What it is
Tribeca (TRIangle BElow CAnal) is a former industrial and warehouse district that began converting to residential lofts in the 1970s and 1980s — following a similar path to SoHo but developing a noticeably quieter, more residential character. Streets are wider, buildings lower, and the neighbourhood has fewer shops competing for tourist attention per block than almost anywhere else in lower Manhattan.
The food scene
Tribeca has some of the city's most consistently well-regarded restaurants — not a "scene" the way the East Village or Lower East Side is, but a steady concentration of serious kitchens serving what is largely a wealthy residential clientele. Prices reflect the postcode. The Tribeca Film Festival (co-founded by Robert De Niro, who has lived in the neighbourhood for decades) draws a larger crowd each spring.
Getting there
The 1/2/3 trains (Franklin St or Chambers St) serve Tribeca directly. It borders the Financial District to the south, SoHo to the north, and the Brooklyn Bridge is a comfortable walk east.
The restaurant scene
TriBeCa has one of the highest concentrations of serious, expensive restaurants in New York — partly a function of the wealth of its residential base, partly a function of its large, attractive former-warehouse spaces that suit the kind of restaurant that needs a grand room. Nobu (Japanese-Peruvian, the original New York location) has been here since 1994. Locanda Verde (Robert De Niro's hotel restaurant) and Frenchette and Atera represent different positions in the current fine-dining scene. This is not the neighborhood for cheap eats, and it's not trying to be.
The TriBeCa Film Festival connection
The Tribeca Film Festival (now officially just "Tribeca") was founded in 2002 partly as a response to the impact of September 11 on the neighborhood, which is in Lower Manhattan and was substantially affected. It has since grown into one of the larger film festivals in the US, typically held in late April/early May with screenings across multiple venues. Films, talks, and market events take over the neighbourhood for two weeks; tickets are available to the general public alongside industry credentials.
Architecture and streets
Harrison Street, just west of Greenwich Street, has an exceptional collection of Federal-style townhouses (1796–1828) that were relocated from their original sites during a 1970s urban renewal project — oddly assembled survivors that feel misplaced and charming in equal measure. The cobblestone streets on the western fringes, particularly near the Hudson River, have the best sense of the neighbourhood's pre-residential industrial character.