Tompkins Square Park

Tompkins Square is the East Village's ten-and-a-half-acre living room, and like the neighborhood it has lived several lives — parade ground, protest ground, and now a shaggy, well-loved park of old elms, chess tables, and one of the city's most storied dog runs. The giant American elm near the center, known as the Hare Krishna tree, shaded the movement's first ceremony outside India in 1966.

The park wears its history lightly. Weekend mornings bring a farmers' market to the Avenue A edge; summer brings free jazz and the long-running Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, honoring the man who lived across the street on Avenue B. Grab a bench under the elms, watch the neighborhood make its rounds, and you'll understand the East Village faster than any walking tour could manage.