Four blocks wide and most of a mile long on top of the Palisades, the densest town in the country: the Galaxy Towers on the cliff, a stretch of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway below, Boulevard East views, and the shared streets of West New York and North Bergen at either end of the block. Guttenberg is where a Boulevard East view costs the least.
Guttenberg is four blocks wide on top of the Palisades, the most densely populated town in the country, with the Galaxy Towers on Boulevard East and a stretch of the Hudson River walkway at the bottom of the cliff. I show homes here but I do not live here, so I built this day from the places locals rate highest, and I am walking it myself. Every place is real. The map is real. Scroll, and I'll walk you through it. Tap any stop for the full story.
Coffee and a bizcocho a block from the park, from a family bakery that started in 2004. The morning table in Guttenberg.
Three blocks over the line into West New York, an Argentine bakery-café open from six in the morning. Medialunas and a cortado, and alfajores for the office.
The Guttenberg commute is a bus: NJ Transit runs down Boulevard East and through the Lincoln Tunnel into Port Authority, and the stop is at the edge of the park.
From here it is a walk to the NJ Transit bus stop on Boulevard East at 70th Street, at the edge of the park, straight into Port Authority through the Lincoln Tunnel.
Thai lunch on Park Avenue, BYOB, open every day from half past eleven. The room locals send you to first when you ask where to eat in Guttenberg.
A barbershop on the west edge of town that opens at six on Friday and Saturday mornings, so the cut happens before the day does. Book on Booksy or call.
The town library, downstairs in the Galaxy Towers mall, part of the North Bergen library system. The free hour on a rainy afternoon, a block from the park.
Down the hill to the water: the town's waterfront park on River Road, with a playground and the skyline at eye level instead of from above.
Dinner at the restaurant that has been on 69th Street since 1977, a few doors off Boulevard East. Ribs, a steak, and a family that has been feeding Hudson County since 1932.
The second dinner: a Latin fusion wine bar on Park Avenue, dine-in only, open until two on Friday and Saturday. Where the town takes its senior birthday lunches, which tells you something.
The nightcap on the town line: an Italian bar and kitchen at 68th and Park, open until midnight on weeknights and two on Friday and Saturday.
Saturday morning on the river: the paved walkway is complete through Guttenberg and West New York, so the walk south to the Port Imperial ferry and back is about an hour with Manhattan the whole way.
A working art center on Jackson Street with a gallery, printmaking and ceramics studios, and a residency program. Saturday afternoon is for the exhibition, and the opening parties run late.
And back to the park for a summer Thursday, when the DJ starts at seven, the food trucks line up, and the whole town dances on the cliff with the skyline behind.
Honest footnotes. None of these places pays me or knows I wrote this. I built this Guttenberg day from the places locals rate highest and I am walking it myself — tell me what I missed. Hours change; check before you go.
Four blocks wide and most of a mile long on top of the Palisades, the densest town in the country: the Galaxy Towers on the cliff, a stretch of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway below, Boulevard East views, and the shared streets of West New York and North Bergen at either end of the block. Guttenberg is where a Boulevard East view costs the least.
Guttenberg is the smallest town on the north Palisades, four blocks wide between West New York and North Bergen, with Boulevard East on the cliff edge, Park Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard behind it, and a short strip of riverfront at the bottom of the hill. The Galaxy Towers, three tall condominium buildings from the 1970s with their own mall and pool, are the landmark, and the Waterfront Walkway runs along the river below them.
Because the town is so small it lives on its neighbors' main streets: Bergenline Avenue and its bakeries are a block west in West New York, the 69th and 70th Street cross streets have the local bars and restaurants, and Braddock Park is up the hill in North Bergen. The town's own park, Monument Park on Boulevard East, is where the day starts.
The commute is Boulevard East itself: NJ Transit buses stop along it every few minutes on their way to Port Authority through the Lincoln Tunnel, and the Port Imperial ferry and light rail are a walk south along the water. Most people here do not own a car for the city.
For buyers Guttenberg means condominiums in the Galaxy and the smaller buildings on Boulevard East, and older two- and three-family houses on the inside streets. A river view here costs meaningfully less than the same view in Weehawken, which is the whole reason to look. Parking and taxes are the two questions to settle before an offer.
Best for: condominium buyers who want a skyline view and a bus to Midtown at the door, and anyone who wants Bergenline Avenue without a West New York address. Harder for: buyers who want a house with a yard, of which there are almost none.
The walk above is a real day in Guttenberg — coffee, the commute, the park, dinner. Answer four questions and it reorders itself around your morning, or open the route map and follow it yourself.
11,754 people live in Guttenberg, where the median age is 40.3 and the average individual income is $44,314.
Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
There is plenty to do around Guttenberg — shopping, dining, parks and nightlife. The three scores below rate how easy it is to get around without a car.
Walk Score®, Transit Score® and Bike Score® provided by Walk Score.
The places within walking distance — where to eat, shop, train and get a haircut. Tap a row to find it on the map.
| Name | Category | Distance |
|---|
Places and addresses from OpenStreetMap contributors. Distances are straight-line from the centre of Guttenberg. Hours change — check before you go.
Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Daycare through high school, in or next to Guttenberg. A starting point for comparison — visit before you decide, and call me about catchment lines, which move.
| Name | Type | Grades | Students |
|---|
Public and charter schools from the NCES Common Core of Data; daycare and pre-school locations from OpenStreetMap contributors.
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