Manhattan's SoHo district is known for its shopping. From shops like H&M and Steve Madden to upmarket department stores like Bloomingdale's or a specialty hat shop, SoHo has you covered. With a vibe more hip than Harrod's, its draw extends far beyond shopping alone. This historic area of lower Manhattan also claims outstanding art galleries -- which can be visited during the SoHo Art Walk -- alongside iconic eateries, cutting edge gastropubs, chic pedestrians, coffee shops, remarkable architecture and more.
A source of support for homeless living with AIDS, the two-story Housing Works Bookstore and Cafe is filled with literary collectibles, a fully stocked cafe including beer and wine, and a wide cross-genre selection of books and rare music finds. You can sip a latte while surfing their free WiFi or browsing for your favorite book with the satisfaction of knowing that nearly 100 percent of your purchases go toward the Housing Works cause. Be sure to check their events schedule as they frequently hold book signings for up-and-coming and acclaimed authors, as well as host live storytelling performances via The Moth.
Balthazaar, the 200-seat French brasserie on SoHo's Spring Street, was started by "The New York Times" proclaimed 'Inventor of Downtown', Keith McNally. Inside this classically redesigned -- dark woods, brass fixtures, off-white/peach walls -- leather factory, Balthazaar's tables are filled with upmarket traditional brasserie items like beef tartare, freshly baked breads, French onion soup, a full raw bar, hand-picked wines and, occasionally, people as iconic as the landmark eatery itself. A meal here can be pricey and reservations are strongly recommended -- well in advance. While eight different menus include choices for breakfast to after-hour nibbles, their brunch menu offers tastes that span widely across the board.
Built up in the mid-19th century from a boom in cast-iron building construction -- Soho is one of the world's largest areas for cast-iron structures -- this NYC district's evolution from drab to fab was quick. Tucked into a small space just west of Mercer on Spring Street, SoHo's Evolution Store is waiting to show you bits of our own evolution. Part store, part workshop and part museum, the Evolution Store boasts displays from human skulls to taxidermy gifts and other natural history collectibles. Truly a place of scientific macabre since 1993, this is a testament to the quirkiness and queer side of SoHo.
Even the most upscale and trendy places are hiding some kind of dirt. In artsy SoHo, however, its hidden in style. The Dia Art Foundation's New York Earth Room permanent installation has been on public view since 1980 and is the third and only remaining Earth Room installation by artist Walter De Maria. The installation consists of 3,600 feet of floor space covered by 250 cubic yards of, well, earth. The nearly 2-foot-high soil sculpture can be observed from behind a knee-high guard of plexiglass and has free entry.
