Midtown East: Blue-Chip Manhattan Neighborhood

NEW YORK (TheStreet ) -- Manhattan, New York's Midtown East neighborhood has some of the largest concentration of Fortune 500 offices, highest real estate prices and fanciest retail shops in the world.

The Midtown East area is bordered by Fifth Avenue on the west, East River on the east, 42nd Street on the south and 57th Street on the north. Turtle Bay, secluded Beekman Place and Sutton Place are sub-neighborhoods located in Manhattan's Midtown East.

Midtown East is the combination of corporate headquarters and residential living. Citigroup, Chase, Boston Consulting Group, Unilever, Ferrari, Mercedes, Bloomingdale's and Saks are some of its world-famous corporate residents. In addition, Midtown East is the location of prominent addresses such as Trump Tower, The Veneto, Beekman Regent and Sutton Place.

Grand Central Station, the Chrysler Building and the United Nations overlooking the East River are additional Midtown East icons. Many foreign consulates and permanent missions to the United Nations are located in Midtown East because of proximity to the United Nations. Hence be prepared to see diplomats walking around the neighborhood, usually in suits but sometimes in their traditional attires, on 2nd and 3rd Avenues in the afternoon. Being home to the UN also makes Midtown East very diverse.

Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, perhaps the two most prestigious commercial addresses, are in Midtown East. The intersection of 5th Avenue and 57st Street is the location of the new Louis Vuitton flagship store and high end retailer Bergdorf Goodman.

Many Midtown East residents have the luxury of walking to work, to 5th Avenue for shopping or to Central Park for summer picnics.

Don't want to be too close to corporate offices? Most residential buildings are east of 3rd Avenue. Manhattan being an island, one block can mean the difference between being smack in the middle of Corporate America's headquarters and a quieter residential neighborhood. There are even secret gardens with waterfalls that make one forget being in midtown Manhattan. One example is the Greenacre Park on 51st Street right next to the Singapore consulate.

Midtown East has an abundance of renowned restaurants and hotels including the Four Seasons, Palace Hotel, Smith and Wollensky's, La Grenouille, the St Regis and the Waldorf Astoria. Sensing the need for a more value priced hotel in the area, the Pod Hotel opened a few years ago on 51st Street.