Washington Heights

Washington Heights is one of the three northernmost neighborhoods in Manhattan. It is generally viewed as running north from Harlem at 155th Street to Inwood, topping out just below Dyckman Street.

A neighborhood of immigrants, it is experiencing another diverse influx of artists and young professionals, in addition to the established community of many backgrounds that is the basis of this area. The star of its own Broadway show, In the Heights, Washington Heights has been the focus of many New Yorkers’ attention for its affordability in comparison to the rest of Manhattan and gentrified Brooklyn.

The heart of Washington Heights is a busy commercial area where everything from bodegas, to bars and restaurants can be found, as well as Yeshiva University and Columbia’s Presbyterian Medical Center. Washington Heights is often described as a neighborhood full of hidden gems, an open secret offering the newcomer plenty to discover.

Washington Height’s landscape of rocky cliffs and vistas of the Hudson River makes it the part of Manhattan that feels least like New York. Nearly 600 acres of parklands are shared with neighboring Inwood. The best-known cultural site and tourist attraction in Washington Heights is “The Cloisters,” a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to medieval art in the neighborhood’s Fort Tryon Park.

Transportation options provide a swift trip to lower Manhattan and to points outside the city as well. It’s 20 minutes to Penn Station by subway, and traveling by car is convenient due to the location of George Washington Bridge and I-95 in the neighborhood.