The West Village is crooked streets, brownstones, and the city's highest concentration of people walking very slowly while looking at a phone map. It's also one of the best places in New York to be baked, because the things to do in the West Village lean toward sitting in the dark: jazz, comedy, old movies. Bring an appetite, too, because West Village munchies start with some of the best West Village pizza in town and only get better.
On this page
- The West Village vibe and the trains that get you there
- West Village munchies: pizza, falafel, bagels and burgers
- Things to do in the West Village when you're baked
- West Village movies and art: Film Forum, IFC Center and the Whitney
- Washington Square Park, Hudson River Park, Little Island and the High Line
- The West Village: the good and the annoying
The West Village vibe and the trains that get you there
The grid gives up here. West 4th crosses West 10th, streets bend for no reason, and even lifelong New Yorkers get turned around. That's the charm. Brownstones with window boxes, tiny restaurants, jazz bleeding out of basement doorways on a warm night.
Trains: West 4th St Washington Square is the big station, with the A/C/E and the B/D/F/M all stopping there, which makes it one of the easiest places to reach from anywhere. The 1 runs down Seventh Ave South with stops at Christopher St and Houston St. Take the 1 if you're coming from the Upper West Side, or ride the A express and enjoy skipping everyone.
East across Broadway is the East Village, louder and scrappier, a ten-minute walk and a whole different mood.
West Village munchies: pizza, falafel, bagels and burgers
Joe's Pizza on Carmine St is the textbook New York slice: thin, foldable, a little grease pooling in the fold. You eat it standing on the sidewalk. That's the deal. Hot take: a plain slice from Joe's is the correct baseline for every other slice in the city, and if your favorite place can't beat it, it isn't your favorite place.
Mamoun's Falafel on MacDougal St is the original location, falafel sandwiches stuffed into pita with that hot sauce that sneaks up on you a full minute later. Fast, cheap, perfect for walking.
Corner Bistro is the dark, old-school bar known for burgers, served simply, the kind of place where the wooden booths have heard everything. Murray's Bagels does the bagel with schmear, the reliable kind you want when your brain is moving at half speed and your stomach is moving at double.
For later hours, think in types. The dollar slice joints and falafel counters around MacDougal and Bleecker tend to run late for the NYU crowd and the post-comedy crowd. Bodegas cover the rest. The NYC late-night food guide fills in the citywide picture, and the full munchies guide has every borough's highlights.
Things to do in the West Village when you're baked
Get lost on purpose. Leave the phone in your pocket and follow the crooked streets: Bleecker St, Christopher St, the little dead-end lanes off Barrow and Commerce. Look at the doorways. Count the window boxes. Lose track of what you were counting.
Then book something dark and seated. The Comedy Cellar is the famous basement room on MacDougal, low ceilings, tight tables, comics trying new stuff. Arrive already floating and everything gets funnier, including the heckler two tables over.
The jazz clubs are the real prize. Village Vanguard is the legendary triangle-shaped basement room with the sound you've heard on a hundred records. Smalls is the tiny jam-night kind of room, intimate and serious. The Blue Note is the bigger stage with bigger names. Sesh at home, take your seat, close your eyes for the solo. That's the move. For more citywide ideas, see things to do high in NYC.
West Village movies and art: Film Forum, IFC Center and the Whitney
Film Forum is the nonprofit repertory house that keeps New York's movie brain alive: classics, restorations, documentaries, the works. IFC Center on Sixth Ave plays indies, cult favorites and odd late shows, a cozy theater with a lot of personality. Both are perfect places to be baked in the dark watching something gorgeous. More in the NYC movie theaters guide.
The Whitney sits at the south end of the High Line, American art inside, giant terraces outside with river views that alone justify the ticket. Go on a slow day and let the big pieces hit you.
Washington Square Park, Hudson River Park, Little Island and the High Line
Washington Square Park is pure city theater: the arch, the fountain, buskers, chess hustlers, students pretending to read. Hudson River Park runs along the water with its piers sticking out into the Hudson, the sunsets over Jersey doing the most. Little Island is the floating park on its wavy concrete pots, oddly delightful. The High Line's south end starts right by the Whitney.
All of it is smoke-free. So sesh at home, then walk to the river and watch the light go orange. Ideas for where you actually can sesh are in where to sesh in NYC, and the seasons guide tells you when the piers are worth it and when the wind wins.
The West Village: the good and the annoying
The good
World-class jazz, the most famous comedy basement in the country, two great cinemas, a classic slice, and a river walk. All in a walkable neighborhood with a huge subway hub at West 4th.
The annoying
Crowds on Bleecker. Tourist lines at the famous spots. Prices that make your eyes water. And the streets will get you lost, which is lovely until you're late for a set at the Vanguard.
