Westchester County is full of museums and galleries, as well as fine-dining establishments and green spaces, making it the perfect escape from New York City
Only a 30-minute drive from Manhattan, Westchester County is so popular with urban dwellers moving out of the city that it is essentially a miniature version of New York City away from New York City.
Whether it’s world-class dining, thriving arts scenes, green spaces groomed to Central Park standards, or outstanding architecture, Westchester has all of it and more. The county spans around 450 square miles (1,165 sq km) of small towns, intimate hamlets, and six cities that are home to just under a million residents.
Just like in New York City, Westchester experiences can always be upgraded to five stars. Art museums such as Neuberger Museum of Art and Katonah Museum of Art offer private tours and time with curators as part of their premium membership. And the dining scene? Brimming with award-winning chefs opening sister restaurants to Manhattan establishments—causing the local talent to step things up as well.
Try White Plains’s 18-seat sushi restaurant Nanase for a Japanese omakase dining experience, or chef Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns for an ultra-exclusive dinner of ingredients harvested from the pastures directly outside. For waterfront fine dining that fuses French, Italian, and Spanish at once, try Peter X Kelly’s X20 Xaviars on the Hudson in Yonkers.
The beauty of the Pound Ridge area can be found in the wooded slopes, streams and lakes, and 19th-century stone walls
Architecturally, opulence of ages gone by is on show all over the county, with a number of historical estates that can be toured. Among them are the spectacular Rockefellers’ Kykuit estate in Mount Pleasant, the John Jay Homestead in Katonah, and the Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown—all of which were home to residents who helped shape the country.
Yet it isn’t just the landmark buildings that are worth laying eyes on. Homes across Westchester towns are designed in styles from Colonial to Tudor to Mid-Century Modern. One such area is Pound Ridge, a town near Bedford, is home to 28 Vuko Tashkovich-designed properties.
Traffic-light-free and featuring swathes of green space, Pound Ridge offers residents remarkable quiet and privacy—that is, when they aren’t marveling at each other’s ultramodern homes through the trees. The small town, explains Kathleen Coumou, Executive Director, Broker of Record at Christie’s International Real Estate, is “very exclusive and not known to many people.” She adds: “The beauty of the Pound Ridge area can be found in the wooded slopes, streams and lakes, and 19th-century stone walls.”
Local highlights include luxury shopping in Scotts Corners, as well as dining at The Inn at Pound Ridge, which features a finely crafted menu in a charming setting. Pound Ridge also boasts the largest park in the county, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, where visitors can try fishing, horseback riding, and hiking trails. Nearby Bear Mountain State Park is known for its spectacular views, as well as a golf course situated at 7,000 feet (2,133 m) above sea level.
And, of course, there is no shortage of exclusive country clubs—Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, and Hudson National Golf Club in Croton-on-Hudson to name just a few.
