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Number 16 of 20 in New York

Greenwich Village: the streets that left the grid

Greenwich Village was a country hamlet before New York reached it, and it kept its lanes when the rest of the island was ruled into squares. For a century it has been where the city's writers, painters and musicians went to live cheaply and argue.

What it is
Walk
Time to allow
2 to 3 hours
Cost
Free
Best time
Late afternoon, staying into the evening

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    Why Greenwich Village is worth it

    The plan of 1811 that gave Manhattan its numbered streets stopped at the edge of the village, whose roads were already built on. That is why West 4th Street here manages to cross West 10th, and why a visitor loses his bearings within two blocks. The houses are low and of brick, three or four floors with a flight of steps, and the trees meet over the road.

    In the twentieth century the Village was the capital of American bohemia. The Beat writers read in its cafés in the 1950s, and Bob Dylan and the folk singers played its basements in the 1960s. On Christopher Street, in June 1969, the customers of a bar called the Stonewall Inn fought back against a police raid, and the modern movement for gay rights dates itself from those nights.

    The rents are no longer cheap, but the stage is all still there: the square, the coffee houses, the jazz clubs down their narrow stairs. It is the best part of the city simply to walk about in.

    What to see

    1. Washington Square

      The square at the foot of Fifth Avenue, with a marble arch designed by Stanford White in 1892, a fountain you may sit on the rim of, chess players, and whoever has brought a piano that day.

    2. MacDougal and Bleecker Streets

      South of the square: the coffee houses and music cellars of the 1950s and 1960s, some still trading. Caffe Reggio, on MacDougal Street, has been serving since 1927.

    3. The Stonewall Inn

      On Christopher Street, facing a small triangle of park with white statues of two couples. The bar, the park and the streets round them have been a national monument since 2016.

    4. The West Village

      West of Seventh Avenue the streets turn and narrow: Bedford, Grove, Commerce. Look for the house at 75½ Bedford Street, less than three metres wide, and the gated court off Grove Street.

    5. The jazz clubs

      The Village Vanguard, a wedge-shaped basement on Seventh Avenue, opened in 1935 and is the most famous jazz room in the city. Sets are in the evening and are worth booking.

    How to do it well

    • Start at the arch in Washington Square, go south down MacDougal Street, west along Bleecker, and then wander north through the West Village to Christopher Street.
    • Put the map away for an hour. The district is small and bounded by broad avenues, so you cannot stay lost.
    • Come towards evening. The streets are prettiest in the last light, and the bars and clubs are the point.
    • The house fronts are people's homes. The famous ones, from films and television, have neighbours who are tired of crowds on their steps.
    • It joins well with the High Line, whose southern end is ten minutes' walk west of Christopher Street.

    Where it is

    Address

    From Houston Street to 14th Street, west of Broadway

    Nearest station

    West 4th Street-Washington Square (A, B, C, D, E, F, M). Christopher Street-Sheridan Square (1) for the West Village

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line.

    Tickets and tours: Greenwich Village

    Greenwich Village: common questions

    What is Greenwich Village known for?
    For its bohemian past and its looks. It was the home of the Beat writers and the folk singers of the 1960s and the place where the gay rights movement began, at the Stonewall Inn in 1969. Its crooked streets of brick houses are unlike the rest of Manhattan.
    Is Greenwich Village the same as the West Village?
    The West Village is the western part of Greenwich Village, roughly from Seventh Avenue to the Hudson. It is the quietest and prettiest part, with the narrowest streets.
    How long do you need in Greenwich Village?
    Two to three hours for a walk from Washington Square through the West Village. Stay for the evening if you want to hear music.
    How much time do you need for Greenwich Village?
    Allow 2 to 3 hours. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.

    What visitors say about Greenwich Village

    Rating from Google

    4.6

    33,459 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 7 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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