On a budget, East Village still earns its price.
Free to wander ($$ to eat/drink)
The scruffier, livelier cousin of the West Village: dive bars, ramen and dumpling joints, vintage shops, tattoo parlors, and deep punk/rock history along St. Marks Place. It's a nighttime and late-night neighborhood, energetic and a little rough around the edges — exactly why people love it. Light on daytime sights.