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Soho, NYC neighborhood guide

Soho, NYC is notable for its shopping and dining options, but which spots are considered the absolute best?

Shaye Weaver
Written by
Shaye Weaver
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What’s the deal with Soho?

Soho, NYC is a shopping enclave full of high-end boutiques and buzzworthy pop-up shops, as well as a sea of street vendors touting designer knockoffs in the form of sunglasses, handbags and scarves. Just make sure to save some change—and your phone battery—so you can grab coffee and a pastry from one of the many Instagrammable cafes and eateries packed into the downtown nabe. But don’t write off Soho as a mere urban shopping mall. Though many of the art galleries that made Soho New York a contemporary-art hot spot in the 1970s and ’80s decamped to Chelsea and the Lower East Side, some excellent art spaces remain. Walk along the cobblestone streets and find great New York restaurants, bars and things to do in this downtown neighborhood.

If you only do one thing

Shop at Pearl River Mart, which carries an extensive collection of Asian products.

Go off the beaten track

Take a guided tour of 101 Spring Street, the former home of artist Donald Judd, whose art can be seen at art galleries around the world. The formerly private living and working space provides “firsthand experience of Judd’s concept of permanent installation in downtown New York,” according to the Donald Judd Foundation, which operates the building.

On a sunny day

Do some shopping because Soho is known for its plethora of upscale and trendy stores.

On a rainy day

Go to the Museum of Ice Cream and indulge in all things cold and creamy or peruse books at the Housing Works Bookstore Café.

Get cultured

Visit the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, which is the only dedicated LGBTQ+ art museum in the world and has a mission of showcasing and preserving LGBTQ+ art as well as fostering the artists who create it.

Chill out

Grab a tart and coffee at 12 Chairs or take a date to Raoul’s for dinner and drinks.

Nearest subway stations

Prince, Canal, Spring Street, Broadway-Lafayette St and Bleecker Street stations.

What else is nearby? 

The beloved neighborhood of Little Italy and Nolita are to the east while Greenwich Village is to the north. Both neighborhoods contain some of the best dining in NYC.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Manhattan, NY

Things to do in Soho, NYC

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Soho is more than just the downtown hub of shopping in New York—there’s also the high-quality crop of Soho bars and restaurants available for you to refuel at...

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Enjoy parties, concerts, art galleries, the coolest shows and more with our guide to the best things to do in Soho

The best shops in Soho

The best shops in Soho

Despite the “mall-ification” of the neighborhood, the retail-rich area is an intoxicating consumer playground

Restaurants in Soho, NYC

The Dutch

The Dutch

  • 4 out of 5 stars

The Dutch draws in a crowd for the eclectic offerings of chef and owner Andrew Carmellini. 

Le Coucou

Le Coucou

  • 4 out of 5 stars

The restaurant attracts all types for fancy date nights featuring refined French fare

Balthazar

Balthazar

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • price 3 of 4

Not only is the iconic Balthazar still trendy, but the kitchen rarely makes a false step

Bars in Soho, NYC

Pegu Club

Pegu Club

  • price 4 of 4

The far-reaching influence of New York's reigning queen of mixology, Audrey Saunders, is hard to measure. Her storied cocktail lounge, the Pegu Club, begat...

City Winery

City Winery

  • price 2 of 4

Unabashedly grown-up and yuppie-friendly, this slick club is New York’s only fully functioning winery

Broome Street Bar

Broome Street Bar

  • price 2 of 4

Tourists from nearby hotels come to mingle with locals at this typical New York bar

The Handy Liquor Bar

The Handy Liquor Bar

  • price 2 of 4

It's a piano-bar throwback, rigged with a Motown-filled juke and punk portraits of CBGB-era Blondie

Hotels in Soho, NYC

The Mercer

The Mercer

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • price 4 of 4

This André Balasz property lives up to its name by all accounts, fusing modernity and privacy with the soul of its surroundings

Sixty SoHo

Sixty SoHo

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • price 3 of 4

Following a recent renovation, Sixty SoHo is a visual expression of the neighborhood’s most treasured qualities