Washington Square Park

I’m not sure how to go about writing this review…
Water fountain. Artists. Pigeons. Bubbles. People, people, people — young and old, tourists, dreamers, believers, lovers, students…
My favorite park. Lunch spot. One of my favorite places in general. Lunch spot. Top people-​watching and post-​lunch stroll location choice.
This park is full of life– excitement and chaos at times (like seeing a free hugs guy once going around giving hugs then later throwing a lady’s bag on the floor and stomping around really upset or when a guy was on his skateboard and almost ran over a man walking his dog…). So much attitude and personality in New York, and this park has it all.
It’s always so grand to hear live instruments playing in the background (some sax, guitar, or drums), see cute dogs being walked, chess players strategizing, babies being adored, and conversations and laughter happening left and right.
There’s plenty of seating– benches, seats around the large fountain at the center and some people who also sit on the grass/​steps. This park is OH SO BEAUTIFUL, especially during the summer season like now, with the gorgeous flowers offering a pop of color in contrast to the green grass and blue skies.
I always feel like a tourist here (even when I’m not) because I can’t help but want to snap a photo or two every single time. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of this place.
Like today, I witnessed a man smiling and chalking up the ground with a pretty piece of artwork. Or the dyke pride march with waving flags, supporters wearing colorful headbands, shirts and bras.
This park makes you happy to be alive.

South of Central Park, I can’t think of a park I enjoyed more than Washington Square Park.
There’s a large fountain at its center, seating around this and several paved paths throughout. People watching is at its best here. Seems to be plenty of action surrounding this place with people of all ages and backgrounds mingling together or just enjoying the New York afternoon.
Good place to bring some headphones and relax.

My favourite park.
When I first began my journey there I was greeted by a man on a piano playing Classical music. I just had to go and sit.
When he was finished, I got up to explore further. As I was walking through, I saw a little bit of everything, parents, couples, friends, all hanging out by the fountain, on chairs, on the grass, everywhere. It doesn’t have that tall menacing feel that you may get from Central Park and it feels much friendlier.
Walking by, I saw artists in the art drawing and doodling, people breakdancing and buskers doing their best to earn a buck or two.
Around the fountain there are many stands so that people can go and grab something to eat. If you need it, there are several public washrooms to the side for people to use.
And the best part of this is that there is just SO MUCH history behind the area, from learning about the ancient crypt below the park, to the hanging tree to all the movies and shows filmed, there is something for everyone.

You might recognize Washington Square Park from the TV show «Friends» from the beginning credits where there’s a glimpse of the park shown with the replica Arc de Triomphe.
This is a great refuge in the summer. Neighborhood sleazy men hanging out, hipstery NYU students, chic Manhattanites, too trendy you could die tweens, neo-​hippie protesters, chess players, dog walkers, and knitters, (like my knit club), all commune. It’s a great slice of NYC.
You can play chess, hackey sack or frisbee, stretch out on the bits of lawn, sit inside the huge recessed fountain, protest, sit by the arc, get a hot dog, or the numerous benches that decorate the park. There’s usually someone playing their sax or guitar for lovely outdoor music, and other sorts of buskers, traveling troubadours/​entertainers, beggars, and on one occasion a guy selling «Obama» condoms.
Come join the fun!

Located right next to NYU, this is a cool place to people watch, listen to park musicians, relax, read, or strike up a conversation with a NYU student. There’s a fountain for hot days. The park is a respite from the concrete jungle that surrounds the park. I like it a lot and it is safer than it used to be at least during the day. Don’t know about the nights. The park closes at midnight. It’s worth checking out.

There’s nothing like Washington Square Park on a nice Summer Day. This park is pretty big and is located at the heart of Greenwich Village. If you come on a weekend you definitely will not be bored. There were free entertainment; a jazz band in one area, a pianist in another and a comedian too. It’s a great place to just sit, relax and enjoy.

I rarely go to the Greenwich village/​NYU area. I’ve only walked through this park once before last weekend. To my surprise, there was so much activity going on: kids/​adults water fountain jumping, yoga on the lawn, lots of people tanning, eating lunch, a dog park, and a grand piano situated in the middle of a path.
There was so many people just hanging out in the park. Just people watching and listening to the music. Everyone, including the dogs, looked so chill, not worried about the hustle and bustle of the city.
The park, to me, felt like it was a large backyard for many, since I’m guessing no one really has any green spaces in their small apartments.

Washington Square Park is pretty cool city park, especially for a non city resident like myself. The Washington Square Arch is beautiful and iconic. It celebrates the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration as President of the United States in 1789.
What I like most about the park is when I have been there on weekends, there has always been some sort of entertainment. Usually a grand piano with different artists playing classical pieces. It is very beautiful and relaxing to sit on a bench and take the music in. On my last visit there was also a creepy but cool human sculpture. The makeup alone on the artist was impressive.
There are also people playing chess, vendors, buskers and other various activities going on in the park to absorb. The park seems very safe also. Definitely worth a visit if your in the village and have some time to kill.

Located right next to NYU, Washington Square Park is always bustling with activity. So many wonderful things to do here: sit, make conversation with strangers, watch performances, record videos, take photographs, walk under the Washington Square arch… I can go on forever…

In an effort to cross all NYC parks off my list, today we visited Washington Square Park!
The park itself is beautiful with a ton of seating and a persistent flow of people watching and weird religious groups.
I also am a huge fan of the Greenwich area of town. Maybe my favorite so far!

Another nice park with plenty of space to walk around, and enjoy the sights and people watching. A nice parisian looking arch, fountain, street buskers and plenty of activity going on all around you.

Peacefulness and tranquility are what I experience everytime I visit this park in Manhattan. I spend my time sitting by the sprinkler fountain eating some lunch and watching everyone have a good time relaxing and basking in the sunlight. Washington Square Park is indeed a spectacular oasis full of beautiful trees, leaves and bushes. I am sometimes so relaxed that I loose track of time… this is just so symbolic of how special this place is…

This park is iconic and wonderfully indicative of NYU culture. The arch, the fountains, the artists, the performers, the students, the lovers, the loaners and me — all of us make up the diversity of this park.
If you’re visiting NYC or the West Village, make it a point to visit this park. There is a vibe here, that is unique and palpable. You really feel like you’re in NY when you visit this park. Bring a blanket, bring a book, bring a friend or come alone. You’ll always leave this park with an experience.

Washington Square Park gets double kudos as not just one of my favorite parks in Manhattan, but one of my favorite places in NYC in general. Whether it’s a tranquil day in the Fall or a vivacious day in the Spring, I can sit here and people watch with the best of them. Bad weather is never a deterrent; finding reasons to be at the park is simply too easy.
The crowd is a mix of students from NYU and a good number of professionals /​residents /​passerbys from the village. Sometimes the fountain is running on a sunny day, other times there are musicians playing songs to the crowd, and while there are some folks on benches, many others are just sitting wherever there is room. The pet count is always impressively high here as well.
What most folks are unaware of is the infamous history of WSP. I’ve learned so many things over the years: * The «Arch» was to commemorate George Washington’s 100 year anniversary of his presidency. * The park itself is a former cemetary /​burial ground and has thousands of bodies beneath the surface. * I Am Legend with Will Smith was filmed exclusively here.
Washington Square Park will forever remain one of my beloved Manhattan haunts. I have spent many days here soaking up the sun and hope to add many more to that total.

Easily one of the most recognizable parks in all of NYC, thanks to the giant Arch. The park was named you guessed it in honor of our very own first President. A favorite communal watering hole for NYU students, street performers, and just lower Manhattan people in general. There’s a big circular water fountain right in the middle of the park, and its where you get to see real the NYC. Its not throngs of French tourists asking for you directions in Times Square, no its young parents taking their 3 yr olds and walking their dogs in the park.

This is my favorite spot in the city! I always make time to walk through the village and spend some time in the park. There you’ll find jazz musicians playing for your listening enjoyment and plenty of benches to relax on. This park signifies NYC to me.
So many different walks of life (Students, tourists, business people, the homeless, street performers, musicians, painters, and pigeons) all converge in a small space. I love it.
We’ve seen some odd things while chilling here.
When it’s hot the fountain is a nice way to cool off.
The Iconic Washington Square Arch was modeled on the Arc de Triomphe, built in 1806, in Paris (itself modeled on the Arch of Titus).
They have a small playground for parents with small children and the restrooms seem quite clean for the location.

This park was pretty chill near NYU. We walked here at night around 8:30pm (I think) and there were surprisingly a lot of people here. The park was dark with a few lamp posts throughout the park. There was somebody playing music and everybody around was pretty chill. We sat around the fountain that didn’t have water in it which was near the archway. A lot of people were taking pictures and some were people watching. I thought it was a good change in scenery from everything I’ve seen in New York.

Washington square park is a beautiful park. It’s more beautiful in the summer when there’s green grass and flowers and the weather is sunny.
It’s surrounded by NYU (New York University). You’ll definitely see a lot of NYU students doing projects, homework, or just hanging out. Very diverse crowd.
The shape of the park is literally square. Not too big and not too small.
It has two nice sized dog parks where you can have your dog safely run around with other dogs.
Great place to take pictures as well.
I

I was just passing by the Washington Square Park, this park just like most of the small parks on the Manhattan island. But one thing caught my eyes very quick was the Washington Square Arch. I have seen this Arch in many different movie. it’s quite beautiful. especially at night. I couldn’t help to feel the romance inside, when I was here. Plus the One World Trade Center at the back. Come here for a book reading at the daytime is also quite enjoyable.
This park is one of the places which very popular for the locals, especially for the youngster. It’s hard to see some street artwork or some performings around. It made the park quite alive.

I love this little park. In winter months, it is a little more barren of people in the winter months, but when it is warmer out, it is full of life. People are sitting and hanging out, people are doing acroyoga in the grass, musicians play, people run and jump in the fountain, and I have even seen a magician or two doing tricks. The fountain is not always on, but when it is, it quickly becomes the centerpiece of the park. People sit near it, surround it, jump in it. And of course, the park is dominated by the arch. It’s a very beautiful piece of architecture. It’s very stunning, especially at night when ti is all lit up. If you are in the west village area, I highly recommend stopping by, sitting down, taking a minute for yourself here.

Situated in walking distances from NYU, this park attracts more than just college students, but grandmas, grandpas, children, skaters, parents, delightful tourists, and pigeons. I love it here. Just a simple yet beautiful and historically fascinating park. Great scenes. Fresh air. Flocking birds.

This is one park I’ve definitely taken for granted over the years Even as a student, I never really hung out here, having been warned about the rats, once by a homeless man who claimed that the rats carried diseases because animal activists freed them from NYU labs. Yes, the mice still run around and maybe over your feet if you should happen to stroll around the park some evening. And the arch is beautiful, especially when lit at night. But even when my graduation was held here, I didn’t pay too much attention to the park, using it as a place to cross from one street to another, with an occasional glance at the chess players. However, this Christmas, I was in a singing mood and lo and behold, I found out that my neglected park (by me, not the thousands who seem to flock here) had Christmas caroling. Oh what joy to carol among hundreds, on a dark Christmas Eve with the fired with an ethereal radiance. Even mice activity was in abeyance as we sang, though whether that was from aggressive pest control or fear of Santa delivering coals to them was in question. Washington Square Park, you have earned your four stars and apologies for not giving you your place in the sun.

It’s so pretty at night!!! They also have a Christmas tree up. And there’s usually a lot of dancers, singers and performances going on here.

Wow. This is a really special park. The people are friendly and it just seems so alive!
The art here is really incredible if you ask me. The park is clean and I can spend hours hanging out here.

Just a quick Unilocal about this beautiful space in the East Village because its a spot that I like to come to across a few different seasons for photography purposes. The main attraction of Washington Square Park comes by way of the giant arch that stands proudly as both an entrance to the park from Fifth Avenue or an egress depending on which way you are going. The 77 foot structure is a must capture for photographers and visiting tourists and is especially nice when viewed from the fountain in the center of the park or from the street around the holidays where it has a nice contrast to the Christmas Tree that they put up.
The area in the park is used by a lot of skateboarders even though the signs prohibit them and if this is a summer visit, sitting by the cool sprays from the fountain are wonderful. You’ll often find musicians busking at various spots and the park is close enough to tasty fare and pubs with a five minute maximum walking time. When one realizes that this park is also very close to Broadway or Sixth Avenue as major thoroughfare’s you can see why this should be a stop on your tourism itinerary.
That’s about all I have on the matter. Now its time to work on some photos that were recently taken there.

Straight up classic park that’s in countless movies and in the heart of the NYU campus area. Great spot to sit during lunch, it has a children’s park, if I recall a dog walk (I’m here everyday & don’t notice this; go figure!) and all kinds of things happening especially during warmer months.

I like this park.
I like the old guys hustling punters for a chess ass whooping.
I like the jazz musicians outdoing each other in the summer.
I like how it’s a short cut home.

A landmark for tourists, the weed park, an old school venue for homeless and high comedians, a safely tucked away playground. The list of possible subtitles for this historically hippie park is endless.
That’s why I love it here. The variety of people and unique experiences is unlimited, and unavailable for free anywhere else. Even after being told to disperse by police officers for looking suspicious (a group of us twenty and thirty somethings «thugs» were standing across the street, in front of Judson church after a poetry reading), I can’t hold a grudge against the Square.
My last visit here was superb: An unusually warm Fall afternoon watching my spiderman dance to live drum music while enjoying the random spray of water from the fountain. Before we made it to the playground, I overheard two single, desperate, lonely and dumb girls discussing snatching my toddler because he was «too cute.» I managed to stay calm because I knew they wouldn’t make two steps in stride before he gave them the devil in the loudest, most ear-​piercing, can-​battle-​with-​the-​scream from Kung Fu Hustle scream.
That and I would jump over, kick, push and slaughter anyone trying to take my child from me.
So the last visit to WSP wasn’t exactly what i imagined as were the many times before it. But this place doesn’t know what dull spells like. Definitely a must-​see if you’re visiting New York.

Uma praça um pouco maior do que as tradicionais que acaba levando o nome de parque.
É muito bonito, vale a visita.

A historical landmark in Manhattan, Washington Square Park is a NYC icon when it comes to public parks.
For as long as I’ve known, a visit to Washington Square has always been awesome for hanging out, relaxing and meditating (however you meditate). I can certainly guarantee that you won’t leave without some sort of weird, funny or awesome interaction with buskers, performers, musicians or poets that frequent the park.
Tourists love flocking to the Arch and large fountain. Don’t be fooled! Outside of the strolling paths, flower beds and tree gardens the real entertainment are the locals. Famous as a meeting place and center for cultural activity — it is never a dull moment at Washington Square Park! Performers, entertainers, protesters, demonstrations — the Square has long been a hub for politics and culture in the city and of course, people watching :)

Hippie Park for sure! So many great sights, foods, and fun things in this section of Manhattan!
Be sure you look for Pigeon Man in the park!
This park has been completely renovated. It was pretty bad. Now I take friends and relations to walk through. Make sure you check out the monuments. It’s such a famous park. A lot of history here.
First go to NY Public Library to look up the history. You will really feel the spirits when you walk these streets!
Enjoy!

Visiting NYC for the first time meant we just had to see certain spots that are either iconic, historical or a friend just said «you must see this place.» I think Washington Square Park fell somewhere in the middle of all of those and so once nice cool summer afternoon we strolled on by. The feeling perhaps only to be trumped by the vastness of Central Park was so alive and free at Washington Square Park.
College kids, young children, families, couples, artists, vagrants, middle aged folks and everything in between was what we saw and thoroughly enjoyed during our hour or so of taking it all in. You may have heard of all the energy of this area in the Village and the free spirit that lingers around it, but to witness it in person is special and an experience everyone must take in once in their life, I do believe. I just wish we had more time to stroll along and waste the day. But not in NYC!

Necesito ponerle mil estrellitas a este parque, lo siento por los fundamentalistas del Central Park, pero para mí este parquecito es más que bello.
Está ubicado en el hermoso barrio de Greenwich village a pasos de la NYU, cuenta con un espacio verde dónde siempre hay gente tomando sol o haciendo picnics, y seguro que te cruzas a alguna ardilla que anda dando vueltas. En el centro hay una fuente preciosa y obviamente en lo que seríà la parte norte de la plaza encontramos el arco, conocidisimo por varias películas ejemplo «when Harry met Sally», la escena en la que se despiden sucede en ese arco (corazones).
Seguramente si van a visitar este parque van a encontrar a un pianista que «para» bajo el arco, es todo tan película que enamora.
Creo que no hay nada más lindo que descansar allí luego de una larga caminata y escuchar alguna melodía en vivo, si quieren pueden comprar el cd del músico.
Recomendadísimo!!!

Walked here after lunch at Ramen-​Ya (which was amazing by the way), and instantly fell in love with this park! If I lived here, I could see myself spending my weekend days here just relaxing, listening and watching all of the talented musicians play. When I came on Labor Day Weekend September 2015, they had an awesome jazz band playing in one side of the park, where the main trumpet player played with 2 trumpets simultaneously! On the other side, beautiful music played by a pianist (on a baby grand piano) and violinist. Amazing!
Aside from talented musicians, you also have the beautiful fountain and arch, a bunch of tables for chess playing, and a playground. It’s a must visit for everyone. Gotta love New York.

Easily one of my favorite places to go during a NYC summer night if we’re lacking plans. There is always some live action here — yesterday, I saw them shooting for «Mozart in the Jungle», street music and street performers. Their is a restroom that is open during 7am-​8pm during summer days.
You can blow giant bubbles during nighttime (tip expected) or watch Tic and Tac in their hilarious show or take touristy photos at the Arc and pretend you’re in Paris. You can even play chess here!
Otherwise seat yourself somewhere (beware the mosquitoes) and just soak in the vibes.

Cute, adorable little park that was a perfect place to sit down, eat a bite and chat with an old friend.
We initially wanted to sit on the grass, but it was a little muddy. After searching for a few minutes, we eventually found a nice bench to park. We ate our falafel (which was amazing), chatted for almost an hour, and people watched.
We had the best entertainment. There was a group of tourists who were playing with the squirrels. It was amazing, hilarious, and slightly horrifying.
I’m coming back to NYC in November, and I will certainly be visiting this lovely little park.

Washington Square Park is NYU’s park. It’s filled with pissed drunk college kids throwing up everywhere and having obscene amounts of orgies in the park. There’s panties and used condoms everywhere in the park. It’s pretty disgusting. It’s like walking into Ron Jeremy’s house after a night of cocaine binges. Ok. I’m lying. It’s totally not like that.
Anyway, Washington Square Park is a very interesting park. It is NYU’s park since it’s right door to the university and the buildings around the area are pretty much owned by NYU. It’s famous for the nonconforming culture and the Washington Square Arch. The park has a huge open area and a central fountain.
I’ve been here a few times. The most memorable time was back on April 4, 2015 when there was a huge pillow fight in the park for International Pillow Fight day. It’s a two hour event for people of all ages. After it’s over, the pillows are donated to homeless shelters. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the type of pillow fight every adolescent boy dreams about.
Lastly, Washington Square Park is another must stop location in New York. It’s one of the grander smaller parks in the world I’ve been able to relax at. It’s in the heart of Greenwich Village.

Washington Square Park is truly the heart of Greenwich Village.
What I love about this park is that, despite the gentrification and changes around the Village and the NYU land grab, it has still managed to keep its Bohemian vibe.
Yes, the park is beautiful, and recent renovations have, in my opinion, enhanced that beauty. However, it is the people here that are the main attraction. Walking through the park, one will see musicians, artists, political protesters, students, retirees, families, chess players, and, yes, even tourists. Over the years, I’ve lucked out and saw live, free performances of «Much Ado About Nothing,» «Julius Caesar,» «A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream,» and «Antigone.»
A walk through Washington Square Park is a glorious cacophony of sights and sounds, Yet, despite the din, it is one of the best places to just chill out and relax.
For your furry friends, there are two dog runs, one for smaller dogs and one for all dogs.
So, if you want to feel the pulse of Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park is the place to go!!!

Washington Square Park easily gets five stars. Great for sitting (next to the fountain), people watching (the population there is very diverse), taking pictures, hanging out, doing fun activities, and seeing everything that’s going on. Especially at night, it gets crowded — but it’s the good kind of crowded — and I think that is what makes the park so unique and wonderful.
There was this one spot that really stood out to me today; there were a lot of papers hung up, each a story written by a person — a «stranger.» There were two people there explaining to curious people what it was. They were running «The Strangers Project.» I thought it was very interesting. Every piece of paper had a unique story written by a different, unique person, and they were all worth reading. If you choose, you can write one as well, they were very friendly and offered a clipboard, piece of paper and pen.
All in all, the park is a great place to check out. I come here every now and then, but because of how it’s becoming more and more interesting, I am definitely going to come back here more often.

The boyfriend and I were walking in the area touring around NYC when the sound of a jazz band caught our attention. We decided to sit by a tree and enjoy the view as well as live jazz on a hot summer day.
We love to people watch and NYC happens to be the best place to do just that. Within the first five minutes of us being there, we saw an artist drawing the image of the jazz band, a man feeding the birds in the park, the most people-​friendly squirrels ever (I know they’re not people, but still), and the cast of the Dia de los Muertos play posing for the cameras.
The park has a nice fountain in the middle and a nice arch that makes for wonderful photos. There’s a couple of ice cream trucks parked in the vecinity, just make sure you have cash as they do not take credit cards (square anyone?). The park also has chess tables and tons of open space to sit, relax and take in the very interesting/​exotic/​weird atmosphere that NYC offers.

C’est une image qui reviens régulièrement dans chaque épisodes de «Friends», le Washington Square Park et sa version miniature de l’arc de triomphe parisien.
Il se trouve au cœur de Greenwitch Village et est notamment connu pour les nombreuses parties d’échecs animés qui s’y déroulent entre passionnés. Les tables se trouvent à proximité de l’une des entrée du parc donc inratable et moyennant 5 $ pour jouer.
Mais surtout on y vient pour se prélasser sur un blanc, faire bronzette dans l’herbe, amener ses enfants gambadé dans le gazon, ou tout simplement s’y retrouver avec les gens qu’on apprécie.

Gefällt mir besser als der Central Park, klein aber übersichtlich, viele junge Leute, Livemusik (Jazz) und für Schachspieler der Pflichtbesuch, hier wird richtig viel gespielt. Man kann hier gut relaxen und es gibt genügend Sitzplätze.

Un petit parc, voire tout petit à côté de Central Park mais un peu de verdure né fait pas de mal dans New York. Le Washington Square Park assure donc cette mission pour ce quartier très sympa de Greenwich Village.
Le mini arc de triomphe est celui que l’on retrouve dans Friends, j’ai été content d’apprendre cette petite info ! Le parc fait la jonction entre l’Université de New York et le début de la 5ème avenue. Si vous voulez marcher un peu, rejoignez la Highline à 10 minutes d’ici pour de jolis points de vue.
Un bon spot donc pour faire une pause entre deux balades à pied dans l’immense Manhattan.

Bien que tourné à Los Angeles c’est là que vous trouverez le fameux arc de triomphe dans Friends dédié en vérité à Washington himself, point de départ de la 5ième avenue et collé à l’Université New York, vous tomberez sur plusieurs coins tout aussi connus en divaguant entre WS et Union Square, dont la rue de la fameuse pochette d’album de Bob Dylan, le label Blue note. marginal, intellectuel et non conformiste, c’est l’âme de Greenwich village donc

Einer meiner Lieblingsplätze in New York. Unbedingt an einem warmen Nachmittag oder Abend im Sommer besuchen! Vielleicht kommt man in den Genuss eines kostenlosen Jazzkonzertes? Jedenfalls lädt der Platz zu Relaxen ein. Rund um den Springbrunnen sitzen junge Leute. Kinder planschen im Wasser. Und durch den Triumphbogen hat man die 5^th Avenue entlang einen herrlichen Blick auf die Spitze des Empire State Buildings. Es gibt kaum etwas Entspannenderes und doch Vielfältigeres als den Washington Square in New York. Für mich bleibt jener Nachmittag, wo ich dort war, unvergesslich.

Coup de coeur! «Mon» jardin près de chez moi où on peut…
–voir un spectacle impromptu
–regarder les gens de l’université
–faire un piqué-​nique
–jouer aux échecs
–tremper les peids dans la fontaine