Harlem is famous for the area around the Apollo Theater, which still offers nightly entertainment and the Amateur Night at the Apollo, and The Lennox Lounge, with nightly jazz. Also close are six subway lines that will take you to the sites of lower Manhattan or up to the Bronx for a Yankees game. Visitors will find a few small restaurants in the Apollo Theater area, including Strictly Roots, which serves vegan-Jamaican food. The Harlem Flophouse is a rustic hotel in an 1890s brownstone, with jazz wafting throughout, but no A/C or TVs. The accommodation has only four rooms, and bathrooms are shared. Aloft Harlem offers a posh alternative, with large, bright rooms, A/C and free Wi-Fi.
The Lennox Lounge has been a Harlem jazz landmark since 1939, and it still bops to the sounds of music. Just down the street from the the Lennox you will find Harlem Heritage tours, which offers tours of Harlem hot spots given by Harlem natives. Many tours are offered, including the Civil Rights and the general Harlem history walking tours. The National Jazz Museum is a short walk from the Lennox. Jazz on the Villa hostel, just north of the Lennox, offers air-conditioned single, double and dorm rooms, with a common room, backyard area, free Wi-Fi and kitchen facilities. South of the Lennox, Mount Morris B&B offers a garden, rooms with fireplaces and a fully stocked kitchen.
The area south of the Apollo offers easy access to Central Park, the Upper East and West Side and, after a scenic walk through the park, the sites of Midtown, including the Empire State building and the Museum of Modern Art. The nearby subways will take you down to Lincoln Center, Times Square, SoHo and Greenwich Village. The Wanderers Inn hostel offers private, single and double rooms, as well as eight- and 12-bed dorms and kitchen facilities. A free breakfast is served, and no curfew is enforced. 102 Brownstone offers suites and studio apartments, some with full kitchens and whirlpool hot-tubs.
The area just north of the Apollo is close to the historic Cotton Club, still a venue for live jazz and swing music. Within walking distance of the Cotton Club you will find the 125th St. shopping district with many brand-name chain stores. If you're looking for smaller, local stores, head over to 125th around Frederick Douglass Blvd. The Harlem YMCA offers affordable single and double rooms, with access to the pool and gym facilities of the YMCA. The accommodation offers no kitchen facilities, but you will find restaurants just outside the door. Allies B&B offers luxury and style, with oak floors, free Wi-Fi, kitchen facilities and a continental breakfast.
