The Bronx in New York
The Bronx in New York is one of the city’s five boroughs. Wondering what to do in The Bronx? The area is home to the Bronx Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden and Yankee Stadium, among others. It is a bustling borough brimming with diverse cultures!
The Bronx has slightly fewer residents than Manhattan, but it is almost twice the size: 42 square miles (109 km2). It’s situated in the north of the city, separated from Manhattan by the Harlem River, but easy to reach by subway.
Eric's Index
Things to do and see in The Bronx New York
There are many things to see in The Bronx. If I had to select a few highlights, they would be:
- The Bronx Zoo: View the wildlife at one of the largest zoos in the United States.
- Bronx Little Italy: Discover real Italian cuisine and shops.
- Yankee Stadium: Enjoy a real American sports game, or take a tour if there’s no game.
- New York Botanical Garden: Stroll through 50 gardens, each with its own theme.
- The Bronx tour: Get to know the neighbourhood from the inside out.
- Louie & Ernie’s Pizza: Get a taste of the ‘real’ New York pizza.
Iconic Neighbourhoods in The Bronx
The Bronx has a couple of iconic neighbourhoods that are worth visiting. Each area has its own distinct character. Here are my favourites:
Bronx Little Italy
In The Bronx, you’ll find the real Little Italy, no tourists but just a real, authentic Italian atmosphere. You can visit many small Italian shops that have great coffee and good food.
On vibrant Arthur Avenue, you’ll find numerous nice spots, including restaurants, cafes and bakeries. The corner of Arthur Avenue and Crescent Avenue features some great coffee shops. Another highlight is the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, where you can find authentic Italian meats, cheeses, bread and pastries.
The Grand Concourse
Often referred to as the “Champs-Élysées of the Bronx”, the Grand Concourse is a thoroughfare that runs over 5 miles (8 km) through several Bronx neighbourhoods. The section near Yankee Stadium is worth a detour, as there the Grand Concourse has a couple of beautiful Art Deco-style buildings. The buildings have beautiful decorations inside and out.
Fordham
Fordham is the neighbourhood to the west of the botanical garden. Fordham University is located here, and although you officially can’t visit the university, it’s nice to walk past.
How safe is The Bronx?
As a result of its turbulent past, The Bronx still has a bit of a bad reputation when it comes to safety. However, a lot has improved in this field in the past decades, and the highlights of this borough are definitely safe to visit.
Of course, you have to be ‘street smart’ when touring the area, and I don’t recommend going too much off the beaten path here, just to be sure.
Highlights of The Bronx
As I mentioned above, there are a couple of locations and sights in The Bronx that I recommend visiting. I will highlight these below.
Tour through The Bronx
If you would rather explore The Bronx on a guided tour, you can take a bus tour that combines different boroughs, such as Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx tour. This seven-hour bus tour allows you to explore the city and see the contrasts between these different boroughs.
Yankee Stadium
The current Yankee Stadium is a renovation of the original Yankee Stadium that was built in 1923 and closed its doors in 2008. In 2009, the New Yankee Stadium opened and is the home to the New York Yankees. The stadium is located in the South Bronx. The construction costs of the new stadium were $1.65 billion, and the stadium is big enough to seat almost 50.000 people.
Joker Stairs The Bronx
The 2019 movie Joker has added yet another famous location to The Bronx, not far from Yankee Stadium. The Joker Stairs are located between Shakespeare Avenue and Anderson Avenue in the Highbridge neighbourhood.
These stairs were used as a filming location in the Oscar-winning crime film. For example, the famous dance scene at the end of the story is filmed here. Since the release of the blockbuster, this place (with zip code NY 10452) has been visited by many film fans.
To get there, take subway line 4 and get off at the first stop after Yankee Stadium. Leave the metro station on the left and cross the street at the end. If you walk a little further to the left, you’ll find the stairs in the street behind it.
The Bronx Zoo
In this New York borough, you can find The Bronx Zoo, which is the world’s biggest metropolitan zoo. The zoo accommodates a large selection of animals, from native to the United States to endangered species. There are also areas dedicated to animals from Africa and Asia, amongst others. Though it’s quite far from Manhattan, it’s definitely worth a visit.
New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden consists of 50 different gardens, which makes it one of the largest Botanical Gardens in the country. You’ll find here, among others, the original trees and plants from the founding of New York, which are over two centuries old! There are around one million plant species in this botanical garden. It’s the perfect place if you want a change from the skyscrapers.
Bay Plaza Shopping Center
With more than 140 stores, Bay Plaza is the biggest shopping centre in New York. The mall has three stories and a great variety of stores. For example, there is a Macy’s and Victoria’s Secret.
Next to shopping, there are also a lot of great places to eat, and there is an AMC movie theatre to rest your feet after a long day of shopping. There is enough to see and do for everyone!
Dining in The Bronx
The Bronx is very multicultural. This means that there are a lot of different types of food in the Bronx. Louie & Ernie’s Pizza is one of the best restaurants in the Bronx. This is where you can get the ‘real’ New York pizza. People who have tasted their pizzas may feel like it’s the best pizza ever. I definitely do!
And if you want something else than dinner, DeLillo Pastry Shop is also a great place in the Bronx to just sit down and have a coffee and a slice of cake. The pastries at DeLillo Pastry Shop are so good that you’ll want to take some home with you.
Hotels in The Bronx
Since The Bronx is relatively far from the highlights of New York, it’s not a very convenient place to stay. But if you like to experience the neighbourhood up close, then choose a hotel close to the subway. The green, red and orange lines traverse most of the neighbourhood and bring you to Midtown Manhattan in about half an hour. A nice hotel in The Bronx is the Opera House Hotel. Other good options are The Melrose Hotel and Wingate by Wyndham.
How to get to The Bronx
Wondering the best way to get to The Bronx? Don’t worry about that, because you can easily travel there by subway. When you have an Unlimited MetroCard, you can even travel to The Bronx for free.
Take one of the subway lines from Manhattan to The Bronx. From Midtown, they will take you directly to The Bronx in about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Yankee Stadium: BD4 to 161st Street – Yankee Stadium
- New York Botanical Garden: BD4 to Bedford Park Blvd
- The Bronx Zoo: 25 to West Farms Square/E Tremont or E 180 Street (also Pelham Parkway)
History of The Bronx
The borough is named after Swedish-born Dutchman Jonas Bronck, who led the first settlement in 1639 as part of the New Netherland colony. In the ’70s, the Bronx was almost uninhabitable. High unemployment and poverty gave rise to a lot of crime and drug use.
Luckily those days are over, and The Bronx has turned into an area worth visiting!
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