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Photo Credit: NYCtourist.com

If there’s one thing you should know about the Bronx—the one thing about which most locals are adamant—it’s that unlike the other New York City boroughs, the Bronx is always referred to as “the Bronx,” never simply “Bronx.” The most popular reason behind this unofficial rule lies with the original owners of the land, Swedish sea captain Jonas Bronck and his family. When people would travel to visit them, they commonly would say they were “going up to the Broncks.” After time, the spelling changed, but the phrase “going to the Bronx” remained.

As New York’s northernmost borough, the Bronx is surrounded by water on three sides and is the only borough that is part of the mainland. The Bronx is often portrayed as the most rough-edged and urban of all the boroughs—it’s true that certain areas, particularly in the South Bronx, are undergoing active urban revitalization—but some neighborhoods, such as Riverdale, Fieldston, and City Island, seem serenely suburban and detached from the city. In fact, nearly one-quarter of the Bronx is park lands; there’s a greater percentage of “green space” here than in any other urban area in the United States. The almost 6,000 acres of parks in the Bronx includes one of the borough’s most popular attractions, the Bronx Zoo. That acreage, however, doesn’t take into account another famous “park” in the Bronx: Yankee Stadium.

Most people in the Bronx are working-class folks, although the borough has its claims to fame: Actors Tony Curtis and Anne Bancroft, recording artists Billy Joel and Jennifer Lopez, TV producer Garry Marshall (and sister, actress Penny), author Herman Wouk, fashion designers Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, and athletes Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are just a few of the famous former residents. The population of the Bronx today, a cultural mix that keeps evolving, is primarily Hispanic and African American, although some neighborhoods reflect the nationality of the original residents. Belmont, for example, is more popularly known as “Little Italy,” and visiting parts of Woodlawn is almost like taking a trip to Ireland.

Neighborhoods in the Bronx are contained within the following regions:

City Island | East Bronx | Northeast Bronx | Northwest Bronx | South Bronx