Travel

Stay ca tion: A vacation spent in one s home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions.

Referred to by New Yorkers as The Village , Greenwich Village is a geographic area in lower Manhattan that runs east to west from Broadway to West Street and north to south from 14th Street to W. Houston Street. The village is known for being home to NYU, numerous entertainment venues, great food, artistic types, expensive real estate, and some of Manhattan s most beautiful tree-lined streets.

I spend quite a bit of time in Greenwich Village and it is hands down one of my favorite neighborhoods in all of New York City. I wanted to see what it would be like to be a resident of Greenwich Village for a day, so I decided to do a staycation in the neighborhood to get a taste of what it might be like to reside in the area.

Sunday Brunch: Grape Vine

Like all good Sundays in New York City, my staycation in Greenwich Village started with Sunday brunch!

Sunday Brunch at Grape and Vine

Brunch is an institution in New York City and if I go a Sunday without brunch, I feel like the weekend is incomplete. I have spent many Sundays frolicking around the city, eating egg benedicts and sipping on mimosas while taking advantage of New York s infamous boozy bottomless brunches.

I chose to do my Greenwich Village brunch at Grape Vine, a restaurant inside of the Jade Hotel. One of my friends joined me during brunch, and we had an amazing time catching up and eating some really delicious food. I ordered the Brioche French Toast with Fresh Berry Compote and my friend ordered the Grape Vine Burger made of House Waygu and Short Rib Blend, NY Cheddar, Avocado, and Smoky Aioli . all I can say about the meal is that we left the restaurant extremely happy.

Location: Grape Vine, 52 W. 13 Street

After eating such a delicious meal I had a bit of a food coma and I needed a little bit of rest and relaxation before hitting the streets.

A few weeks prior to my Greenwich Village staycation, I visited the Jade Hotel for their 2nd Anniversary party. During the party, attendees were given tours of the hotel, and that was the moment that I fell in love with the both the warm and hospitable staff and the hotel itself. I immediately knew that it was the place that I wanted to stay in for my staycation.

The Jade Hotel is a boutique hotel located at the northwest tip of Manhattan s Greenwich Village. It is a newcomer to the popular Greenwich Village neighborhood and it is a stunningly beautiful property with a charming old New York feel.

In addition to the design of the property, one thing that I really loved about the Jade was that they use many locally sourced products, such as C.O. Bigelow bathroom products which are created in Greenwich Village and Madecasse food products which are produced in Brooklyn. Between the design and the product offerings, the hotel truly captures the theme of being in New York.

In addition to having a full service restaurant, the Jade Hotel also has a lounge, a fitness center, and a bar. The hotel provides complimentary neighborhood walking tours, (unlimited!) complimentary bottled water, a concierge, free wifi, and turn-down service among a few other amenities.

After relaxing in the hotel for a little while, it was time to hit the streets and explore the neighborhood. I was getting a little bit hungry, so I decided to head south and over to the famous MacDougal street. On the way, I stopped from time to time to take some photographs of the beautiful neighborhood.

Walking southbound down 6th Avenue Walking eastbound down Waverly Place Walking through Washington Square Park Exiting Washington Square Park and heading down MacDougal Street

When I arrived to MacDougal Street. I was very hungry, so I headed to Artichoke Pizza. arguably one of New York City and Greenwich Village s best pizzerias.

Relatively new to the New York City pizza scene, Artichoke Basille s Pizza first opened in Chelsea in 2015. Since opening, Artichoke has opened five other locations (4 in NYC and 1 in California) and has been featured in numerous publications including the New York Times, The Village Voice, and The New York Post.

I had been to Artichoke Pizza once before and really enjoyed their signature artichoke pizza, so I opted to go for it once again, and it certainly did not disappoint.

Artichoke Pizza (Greenwich Village) 111 MacDougal Street [Artichoke Slice: $5.00]

After eating the salty pizza, I was craving something sweet and savory, so I headed across MacDougal street to Insomnia Cookies .

Insomnia Cookies is a very popular cookie shop in New York City and has expanded from its humble beginnings in a college dormitory in Pennsylvania to having over 50 locations on the East Coast and the Midwestern region of the United States (with over 10 of those being in NYC). The cookies have been featured on the Today Show, on BuzzFeed, and in Zagat (just to name a few), and one thing that I really love about them is that they are very affordable

I have eaten their cookies on a couple of occasions, and I have loved them every time. My favorite cookie from Insomnia is the Snickerdoodle (pictured below).

Insomnia Cookies 116 MacDougal Street

After leaving Insomnia, I walked around the corner onto Bleecker Street. which is a popular street that runs from that runs from the East Village to the West Village (and is one of the only two streets that does so). The street full of notable restaurants, bars, shops, and cafes.

I paid a visit to Porto Rico Importing Company. one of New York City s most well-known coffee importing shops that has been around since 1907. Porto Rico imports coffee from all around the world and has been featured in places such as the New York Times and Serious Eats.

I have a slight obsession with espressos at Starbucks that is eating away at my travel budget, so I decided to purchase coffee beans for the first time, and I suspected that going to the experts at Porto Rico would be my best bet, which was right. Being a total newbie at buying coffee beans, I had absolutely no idea what to get, so I asked the knowledgeable staff who recommended a Central American coffee and then they were kind enough to even throw in a plastic coffee dripper and filters!

Porto Rico Importing Company 201 Bleeker Street

Satisfied with my new coffee, I left Porto Rico to explore the Village a bit more before making my way over to the Angelika Film Center to catch a horror film.

The Angelika Film Center borders the Greenwich Village and SoHo neighborhoods. It showcases an eclectic mix of independent films and is popular with filmmakers and independent film lovers. When I visited the Angelika for the first time, I watched a film entitled Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, and I fell in love with the independent cinema scene and I knew that during my staycation I wanted to return to the Angelika to see another film.

Angelika Film Center 18 W. Houston Street

After a long day of eating and walking around, I was quite tired and decided to call it a night. Originally I intended to head back over to the MacDougal Street area for a couple of drinks or possibly some board games at The Uncommons. While my mind was telling me yes, my body was telling me no, so I decided to end my evening back in my hotel room.

Looking for other things to do in Greenwich Village? Check out these fun things below:

Make sure to also check out the article on my Harlem Staycation for ideas on things to do in the neighborhood of Harlem in uptown Manhattan.

Have you ever visited Greenwich Village before? Share your favorite things to do in the neighborhood below!

Thank you to The Jade Hotel who helped make my Greenwich Village staycation possible by providing accommodation and breakfast. All opinions and thoughts are my own.