Roosevelt Island

Swinging high above the east end of 60th Street is one of Manhattan [1]’s more incongruous sights: the Roosevelt Island cable car (tram station at 2nd Ave. and 60th St., 212/832-4540, maps of island available at ticket booth). The ride lasts four minutes, costs $2 one way, and sets you down in one of New York City [2]’s stranger neighborhoods, Roosevelt Island.

Eerily quiet after the hubbub of Manhattan, Roosevelt Island is a planned residential community where no private cars are allowed. Designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, it was built in the 1970s as an “Instant City.”

In addition to about 3,200 units of mixed-income housing, the community has its own schools, stores, and hospitals, and a promenade with good views of Manhattan.