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New York’s Metropolitan Area now has a new highlight and it’s in New Jersey. Jersey City has been on a stealthy ascent for several years now, but a thriving arts and music scene, a growing inventory of deluxe hotel rooms and an explosion of fine restaurants have driven back the shadows and put a spotlight on the community.

The city, which sits directly across from Lower Manhattan, will see a Hyatt House open in the fourth quarter of 2015 near the city’s waterfront and a new Marriott open in 2016 at the Grove Street PATH station. A Westin and a Hyatt Regency have been in operation for some years now.

While the Riverview Jazz Festival in June, the weekly blues performances at the Lincoln Inn and the visual arts power of the city’s many galleries including Mana Contemporary or The Distillery, have attracted some attention, it’s the new dining scene that is drawing visitors to the city now.

In the past 18 months, Jersey City has seen its culinary light grow much brighter as 10 new restaurants have opened in and along “Restaurant Row,” including The Kitchen at Grove Station (just opened on Monday), Roman Nose, Razza Pizza, and Union Republic.

There’s more coming: Top Chef contestant-owned Talde along with Carrino Provisions, and Asbury Park’s Porta are slated to open in early December. Other openings include Monty’s Public House, Raval and South House.

Developments in Jersey City accelerated when many firms in downtown Manhattan crossed the river in 2001 after the World Trade Center attack paralyzed that community. Though they may have thought of the move as temporary at the time, many of these companies stayed on even after downtown New York got its house back in order.

Their first realization was that though they’d left Manhattan for New Jersey, they were still, thanks to a great transportation network, in the heart of the Big Apple. Downtown Jersey City’s location and its great transit network put Midtown and Lower Manhattan within easier reach than they are from most parts of New York City.

Jersey City is basically a 15-minute ride on the PATH train under the Hudson which stops at The World Trade Center as well as Christopher Street and 9^th Street in Greenwich Village, 14^th Street and 23^rd Street in Chelsea and on the southern edge of Midtown at 34^th Street. From the 34^th street a convergence of subway lines provides more or less direct access to all five boroughs of New York.

The New York Waterway Ferry, also running from Paulus Hook in Jersey City connects to the World Financial Center near Ground Zero and Pier 11 next door to Manhattan’s South Street Seaport.

The Westin Jersey City Newport and Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson offer high end hotel options with fabulous views of Manhattan at prices that can go for as much as 55 percent less than the rates (based on a two-night stay) from the same hotel brands in Manhattan. Both hotels were hosts to the NFL teams during the 2014 Super Bowl and serve as host hotels when The Barclays golf tournament is played at Jersey City’s Liberty National Golf Club.

The Westin Jersey City is within the Newport area’s complex that features a mall, restaurants and condominiums, corporate offices, a yacht marina, and more than 30 acres of parks, playgrounds, a seasonal ice skating rink, and public spaces. The Hyatt Regency Jersey City is a few blocks south of Newport, next to the Exchange Place Path Station.

The 429-room Westin Jersey City Newport has the largest ballroom in Jersey City, as well as upscale dining. The 350-room Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson has found that about 20 percent of the hotel’s guests are actually leisure visitors who have discovered the ease, value and convenience of staying on the west side of the Hudson.

Strong community dedication is making Jersey City one of the better places to live in New York’s Metropolitan area. Now people are discovering that it’s also a place to visit as well. Most people don’t realize that the Statue of Liberty actually lies within Jersey City’s waters and the ferries from the city's Liberty State Park are the easiest way to visit the monument as well as Ellis Island. The city’s ethnic diversity is another source of interest. Newark Avenue, for instance, features a splendid Little India that's loaded with terrific authentic cuisine.