The West Village is west of the Greenwich Village neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, bounded by the Hudson River and roughly Sixth Avenue, extending from 14th Street down to Houston Street. Bordering neighborhoods include Chelsea to the north and TriBeCa to the south. The neighborhood is distinguished by streets that are "off the grid" set at an angle to the other streets in Manhattan sometimes confusing both tourists and city residents alike. These roads were paved in the colonial period, long before the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 which created the main street grid for the rest of the city. Even streets that are nominally part of the grid can be idiosyncratic, at best. West 4th Street crosses West 10th, 11th and 12th Streets, ending at an intersection with West 13th Street. Heading north on Greenwich Street, West 12th Street is separated by three blocks from Little West 12th Street, which in turn is one block south of West 13th Street.

The center of the bohemian lifestyle on the West Side, with classic artist's lofts (Westbeth Artists Community) and new residential towers designed by American architect Richard Meier facing the Hudson River at 173-176 Perry Street. The Meatpacking District at the top of this neighborhood, also known as the "Gansevoort Historic District", is filled with trendy boutiques and night clubs.