Watch some intense b-ball at the caged courts on West Fourth Street. Munch on a seriously sweet cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery. Tap your feet to the offbeat at a not-so-smoky jazz club, and get your, uh, anything pierced on Eighth Street. Welcome to "the Village."

Running west from Lafayette Street and north to 14th Street, Greenwich Village is, in many ways, classic New York—brimming with history, culture, and lively characters. It's also home to New York University, which, despite having no conventional campus, completely permeates the area with its presence and purple flags. And there are more than enough cafes, used book shops, and cheap restaurants to accommodate its students. Washington Square Park attracts impromptu picnickers, street performers, vendors, dog lovers, and contemplative chess players. On weekend nights, Greenwich Village becomes a cacophonic melee as out-of-towners, bent on partying it up in the "real New York," and underage students fill up the bars and comedy clubs around Bleecker Street and MacDougal.

The West Village, which begins after Seventh Avenue, is one of the most charming places in Manhattan. Buildings are never more than a few stories high, and the narrow, diagonal, and dead-end streets offer a pleasant change from the rest of the grid-happy Manhattan. Gourmet food shops, stylish boutiques, intimate restaurants, beautiful brownstones, and leafy green trees round out the perks. For a little history with your hops grab a drink at the White Horse Tavern, made famous by Dylan Thomas, or at Chumley's, a former speakeasy.

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