About New York

Manhattan is an island of approximately 15,000 acres, and is the third most populous district (approx 1.700.000 inhabitants) and the smallest by extension of the City of New York, although many times the name New York is used as a synonym of Manhattan, the latter is just one of the 5 districts that combined form NYC.

The five boroughs of New York City are Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. The island of Manhattan is surrounded by three rivers, the Hudson River, once called North River West (to the west), the East River (to the east) and the Harlem River to the north-east. Manhattan is the engine that drives the economy of the city, Wall Street is the national and international center of finance, whereas culture and entertainment bring tens of millions of tourists every year; the city exceeded well over 65 million visitors in 2019.


Now, let's see how Manhattan is divided: Manhattan neighborhoods, some historic others created more recently as real estate gimmicks to add value to the area, are differentiated for architecture style, history and ethnic groups that have populated each one.

Lower Manhattan

Starting from the south we find the general area often referred to as Lower Manhattan, this is the area occupied by the first settlers back in 1625 when it was called New Amsterdam. Now, we find the Financial District, Battery Park, Tribeca and a bit further north some historic areas such as Little Italy, Chinatown and the Lower East Side neighboring the newer and trendier NoLita and SoHo. From down here you get to admire beautiful views on the Brooklyn Bridge!

Greenwich Village - West Village - East Village

Continuing north, we find the Greenwich Village with the West Village and the East Village. The Meatpacking District and the Far West Village are the two youngest areas that in recent years have undergone great renovations; just think of the new elevated urban park -- the High Line Park. Always continuing north, we meet the historic Chelsea and Gramercy. Around the Greenwich Village, we find the entire campus of the New York University, founded in 1831, now it boasts a presence of more than 50,000 students and is recognized as one of the top universities in the US. Washington Park has basically unofficially become part of NYU Campus!