Sex and the City

10. Greenwich Village

New York, NY

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Although Carrie's apartment was also supposed to be on the Upper East Side, her often-filmed stoop was actually located in Greenwich Village - the West Village. In addition, the scene where Carrie meets Louise with her boyfriend took place at the now closed La Focaccia restaurant, was located there as well. Not that Greenwich Village, called "The Village" by New Yorkers, is second-rate. This beautiful, tree-lined neighborhood of upper middle and upper class families and singles is known for its color, culture, and creativity. The word "Greenwich" comes originally from the Dutch word "Greenwijck", meaning "Pine District". The name changed to the British "Greenwich" after a borough of London. In the sixteenth century, it was just a marshland inhabited by Native Americans who camped and fished in nearby Minetta Brook. Later, Dutch settlers came and farmed the land. Subsequently, the English took over and made it into a country hamlet. It remained a suburb throughout the revolution, somewhat removed from the rest of the city. When yellow fever and cholera broke out, people came to Greenwich Village to escape, and so homes and businesses were built. Between 1825 and 1840, the population quadrupled. Eventually the rich started moving here, between 1820 and 1860. But when immigration increased and the area became commercialized, the rich moved further north to the Upper East Side, and the population of Greenwich Village became more bohemian. By the 1900s, it was very diverse and artsy, with reasonably priced rents and a tolerant atmosphere. The Village is probably best known for the "Beat Movement" and Hippies of the 1950s and 60s. Galleries, poetry houses, and avant-garde theaters prospered. Life here for many was all about rebellion from the status quo. The famous 1969 Stonewall Uprising took place in The Village. The Stonewall Uprising was the result of a confrontation between gay men and the police on Christopher Street, which had become a center of the gay community. It sparked the gay and lesbian rights movement across the country. Many movies and TV shows were filmed here, including Hitchcock's Rear Window, The Pope of Greenwich Village starring Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts, Chinese Coffee starring Al Pacino, Wait Until Dark starring Audrey Hepburn, The Cosby Show, Friends, and more. Even though The Village has changed over the decades, it's still lovely and tolerant. Beginning as far back as the 1940s, there has been an effort to preserve the beautiful and charming buildings of the village, as well as its waterfront, in the face of urban renovation projects that would destroy them. Luckily, preservationists won, enabling us to enjoy the wonderful character of Greenwich Village, and making it a highly desirable place to live today. Coincidentally, Sarah Jessica Parker lives here in real life with her husband Matthew Broderick.