Map by Jason Lee

Culture:
1. Sarah Sze, Still Life with Landscape (Model for a Habitat)
(High Line, 20th to 21st Sts.)
A kind of futuristic arborway, the local artist’s stainless-steel sculpture incorporates nesting boxes for birds.

Culture:
2. Seating Steps
(High Line at 22nd St.)
Bleachers made of reclaimed teak from old industrial buildings will seat onlookers for performances. (On June 17, catch stomp-and-clap routines during the Step to the High Line Festival.)

Nature:
3. Chelsea Thicket
(High Line at 22nd St.)
A forested area lined with shrubs, flowering dogwoods, bottlebrush buckeye, and holly trees.

Food:
4. The Highliner
(210 Tenth Ave., at 22nd St.; 212-206-6206)
Opened last month by the Coffee Shop crew, the rechristened Empire Diner serves elevated greasy-spoon fare like mac ’n’ cheese and sweetbreads with waffles from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

(Photo: James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Courtesy of the City of New York)

Nature:
5. The Lawn
(High Line, 22nd to 23rd Sts.)
Making up for what section one sorely lacked: a patch of unadulterated grass for sunbathing and picnics. The 23rd Street end slopes up slightly, granting views of the Hudson River to the west.

Food:
6. La Newyorkina
(High Line, southern lawn at 23rd St.)
The Hester Street Fair ice-pop provider is the first food cart to grace section two, doling out Mexican-inspired paletas and horchatas.

(Photo: Michael Allin/New York Magazine)

Food:
7. Little Cheese Pub
(362½ W. 23rd St., nr. Ninth Ave.; 646-863-7291)
The six-month-old beer-and-cheese bar introduces a takeout picnic plate: three farmstead cheeses, bread, and assorted fruit for $15. Patrons who mention the High Line in June will get an extra snack, like chile-spiced nuts or spinach-and-edamame dip.

Culture:
8. Julianne Swartz, Digital Empathy
Uplifting audio messages from the multimedia artist (“You are fascinating and interesting”; “You are a winner”; “You make things happen”) whisper from eleven sites throughout the High Line, including water fountains and the elevators at 23rd Street and 30th Street.

Nature:
9. Falcone Flyover
(High Line, 25th to 27th Sts.)
This shady elevated walkway rises eight feet above the original mossy beams, putting you on the same level as the sumac- and magnolia-tree-lined canopy. Look northeast for views of the Chrysler and Empire State buildings.

(Photo: James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Courtesy of the City of New York)

Culture:
10. Viewing Spur
(High Line at 26th St.)
A prime people-watching spot for 26th Street’s gallery strip below: wooden benches amid sumac and sassafras.

Culture:
11. Hôtel Americano
(518 W. 27th St., nr. Tenth Ave.; 212-216-0000)
Set to open in mid-July, the ballyhooed hotel’s imposing glass-and-metal-mesh façade buffers the High Line to the west. A tenth-floor roof deck will offer house mescals and aerial views of the park.

Food:
12. Love Gelato
(642 W. 28th St., nr. Twelfth Ave.)
Liberal sampling is encouraged at the second outpost of this West Village gelateria, opening late June.

Nature:
13. Wildflower Field
(High Line at 27th to 29th Sts.)
A dense field of perennial flowers, grasses, and native plants begs to be meandered.

Culture:
14. 30th Street Cut-Out
(High Line at 30th St.)
The concrete walkway has been replaced by a 15-by-35-foot grate-like platform, exposing the High Line’s steel gridwork and the cinematic flow of traffic below.

Food:
15. The Lot on Tap
(30th St. at Tenth Ave.)
Tom Colicchio heads up a 350-seat outdoor bar slinging wine and beer, including a new Brooklyn Brewery exclusive: Brooklyn High Line Elevated Wheat.

(Photo: Courtesy of Friendswithyou)

Culture:
16. Rainbow City
(30th St. at Tenth Ave.)
Miami-based artists Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III will inflate a small army of colorful, cartoonlike creatures in the Lot. The exhibit will be replaced with an open-air roller-skating rink in July.

(Photo: Courtesy of the Taco Truck)

Food:
17. Food-Truck Hub
(30th St. at Tenth Ave.)
A team of Colicchio-approved food trucks populates the street outside the Lot on Tap, including Red Hook Lobster Pound, Coolhaus, the Taco Truck, and Taïm Mobile.

Related:

• Archive: “Best Bets”
• Articles by Lauren Murrow
• Table of Contents: Jun 13, 2011 issue of New York | Subscribe!