Gen X think New York is dead – they couldn’t be more wrong

For the Gen X traveller, New York has lost its grit. Once the home of struggling artists, its new squeaky-clean image, complete with $3,500-a-night hotels, may have enticed the super-rich, but it’s turned off a whole generation of potential visitors. I’d been told repeatedly that the authentic, non-commercial New York of the 1960s and 1970s was long gone.

Even the New York from the turn of the century, beloved in television and film, had apparently long since disappeared. In 1999, some 36.4 million tourists visited the city – among them, 6.6 million international visitors. By 2023, this number had ballooned to 62.2 million, making it far from an indie choice. Increasingly high-spending tourists were reshaping New York (and removing all its edginess in the process). And yet I was keen to discover the “real”, exciting city for myself, convinced that its charm still existed.

I’ll admit to starting simply. The CityPASS allows access to some of New York’s best-known landmarks and – this being an expensive place – it seemed like a reasonable way to tick off the sights. Using it to see five attractions in the city (such as the Empire State Building, the 9/11 Museum or the Guggenheim) saves around 44 per cent in entrance fees.

My first stop was the Statue of Liberty, hardly an under-the-radar spot, and, given its ubiquity in film and television, a largely unsurprising one. The National Immigration Museum on Ellis Island proved more impressive. Between 1892 and 1954, some 12 million immigrants were processed here, and gallery space is dedicated to their role in shaping the very young United States. Visitors can learn about the economic and social reasons that people travelled across the Atlantic to the country, plus see the impact of such widespread change on the lives of American Indians.

This history feels even more alive in Queens, the outer borough to the east of Manhattan. Here, I met Esneider, a Colombian New Yorker with a healthy working knowledge of Cantonese, who guides Culinary Backstreets tours. The tour costs $150 (£120) for six hours and includes an outrageous amount of food. We ate lip-smacking noodles at a literal hole in the wall, before heading to the Beijing duck counter, the Chino Latino bakery, the boba tea shop, the Quaker meeting house, a copper-topped synagogue and some bins on a corner where Esneider picked out some thrown-away records.

To the mall, where his Chilean friend-of-a-friend arrived and shared durian fruit. To the supermarket, where there were 10 types of chopped jellyfish and soft-shelled turtles swimming in a blue tank. A crate lid was opened: in it, large, round-bellied bullfrogs looked up at us expectantly, not moving an inch. The food was fantastic; the city completely alive and impervious to the eyes of tourists.

For the Gen X visitor, this may be closer to the imagined, non-commercial New York of previous decades. The binary seems unnecessary, though: there’s nothing stopping you making your way through Greenwich Village in search of Bob Dylan’s old haunts.

I’d been warned that while the grit may have disappeared, the city’s inhabitants were still as impatient as ever. To wander the streets successfully, I should treat the sidewalk – the pavement – like a road: never slowing down, moving faster and faster with the flow. This instilled in me an unwarranted apprehension, as it turned out to be no more the case than in London (possibly even less so).

I walked past Macy’s, Trump Tower and through Central Park, where I was surprised by its genuine beauty – and by the Manhattanites using it for their daily commute or meeting with friends, alongside the tourists exploring. There are plenty of less clichéd green alternatives, such as Morningside for the farmers’ market, or Bryant Park for al fresco chess games. But Central Park is at once convivial and private, its paths roaming through wide-open lawns and into wooded groves.

It’s said that Gen Z travellers are experience-orientated: we book holidays for specific activities. My equivalent was a bagel-baking course, run by NYC Bagel Tours. Brought by Jewish immigrants to the city in the 19th century, the bread roll with a hole is now a much-loved – hotly debated – part of the city.

Lessons are intense. Pupils roll the dough themselves before boiling them briefly, then baking them in an industrial oven and sprinkling them with toppings. Some of my classmates were tourists; most, though, were locals who envisaged themselves opening bagel stores. For $150, the lesson included hours of teaching, plus unlimited snacks and sparkling wine (glasses rimmed with seasoning, of course), and a bursting bag of fresh bagels to take away.

Most of my fellow students were here in groups, so I was paired with Will, a government employee – and Gen X tourist – who had taken the Greyhound bus here from Washington, DC. Our myriad national differences were debated, before settling, surprisingly, on the point of measurements. Will’s biggest challenge, he said, was getting the American people to accept A4 paper. “It’s broken good men,” he said, not unseriously. We reached an accord over cream cheese.

As for places to stay? I can admit to walking past the Hotel Chelsea and feeling wistful. A more affordable option is the Moxy NYC Lower East Side, a playful budget hotel with rooms starting from £268. The modern traveller, though, would be minded to stay in the Meatpacking District, a stylish and still-developing part of the West Village. At the start of the 20th century, it was known for its lumber yards and heavy industry; by the 1980s, its reputation was decidedly seedier – exactly the sort of place that Will’s generation laments the loss of. By the turn of the millennium, a resurgence was under way, and now the waterfront is seen as somewhere far more glamorous.

At the Gansevoort Hotel, rooms feature mid-century headboards, leather-topped desks and, remarkably, a “smart mirror” by yoga brand Lululemon. If possible, go for a room at the front of the building, where picture windows frame the neighbourhood below. Bathrooms are beautiful, with clean lines and cosy robes, while the bed, replete in soft linen, is enviably comfortable. The lobby’s vast concrete wall is adorned with the owner’s artworks, while rooftop omakase restaurant Saishin offers unbeatable views across Manhattan.

Beyond the hotel, there’s an exceptional Thai restaurant, Bangkok Supper Club, just around the corner. Order the grilled aubergine, or just sit at the bar with a cocktail, watching nightlife lit by neon. While the area is undeniably upmarket, hints of the “old New York” remain. Nearby, Casa Magazines – a cramped newsagents – has a cult following for its apparently endless supply of niche print products. Its shabby exterior is a welcome reminder that a more dishevelled side to the city still exists today.

A trip to New York in the 2020s, then, whatever your age, needn’t be shopping at Times Square and queuing for food made famous by Instagram – but it doesn’t have to be a martyrdom to the past, either. On my final day, I visited the East Village, where ramshackle tenements share space with modern restaurants such as Crif Dogs. The city may be more commercial than in years gone by, but its joy has far from faded.

Sophie Dickinson travelled as a guest of the Gansevoort Hotel, which offers doubles from £428, and Virgin Atlantic, which flies from London Heathrow and Manchester to JFK International Airport from £345 return.