Greenwich (Connecticut)

Greenwich is a town of about 60,000 in Fairfield County, southwestern Connecticut. It is one of the wealthiest communities in America and is blessed with lush and beautiful scenery and many large and impressive houses.

Understand
Greenwich is divided into several neighborhoods, including Byram, Greenwich, Cos Cob, Riverside, Old Greenwich, and Glenville. The town is part of the New York Metropolitan Area, and it's home to a number of sleek office buildings full of hedge funds and holding companies that presumably benefit from being so close to the city.

The neighborhood of Greenwich consists of the central business district and the famous main drag, Greenwich Avenue. Here you will find stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Apple and Hermès.

The Post Road, Boston Post Road, West Putnam Avenue, and East Putnam Avenue all refer to the same road: US Route 1.

Greenwich is a sister city with Kitzbühel, Austria; Vienne, France; Hangzhou, China; and Nacka, Sweden.

By plane
Greenwich can easily be reached from all of New York City's main airports.


 * Westchester County Airport (Purchase, NY): 20-minute drive to downtown Greenwich.
 * LaGuardia Airport (Queens, NY): 40-minute drive to downtown Greenwich.
 * JFK International Airport (Queens, NY): 45- to 90-minute drive to downtown Greenwich.
 * Newark Airport (Elizabeth, NJ): 1- to 1½-hour drive to downtown Greenwich.

All are best reached by car/taxi/limo service. It is possible to reach Greenwich from Newark Airport via Amtrak.

By train

 * Metro North has commuter train service to Greenwich out of Grand Central Station in New York City; the stations in Greenwich are Greenwich, Cos Cob, Riverside, and Old Greenwich. Many who work in New York City commute from Greenwich. It takes close to an hour on the train.
 * Amtrak provides passenger service to neighboring Stamford (station code STM).

By car

 * Interstate 95 travels through Greenwich; the exits in Greenwich are numbered 2 through 5. The Exits come into these parts of town. Exit 2 - Byram Exit 3 - Greenwich, Exit 4 - Cos Cob, Exit 5 - Riverside.
 * The Merritt Parkway (Connecticut Route 15) also travels through Greenwich.
 * Route 1 also called the Old Post Road runs through all of Greenwich alongside I-95 and can be used to get to most destinations.

By taxi
If you don't have a car and have too much luggage for the train, you can sometimes take a taxi or limo service, from New York to Greenwich for example. Be prepared to pay a high price however, the ride will set you back about $75 or so depending on your exact origin in New York.

By car
Most of Greenwich is built up along the Old Post Road. Old Greenwich can be reached by travelling through Riverside until you see the sign that says "Old Greenwich Railroad Station," you'll want to remember this if you're going to the beach at Greenwich Point.

On foot
The central Greenwich neighborhood can be comfortably navigated on foot, but getting from there to other neighborhoods like Cos Cob or Old Greenwich would be a long walk.

Recreation
A day in Greenwich can be spent doing a number of leisure activities. Greenwich has two main beaches, one is Greenwich Point which can be gotten to by the above directions. Greenwich residents can enter for free using beach passes, but those without beach passes have to go to the Community Center behind the First Presbyterian Church to buy a beach pass. The other beach is on Great Captain Island which can be reached by taking the ferry in Greenwich Harbor which comes about every 30 minutes and does not require a pass. You can find lots of sand, fun and food, but watch out for bees. Also when swimming at Great Captain Island don't swim near the pier as jellyfish tend to gather there. If you like history, there is the Greenwich Avenue Historic District which have a number of sites pertaining to Greenwich's rich history. The Greenwich International Film Festival takes place every June and also has events throughout the year.

Marriage
Greenwich is a beautiful town in which to tie the knot. It has churches of several Protestant denominations as well as two Catholic churches and a synagogue. The town welcomes anyone who wishes to make their commitments official, and the local businesses welcome the extra business.

Buy
Shopping on Greenwich Avenue is expensive, but quite a unique experience. There are a number of upscale stores, particularly along Greenwich Ave. which will help relieve you of great amounts of money, the largest being Saks Fifth Avenue.

Eat
Greenwich offers various types of cuisines, including Italian, French, Thai, and more. Eateries in town run the gamut from fast food chains, such as McDonald's, Wendy's, and Taco Bell, and other inexpensive options - at Chicken Joe's, a take-out venue and home of the famous "High School Special" (235 East Putnam Avenue in Cos Cob. Hurry though, it closes very early!), a full meal can be had for $3, and be sure to try their special spicing - to mid-range and upscale restaurants.

One popular dining option in town is pizza. Pizzerias of note are Arcurri's, Planet Pizza, Glenville Pizza, Pizza Factory, and Pizza Post. For a wider selection of Italian-style cuisine, there are restaurants such as Bella Nonna and Terra Ristorante Italiano.

Asian restaurants are in abundance in Greenwich in every price range. For those seeking Chinese food, there are take-out options, such as Yangtze Riverside Restaurant. Moderately-priced Chinese restaurants include Hunan Cafe and Hunan Gourmet. Other Asian cuisines are available in Greenwich, as well. Asiana Cafe and Penang Grill in Central Greenwich offer pan-Asian cuisine and Abis which offers Japanese food in both traditional and Hibachi style. Little Thai Kitchen, in Byram, offers authentic Thai food at reasonable prices, and was reviewed favorably in The New York Times. These are but a sampling of the wide array available - perusal of a restaurant guide, such as Zagat's, will offer more information.

For those seeking a more refined dining experience, Greenwich boasts many upscale eateries. One is Restaurant Jean-Louis, home to award-winning French chef Jean-Louis Gerin, 2006 recipient of the "Best Chef in Northeast America" distinction from the James Beard Foundation. Other high class restaurants include the Homestead Inn which offers a wonderful setting and Rebecca's in Glenville where you get a mondain almost European feel with delicious food, wine and service.

Drink
Alcohol is of course available in many restaurants at all hours, however the only dedicated bar in town is called Taboo located on Railroad Ave. across from the Train Station. As Connecticut is a state with Blue laws there is a restriction on the sale of alcohol; Alcohol is not sold after 9 PM on Saturdays or on Sundays, if you want to buy some during this time, you can head right across the border to Wesscon (plain sign on an island right across for the Carvel) on Sundays until six or to an all-night gas station in Port Chester.

Sleep

 * Travelers with larger budgets might consider the upscale Delamar Greenwich Harbor hotel, the Hyatt Regency, or the JHouse.

Connect

 * The Town of Greenwich has a website with quite a of information.

Newspapers

 * The Greenwich Time and The Greenwich Sentinel are the town's daily newspapers. The Greenwich Post and Greenwich Citizen are free papers which are mailed to all residents.
 * The New York Times has a Connecticut section on the weekends.

Stay safe
Greenwich is probably one of the safest towns in America with crime rates well below the state and national levels. In fact you can walk around all night and feel completely assured that nothing bad is likely to happen except possibly tripping on a root.

That said, it would be wise to walk on the side of roads even on quiet side streets as many teenagers tend to enjoy speeding down them.

Also, an overprotective police force is a problem. As Greenwich has a pretty low crime rate, bored police officers like to bust people for minor traffic violations just to keep themselves busy. Stay calm and pay the fine, getting excited about the injustice of the situation will only lead to more problems. Also, if you are any other race beside white or dress in a "hip hop" manner, expect extra police attention.

Consulates

 * 🇧🇪 Belgium

Go next
To the east is the Town and City of Stamford, which is right next door to Greenwich. There you can find the Stamford Town Center Mall and the attached Landmark Square Multiplex. To the west is the village of Port Chester, New York, which is home to a sizable movie theatre (16 auditoriums).