VIBE

You might not guess it from scoping the scores of chichi boutiques and cafés that line its streets (à la Carlos Miele and Keith McNally’s Pastis), but the Meatpacking District has not always been such an upscale hipster hangout. Back in the 19th century, this is where the city’s gristly butchering and meatpacking got done (thus the name), and its already bloodied reputation darkened further during the 20th century with the arrival of drugs, prostitution, and dereliction (good thing it already had a name by then…). Then along came the 1990s, when the cool crowd cottoned on to the allure of its cheap rents and started converting the former warehouses into hot nightclubs. It wasn’t long before the trendy hotels (à la Hotel Gansevoort and The Standard), nifty eateries, edgy-posh boutiques, and big-name fashion (Stella McCartney, DvF, et al) followed. These days, the Meatpacking District’s reputation remains on the up-and-up among the stylish set–it's an ideal spot to source cutting-edge fashions or ingratiate yourself with the in-crowd through a night of hip club-hopping.

GO HERE WITH

Clubbers; cool friends; a date; the girls

WHY WE LIKE IT

The nightlife is killer. This is where we come to cut loose while we scope the fashion set. And if we happen to be here by day, a wander through the hip boutiques and then a stroll along the recently opened High Line are both in order.

WHAT WE WOULD CHANGE

Weekend crowds of sloppy drunk barely-21s are something of a turn off. (Get your party on during the week if that’s not your scene.)

GOOD TO KNOW

In the Meatpacking District, you can access the High Line from Gansevoort Street, 14th Street, and 16th Street.

CLOSEST COMPS

Notting Hill (London); Nan Luo Gu Xiang (Beijing)

Click here for our full-form mobile travel guide, The Purple Passport to New York City.