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Number 19 of 20 in New York

Chinatown and Little Italy: two old quarters, one long lunch

Chinatown and Little Italy grew up next to each other in the tenements north of City Hall, each the first stop of a wave of immigrants. One has shrunk to a street. The other is still growing.

What it is
Walk
Time to allow
2 to 3 hours
Cost
Free
Best time
Late morning, in time for lunch

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    Why Chinatown and Little Italy is worth it

    Chinese immigrants began to settle on Mott, Pell and Doyers Streets in the 1870s, and the district has spread in every direction since. It is not a museum of itself. People live and shop here: fish laid out on ice on the pavement, roast ducks in the windows, old men at cards in the park.

    Little Italy was once the larger of the two, the home of thousands of families from Naples and Sicily. It is now about five blocks of Mulberry Street north of Canal Street, lined with restaurants and pastry shops, with Chinatown on three sides of it. Every September the street is closed for the Feast of San Gennaro, which began in 1926.

    The pleasure of both is the same: walking slowly and eating often. Between them they hold some of the oldest restaurants and food shops in the city, several still in the families that opened them.

    What to see

    1. Doyers Street

      A short lane with a sharp bend in it, once the scene of the fights between rival gangs. On the bend is the Nom Wah Tea Parlor, serving dim sum since 1920.

    2. Mott Street and Columbus Park

      The old main street of Chinatown, and at its foot the park where the district gathers: card games, chess, music and tai chi in the morning.

    3. Canal Street

      The noisy border between the two quarters, a long market of fruit, fish, jewellery and souvenirs.

    4. Mulberry Street

      What is left of Little Italy: a few blocks of restaurants with tables on the pavement, hung with the Italian colours.

    5. The old shops

      Ferrara, on Grand Street, has sold pastry and coffee since 1892. Lombardi's, on Spring Street, opened in 1905 and is held to be the first pizzeria in the country.

    How to do it well

    • Start at Columbus Park, walk up Mott Street, turn into Pell and Doyers, cross Canal Street and go north up Mulberry to Grand Street.
    • In Chinatown the best food is often in the plainest rooms. Many small places take cash only.
    • The restaurants of Mulberry Street are much alike. Go to Little Italy for coffee and a pastry, and eat your main meal in Chinatown.
    • Bargaining is expected at the stalls on Canal Street. Men who offer to take you to a back room to see handbags are selling fakes.
    • On summer weekends Mulberry Street is closed to cars and is at its liveliest.

    Where it is

    Address

    North and south of Canal Street, between Broadway and the Bowery

    Nearest station

    Canal Street (6, J, Z, N, Q, R, W)

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line.

    Tickets and tours: Chinatown and Little Italy

    Chinatown and Little Italy: common questions

    Are Chinatown and Little Italy next to each other?
    Yes. They meet at Canal Street. Little Italy is now a few blocks of Mulberry Street north of it, and Chinatown lies to the south and has grown round it on the other sides.
    What should you eat in Chinatown?
    Dim sum, soup dumplings, hand-pulled noodles and roast duck or pork over rice are the things the district is known for. Go at lunchtime, when the dim sum houses are busiest.
    When is the Feast of San Gennaro?
    In the middle of September, for about eleven days, along Mulberry Street in Little Italy. It has been held since 1926.
    How much time do you need for Chinatown and Little Italy?
    Allow 2 to 3 hours. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.

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