Rightfully known for its striking landmarks and art-deco skyscrapers, Midtown is the seat of some of the City's most famous cultural institutions, not to mention some of the country's finest restaurants and shops. Everything here seems supersized—from the delights of the Theatre District and the recently renovated Museum of Modern Art to the nine floors of the Barneys flagship and the towering Time Warner Center (whose eateries are appointment destinations for gourmands from all over the globe). There's no question that Midtown does massive well, but the area also contains smaller, more local treasures—family businesses, under-the-radar imports and lesser-known attractions. The neighborhood might be famed for Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, the United Nations, the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building (to name only a few), but Midtown's more discreet finds are intriguing in their own right. Where else can you shop for luxury ceramics, take in an award-winning musical, see a major museum retrospective and feast on crepes in the back of a cyber café, all in the space of a few blocks?

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