Bemelmans Bar (The Carlyle)

Bemelmans is the bar at The Carlyle hotel, wrapped in murals that Ludwig Bemelmans — creator of the Madeline books — painted in 1947, reportedly in exchange for accommodation. Rabbits ice-skate in Central Park across the walls, the ceiling is gold leaf, the banquettes are chocolate leather, and a pianist plays most evenings. Nothing about it has been updated into blandness; it is the old New York room people hope still exists, and it does.

It is not cheap and it is not undiscovered — the early-evening line is now part of the ritual. Go at opening time on a weekday, order a martini, and watch the room fill as the light goes amber. Few hours in Manhattan feel more like being inside a story.