Bleecker Street, New York

A former main stomping ground of the Beatniks, the '60s Folk music revival, and the off-Broadway movement, Bleecker Street is still in business: home to TERRA BLUES, THE RED LION, and THE BITTER END (NYC's oldest rock'n'roll club), which are must-visits for live music lovers. A lazy afternoon here may consist of browsing through record stores, sampling some of NYC's best pizza, grabbing an espresso, and soaking up the downtown fashion scene, especially at the shops/boutiques west of 7th Ave.

Foodies love Bleecker for MURRAY'S CHEESE (No. 254; 8am–9pm) – offering every kind of temptation associated with cheeses, deli meats, and specialty foods – and the popular MAGNOLIA BAKERY (No. 401, at the corner of West 11th Street), the cupcakerie that launched Manhattan's minicake trend.

At the corner of Bleecker and Carmine streets is the unmistakably Renaissance-style church OUR LADY OF POMPEII (free admission), where you can witness classical Italian touches everywhere: in the mosaics on the walls, the beautiful paintings on the dome, the elegant altar and the gracious marble floors.

Is Bleecker Street one of New York's most vibrant and eclectic arteries? Undoubtedly so. It's also bisected by some of the prettiest thoroughfares, such as the particularly scenic Bank Street, lying in the center of the Greenwich Village Historic District's finest 19th-century architecture.