Upper East Side: Your Personal Guide

11:58 am  |  20.05.2021

Luxury apartments inhabited by the very affluent New Yorker crowd, well-kept restaurants filled with the wives of the richest businessmen in town who don’t have to worry about anything and who meet their girlfriends for lunch every day, exclusive designer boutiques and pompous cars including drivers who waiting for their customers in front of the chic restaurants.


The Upper East Side in Manhattan is even better off than its counterpart on the Upper West Side. At least that is the cliché when one speaks of the eastern side of Central Park. Take a look behind the scenes of the Upper East Side with me. Find out in this guide all the details about the life of the super-rich and how you can best explore the area without missing an insider spot.

Top 5 Things to Do on the Upper East Side

  1. Central Park: The green lung of Manhattan and a must-see in every season (Central Park, Subway: N Lexington Ave 57th Street).
  2. Roosevelt Island: The small island in the East River, which you can reach by cable car (Roosevelt Island, Subway: F ​​Roosevelt Island).
  3. Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Met is the largest art museum in the USA and shows a wide range of important art historical collections from around the world (1000 5th Avenue, Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 86 St).
  4. Guggenheim Museum: Part of the world-famous Museum Mile and at the same time an architectural masterpiece (1071 5th Avenue, Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 86 St).
  5. Shopping on the Upper East Side: Shopping lovers will love it here. Be sure to take time and money with you (Starts on Lexington Avenue, Subway: N Lexington Ave 57th Street).

The Development of the Upper East Side

The Upper East Side stretches from 59th to 96th Streets and from the East River to Fifth Avenue. 

This niche in Manhattan lives up to its cliché as the number one hotspot for New Yorkers who no longer have to worry about money, especially around Madison and Park Avenue and the world-famous Fifth Avenue.

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In fact, the rich don’t all live on the Upper East Side anymore. Many areas have become much more attractive. The affluent residents of the Upper East Side now live all over the city. Many of them have moved to areas like Tribeca, whose zip code is now considered one of the most expensive in Manhattan. The rental prices on the Upper East Side should not be underestimated either, a two-room apartment costs at least $ 5000.

The money of the past, when everyone who had a big bank account lived on the Upper East Side, is still clearly noticeable – you can literally smell it because the architecture of the eastern side of the beautiful Central Park is bursting with imposing elegance. The wealth on the Upper East Side has existed within families for generations.

In the late 19th century, the wealthy began building Fifth Avenue along Central Park. Impressive buildings and townhouses were built that still fill the pockets of real estate agents today – but some have also been converted into consulates or other institutions, including the most interesting museums in New York.

Luxury you Can Touch

Those who stayed enjoy life to the fullest. It is standard that luxury apartment houses have a concierge in front of the house who opens doors and receives luggage. One of the oldest luxury hostels is on 820 Fifth Avenue. The limestone building from 1916 is inhabited and still only has one (!) Inhabitant per floor. In a city with over 8 million inhabitants, this is actually a very special luxury.

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Another highlight is on 643 Park Avenue: in Park Avenue Armony, built-in 1881, which was once the home of the National Guard (7th Regiment of the National Guard), there are still a number of originally furnished rooms from the 19th century. Designed and furnished by celebrities like Louis Comfort Tiffany and the Herter Brothers.

Not far away lived from 1959-1974 none other than Andy Warhol. The building, located on 1342 Lexington Avenue, is now expected to be sold for more than $ 9 million – a value that has nearly doubled in recent years. But even today, many stars and important personalities still live on the Upper East Side: Martin Scorseses, Michael Bloomberg, Woody Allen, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Caroline Kennedy, among others. The


The chance of running into a celebrity is known to be very high in New York City, but even more likely on the Upper East Side. Well-known blockbusters like Men in Black, classics like Breakfast at Tiffany’s, or series hits like Sex and the City and Gossip Girl were filmed on the Upper East Side.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Also known as “Met”, this is one of the most famous and popular art museums in the city. 

A visit to the Met Museum in New York is more than a visit to an art museum: with over two million works of art from over 5000 years on an exhibition area of ​​16 hectares, the Metropolitan Museum is the most visited attraction in New York City. 

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents the best of art history from around the world and attracts almost 6 million visitors of all ages to its exhibitions every year. The Met Museum is already included with the New York Pass. You can read all information about the New York Pass here.

Museum of the City of New York

A great museum to get to know the city of New York even better. The visitor gets an exciting insight into the history of the city. 

With films, pictures, photographs, and a large collection of toys, you will understand the connections within the historical classification much better after the visit. You get the opportunity to see the city from many different angles.

The Guggenheim Museum

It’s an architectural masterpiece: the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue.

 The “Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum”, which is its full name, was founded in 1939 in New York. There are a total of five Guggenheim museums worldwide – but the oldest is the building in New York on the Upper East Side. 

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The bizarre building by the American master architect Frank Lloyd Wright is often referred to by its critics as a “cup made of concrete”. The Guggenheim Museum is not without reason one of the most famous buildings in the city and one of the most popular museums for modern art in Manhattan. The Guggenheim Museum is already included with the New York Pass. You can read all information about the New York Pass here.

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