Condé Nast TravelerOct 18, 2025
How to Spend a Perfect Day on the Upper East Side
A few Condé Nast Traveler staffers call this classic neighborhood home—here are their recommendations.
Known for fresh bagels and lox.
23 things in this story
- Central ParkPark843 acres for walking, biking, picnicking, with skyline views.
- Metropolitan Museum of ArtMuseumMammoth museum with famous permanent works.
- Breads BakeryBakeryFamous for babka.
- Lenox HillNeighborhoodIt forms the lower (southern) section of the Upper East Side, east of Park Avenue in the 60s and 70s.
- Carnegie HillNeighborhoodIts boundaries are 86th Street on the south, Fifth Avenue on the west, with a northern boundary at 98th Street that…
- OrwashersBakeryKnown for pastries.
- Butterfield MarketDeliOffers take-out coffee, smoothies, and wraps.
- Sable’sRestaurantKnown for fresh bagels and lox.
- Kerbs BoathouseSightModel sailboat races for young children.
- Central Park BoathouseSightOffers rowboat rentals.
- Bethesda FountainSightAt the center of Bethesda Terrace is Bethesda Fountain, one of Central Park’s most beloved works of art.
- Sheep MeadowSightOffers skyline views and people watching.
- Reservoir running trackTrail1.5-mile loop with panoramic city and water views.
- Conservatory GardenGardenSix acres of manicured lawns and floral displays.
- Frick CollectionMuseumLocated in a mansion, recently reopened.
- Museum MileNeighborhoodStretch of Fifth Avenue with art and cultural institutions.
- Guggenheim MuseumMuseumVisit the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Guggenheim New York, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- El Museo del BarrioMuseumIt is located near the northern end of Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile, immediately north of the Museum of the City of New…
- The Africa CenterMuseumFounded in 1984, the museum is…
- KaiaRestaurantSpecializes in South African wines and street food.
- Bar FlorineRestaurantIntimate wine bar option in Carnegie Hill.
- YorkvilleNeighborhood
- The Jewish MuseumMuseum