It’s easy enough to see what makes Lincoln Square an appealing place to live. This small, upscale sub-neighborhood at the southernmost tip of the Upper West Side is a pretty good working definition of central location -- just steps from Central Park and Columbus Circle, and directly adjacent to Lincoln Center, the famed performing arts complex that lends Lincoln Square its name. But while it’s easy to name Lincoln Square’s landmarks, there’s more to living in Lincoln Square than being near the Time Warner Building or Lincoln Center. Once something of an in-between neighborhood, Lincoln Square has emerged as a surprisingly sedate, upscale community in the shadow of some of New York City’s most recognizable structures.

Emphasis should be on "upscale," there -- when the neighborhood grocery store is the Whole Foods in the Time Waner Building, the park around the corner is Central Park, and the restaurant around the corner could be Michelin-starred destination restaurants such as Jean-Georges, Per Se or Masa, upscale is clearly the right term. But while many Lincoln Square condominium listings are of the ultra-high-end variety -- One Lincoln Plaza, 15 Central Park West and The Time Warner Center Condominiums being some notable examples -- Lincoln Square is also home to some less-extravagant apartment listings, and to an understated but welcoming array of unpretentious restaurants, bars and shops.