A Day Exploring Brooklyn, NYC
Brooklyn is one of New York’s five Boroughs; a vibrant and diverse area known for its history, attractions and museums, located on the westernmost part of Long Island. It’s absolutely perfect for a day of exploring, with so much to see and do (and eat and drink)!
So without further ado – let’s go and spend the day in Brooklyn.
Fun facts about Brooklyn
- Brooklyn is New York’s most populous Borough, home to 2.7 million people. That’s more than the entire populations of countries like Slovenia, Latvia, Botswana and many more.
- Brooklyn is named after the Dutch town of Breukelen.
- Unsurprisingly, it was founded by the Dutch in the 1600s, and wasn’t initially incorporated as part of New York, and so had its own unique identity as an independent city until 1898.
- Its motto is “Eendraght Maeckt Maght” which translates as “unity makes strength”.
- It is the home to the world’s first roller coaster, and is the birthplace of Tootsie Rolls and credit cards.
- Brooklyn’s most famous resident is probably its bridge. To prove the strength of the Brooklyn Bridge, 21 elephants were led across it in 1884!
- Brooklyn is the birthplace of many famous people, including Jay-Z, Spike Lee, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
How to spend a day in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Bridge
There’s only one way to get to Brooklyn in style, and that’s by walking across the famous bridge – which starts at the southern tip of Manhattan. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River and today it’s one of the city’s most famous tourist attractions.
The bridge does get busy, but we arrived for 9am, and as you can see, we had it largely to ourselves. This is particularly true once past the bridge’s mid-point; lots of people walk just a few metres on, take photos, and leave again back to Manhattan! Be sure to turn around and admire the view back to the skyline – beautiful!
DUMBO
After crossing the bridge, descend the stairs to the left down in to Brooklyn, and follow the streets to the DUMBO neighbourhood. DUMBO stands for “Down under Manhattan Bridge Overpass”, and it’s the place to get the famous view of the Manattan Bridge framing the Empire State Building, which is on Washington Street between Front and Water Streets.
Timeout Market
After all that walking to start the day, it’s time to grab breakfast/brunch. A short 2 minute walk away from DUMBO is the incredible Timeout Market. I have been to Timeout Markets around the world and they’re always a winner, with lots of food options available.
Given it’s breakfast in NYC, there was only one option for us – American Pancakes from the famous Clinton Street Baking Company. They have an original bakery up in Manhattan, but table waits are normally about an hour. At Timeout Market, we walked in and had a table within 5 minutes.
The great thing about the market is that you can sit at any table and scan to order from any stand in the market, and the food will be brought to your table. There’s everything from drinks, to pizza, to bagels, to Asian fusion food and coffee to pick from.
Also make sure not to miss the market’s rooftop. To access it take the elevators up to level 5; there are a couple more stands and a lovely outdoor seating area with views back to both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges! Perfect!
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Just outside of Timeout Market you can walk out to Pebble Beach and continue along the shore under the Brooklyn Bridge through Brooklyn Bridge Park. Meander all the way through the park until you come to Old Pier One, which has a beautiful seating area looking back at the Manhattan skyline; one of my favourite places to sit in all of New York.
Brooklyn Heights
From Brooklyn Bridge Park, take the Squibb Park Bridge up in to Brooklyn Heights, one of the prettiest areas of the neighbourhood. Stroll along the streets taking in the beautiful historic houses.
As you stroll, it’s the perfect area to stop for a coffee or a cocktail depending on your mood – you could try Vineapple for coffee, or The Long Island Bar or Congress Bar for drinks. At this point you may also be in need of lunch; check out Lemongrass (Thai), Al Badawi (Middle Eastern), Din Soup Dumplings (Chinese) or Yemen Cafe (Yemeni) for something a bit different.
New York Transit Museum
After a long morning outside, it’s time to head indoors and check out one of Brooklyn’s best museums – The Transit Museum. The Museum is located in a decommissioned subway, and displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, and commuter rail systems. It’s actually super fun and interactive, and well worth a visit. We spent 1.5hrs enjoying the Museum.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn is a big area, so it’s time to hop on the metro south to explore the famous Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It’s especially beautiful in spring with the cherry blossom trees in bloom, normally starting in March and running through to April. There is a cherry blossom bloom map on the website updated daily to show what’s flowering. We visited in March and only 6 of about 50 trees were blooming but it was still beautiful!
Brooklyn Museum
If you still have the energy after the Botanic Gardens, the Brooklyn Museum is right next door. It’s an art museum home to both permanent and temporary exhibitions displaying everything from Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian and Islamic art. I’m not really an art lover, so we only really popped in here to get warm after a lot of time outside in deceptively cold weather (given the building is so beautiful), before getting the metro back at the end of a long day.
Other Options
There is so much to do in Brooklyn that the above day only really scratches the surface. If some of the ideas above don’t appeal, or if you have longer in the area, you could also check out:
- More Parks: Brooklyn has so much green space and you could also choose to enjoy Cadman Plaza Park or Prospect Park on a beautiful day.
- Brooklyn Children’s Museum: One for those travelling with children, it’s a museum just for them – with loads of amazing things to do for tinies all the way up to teenagers.
- Brooklyn Flea: If you’re in to thrifting, the Brooklyn Flea in DUMBO is incredible. It’s only open on weekends, but well worth a visit if you can to find some awesome bargains.
- Coney Island: If you like fun fairs, head to the Coney Island neighbourhood on the peninsula of Brooklyn, known for its amusement park, beaches, and boardwalk, with attractions like the Cyclone roller coaster and Nathan’s hot dogs.
- Williamsburg: A really lovely residential area of Brooklyn, which is home to some of the area’s best restaurants and shopping. A perfect spot for dinner if you fancy it at the end of your day!
So there you have it – a day in Brooklyn, plus some other ideas if something doesn’t appeal. Have you ever been to Brooklyn and is there anything else you’d add to the list that I’ve missed?
