Chelsea

Glass-walled towers beside the High Line, the largest cluster of galleries in the city and the Hudson waterfront at the end of the block.

Chelsea used to be warehouses and rail yards, and it became the art district when galleries moved into the old garages in the late 1990s. The High Line then turned a disused railway into a park, and the new buildings that followed leaned into the view.

The best homes are the floor-through apartments in the glass-and-steel condo buildings along the High Line and West 20th Street, many with floor-to-ceiling windows and private terraces. Converted lofts in the old brick warehouses offer more character, and the quiet brownstone blocks around the Chelsea Historic District hold the neighborhood’s charm.

The pace is energetic but easy. Mornings start with coffee at Chelsea Market, afternoons go to the galleries and the Hudson River Park piers, and evenings end with dinner in a dining room overlooking the High Line. Most of the city’s subway lines are a short walk away.