Timeline
17:45
Walk through Union Square Park and grab a quick bite at Union Square Café. The lunch service runs until 2:15 PM, but for a late afternoon snack or early dinner before the sunset, check the dinner hours. If you are visiting in the morning or early afternoon, the lunch menu is available Mon-Sat. For a casual bite nearby that is open later, Mamoun's Falafel (7 min walk, open 11:00-05:00) is a reliable option for a quick falafel wrap.
18:00
Leave Union Square Park and head west towards the monument. The walk takes about 16 minutes, so use this time to position yourself in Christopher Park across from the Stonewall Inn.
18:15
Stand in Christopher Park and watch the sun set directly behind the Stonewall National Monument. This alignment happens between 15 Oct and 18 Oct, with sunset around 18:15 local time.
18:30
End your evening at the Stonewall Inn itself. It is a historic icon of the gay community and is just steps away. Open Mon-We 14:00-04:00 and Th-Su 12:00-04:00, so it is open late enough for a post-sunset drink.
Local tip
Union Square Park is a great place to start because it is on the direct path west from the monument area if you are coming from the east, but here we use it as a starting point for food. The walk from Union Square Park to Stonewall National Monument is approximately 16 minutes. Mamoun's Falafel is a very short walk (7 min) from the monument if you prefer to eat closer to the viewing spot and have time before sunset.
Check before you go
- Union Square Café dinner hours: Sun-Thu 6-10:15PM, Fri Sat 6-11:15PM. Lunch is Mon-Sat noon-2:15PM.
- Mamoun's Falafel is open daily 11:00-05:00.
- Stonewall Inn is open Mon-We 14:00-04:00 and Th-Su 12:00-04:00.
- The sunset alignment with Stonewall National Monument from Union Square Park occurs specifically between 15 Oct and 18 Oct.
Worth knowing
- Sun position is calculated. We have not confirmed the view is unobstructed.
Built from places in the Wikivoyage guide to New York City (CC BY-SA 4.0), with open map data from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).