Financial District

The southern tip of Manhattan, below Chambers Street on the west side and the Brooklyn Bridge onramps on the east, holds a dense and historic neighborhood. The Financial District, or FiDi, is home to many iconic sites, including Wall Street, the World Trade Center, and Battery Park. Wandering its blocks is a journey through the layers of New York’s past: Beaver, Pearl, and Nassau — and their irregular routes — evoke the days when New York was a small Colonial trading post, despite the glass-and-steel towers that today soar above their narrow lanes. Old and new coexist differently at South Street Seaport, where the tall ships and low-rise storefronts might seem completely frozen in time if not for the array of modern-day restaurants mingling alongside. A dozen subway lines and multiple ferry routes converge in the area, offering short rides to the rest of Manhattan and across the East River to DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, and beyond.