A City of Rooftops: Midtown, NYC

Ignore the crazed pedestrians, traffic and commerce at street level and New York transforms. In two CitySights bus tours, I tried to capture some of my favorite architecture in each neighborhood — but only the top half of the buildings, where the city goes to relax.

First up is Midtown, where the Downtown bus tour starts.

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The world’s shortest guide to Midtown and the Flatiron District:

Empire State building: Art deco at its finest. Your neck might cramp before you feel the need to tear your eyes away from this one.

Penn Station: Along with Grand Central, this station hosts commuters from the areas that surround NYC as well as most subway lines.

Flatiron building: Designed to fit the small corner it has occupied since 1902, the building was the first skyscraper. It gave the surrounding neighborhood its name.

Macy’s in Herald Square: The department store’s flagship location and host of the famous Thanksgiving Day Parade is also an architectural showcase.

You Are Here, courtesy of Google Maps

And when you return to street level (or get hungry)…

Across the street from the Flatiron building, try Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop. It’s a true New York lunch counter with strong coffee, heaping pastrami sandwiches and the best clientele for people-watching.

–Tara for TKGO