7 Secret Spots In NYC Where You Can Have Some Quiet Time

Katherine Ripley • September 11, 2015

Noise driving you insane? We get it. We all need a break sometimes. Here are seven secret spots where you can find peace and quiet in this loud and lively city:

1. Church of Saint Luke In the Fields

Behind the brick wall of this episcopal church in Greenwich Village is a true secret garden. You can sit among the foliage and actually hear the birds singing. Nobody will mind if you stay and listen for a while.

2. Wave Hill

This is the place to go for great views with no noise. Located all the way up in the Bronx, this observatory is set on the grounds of what was once a country estate. It’s not a place where people go to play pickup soccer or walk 10 dogs, so you’ll have quiet while you gaze out onto the Hudson River.

3. Inwood Hill Park

There’s an ancient forest in this park that you can literally get lost in, but maybe that’s what you want. Standing among the trees, you would never believe that you’re actually still on the island of Manhattan. Granted, it’s all the way at the northern tip. But such a scenic walk is worth the journey.

4. Greenacre Park

If you don’t have time to go so far north, try Greenacre Park right in the heart of midtown. It’s tucked away on a side street and has a nice waterfall, so the traffic sounds within earshot are drowned out.

5. Rose Main Reading Room

Okay, so the NYC public library isn’t really a secret. But this reading room is an obvious choice for quiet time which you probably hadn’t thought of. It will take you back to college when you went all the way down to the bottom floor of the library to study in the room where it was a crime to sneeze or unzip your pencil case.

6. New York Marble Cemetery

Cemeteries can be calming and peaceful places. This particular historic cemetery in the East Village has no headstones, which downgrades the creepy factor. It’s open to the public on the fourth Sunday of each month, April through October.

7. Teardrop Park

This park is so secluded that the plants need to get sunlight via reflecting mirrors. It’s tucked in between skyscrapers in Battery Park City, away from the walking path near the Hudson River. If you can manage to find it, the 27-foot-high, 167-foot-long rock wall is definitely a sight worth seeing.

Cover photo credit: gigi_nyc/Flickr

Tags: Adventure, Outdoors