Staying in Murray Hill and Kips Bay

What the area is like

Murray Hill runs from about 34th Street north to 42nd Street, between Fifth Avenue and the East River, and takes its name from the family estate that once occupied the rise here. The grid is regular and the streets feel quiet for Midtown. Brownstones and small apartment buildings line the side streets between taller office blocks. Kips Bay continues south and east toward the water, roughly from 23rd to 34th Streets, with a similar mix of homes, hospitals and offices.

The scale is human. A brownstone block, a deli counter and a subway entrance sit within a couple of minutes of each other, and Grand Central Terminal is a short walk away. The Morgan Library, a restored private library with a noted collection of manuscripts and drawings, stands on Madison Avenue at 36th Street. Expect a working neighborhood rather than a visitor district: dog walkers in the morning, full coffee counters at the start of the day, office crowds at lunch, and little street life after dark.

Who it suits

The area suits travelers who want Midtown within reach but not on the doorstep. If you plan to use Grand Central for Metro-North day trips, or walk to meetings around 42nd Street, few bases are more convenient. Couples and solo travelers who value quiet evenings usually settle here happily, and the flat grid makes long walking days easy. First-time visitors can walk to Times Square, the Theater District and the Empire State Building without planning a route.

It suits less well if the Theater District is the reason for the trip, since late curtains mean a walk or a short ride back afterward. Anyone hoping for a lively bar scene on the doorstep will find the residential streets tame. Travelers on a tight schedule who want every sight within a block or two should look at Midtown proper. The area rewards people who like a routine: breakfast nearby, a day on foot, an early night.

Getting around and onward travel

Most of what you need is walkable. Grand Central Terminal is about 0.3 miles (0.5 km) away, and the streets between 23rd and 42nd are flat and gridded. Subway stations on the Lexington Avenue corridor and along 42nd Street put the rest of the island within easy reach. The subway runs 24 hours a day; pay by tapping a contactless card or phone at the turnstile. Check the MTA for planned service changes, which are common at weekends.

For airports, LaGuardia is the closest at 5.7 miles (9.2 km). The free Q70 LaGuardia Link bus connects the terminals to the subway. JFK is 13 miles (20.4 km) away, with the AirTrain running to Jamaica for the subway or the Long Island Rail Road, and to Howard Beach for the subway. Newark Liberty is 11 miles (18 km) away: take the AirTrain to the airport station, then NJ Transit or Amtrak into Penn Station. JFK and Newark are typically 45 to 75 minutes from Midtown depending on traffic and connections.

• Walk to Grand Central Terminal for Metro-North trains and connections across the city.
• Tap a contactless card or phone for the subway; spending is capped after a set number of rides in seven days.
• Take the free Q70 LaGuardia Link bus between LaGuardia terminals and the subway.
• Ride the AirTrain from JFK to Jamaica or Howard Beach, then continue by subway or rail.
• Reach Penn Station, 0.9 miles (1.5 km) away, for NJ Transit and Amtrak services from Newark Liberty.

What is nearby

Grand Central Terminal and the observation decks beside it are about 0.3 miles (0.5 km) away. Times Square and the Broadway theaters are 0.9 miles (1.4 km), the Museum of Modern Art 0.9 miles (1.5 km), and Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street 1.1 miles (1.8 km). Hudson Yards and the High Line lie 2.3 and 1.6 miles (2.5 km) west. Downtown, the 9/11 Memorial is 3.2 miles (5.1 km) away and reachable by subway, and the free Staten Island Ferry leaves from Whitehall Terminal at the island's southern tip.

Kips Bay adds the East River waterfront, where a riverside path gives open views across to Queens and the bridges downstream. The United Nations headquarters sits just north of the area on First Avenue. Two large teaching hospitals anchor the neighborhood around 30th to 34th Streets, which keeps the sidewalks busy through the day. For a change of pace, the Morgan Library is a short walk northwest, and the Theater District is a short ride west.

Eating and drinking

The area eats well without fuss. Lexington Avenue around the high 20s is known for Indian restaurants, from quick lunch counters to full dinner rooms with tablecloths. Elsewhere you will find pizza by the slice, delis, ramen, Thai and Korean kitchens, steakhouses near 34th Street, and the fast casual places that fill at noon with office workers. Most of it is casual, and much of it is built for a weekday lunch rather than a long dinner.

Weekends are quieter, and a few places close on Sundays or keep shorter hours; check before you set out. Dinner reservations help from Thursday to Saturday. A tip is expected at table-service restaurants, and the bill usually shows suggested amounts. For a special meal, the streets north of 42nd Street and the Theater District hold more choice. Groceries and prepared food are easy to find for a picnic in Central Park or by the river.

• Indian restaurants cluster along Lexington Avenue in the high 20s, from counter service to full dinners.
• Pizza counters and delis suit a quick lunch between sights.
• Fast casual places fill at midday with office workers and empty again by two.
• Groceries and prepared food make an easy picnic for the East River path or Central Park.

Safety and choosing a hotel

The area is busy and well lit through the working day, and the side streets are quiet rather than empty at night. Use the usual city sense: keep to lit blocks, watch traffic on one-way streets, and keep bags zipped on the subway. Ambulance noise around the hospitals is part of the soundtrack. Side streets between Third and First Avenues are calmest; the Lexington Avenue corridor is noisier and more commercial, with more traffic and deliveries.

Choose a hotel by what you plan to do. A building near Grand Central saves time on Metro-North trips; one nearer 23rd Street puts the East River and downtown within walking distance. Ask about street noise and floor height, since some rooms face busy avenues. Always check the total price with taxes and fees, and ask whether a facility or destination fee applies. Read the cancellation terms before you book, and confirm the walk to the nearest subway station.