Inwood is proof that Manhattan isn't just skyscrapers and concrete. This is the last stop on the A train and the first stop to feeling like you left the city. Inwood Hill Park has actual old-growth forest and caves, The Cloisters is the most magical museum in NYC, and the Dominican food scene is as deep as anywhere on the island. It's far, and people who live here like it that way.
Inwood is Manhattan's best-kept secret, sitting at the very top of the island where the Harlem River meets the Hudson. Inwood Hill Park contains the last natural forest on Manhattan—actual old-growth trees, caves, and the spot where Peter Minuit allegedly bought the island. The neighborhood is predominantly Dominican, and the food reflects it: incredible mofongo, chicharrones, and bakeries on every block along Broadway and Dyckman Street. The bar scene is unpretentious—cold beers, good music, friendly crowds. It's far from midtown, and that's the whole point. The A train gets you here, and the views of the Palisades make you forget you're in the city.