By day, the Flatiron District is an exciting destination for design buffs, shoppers on the hunt for quirky items and foodies—hard-core types willing to brave Shake Shack's line, especially since it's open year-round. Named for the Flatiron Building—the gorgeous 1902 skyscraper whose Beaux-Arts three-facade design conspicuously presides over the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway (and still creates that infamous wind tunnel)—the neighborhood is swathed with glorious cast-iron architecture. That's only fitting, considering the artistically minded consumers who venture there for the area's well-known design, photography, clothing and stationery stores. (Contemporary sit-down restaurants are, naturally, de rigueur, too.) But the neighborhood really heats up at night, when well-heeled scenesters descend upon its lounges, clubs and cabarets, each of which provide ample reason to return time and again. And no visit to the Flatiron District is complete without a jaunt through Madison Square Park, a green oasis that hosts an array of concerts, readings and public art exhibitions in warmer months. Through August 15, get up close and personal with Event Horizon , Turner Prize winner Antony Gormley's controversial series of 31 nude sculptures (cast from his own body) located both on the ground and perched on buildings around the park.

1 of 15