Walk up 74th Street, the heart of Little India. It gleams with the distinctive patina of the 22k gold in its many jewelry stores. In between you’ll find shops selling saris, Bollywood DVDs, and South Asian imports, and sweet shops and restaurants offering chicken tandoori, vegetarian curries, and lamb kebabs.
Are you a real architecture buff? Obsessed with the history of cities? Then keep walking north and you'll soon be in the Jackson Heights Historic District, 30 blocks of landmarked co-op attached houses and apartment buildings with beautifully maintained park-like courtyards. Built for the middle class in the roaring '20s, the prewar co-ops are being rediscovered by a new generation of New Yorkers.
Two of the best examples -- The Chateau and The Towers -- are on 80th and 81st Streets, between 35th Avenue and Northern Boulevard. The Chateau's slate mansard roofs give it an Alpine look, and the interior gardens of The Towers are exceptional. Peak in through the courtyard gates, and maybe you'll be lucky enough to get invited inside.
