NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) — Broadway, Wall Street, Fifth Avenue. These are streets considered some of New York’s most iconic.
The bright lights, the restaurants and entertainment, the swarms of tourists, commuters and residents alike are images burned into the minds of those who think of New York City. However, there is one walkway that stands above the rest and rivals some of the best in the world, according to TimeOut.
The worldwide publication has magazines in many major cities around the globe. According to its editors, a New York City street is considered one of the 10 most desirable in the world.
Orchard Street, located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, is ranked as the ninth-coolest street on earth in TimeOut’s list. Locations in Brazil, Japan, Portugal, Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece and Vietnam joined New York’s eight-block stretch on the list.
Why Orchard Street?
What makes Orchard Street so special? Are Times Square, Lexington Avenue or Bleeker Street not standouts, too?
They are, but not like Orchard, according to TimeOut’s Rossilynne Skena Culgan. “As thrift stores, leather shops and art galleries shut up shop for the day, music begins spilling out of bars while restaurants drag tables into the street for al fresco dinners,” Culgan wrote.
A man walks out of Orchard St. Paint Supply on Nov. 20, 2025. (Credit: PIX11)
A woman walks past a hat and scarf vendor on Orchard Street on a brisk November day in 2025. (Credit: PIX11)
S&A Leathers & Shearling hangs clothing as many merchants did throughout the 20th century on Orchard Street. (Credit: PIX11)
Man stands outside of Orchard Street’s Nick & Son Clothing Co., Inc. in Manhattan on Nov. 20, 2025. (Credit: PIX11)
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Once sprawling with vendors along its path, the history of Orchard Street does not clash with the new additions, but complements them.
Scarr’s Pizza exists as a new-age pizzeria (opened in 2016) with old-world technique for milling its own grain. The Tenement Museum gives a glimpse into the past of New York and the immigrants who lived there.
“[Orchard Street is] packed with fascinating shops, dining destinations and low-rise brick buildings. New additions to the street – like bookstore/podcast studio P&T Knitwear, photobooth museum AUTOPHOTO and a seasonal Open Streets program – attract crowds who are met with a bevy of dining and drinking options along the way,” Culgan said.
Trapizzino on Orchard Street is one of several bars and restaurants to have outdoor seating for when the streets crowd with hungry and thirsty folks. (Credit: PIX11)
Orchard Street used to be flooded with outdoor street vendors. While some remain, indoor shops and restaurants are the calling card in 2025. (Credit: PIX11)
A sunny autumn day on Orchard Street in Manhattan on Nov. 20, 2025. (Credit: PIX11)
Other food or drink options on Orchard Street include Bar Contra, Better Living, Xipe Totec and Saltair, Le French and Mary’s, to name a few.
Spencer Gustafson is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered New York state and city news since 2023. See more of his work here.
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