Within only a quarter of a square mile, SoHo has an estimated 250 art galleries, four museums, nearly 200 restaurants, and 100 stores.

The blocks south of Houston and north of Canal streets are home to the city's largest concentration of the cast-iron fronted buildings, built as warehouses and manufacturing spaces, but converted to living spaces, called "lofts," for artists and sculptors who appreciated the larger spaces. These huge, 19th-century architectural gems (Victorian Gothic, Italianiate, and neo-Grecian among them) are prized by preservationists and the well-heeled bohemians of SoHo who call the neighborhood home.

The New York Fire Museum on Spring Street displays a nostalgic and inspirational collection of hand-pulled and horse-drawn apparatus, engines, sliding poles, uniforms and fireboat equipment from the 18th through the 20th centuries. The New Museum of Contemporary Art is the only New York museum devoted exclusively to contemporary art by internationally known and emerging artists.

Robert Lee Morris sells jewelry that is wearable art; Canal Jean Company sells authenic Levi's, cutting-edge shoes, and sportswear at discount prices; Vintage New York features only wines and food from New York State; The Scholastic Store sells Scholastic brands including Clifford the Big Red Dog and Harry Potter - in an interactive, multimedia environment; and the Ward-Nasse Gallery has the largest selection of original art in SoHo.

If you work up an appetite after all the shopping, head to the Cub Room or Zoë for dinner, and afterwards to NV/289 Bar Lounge, S.O.B.'s (Sounds of Brazil) for a little samba, or the SoHo Grand Hotel for a drink in an international and sophosticated environment.

When SoHo became too upscale for starving artists, many moved further downtown to another, then-half-abandoned industrial district, TriBeCa (the Triangle Below Canal). TriBeCa also became a hot destination, most notably for dining. TriBeCa restaurants include Nobu, Tribeca Grill, Montrachet, Alison on Dominick Street, Capsouto Freres Restaurant, City Hall Restaurant, F.illi Ponte, and Dylan Prime.