Walking to Chinatown and Little Italy From the Financial District
By 17John ·
Quick answer
You can walk from the Financial District to Chinatown in about 15 to 20 minutes. From John Street, head up Broadway past St. Paul's Chapel, cut through City Hall Park, follow Park Row to Worth Street, and you're at Columbus Park at Mulberry and Bayard, which is the southern edge of Chinatown. From there it's a five-minute stroll to Doyers Street, ten to Canal, and another five up Mulberry into Little Italy. If you'd rather ride, the 6 from Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall goes one stop to Canal Street.
People staying down here are often surprised how close Chinatown is. From our door on John Street it's about 15 minutes on foot to Columbus Park, and the walk itself is one of the better ones in the city: 18th-century churchyards, City Hall Park, then the street grid loosens up and you're in Chinatown before you've really noticed the change.
This is a half day, not a full one. Go in the late morning, eat twice, buy something to cook later, and be back by mid-afternoon. We've written it as a route rather than a list, because the walking is half the point. If it's raining or the kids are done, the 6 train from Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall gets you to Canal Street in one stop.
A note on hours: small shops down here keep their own schedules and some are cash-preferred. Worth a quick check before you build your day around any one place.
Half a day on foot, John Street to Grand Street and back
9:45 AM
Coffee first, in the lounge
Breakfast isn't included with your stay, but there's coffee in the lounge, so grab a cup on the way out. You'll be eating in about ninety minutes, so keep it to coffee.
10:00 AM
Up Broadway, past St. Paul's Chapel
Walk west on John to Broadway and turn right. Two blocks up, at Fulton and Broadway, is St. Paul's Chapel, a small 18th-century church with a graveyard that most people walk past without looking. Step into the yard for two minutes. The contrast between the headstones and the towers on the other side of the street is the whole neighborhood in one view.
10:15 AM
City Hall Park and Park Row
Keep going north and Broadway opens into City Hall Park, with the fountain and the courthouses behind it. Bear right onto Park Row. This is the old newspaper row, and it's also where the Brooklyn Bridge walkway begins if you want to bank that for another day. Follow Park Row until it feeds into Worth Street.
10:30 AM
Columbus Park, Mulberry at Bayard
Cross to Columbus Park and you've arrived. Mornings here are card games, tai chi, and a lot of noise, and it's the best free thing in Chinatown. Sit on the edge of it for ten minutes before you start eating. This is also the moment the walk stops feeling like Lower Manhattan and starts feeling like Chinatown.
10:50 AM
Doyers Street and dim sum
Doyers is the short street with the sharp bend in it, one block long, and it's the most photographed corner of the neighborhood for good reason. Nom Wah Tea Parlor sits at 13 Doyers and is the old-school dim sum room people line up for. There's usually a wait after 11:30, which is the argument for getting here early. If the line's out the door, Pell Street and Bayard are thirty seconds away and full of alternatives.
11:45 AM
Mott, Bayard, and the shops
Wander north on Mott. This stretch is bakeries, herbal shops, fish markets, and produce stalls where the prices are a fraction of what you'll pay anywhere else downtown. If you've got a kitchen back at the suite, this is the place to load up: greens, noodles, ginger, whatever looks good. Bring a tote, and bring cash for the smaller stalls.
12:30 PM
Canal Street, then up into Little Italy
Canal is loud and crowded and you cross it rather than linger on it. Once you're north of Canal on Mulberry you're in Little Italy, which is smaller than most visitors expect: essentially a few blocks of Mulberry plus Grand Street. Take it for what it is, a handful of old shops worth your time rather than a whole neighborhood.
12:45 PM
Grand Street: Di Palo's and Ferrara
Di Palo's at 200 Grand is the fine foods shop, mozzarella and cheese and cured meats, and you take a number and wait like everyone else. Across the way, Ferrara Bakery at 195 Grand does espresso and cannoli standing up at the counter. That's the right last stop before you turn around.
1:15 PM
Back to John Street
Walking back the way you came takes about 25 minutes and is downhill in feeling if not in fact. Carrying bags? Take the 6 from Canal Street one stop to Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall and walk the last seven minutes, or the J/Z from Canal straight to Fulton Street, which puts you three minutes from our door.
