Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park is popular with locals and tourists alike

Where Harry met Sally, Washington Square Park is one of New York's most loved parks and has been a community meeting place and community centre since it opened in 1826. With an eclectic past as a cemetery, public gallows and military parade ground, Washington Square Park is well-known for its eccentricity and is emblematic of the Beat generation and hippie movement in bohemian Greenwich Village. Now, avant-garde street performers are a more common sight than the shifty types that plagued the park in the 1980s and Washington Square Park is once again one of the city's most popular spots for locals and tourists.

One of the most prominent features of Washington Square Park, Washington's Arch, was built in 1889, modelled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, to commemorate the centenary of President Washington's inauguration. Originally built in wood and rebuilt in marble in 1891, cars were allowed to drive through Washington's Arch until 1971 when the park was redesigned and closed to vehicular traffic.

Washington Square Park's previously unnamed fountain was recently refurbished and relocated to the centre of the park and controversially renamed the "Tisch Fountain", after a wealthy family of NYU benefactors. While officially access to the fountain is denied and a fence has been erected as a deterrent, it hasn't stopped visitors from using the fountain for its original purpose as a wading pool.

Children's play areas, dog runs, shady greens and walking tracks draw thousands of people to park daily. Chess tables in the southwest, where Stanley Kubrick played in his youth and featured in Searching for Bobby Fischer, always attract a crowd. Nearby cafes on Bleeker Street and MacDougal Street are lovely options to relax after a stroll in the park.

Cost: Free

Hours: 24 hours daily

Website: Washington Square Park

Address: 5th Avenue, Waverly Place, MacDougal Street, West 4th

Nearby attractions: Greenwich Village

Getting There on Transit
Subway Train / Bus	Subway Station	Walking Time
A, B, C, D, E, F or M	West 4th Street	3 minutes
N or R	Tower Hill Station	5 minutes
Take the A, B, C, D, E, F or M train to West 4th Street, head northeast on 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas), turn left on Washington Place (3 minutes) or take the N or R train to 8th Street/New York University, head southwest on Broadway, turn right onto Washington Place (5 minutes).