A seminary smack-dab in the middle of Chelsea is not the turf of the average New Yorker, but it is one of the more secluded gardens in Manhattan and one of those places unknown by so many that you can impress friends with your insider knowledge.

Once you leave an ID at the desk, enter into the block-long, weeping willow-filled courtyard and take a seat in an Adirondack chair. The seminary itself is over 180 years old, so the Gothic architecture alone is reason enough to visit any time of year.