One Day in Greenwich Village
Morning: the park and the history
The park opens at 6 am, and an early circuit takes in the arch, the Hangman’s Elm in the north-west corner and the chess tables in the south-west. The ground under the lawns was a potter’s field from 1797 to 1825. The two-hour history walk meets in front of the Waverly Diner at Sixth Avenue and Waverly Place and runs from the Edgar Allan Poe house and the Washington Square Hotel through the park to the Brown Building, the MacDougal Street venues and the Stonewall Inn. Start times are not published as fixed; the calendar shows them. Susan (UK) found “2 hours just about right to see Greenwich village”. The self-guided walk covers similar ground without a booking.
Midday: food
Two food walks fill this slot. One lasts 2.5 hours from Bagel Bob’s on University Place, with six tastings ending on a cupcake at Molly’s; the other lasts 3 hours from outside the IFC Center on Sixth Avenue, with six tastings including a “secret dish”. Without a walk, the classics are a folded slice, falafel at Mamoun’s on MacDougal (since 1971), the counters at Faicco’s and Murray’s Cheese on Bleecker, and an espresso at Caffe Reggio. The food page lists where each one is.
Afternoon: the West Village streets
West of Seventh Avenue the streets bend. Grove Court, 90 Bedford Street, Chumley’s, the narrow house at 75½ Bedford and the Cherry Lane Theatre on Commerce Street sit within a few blocks of each other. The Stonewall Inn is about 10 minutes on foot from the park; its visitor center at 51 Christopher Street is free, and Christopher Park opposite holds the Gay Liberation sculpture of 1992. Gay Street and Jefferson Market Library are a short walk north.
Evening: clubs or ghosts
The ghost walk lasts two hours after dark from 385 Sixth Avenue, with groups of up to 10. It passes the Hangman’s Elm, the Brown Building, the Church of the Ascension, 14 West 10th Street, the former home of Emma Lazarus, Jefferson Market, 12 Gay Street, the Stonewall Inn and Chumley’s. The alternative is music: the Village Vanguard at 178 Seventh Avenue South (since 1935), the Blue Note at 131 West 3rd Street (since 1981), The Bitter End, Cafe Wha? and the Comedy Cellar. The White Horse Tavern on Hudson Street has been open since 1880. The themed walks page compares the ghost walk with the music walk.
Cafe Society’s old address, 1 Sheridan Square, is on the way between the clubs and the West Village; Billie Holiday first sang “Strange Fruit” there in 1939.
A music-led day instead
The three-hour music walk starts at Astor Place in the East Village, spends about 40 minutes there, then crosses to Cafe Wha?, Washington Square Park and the West Village and ends at the White Horse Tavern. It covers about 3 miles, with groups of up to 6, and can replace the morning history walk. The close-up page lists its stops.
The history walk and the ghost walk both stop at the Brown Building and the Stonewall Inn. Booking both on one day repeats two stops; pairing a daytime walk with the food walk does not.
Frequently asked questions
Is one day enough for Greenwich Village?
The neighbourhood covers about 0.29 square miles, and a day takes in the park, the main streets, a meal and an evening. The things-to-see page lists the main sights.
Can two walks be booked on the same day?
Yes, as long as the calendar slots do not overlap. The ghost walk runs after dark, so it follows any daytime walk.
Where to eat during a day in the Village?
Bleecker and MacDougal Streets hold the slice counters, the delis and the cafés; the food page names them.