The real magic happens after nightfall
In the Victorian era, Green-Wood Cemetery was a popular picnic spot on fair Sunday afternoons. Today, it’s most popular in October, when it stages Nightfall: an after-dark concert/circus/art gallery featuring musicians, actors, artists, acrobats, lecturers, and more among the eerily lit tombstones and monuments. The cemetery hosts other events and installations throughout the year, including concerts in the catacombs.
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But Green-Wood is worth visiting on its own merits. Filled with famous graves and spectacular monuments, it provides an unparalleled view of Manhattan from the highest point in Brooklyn: also the site of the pivotal Battle of Brooklyn, now marked by the Altar of Liberty whose figure stands facing and saluting the State of Liberty in the harbor below. History, man-made art, and natural beauty combine to make Green-Wood a rare treasure of a cemetery.
Visiting ideas
You definitely want to enter through the main gate (at Fifth Ave and 25th St), as it is quite an impressive gate that looks like something out of a dark fairytale. You might want to check the cemetery’s events page before you go, as they have a lot of stuff going on, including trolley tours that may make your visit easier.
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If you plan to explore the cemetery on foot by yourself, expect to spend several hours there, get sidetracked at every turn, and be exhausted by the end of the day. It's simply too big to see in one visit, though that didn't stop me from trying.
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If you don't have any particular stuff you want to see, you can't go wrong entering through the main gate and picking a direction. There's pretty cool stuff just about everywhere (though there are a few places where the graves get newer and it's not quite as exciting). If you do have certain things you want to see, I strongly suggest grabbing a map, sitting down, and making a plan BEFORE you start walking. Otherwise you'll just cemetarry forever. (See what I did there?)
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A few places of interest include:
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The area around the historic chapel (you can't miss it) just inside the main gate. If you go in April, take the Water Side Path around the little lake and enjoy the birds and blossoms.
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Fern Avenue in front of Battle Hill. This is where you'll get an amazing view of Manhattan, the harbor, and even the Statue of Liberty.
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Liberty Path on Battle Hill. The site of an important Revolutionary War battle, this path takes you past a Civil War monument, the Altar of Liberty, and, randomly, the grave of Leonard Bernstein.
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The Hill of Graves. If you want to wander through a lonely field of forgotten graves and absolutely incredible old trees, this is for you. Head up the hill past the drummer boy and Civil War soldiers, then walk along the top for as long as you'd like.
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Of course, you can always just go for Nightfall. It’s a great way to experience the cemetery, but you will have trouble finding specific graves, and in fact, you shouldn’t try. Just enjoy the performances. Tickets for Nightfall usually go on sale closer to the event date (around Halloween), but keep an eye out because it does sometimes sell out.
In brief
Rating & Visiting info
5: Must see
Open to the public daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. See current tours. There are bathrooms at each of the four entrances.
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The cemetery tends to ramp up its events calendar around October, so if you’re looking to do a tour or see a performance, fall is probably the best time to go. On the other hand, if you want to wander through the cemetery at your own pace, it's heavenly in late April when the trees and wildflowers are in bloom.
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Grab a map (or use this PDF) from the main entrance. There's also a mobile app but I couldn't get it to work for me. Either way, you'll definitely need a map. This place is sprawling.
Founding & Famous people
1838
Leonard Bernstein, John Michel Basquiat, Horace Greeley, Boss Tweed, James Weldon Johnson, Samuel Morse, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and others.
Location & Nearby sites
Brooklyn
Take the R to 25th St (in Brooklyn), then walk east one block to reach the main gate.
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Nearby sites include Prospect Park and Brooklyn Museum, though honestly, seeing anything else on the same day as Green-Wood might be too much. If you exit the cemetery through the main gate and head to the right-hand side (past 24th St), you'll reach a nice street with plenty of cute little restaurants, serving everything from pizza to ethnic foods.
