Chelsea was named after the estate of Thomas Clarke, who built his country home in the area in the 1750s. In the years since then, the neighborhood has had a roller-coaster existence; the area of genteel rowhouses transformed into the center of the theater district (although briefly) and then became a largely immigrant community. By the 1980s and 1990s, the seeds of today’s revived Chelsea were being planted: the epicenter of Manhattan’s gay life had already begun to shift north, and galleries began to open in former industrial and loft spaces. Still, some charming survivors of old Chelsea remain, such as Greek Revival and Italianate rowhouses and the leafy General Theological Seminary campus. In 2016, the first Hudson Yards office tower was completed, and in 2019 the Shops at Hudson Yards and the Instagrammable Vessel opened, marking the beginning of a new chapter for this part of Manhattan.

All of Chelsea’s avenues are busy commercial strips, but Eighth Avenue has the most bars, restaurants, and stores. In the southwest corner of Chelsea, the Meatpacking District’s energy spills across 14th Street; it’s also where you’ll find the block-long Chelsea Market, with its restaurants, gourmet shops, and other stores. Through the middle of the neighborhood, 23rd Street’s businesses, including a Home Depot, are largely about essentials. If you are looking to buy art instead, Chelsea’s galleries are concentrated west of 10th Avenue in the 20s. New as of 2019, the Shops at Hudson Yards has as its anchor the New York flagship of Neiman Marcus and other stores catering to a broad range of budgets, from H&M to Fendi. The restaurants at Hudson Yards include outposts of New York favorites, though the biggest draw is Mercado Little Spain, where you can satisfy all your Iberian culinary desires.