“This is the location of my debut book, The Dollhouse. All these women stayed there back when it was the Barbizon Hotel for Women, starting around 1927. Some of the famous people who lived in his building include Lauren Bacall, Grace Kelly, Joan Didion, Liza Minnelli, and Sylvia Plath. I just love it—it’s got these beautiful Moorish arches—and it’s a piece of New York City history that’s held all of these important women at one time or another.”

“This is where my book The Address is set. The Dakota’s most famous for being the place where John Lennon was shot, but it was also one of the very first apartment buildings in the city. When it was built in 1884, most New Yorkers lived in brownstones or tenements. Whenever I walk by, I love to imagine what it would have been like when it was first constructed—this giant monster of a building sprouting out from an area that was mostly rocks and swamps at the time.”

“Grand Central, the backdrop for The Masterpiece, was saved from being demolished back in the 1970s. It’s gleaming and beautiful, but if you look up into the northwest corner of the ceiling—which is covered in a celestial map—you can see a small black rectangle the cleaners left so that visitors could see just how dark and dingy it had become after years of cigarette smoke and train soot. It’s a magical place with lots of wonderful corners to discover, like the Whispering Gallery.”

“When the New York Public Library opened in 1911, it was the largest marble structure in America. It’s the location of my book The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which is named after the two lion statues outside, New York City favorites who were named Patience and Fortitude by Mayor La Guardia, back in the day, after Depression-era values. Visit the Rose Reading Room on the third floor, which is just a stunner of a room, as well as the Map Division, which has all these old atlases up on the wall."

“The Frick is the location of my new book, The Magnolia Palace. It’s the former home of the steel magnate Henry Clay Frick and his family. The mansion is known for the gorgeous trees outside—and the amazing art collection on the walls. Frick left the building and most of its contents to the city. All of the furnishings inside are from the 1910s, so it’s really like stepping back in time. I love wandering from room to room, pretending that I live there, among these Vermeers and Renoirs.”

“To get to Smalls, you go down this set of stairs in a building in Greenwich Village and enter a basement. It’s really intimate, there’s only around 60 patrons in at one time, and so it’s the perfect place to see live jazz. So many great musicians have passed through the club’s doors. It’s a great way to escape from the craziness of New York and just get lost in the music.”

“This is a New York treasure! They perfectly recreated the apartments of families who lived in one particular tenement building on the Lower East Side, where a mix of Irish, Italian, and Eastern Europeans lived. When you take the tour, you learn all about their lives and their experiences, so it’s this eye-opening look at immigration in America.”

“The Strand Book Store is the sole surviving bookstore of what used to be known as Book Row, where for 90 years there were over 50 bookshops filling up those few blocks just below Union Square. Now, the only one left is the Strand, but in that location, right off Broadway, there are 18 miles of new, rare, and used books, and they also hold great author events. I could spend an entire day in there and never get bored.”

“The Campbell, located in the former office of a Jazz Age financier, is now a fancy place for cocktails. To get to the bar, you go up a discreet staircase in the southwest corner of Grand Central, and it has this beautiful palazzo interior with leaded windows, wooden beams, antique carpets, and a huge fireplace. It was all restored to its original condition after being a police holding station in the 1970s. It’s a great place to take out-of-towners for drinks because the wow factor is insane!”