36 Hours on the Brooklyn Water Front

36 Hours on Brooklyn Water Front

By Beata Zych              Dec, 12, 2017

Brooklyn, is Manhattan’s neighbor, but notable borough in its own right. If it were its own city, it would be the third- most populous one in the country.

Brooklyn Bridge from the Ferry landing/ Alex Ancheta

Brooklyn is New York City’s most populous borough with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area. Brooklyn was an independent city until its consolidation with New York City in 1898, and continues to maintain a distinct culture, independent art scene, and unique architectural heritage. Brooklyn Water Front includes many neighborhoods like: Greenpoint, Dumbo, Red Hook, Williamsburg, Park Slope, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Brighton Beach. They are so many great thing to do on Brooklyn Water Front these days, that everyone will find something for themselves.

Friday

1) 4:00 P.M. CROSSING THE RIVER

To get to Brooklyn from Midtown you can take any train that goes downtown, but to get to the Brooklyn Bridge you need to take the 6 train, is a green line all the way to Brooklyn Bridge City Hall. Getting off on this stop you’ll still be in the city, even thought it says “Brooklyn”. Now you can walk to Brooklyn, I know it sounds far, but this way of entering Brooklyn is really amazing. The Brooklyn Bridge which is one of the oldest roadway bridges in the United States, can take you straight to Brooklyn Water Front. The bridge opened in May 24, 1883, which makes the bridge 134 years old. Since opening it has become an icon of New York City and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. The view from the bridge is breathtaking, you can see Brooklyn, Manhattan and Statue of Liberty. You can access the bridge 24 hours a day, and its free, that means that you can spend as much time as you want up there. The view from the Brooklyn Bridge is beautiful at any time of the day, but sunset is particular nice. The walk is about 30-35 minutes long, and is good if you take a jacket specially in the spring and fall because it gets really windy up there.

Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, from Manhattan to Brooklyn. / Beata Z

2) 5 P.M. TIME FOR SOME DRINKS

After getting off the Brooklyn Bridge you can go straight to 1 Hotel, Brooklyn Bridge. They have an amazing open air rooftop bar with unparalleled views of the downtown Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. They have a pool side lounge where you can grab a drink and a snack. The drinks cost around $17-20, and some small plates like Guacamole can cost $14. In the summer on the weekends they have pool parties, which can give you an amazing opportunity to meet people and make new friends. Those parties are just for adults, that means that if you are travelling with kids you need to get a baby sitter for a few hours. The pool is open till November 1, but they have 2 great bars inside the hotel, which gives you opportunity to still enjoy the view from their windows.

The view from the rooftop bar. Alex Ancheta

 

3) 8 P.M. ITALIAN EMPIRE

After the long walk on the Brooklyn Bridge and relaxing on the rooftop bar, it is time for some dinner at Cecconis. This amazing Italian restaurant is in Dumbo, which is walking distance from the 1 Hotel. Cecconi’s is a modern restaurant, open for lunch, brunch and dinner. They serve hand-made pasta, seafood and dishes from Italy using the finest ingredients. You can get an appetizer like Calamari fritti for $17, and a main course such as a Branzino with spinach, tomato and taggiasca olive for $36. The cocktails can cost you $15 and glass of wine up to $18. You can enjoy the food with beautiful water front views of the Manhattan Skyline.

                                         The view from the restaurant/ Beata Zych

Saturday

1) 11 A.M. BRUNCH TIME

It is Saturday morning and it is time for brunch at Normans, Scandinavian restaurant in heart of Greenpoint. The restaurant has a contemporary concept with a bakery and bar. It is open 7 days a week, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. One of the dishes they are known for is the Apple Cider Doughnuts with Malted Butterscotch and French Toast with Gooseberry Preserves, Crème Fraiche and Spruce Sugar. Its sounds like an explosion in your mouth. They have a good selection of wine an amazing spicy Bloody Mary. It gets really crowded in the weekends, so it is a good idea to call and make a reservation the day before, because the place is really popular and people love it.

Amazing brunch at Normans, communal style tables makes you more open to people / Beata Z

2) 1 P.M. URBAN ART

After an amazing brunch at Normans you can take Uber or the Q train all the way to Bedford Ave. It is one hour train ride, or you can take a cab or rent a bike. After getting off the train, you can already see the graffiti and paintings around. You can join the free walk tour which is 2 hours long and see “urban art” around the Williamsburg and feel the hippie neighborhood.

Piece of art from Bedford, amazing street art. / Beata Zych

3) 4 P.M. BOTANICAL GARDEN IN HEART OF BROOKLYN

It is time to go deeper into Brooklyn, the next stop is Botanical Garden. To get there from Bedford you need to take the 2 train to Eastern Parkway Brooklyn Museum station. To enter the Garden you need to pay $15 for an adults, $12 for students and children are free. Some Saturdays are free, so it is good to check before you go there. The Garden was founded in 1910 and features thousands of types of flora, and laid out over 52 acres. The most popular things to see there are the Japanese Hill, Pond Garden, and Shakespeare Garden. The garden is really big and can take you almost half of the day to see everything. The Garden is really popular and has over 900,000 visitors each year.

4) 8 P.M. OLDER IS BETTER
After all day of exploring Brooklyn is time for some good dinner at the Gargiulos Restaurant. Tuxedo- clad waiters serve old- school Italian fare at this circa- 1907 banquet hall- style eatery. The restaurant is 100 years old but still serves amazing food, with an amazing atmosphere. You can get there Shrimp Cocktail for $14 dollars, an Entrée like Veal Chop for $28. The prices are really good, service is amazing and cocktail list is fair. To get there you need to take the 4 train and then the Q, the train ride is about 45minutes long.

Christmas time at the Gargiulos. / Beata Zych

Sunday

1) 10 A.M. IT IS BEACH TIME

Who doesn’t love beach? Next stop Coney Island. Coney Island is a residential Brooklyn neighborhood that morphs into a relaxation and entertainment destination each summer. Early in the morning, there is not a lot of people you can walk on the beach and relax. Walking towards the beach you can get to the New York Aquarium (entrance, $11.95), which has been reopened after flooding during Hurricane Sandy.

New York Aquarium/ Beata Zych

 

2) 1 P.M. LUNA PARK

Coney Island is a New York City neighborhood that features an amusement area that includes 50 or more separate rides and attractions. The park is open seasonal, operating roughly between Easter and Halloween. Rides and attraction are generally open on weekends from Easter until October. One of the oldest attraction in the park is Cyclone, a historic wooden roller coaster that opened on June 26, 1927. The coaster goes to panoramic heights, so you can enjoy the amazing view, while riding it.

Cyclone, Coney Island / Beata Zych

3) 4 P.M. GAME AND DRINKS

After those crazy rides on roller coaster is time for MCU Park, a minor league baseball stadium in the Coney Island. The home team is the New York Mets. It is great experience to see minor league team plays, and don’t pay much. After the game you can visit Coney Island Brewery. Stop by for a pint, a flight, merch or a couple growlers to-go, and be sure to catch one of their free tours. With 8 house-brewed beers on tap that rotate regularly, there’s always something new to try. Depending on the season, you might catch some of theirs limited release, specialty styles.

                  MCU Park/ Beata Zych

 

4) 8 P.M. TIME FOR DOGS

Nathan’s hot dogs began as a nickel hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1916, and till this day are the most famous hot dogs. Coney island is their first location, and visiting the Island you have to try them. They have a hot dog eating contest since the early 1970s, and every 4th of July people compete to see who can eat the most hot dogs in 10 minutes! It is really fun to watch, and even funnier if you decide to compete. After dogs fun you can enjoy the evening on the boardwalk.

Nathan’s Hot Dogs/ Beata Zych

 

The Hot Dog Eating Contest/ Beata Zych

 

 

Lodging

Most people choose Airbnb, which is really great. You can find nice, good price apartment in the neighborhood. If you want to stay in the hotel you can check Wythe Hotel( 80 Wythe Ave. at N. 11th Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11249), which opened in 2012 on the Williamsburg waterfront and the prices there range from $350 per night.

The Wythe Hotel / Beata Zych

Other option is William Vale Hotel ( 111 N 12th St, Brooklyn, NY, 11249), upscale hotel with free Wi-Fi, with hip rooftop bar. The prices start at $500 per night.

 

References:

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/brooklyn-bridge.shtml

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.coneyisland.com/tourist-information

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/brooklyn-botanic-garden

 

 

 

 

1 thought on “36 Hours on the Brooklyn Water Front

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *