Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village Visitors Guide

When New Yorkers mention “The Village”, they mean Greenwich Village. Located to the north of SoHo/TriBeca and to the west of East Village, Greenwich Village did indeed begin as a country village. City people came to live here to escape a yellow fever epidemic which at that time was gripping the Lower Manhattan part of New York City in 1822.

Greenwich Village is simply one of the must-see locales in New York City! Here you’ll find great food, great fun, and amazing activities all year round! Whether you’re young or old, a first-time visitor, or an old-hat; Greenwich Village is the place to be! Located in the area below 14th Street and just west of Broadway, Greenwich Village has been a center of activity for over 100 years! Known as a Mecca of creativity and Bohemian rebellion, Greenwich Village is a unique haven for anyone visiting NYC.

St. Lukes Place Greenwich Village
St Luke’s Place, Greenwich Village Author: Djafrican (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

Over time, Greenwich Village has evolved into a bohemian haven with a lively gay scene. It is home to many famous artists and writers, and as a result, it has become an expensive place to live. The Washington Square Park and New York University are located here. Many of the apartments in this area are living quarters for the students of the university.

The area that today forms Greenwich Village is bordered by Broadway to the east, West Village to the west, Houston Street to the south and 14th Street to the north. Historically, the southern border of Greenwich Village was at Spring Street. However, with continuous development, SoHo has since encroached into areas formerly regarded as part of Greenwich Village. Adjacent to Greenwich Village is East Village and NoHo to the east, SoHo to the south, and Chelsea to the north.

Dining in Greenwich Village

New York City has one of the most diverse restaurant itineraries on the planet, many of which are located in the Village. Whether you’re looking for eccentric meals or traditional tastes, Greenwich Village has something for everyone! From Asian to Eclectic; Chinese to Southwestern, Greenwich Village is overflowing with great restaurants, bistros, pizzerias, and cafes. When you’re in the Village Action Car Rental is confident that you’ll never go home hungry in your New York cheap car rental!

Village Shopping

If you’re tired of battling the crowds at all the big New York City malls you’ll definitely want to visit Greenwich Village in your New York cheap car rental! Here you’ll find great boutiques and specialty stores that offer great merchandise in a stress-free atmosphere! Greenwich Village has everything you need and then some including comic books, clothing, music, and much, much more! Greenwich Village also boasts one of the best shoe shopping districts in the US thanks to 8th Street – the “Shoe Capital of the World”! place in Before you visit the Village you’ll want to make sure that you’re New York cheap car rental has lots of empty cargo room – there’s no way you’ll be going home empty-handed!

Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, New York City Author: Seth Werkheiser (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Unique Greenwich Attractions

Greenwich Village has a reputation for being one of the more eccentric neighborhoods in NYC thanks to the “starving artist” trend of yesteryear. Today the Village attracts tourists looking to live life to the fullest offering a variety of wild retail establishments like tattoo parlors, hair salons, and body piercing shops. If you’re looking to make a bold statement during your NYC vacation, head to Greenwich Village in your New York cheap car rental! For those of you more interested in local historic attractions be sure to embark on a self-guided walking tour of the neighborhood. From the Arch in Washington Square to the Cafe Reggio, Greenwich Village is thriving with monumental architecture and American culture.

Sights in Greenwich Village

  1. 75 Murray Street
  2. 75½ Bedford Steet
  3. Church of St Luke in the Field
  4. Church of the Ascension
  5. Grove Court
  6. First Presbyterian Church
  7. Forbes Magazine Building
  8. Isaacs-Hendricks House
  9. Jefferson Market Courthouse
  10. Judson Memorial Church
  11. New York University
  12. Patchin Place
  13. Salmagundi Club
  14. Sheridan Square
  15. St. Luke’s Place
  16. Washington Mews
  17. Washington Square Park

If you’re looking for a little fun during your visit to the village make sure to stop by the park outside of NY University in your New York cheap car rental. Here you’ll find a year-round carnival atmosphere boasting street entertainers, pulsating music, and plenty of fun! If you’re interested in collector vinyl records, rockin’ vintage T’s, or authentic European concert posters you won’t want to miss visiting Bleecker Bob’s Records! This quaint shop is just one of many located near the heart of Greenwich Village – one of the oldest areas in the entire city! In the oldest part of Greenwich Village, known as the West Village, you’ll find a plentitude of beautiful townhouses, secondhand vintage stores, and plenty of unique eateries!

Famous Faces in Greenwich Village

Over the years Greenwich Village has become a hot spot for many celebrities and their commercial endeavors. Jimi Hendrix built his famous Electric Lady sound studio here, while Barbara Streisand made her debut at the Bon Soir. Andy Warhol and Lou Reed are also forever tied to this quaint section of American life as they both created the citadel of Hippiedom on St. Marks Place at the Electric Circus.

About Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village is generally known as an important landmark on the map of bohemian art and culture. Originally Greenwich Village was a rural hamlet to the North of the earliest European settlement on the Island of Manhattan. Unlike most of the Manhattan above Houston Street, Greenwich Village lacks the typical grid pattern of the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811.

greenwich village

During that time Greenwich Village was allowed to keep its street pattern in areas west of Greenwich Lane now Greenwich Avenue and Sixth Avenue. These areas were already built up when the plan was implemented. The Village, as it is referred to, has a dramatically different street layoff than the rest of Manhattan. The neighborhood’s streets are narrow and at very odd angles leaving even the most experienced and knowledgeable New Yorker at a loss for where they are, and makes getting from point A to point B in the Village more a matter of memorization. To add to the confusion unlike most of Manhattan above Houston Street, Village streets typically are named rather than numbered.

The center of Village life is the historic Washington Square Park at the heart of the neighborhood. The park is bordered by New York University and is the site for stand up comics, clowns, musicians, street theater, and political rallies. Dog walkers, chess, and soccer players, as well as lovers, seniors, and future revolutionaries all share the park.

Most parts of Greenwich Village comprise mid-rise apartments, 19th-century row houses, and the occasional one-family walk-ups, which is a sharp contrast to the hi-rise landscape in Mid and Downtown Manhattan. Village streets are dotted with unique bars, restaurants, and shops. A large section of Greenwich Village is considered part of a Historic District by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Greenwich Village includes the primary campus for New York University (NYU), The New School, and Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Parsons The New School for Design, Cooper Union and Pratt Institute.

The neighborhood is mostly known for its colorful, artistic residents and the alternative culture they propagate. Due in part to the progressive attitudes of many of its residents, the Village has traditionally been a focal point of new movements and ideas, whether political, artistic, or cultural. This tradition as an enclave of avant-garde and alternative culture was established by the beginning of the 20th century when small presses, art galleries, and experimental theater thrived.

Currently, many artists and local historians bemoan the fact that the bohemian days of Greenwich Village are long gone, the extraordinarily high housing costs in the neighborhood have driven artists first to SoHo then to TriBeCa and finally to outlying areas like Williamsburg and Bushwick in Brooklyn, as well as Long Island City, and DUMBO. Nevertheless, residents of Greenwich Village still possess a strong community identity and are proud of their neighborhood’s unique history and fame, and its well-known liberal live-and-let-live attitudes.