36 Hours in Brooklyn

Besides Manhattan, New York has five boroughs and sometimes many people don’t branch out enough. Brooklyn is one of the most popular borough and has more to offer than you think.

By Angela Li

December 1, 2018

When people come visit New York, they tend to only stay in Manhattan. There’s a lot more to explore out of the city. Tourists can stay in the city but after walking the Brooklyn bridge, it’s a whole new experience. Brooklyn is a huge borough with diversity and amazing food and people. The trains all connect together making it a fairly easy to navigate around. Brooklyn has many neighborhoods that not many people know about. It’s kind of finding gem in these little parts of Brooklyn. Let’s put on comfortable sneakers like these Adidas Ultraboosts because we’re about to go exploring all over Brooklyn.

Saturday

1. 10 a.m. Morning Fuel

The route to Brooklyn Bridge Park during the morning is ideal. The walk on the Brooklyn Bridge is not as long as you think it is. You can also rent a Citi bike if biking is easier for you. This is the best time because you’ll be dodging that rush of tourists that come out in the afternoon or night time. After walking roughly 1.1 miles, welcome to the Brooklyn. After getting off the bridge, its time to walk or bike more to Brooklyn Bridge Park. In about ½ a mile, you will be in DUMBO. You’ll be under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge in about the same area.

Soon, you’ll find one of the most iconic coffee shops, Brooklyn Roasting Company on Jay Street. This is the first Brooklyn Roasting Company in Brooklyn and they have their own roaster in-house. The company roasts their own beans so you can get the freshest coffee beans and amazing hot coffee. There are many blends of coffee available like Mocha Java, Ethiopian, Peru, Nicaragua and so much more.

 

2. 12 p.m. Brooklyn Bridge Park

After grabbing a coffee and a pastry for a quick breakfast, if you walk little more, you’ll see Brooklyn Bridge Park. There are many activities that you can do at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Some free activities would be running, jogging, walking or biking. There’s many trails for all these activities. There are steps by Jane’s carousel if you’re looking for more cardio, HIIT exercises or even set up a yoga mat. Also, a little towards the left past the docks, there is the sports center (Pier 2). This includes basketball courts, handball courts, volleyball courts, ping pong and more. In the summer, there is also a pool that is free. There are usually many basketball players on the courts so feel free to play a game or two. After a hard workout, its time for lunch.

3. 3 p.m. Shopping

Luckily, the Brooklyn Bridge Park is not far form downtown Brooklyn. There’s a special place downtown Fulton to shop for the most recent sneakers. There are many stores located in a small area to buy shoes and sporting essentials. Foot Locker, Footaction, Flight 23 and more. These stores have different kinds of sneakers for different sports. For example, Kobe’s are great for a basketball game and Adidas Ultraboost for running.

4. 5 p.m. Hidden Gem

DeKalb Market Hall has a ton of food vendors to check out all under one roof! Robert Sietsema states that its comparable to Chelsea Market in the city (Sietsema, 2017). There are over 40 vendors to choose from. Different vendors sell different foods like the famous Katz’s Delicatessen for a huge pastrami sandwich without going to Manhattan. Another option can be seafood, barbeque food, pierogies, desserts, coffee, beer and so much more. This is a great spot to pre game and be full or doing some grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s.

5. 7 p.m. Barclay’s Center

At the Barclay’s Center, many events are held there. It can be hockey game, basketball game or even a concert. This calendar shows what dates and games or concerts are going to be taken place there. DeKalb Market Hall should have filled up your stomachs so you can skip the over priced food but maybe grab a beer.

6. 10 p.m. Irish pub

After a night of cheering for your favorite sports team its finally over. From the Barclay’s Center, its going to be about 2 minutes of a walk to the bar. You can celebrate after at McMahon’s Public House which is an Irish pub bar. This bar is opened till 4 a.m. so you can extend your celebration for that win.

Sunday

7. 11 a.m. Prospect Park

Brooklyn has a special park that is well known. Down at the Prospect Park, there are many things that happen. On Sunday’s, Smorgasburg takes place there. A bunch of vendors come and open up their stands to feed our hungry New Yorkers. Pro tip, Smorgasburg is mostly cash only. But, during the fall and winter, the ice skating rink is opened for everyone. Tickets are affordable starting at $7 and $10 on weekends and rentals are only $7! Bluestone Café offers hot drinks like coffee or hot chocolate to stay warm if there is a wait.

8. 2 p.m Coney Island and Nathan’s Famous

Last stop on the Q train is Coney Island. Once getting out of the train station, Nathan’s Famous Hotdog is at Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenue’s corner. This is the first Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog restaurant to open in 1916 and it is still standing strong! Their famous beef hot dogs ($4.75) are delicious all year round. You can sit inside or take it to go and walk on the board walk. It’s a little too cold for people to be there now but it is also great because it is less crowded. If you have a chance, visit the Brooklyn aquarium. The aquarium is a few minutes down the board walk and closes early.

9. 5 p.m. Sunset and a Caribbean Night

The sun sets earlier in the fall and winter time. You can be on the sand or on the board walk and watch the sunset. It is relaxing to watch but don’t stand still for too long; it’ll get too cold. Walk out of Coney Island and onto the streets. End your night at Footprint’s Cafe with delicious Caribbean food, amazing drinks (and their names) and good music. A must have is rasta pasta with jerk chicken ($14); you will not regret it.

10. 10:30 a.m.

The last few hours of Brooklyn and Sweet Chick is the a great way to end it with a full belly. Sweet Chick owner, John Seymour, is currently on his 5^th restaurant in the U.S. He sets a cool vibe in his restaurants (Cooper, 2018). Fried chicken and waffles with three different types of butter; lemon, herb and berries ($18). Sweet Chick has hip hop, r&b, 90’s music playing in the background. There might be a long wait coming after 12 p.m. The best thing to do is come before 10:30 a.m. to beat the crowd.

Lodging

There are a few hotels in Downtown Brooklyn that are affordable, but sometimes when you visit near the holidays, prices can shoot up. However, these hotels are very accessible to all train stations and is close by amazing food, drinks and people.

The NU Hotel is a boutique hotel with urban style rooms starting at $162. This hotel is near the Brooklyn Bridge.

A little more expensive hotel is the Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Brooklyn ($290) on 3^rd avenue. This is near the Barclay’s Center where the train station is very close by.

The Tillary Hotel is close enough to walk to the Brooklyn Bridge Park ($280). While the prices vary throughout the holiday times, it is worth the trip to visit Brooklyn.

 

 

Citations:

Cooper, L. F. (2018, April 10). WE TALKED WAFFLES & INSTAGRAM WITH NAS & JOHN SEYMOUR AT THE NEW SWEET CHICK. Retrieved 2018, from Coveteur: http://coveteur.com/2018/04/10/nas-john-seymour-sweet-chick-queens/

 

Sietsema, R. (2017, June 20). What to Eat — and Skip — at Newly Opened DeKalb Market Hall. from Eater New York: https://ny.eater.com/2017/6/20/15841008/dekalb-market-hall-brooklyn-first-look