NYU campus tour: what to see around Washington Square

New York University has no gates, no walls and no central lawn of its own. Founded in 1831, it grew up around Washington Square in Greenwich Village, in lower Manhattan, and its buildings are scattered through ordinary city streets, marked by purple flags. That makes a visit different from most campus tours: you're really touring a neighbourhood, and deciding whether city life as a student appeals. This guide covers what to see, how the pieces fit together, and how to plan the day.

How a campus without walls works

The university's core is the ring of buildings around Washington Square Park and the blocks just east and south of it, between roughly Fifth Avenue and Broadway. Classrooms, libraries, residence halls and cafés sit side by side with apartment buildings, shops and theatres. A second cluster, the engineering school, is across the East River in downtown Brooklyn.

Because the streets are public, you can walk the whole area freely at any time. Getting inside the buildings is another matter: most need a university ID, so the official tour is the way to see interiors.

Washington Square Park and the arch

The park is NYU's unofficial quad. Students cross it between classes, eat lunch on the benches and study on the grass in warm weather, alongside street musicians, chess players in the south-west corner, dog walkers and visitors. The big central fountain is the meeting point.

At the north side, at the foot of Fifth Avenue, stands the marble Washington Square Arch, designed by Stanford White and built in the 1890s to mark the centenary of George Washington's inauguration as president. The row of red-brick townhouses along the north side of the square is one of the best preserved in the city.

Bobst Library and the south side

On the south side of the park, the red sandstone Elmer Holmes Bobst Library is the university's main library. It was designed by Philip Johnson and Richard Foster and opened in the 1970s, and it rises around a tall central atrium. It's among the busiest study spots on campus, especially near exams. Like most university libraries, it's for students and staff, so visitors usually see it from outside unless a tour goes in.

Next door, the Kimmel Center for University Life is the student centre, with event spaces and upper-floor views back over the park and up Fifth Avenue.

The schools east of the park

East of the square, the buildings run together into a few dense blocks:

• The Silver Center, on the east side of the park, is the historic home of the College of Arts and Science.
• The Brown Building, on the corner behind it, was the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, a turning point in American workplace safety law. Plaques and a memorial mark the spot.
• The Stern School of Business sits on West 4th Street, just east of the park, around a small plaza.
• The Tisch School of the Arts, known for film, drama and dance, is a short walk further east on Broadway.

NYU Tandon in Brooklyn

The Tandon School of Engineering is based at MetroTech Center in downtown Brooklyn, a subway ride of roughly 15 to 20 minutes from Washington Square. Prospective engineering students should plan to see both places, since much of their teaching happens in Brooklyn. Tandon has its own tours and information sessions; check which ones the admissions office is offering when you book.

The university also has degree-granting campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai and study-away sites in other cities, which come up often in information sessions.

Student life in Greenwich Village

The Village is one of Manhattan's most walkable neighbourhoods: low-rise streets of brick townhouses, independent cafés, bookshops, small theatres, jazz clubs and comedy venues. Students don't have a campus bubble; the city is the setting, and independence comes with that.

First-year students typically live in university residence halls within walking distance of the square, and the university runs shuttle buses between its main buildings and halls. There's no big stadium or football team here. Social life tends to revolve around clubs, the arts and the city itself, which suits some students far better than others. It's worth asking tour guides how they found the adjustment.

Reaching the square by subway

• Subway: West 4 St–Washington Sq (A, B, C, D, E, F and M trains) is a couple of blocks west of the park; 8 St–NYU (R and W) and Astor Place (6) are just to the east.
• For Tandon: Jay St–MetroTech in Brooklyn is on the A, C, F and R lines.
• From intercity trains: from Penn Station, the A, C or E trains run downtown to West 4 St in a few stops.
• Walking: everything around the square is within ten minutes on foot. Driving and parking in the Village are best avoided.

How visits work

NYU's undergraduate admissions office usually offers information sessions and student-led walking tours starting from its welcome centre near the park. Advance registration is normally required, and dates around school holidays fill early. The university's official admissions and visitor pages list current times, formats and rules; check them before you travel, and bring photo ID.

Where to stay

• Greenwich Village, SoHo and Union Square: the closest areas, with a real sense of what daily life would be like. Fewer and smaller hotels than Midtown.
• Lower Manhattan and the Financial District: more choice, quieter at weekends, and a short subway ride away.
• Midtown: the widest choice in the city, with direct trains downtown.
• For a full breakdown of neighbourhoods, see where to stay in New York City.

Fitting it into a New York trip

A visit takes half a day, or most of a day with Brooklyn included. The three-day New York itinerary leaves room for it. Families comparing city universities can see Columbia uptown on the same trip, a very different, enclosed campus about half an hour north by subway.

Tips for the day

• Walk in under the arch from Fifth Avenue for the classic first view of the square.
• After the tour, sit by the fountain for a while: it's the best way to judge the atmosphere.
• Visit on a weekday during term; in summer and holidays the park is lively but the university is quiet.
• Walk a few blocks in each direction to see how quickly the neighbourhood changes.

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Cover photo: Jean-Christophe BENOIST, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons