West Village self-guided audio tour: Flappers, Freaks & Punks

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.75 (4 reviews)

Instant confirmation

1/18

Duration1h 30m–2h

GroupPrivate

Audio guideEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Chumley's speakeasy still has a backdoor entrance where Hemingway and Fitzgerald drank.

A self-guided audio walking tour through West Village narrated by an Emmy-nominated storyteller, starting at St. Luke in the Fields church and moving through the neighborhood's bars, theaters and townhouses where artists, authors and activists shaped the area. You control the pace and timing with the VoiceMap app on your phone; the audio, maps and GPS directions work offline, and you get lifetime access to replay the tour anytime. Bring your own smartphone and headphones.

1h 30m–2h

Step-by-step itinerary

West Village self-guided walking tour

Start outside Church of St. Luke in the Fields
Walk through West Village to Jane Hotel
Pass bars, pubs, and speakeasies
Visit Chumley’s speakeasy backdoor
See apartment of John Lennon and Yoko Ono
View townhouse linked to Sid Vicious
Discover Grove Court and O. Henry story
Visit Cherry Lane Theater
See Twin Peaks house
Stop at Magnolia Bakery
View Julian Schnabel’s Palazzo Chupi
Stroll down Cobble Court
See church where Timothy Leary handed out LSD
Visit Whitehorse Tavern
See Friends apartment building facade
Pass Bell Laboratories Building

The Experience

Start outside the Church of St. Luke in the Fields in Greenwich Village and wind through the West Village on your own schedule. The VoiceMap app displays turn-by-turn directions to each stop and plays audio automatically when you arrive at the right location. You hear stories about John Lennon and Yoko Ono's apartment where they declared the country of Nutopia, the townhouse where Sid Vicious's mother lived, and the Jane Hotel where Titanic survivors gathered for a memorial in 1912. The whole route takes around 90 minutes if you move straight through, but you can linger at any stop or come back another day — your access doesn't expire.

The tour passes through speakeasies and bars where you'll learn that Greenwich Village had more places serving alcohol during Prohibition than before or after it. You'll see the White Horse Tavern where poet Dylan Thomas drank himself to death, the church where Timothy Leary handed out LSD instead of communion wafers, and the Cherry Lane Theater, the oldest Off-Broadway venue still operating, where Samuel Beckett, T.S. Eliot and Tennessee Williams premiered their work. Twin Peaks — one of the quirkiest houses in the Village — sits alongside the Magnolia Bakery from Sex and the City and the Devil Wears Prada, and Julian Schnabel's pink Palazzo Chupi. Grove Court holds a story about a painted leaf that saved a woman's life and inspired O. Henry to write a short story about it.

The app works entirely offline once you've downloaded it, so you don't need data or wifi as you walk. GPS playback means you won't miss a turn, and you can start and stop whenever you want — pause for coffee, come back the next morning, or skip ahead if a stop doesn't interest you. Once you book, you'll get a ticket with a unique code; install VoiceMap on Android or iOS, enter the code, and you're ready to go.

What’s included

VoiceMap app access for Android and iOS.
lifetime access to the audio tour in English.
offline audio, maps and GPS directions.
automatic playback when you reach each stop.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by VoiceMap Audio Tours

Is this one for you?The tour starts at St. Luke in the Fields church in Greenwich Village, reachable by subway or bus if you're staying elsewhere in the city — no car needed, and you can begin whenever you arrive. The app's GPS and offline maps mean you navigate on your own without a guide or a group, so it suits anyone who wants to explore at their own pace and doesn't mind using their phone for directions.