-hop artists working in NYC today, any music fan worth their salt should venture off the beaten track, just like the OGs did. From the Bronx, where hip-hop was literally born at a Sedgwick Avenue party, to the breakdance parks of Harlem and the unassuming street art-adorning streets of Manhattan, you can still trace the origins of hip-hop today. It’s best done on a guided tour, like the one ran by Hush Hip Hop Tours and Grandmaster Caz, a pioneer of the genre himself.

Everyone knows about Chinatown and Little Italy – two neighborhoods symbolic of the city’s rich history of immigration as well as its continued modern diversity. However, while plenty of tourists pound the streets of these Manhattan icons, very few of them truly know where to look or, more importantly, where to chow down. From Mochi donut holes and handmade fried dumplings to the best pizza, deli meat, cheesecake and bagels in town, the only way to truly discover the hidden gems of Chinatown and Little Italy is on a guided tour with Secret Food Tours. Just make sure you skip breakfast before joining this one.

Rockefeller Center is a hotspot for travelers coming to NYC. When individuals arrive to the plaza, they see the ice skating rink, the Christmas tree and Jeff Koon’s massive flowering sculpture. But what people don’t see is the little green gem hidden high above the streets of NYC. Scattered about the rooftops of this art deco building, you will encounter 620 Loft and Gallery. This open space offers a gorgeous private garden that boasts perfectly-shaped greenery and incredible views of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Rockefeller Center maintains five spectacular roof gardens originally designed by English landscaper Ralph Hancock between 1933 and 1936. The gardens have been closed since 1938, but three can be spied from the Top of the Rock observation deck. You can also check out the scenic view in the original Spiderman movie. Learn more about these hidden spots of paradise on a Rockefeller Center guided walking tour.

On the southern tip of Roosevelt Island in the center of the East River rests the ruins of an ivy-clad Gothic Revival building, also known as the Renwick Hospital. Once housed the Roosevelt Island Smallpox Hospital, the architectural gem was the top center for smallpox treatment in NYC until the 1950s when the building was forced to close. In 1975, the Landmarks Preservation Commission took interest in the decrepit structure and declared it a city landmark. They reinforced the walls to prevent it from entirely falling apart but have not renovated it or opened it for tours. Only some of the outer walls and the foundation stand today. While restoration of the hospital is definitely underway, there’s still time to catch this beautiful organization in its naturally-aged state before another chapter in the history of the famous smallpox hospital begins.

Escape the chaos of the busy city streets with a trip to the Elevated Acre, a park in the sky. Between two skyscrapers you will encounter a grassy space resting above the busy streets of the Financial District. Situated on Water Street, this small park features astonishing views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Hudson River as well as a 50-foot light sculpture. This urban oasis has many unique features and world-class landscaping. Recently, this spacious acre added a full Beer Garden, now open for the public’s enjoyment with several craft beers on tap to enjoy while taking in the best view in the city.

High about the streets of the Financial District rests a hidden airplane runway along with an old rusty World War I fighter plane. Although the runway is not functional, the rooftop turns the light switches on for night time viewers. 77 Water Street was built in 1970 and unveiled as a bold concept that redefined the traditional image of an office building as a sterile environment. This inviting, exciting, warm and friendly plaza will make you forget number 77 is just a regular old office building.

While many mistake this historic 12 x 20 foot remains for just another NYC street mural, this dazzling masterpiece by German artists Thierry Noir and Kiddy Citny is made up of five concrete slabs of the original Berlin Wall. You can find this secret treasure nestled in a small Midtown plaza at 520 Madison Avenue. The piece was donated in November 2004 by the city of Berlin to Manhattan’s Battery Park City, according to a plastic information guide affixed to the metal fence enclosing the slab.

While once an energetic station, the long-standing city hall subway stop located along the 6 line shut down in 1945 due to its failure to be restructured and the low amount of traffic it received. The subway’s architects, George Lewis Heins and Christopher Grant LaFarge, were the men responsible for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Aside from tiled signs with station names and directions, there is minimal architectural about the network’s contemporary trappings. During the ‘City Beautiful’ movement around the turn of the last century, during which Grand Central Terminal and Washington Square Park’s arch were both completed, New York City’s first subway station opened to the public. It had a single platform and is now part of the loop that 6 trains make going from the Brooklyn Bridge downtown local platform back around to the uptown local platform. Although this beautiful station is not open to the public, guided tours are provided periodically, or you can get a sneak peek if you stay on the 6 train after its final stop. Fascinated by the rumbling tunnels sprawling across the city? Join the NYC Underground Subway Walking Tour for a truly enlightening experience.

To really familiarize yourself with the city of New York, you need to start with its history. Booming with an influx of European immigrants and factories, Manhattan in the Tammany society was expanding into the metropolitan hub we know today. Along with replicas of real tenement apartments, the Tenement Museum hosts walking tours of historical landmarks on the Lower East Side that bring some of the city’s rich history into the 21st century. Recommended by Joan de Jesus.

The old New York versus the new New York is an argument you will hear every old school New Yorker make. El Museo del Barrio is a great spot to follow up on this argument, especially after a visit to the Tenement Museum. El Museo del Barrio celebrates the culture behind the wave of NYC’s latest immigrant populations. Located at the edge of Spanish Harlem, El Museo highlights the best of Latino culture including music, art and literature. Although it barely makes it onto Museum Mile, it’s easily accessible from its better-known neighbors such as the Guggenheim or the Met. Recommended by Joan de Jesus.

The Big Apple can be a scary place. A creepy way to get to know the city’s rich history (or folklore), Gangsters and Ghosts of New York offers guided tours of some of the city’s dimly lit alleyways and haunted mansions. The tours claim to introduce its patrons to the spirits of some of the city’s most famous former residents. Recommended by Joan de Jesus.

With an amazing view of the East River, the Pier 2 Roller Rink at Brooklyn Bridge Park features retro-themed rollerblading nights including a live DJ spinning everything from 90s hip-hop to vintage flapper music. Recommended by Joan de Jesus.

To come down from the hustle and bustle of the city, listening to the Harlem Choir belt out high notes will satisfy the soul and ears. They are not your average church choir; they emphasize having fun during their performance, oftentimes putting a modern twist on classic hymns. Though they have performed for royalty and celebrities, you can catch this inspiring gospel group sing every Sunday at the B.B. King’s Blues Club. Recommended by Joan de Jesus.

Certainly not for the faint of heart, Open Mic Night at the Nuyorican Cafe is the equivalent of the Apollo Theater for comedians. Although not as daunting, the intimate poetry cafe is frequented by artists and intellectuals. Whether it’s performing a song or spoken word piece, the challenge of bearing it all in front of strangers on a world stage is a once in a lifetime experience. Recommended by Joan de Jesus.

Don’t let the name fool you. ‘The Cage’ is home to one of the city’s most competitive and athletic courts for amateur basketball teams. Onlookers who catch a game while walking towards the West 4th street subway stop will often rattle the fence to rile up the players. If aggressive sportsmanship is not for you, being a spectator is also worth experiencing. Recommended by Joan de Jesus.

At 60 sq ft (5.6 sq m), Mmuseumm, housed inside a former freight elevator, is the city’s smallest museum. While it’s open only on weekends, the ode to ‘object journalism’ is accessible 24 hours a day through a peephole. Each exhibition tells a story through unusual artifacts, with former exhibits featuring last meal receipts, world leader-used tissues, and a collection of products that bear Donald Trump’s name, including aftershave, energy drinks, liquor and games.

While Strand isn’t exactly a secret (it’s a 90-year-old New York institution), it is unique in its breadth and depth. With a book collection that could span 18 miles (30km) when laid spine-to-spine, this three-floor behemoth is one of the US’s largest independent bookstores. Any fan of the written word could easily spend an entire day picking through the dollar carts outside or gazing at the rare books room on the third floor, which includes early printings and signed editions.

Back in the 1970s, filling a SoHo loft with 280,000 lbs (127,000kg) of dirt was called ‘art’ and not ‘a real estate misstep of the ages’. Alas, as Ai Weiwei proved, sometimes you have to break a few eggs (or a million-dollar vase) to make art. The New York Earth Room was created in 1977 by Land artist Walter de Maria who referred to it as a “minimal horizontal interior earth sculpture.” Land Art was a movement in the late 1960s and 1970s that rejected commercialization and utilized natural materials such as rocks and earth to create impermanent, environmental installations. The New York Earth Room’s soil is the same that was introduced more than 40 years ago. It’s raked once a week and occasionally mushrooms grow from it, but otherwise it is a monument to stasis in a constantly changing world. From noon to 6pm, Wednesday through Sunday, the space is open to visitors at no cost.

Tribeca’s Dream House bills itself as a sound and light environment. For a donation fee visitors can hang out in a room filled with incense, incandescent light and an interminable drone created by minimalist mastermind musician La Monte Young, with accompanying visuals by his romantic and collaborative partner, Marian Zazeela. The concept first occurred to Young in 1963, though it took 30 years before the current installation on Church Street became a reality. It’s the perfect place to pull up a pillow and just sit and think (or not think) and escape from the hustle and bustle of New York City living. The Dream House is open 2pm to midnight Wednesday through Saturday.

The Met it is not. This NoMad museum is more fun than it is serious – for example, ‘Jump for Joy’ is a bounce-house room upstairs where the inflatables are shaped like giant breasts. But that isn’t to say that this institution is all sex without substance. The MoSex is dedicated to the exploration of the history, evolution and cultural significance of human sexuality, and its permanent collection features over 20,000 artifacts comprised of works of art, photography, clothing and costumes, technological inventions and historical ephemera. Past exhibits have focused on punk rock’s defiant sexuality and disco’s liberating spirit.

Art doesn’t only have to be a painting that hangs on a wall that can never be touched. Pick up some art for everyday use at the Museum of Modern Art Design Store. Each object in the shop is vetted by a two-step process: first, it has to meet eight criteria of good design, then the proposed product is evaluated by MoMA’s curatorial department. You’ll find a Bluetooth speaker that looks like a 1950s FM radio, a glass table that is functional vertically and horizontally, a Breur folding chair and other items that are fun and distinct.

You don’t have to be a lepidopterist (someone who collects butterflies or moths) to enjoy the collection of curios at Greenwich Village’s Evolution Store. Part-museum, part-enthusiast shop, the store opened in SoHo in 1993 and moved to its current locale in 2016. It’s best described as if The Natural History Museum had price tags affixed to its displays. Here, you’ll find taxidermied alligator heads, scorpions safely housed in glass paperweights, bat skeletons in domes and all sorts of other eerie and interesting natural gifts. If a preserved piranha doesn’t do it for you, perhaps minerals, such as the Brazilian agate coasters, will.

With Manhattan rent prices as they are, operating a dim sum restaurant is not a foolproof plan. China Chalet, a FiDi food staple since 1975, closes its kitchen at night, clears the tables and turns into a raucous nightclub. Two bars, disco balls and a dance floor pop up and the 800-capacity venue goes from the Chinese spot next door to Studio 54. Partygoers line up hours before doors open on weekends to boogie down. At its launch, Steve Buscemi, Debbie Harry and John Waters joined the revelers for a throwback to the long-lost heydays of the Manhattan ‘it-club’.

Looking in as a passerby on the Lower East Side’s Essex Street, you might see this unassuming storefront as nothing more than just another pawn shop hawking boomboxes and used instruments. But for those in the know (you after reading this), it’s also a hip cocktail bar and restaurant hidden behind a secret door. Once inside, a staircase will lead you to your table where chef Chris Santos’ small plates can be shared, from chile relleno empanadas to grilled cheese and tomato soup dumplings. Signature cocktails include the Beauty Elixir (gin, cucumber, strawberry and sparkling rosé) and the Earl of Pearl (vodka, earl grey tea, lemon and mint syrup).

Two words describe this dive bar: beautiful disaster. The décor at Welcome to the Johnson’s looks like the 1950s regurgitated, yet the layers upon layers of spray paint and marker graffiti in a less-than-pristine bathroom are captivating — you’ll either want to contribute something yourself or simply snap a photo.

Not to be confused with Brooklyn’s The Johnsons, an offshoot of this Lower East Side bar, Welcome to the Johnsons is known for its cheap drinks and grandma’s basement vibe. Replete with wood-paneled walls, sports trophies and family portraits, the kitsch charm makes up for its somewhat dingy setting. Come for the pool table and jukebox, which add extra entertainment value, but stay for great music, unbeatable prices and a local haunt feel.

Founded by a high school English teacher-turned-bar proprietor, The Dead Poet encourages thinking and drinking in equal measure. Lit lovers will appreciate the bar’s literary-themed décor and drinks menu, which features the spiced rum sangria “Pablo Neruda” and the “J.D. Salinger,” a rye Old Fashioned served with drunken cherries. Also offering an extensive beer selection and creative takes on classic bar snacks, The Dead Poet is a place to debate, philosophize, and enjoy another round.

Film Forum is the only autonomous, nonprofit cinema in New York City and one of the few in the U.S. that has been around for as long as 40 years. Located on Houston Street, it features three cinemas and is open year-round. It attracts die-hard moviegoers with its wide selection of international, independent and classic films. It’s where the preservation of film history comes alive with black-and-white oldies from Hollywood’s ‘Golden Age’ introduced by experts, avant-garde documentaries, and foreign cinema you can’t see anywhere else.