Lower East Side, New York, NY

The Lower East Side has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a mostly poor immigrant neighborhood and New York’s center of Jewish culture. While a slew of synagogues and historic Jewish sites remain, the neighborhood is now known more for its edgy shops and uproarious nightlife.

By day, the winding streets are full of gritty, successful artists and trendy shoppers alike checking out the offerings at the many artisanal restaurants, vegan bakeries, and delis or browsing for deals at the numerous vintage stores on Orchard and Ludlow.

But at night, some of the loudest, craziest, wildest, and most drunken bars in Manhattan spring to life in the Lower East Side, drawing crowds of edgy punks and rocker-chic girls to the myriad venues crammed into a five-block radius, where partiers might witness the next White Stripes or hottest international DJ.

Although live music blasts out of jam-packed indie haunts late into the night, the crowds don’t go home once the set ends – they just move on to the all-night booze and dance fests at the bars along Stanton and Broome Streets.

The Lower East Side may have roots as a poor ethnic enclave, but the only remaining vestige of its past is the melting pot of partiers looking to drink until dawn.