New York City
We’ve compiled the best of the best in New York City - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Sort by:
118 Recommendations
{{numTotalPoiResults}} {{ (numTotalPoiResults===1)?'Recommendation':'Recommendations' }}
0 Recommendations
Loading...
-
1. Afropunk Fest
Fort GreeneThis annual multicultural fete brings artists like Macy Gray, D'Angelo, Big Freedia, and Chuck D to an urban park near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, at the far north end of Fort Greene. The fashion scene is as fabulous as the music. Local food trucks provide sustenance and a thrift market keep fans occupied between sets.
Commodore Barry Park, Flushing Ave., Brooklyn, New York, 11201, USASight Details
Rate Includes: 2 days in Aug. -
2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Prospect HeightsA verdant, 52-acre oasis, the BBG charms with its array of “gardens within the garden,” including idyllic Japanese hill-and-pond, rose, and Shakespeare gardens. The Japanese cherry arbor turns into a breathtaking cloud of pink every spring. There are multiple entrances, and a variety of free garden tours are available with admission; check the website for seasonal details and information on the many festivals held throughout the year, including the iconic Sakura Matsuri celebration during cherry blossom season.
View Tours and Activities990 Washington Ave., Brooklyn, New York, 11225, USA718-623–7200Sight Details
Rate Includes: $18, Closed Mon. -
3. Brooklyn Bridge (Entrance)
Brooklyn HeightsMost visitors cross the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan, but you'll get better views traversing the span from the Brooklyn side. It's a surprisingly long walk (more than a mile) that normally takes about 40 minutes, but the exhilarating views are good payment for your exercise. Many office workers commute this way, and a welcome recent addition is a separate bike lane carved out from a lane of traffic, making the walkway much less crowded during rush hour (7 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 6 pm). It's most magical and quietest in the early morning, but if you don't mind the crowds, it's worth making the trip at sunset in summer, when the lights of Manhattan come to life. There are two pedestrian access points for the bridge on the Brooklyn side. One is at the intersection of Tillary Street and Boerum Place, where it eventually splits to lead left for those on foot, right for those on two wheels; the second is the Washington Street underpass, which leads to a staircase up to the walkway.
View Tours and ActivitiesBrooklyn, New York, 11201, USA -
4. Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn HeightsThis sweeping feat of green urban renewal stretches from the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO to the Brooklyn Bridge and south all the way to Pier 6, carpeting old industrial sites along the waterfront with scenic esplanades and lush meadows. The park has playgrounds, sports fields, food concessions, the wonderfully restored Jane's Carousel, and lots of grass for lounging. In the summer, there are outdoor movies on the Harbor View Lawn. There are pickleball courts on Pier 2. You can access the park at various points; just head down the hill toward the East River and you can't miss it.
-
5. Brooklyn Heights Promenade
Brooklyn HeightsStrolling this mile-long path famous for its magnificent Manhattan views, you might find it surprising to learn that its origins were purely functional: the promenade was built as a sound barrier to protect nearby brownstones from highway noise. Find a bench, and take in the skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and the Brooklyn Bridge; in the evening, the lights of Manhattan sparkle across the East River. Below are the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway (BQE) and Brooklyn Bridge Park.
View Tours and ActivitiesBetween Remsen and Cranberry Sts., Brooklyn, New York, USA -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
-
6. Brooklyn Museum
Prospect HeightsNew York’s second-largest museum (after Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art) is also one of the largest in America, with 560,000 square feet of exhibition space. The colossal Beaux-Arts structure houses one of the best collections of Egyptian art in the world, as well as impressive collections of African, pre-Columbian, Native American, and feminist art. In addition, you'll find works by Georgia O'Keeffe, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, George Bellows, Thomas Eakins, and Milton Avery. The museum is also well known for its contemporary, cutting-edge special exhibits. The monthly (except for September) First Saturday free-entry night is a neighborhood party of art, music, and dancing, with food vendors and several cash bars.
View Tours and Activities200 Eastern Pkwy., Brooklyn, New York, 11238, USA718-638--5000Sight Details
Rate Includes: $16 suggested donation, $25 combo ticket with Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Closed Mon. and Tues. -
7. Celebrate Brooklyn!
Prospect ParkNew York City’s longest-running summer outdoor performance festival began in 1979 and remains a top-notch crowd-pleaser with its diverse roster of mostly free (and some benefit) star acts. There's ample band shell seating, but locals tend to favor arriving early with a blanket to get a good seat on the grassy slope. Acts range from artists such as Janelle Monáe, the National, Neutral Milk Hotel, and St. Vincent to the Shen Wei Dance Arts company and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Look for silent film nights accompanied by innovative live music as well as spoken word performances. Pack a picnic or buy food from local, on-site vendors.
Entrance on Prospect Park W, Brooklyn, New York, 11217, USA718-683--5600Sight Details
Rate Includes: June--Aug. -
8. Clinton Hill Architecture Walk
Part of the National Register of Historic Places, the buildings along Clinton and Washington avenues were originally lavish summer homes for turn-of-the-20th-century industrialists like Charles Pratt. Federal, French Second Empire, Romanesque Revival, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and neo-Grec mansions line the streets, serving as university buildings, community centers, and private residences. There are also quintessentially Brooklyn brownstones and Italianate row houses, with mansard roofs as far as the eye can see.
Clinton and Washington Aves., Brooklyn, New York, 11205, USA -
9. Coney Island Museum
Coney IslandFounded as a labor of love by Coney Island impresario Dick Zigun, this quirky museum recounts the tumultuous history of the neighborhood and explores the counterculture that still thrives here. Check out the memorabilia from Coney Island's heyday in the early 1900s, as well as video installations, temporary exhibits, and the fabulous collection of funhouse mirrors.
1208 Surf Ave., Brooklyn, New York, 11224, USA718-372–5159Sight Details
Rate Includes: $5, Labor Day–mid-June closed weekdays; mid-June–Labor Day closed Mon. and Tues. -
10. Empire Stores
DUMBOHoused in a sparkling renovation of an enormous 19th-century warehouse, this collection of shops and restaurants features a 7,000-square-foot rooftop garden with East River and Manhattan views. Tenants include creative agencies and West Elm's global HQ, as well as Time Out Market, upscale Italian restaurant Cecconi's, and Dumbo House, offshoot of Soho House. There are rotating art exhibits throughout the building, plus programming with pop-ups and installations.
53–83 Water St., Brooklyn, New York, 11201, USA -
11. Fort Greene Park
Fort GreeneWith 30 acres of green hills, Brooklyn's oldest park is the unofficial nucleus of the neighborhood. It served as a military fort during the Revolutionary War and again during the War of 1812. At its center, the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument commemorates American war prisoners. Although it predates them, landscape architects Olmsted and Vaux (known for designing Central Park and Prospect Park) designed the current layout of Fort Greene Park.
View Tours and ActivitiesDeKalb and Myrtle Aves., Brooklyn, New York, 11201, USA718-722--3218 -
12. Grand Ferry Park
Hipsters, Hasidic Jews, and others hang out at this small waterfront park named for the ferry that for a century connected Williamsburg to Manhattan. The views of Manhattan and the Williamsburg Bridge are sublime anytime. Sand covers the ground in summer, and if you sit on a bench near the waves that crash against the rocks, you can almost pretend you're at the beach. Check out the inscription on the redbrick smokestack, which figured in the development of penicillin.
-
13. Green-Wood Cemetery
One of the loveliest places for a stroll in the five boroughs, the 478 acres of Green-Wood Cemetery are also home to more than 560,000 permanent residents. Notables include Jean-Michel Basquiat, Leonard Bernstein, and Horace Greeley, but the elaborate monuments and mausoleums of the nonfamous tend to be more awe-inspiring. Equally impressive are the views that stretch to Brooklyn Harbor and Manhattan. Guided walking and trolley tours, as well as special events, are offered. Keep an eye out for parrots: the bright green monk parakeets have been nesting here since the 1960s when, legend has it, they escaped from a shipment at JFK airport.
-
14. Jane's Carousel
DUMBOEqual parts architectural marvel and children's plaything, this beautifully restored 1922 carousel twirls within a glass-walled waterfront pavilion designed by Pritzker Prize--winning French architect Jean Nouvel. Situated between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, near the northern reaches of 85-acre Brooklyn Bridge Park and directly across from Manhattan's skyline, the carousel's 48 horses and two chariots are off to the races year-round.
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn, New York, 11201, USA718-222--2502Sight Details
Rate Includes: $2, Closed Tues. year-round and Mon. and Wed. mid-Sept.--mid-May, Mid-Sept.--mid-May, Thurs.--Sun. 11--6; mid-May--mid-Sept., Wed.--Mon. 11--7 -
15. Louis Valentino, Jr. Park and Pier
Red HookThis small pier and park, named for a fallen firefighter, has awe-inspiring views of the Statue of Liberty and across the Hudson. You won't need prompting to take pictures. There are a few benches for relaxing.
-
16. Mermaid Parade
Coney IslandPlan a trip to Coney Island in mid to late June for the neighborhood's biggest event of the year, and you'll without a doubt have something to talk about for months to come. The costumes (or lack thereof) and floats are memorable, with some pretty outlandish presentations. It can get hot and crowded and hedonistic—more akin to Mardi Gras, with some nudity, than the Thanksgiving Parade, so you may wish to leave the kids at home.
Brooklyn, New York, USASight Details
Rate Includes: June -
17. New York Aquarium
Coney IslandRun by the Wildlife Conservation Society, one of the country's oldest continually operating aquariums occupies 14 beachfront acres, and is home to hundreds of aquatic species. At the Sea Cliffs, you can watch penguins, sea lions, sea otters, and seals frolic; the best action is at feeding time. The Conservation Hall and Glovers Reef building has angelfish, eels, rays, piranhas, and other marine life from Belize, Fiji, and elsewhere. The new Playquarium, which features a Touch Pool of crabs, marine snails, and sea urchin, also invites children to imagine themselves as sharks, sardines, or whales amid a kelp forest, coral reef, and sandy shore. Purchase tickets online for discounted rates.
View Tours and Activities602 Surf Ave., Brooklyn, New York, 11224, USA718-265–3474Sight Details
Rate Includes: $30; reduced tickets Wed. afternoon with advance reservations -
18. New York Transit Museum
Brooklyn HeightsHistory buffs, train geeks, and playful children will all appreciate this unique museum inside a decommissioned 1930s subway station. Exhibitions include detailed timelines of the transit system's construction and evolution over the decades, but the true highlight is the subway platform two levels down, featuring train cars of different eras of the subway, dating back over a century ago. Adults and kids alike can wander these cars, each a time capsule of vintage aesthetics and advertising, or sit behind the driving wheel of a replica of an MTA bus. There are also old turnstiles and other transit memorabilia. The gift shop carries subway-line socks, decorative tile reproductions, and other fun souvenirs.
View Tours and Activities99 Schermerhorn St., Brooklyn, New York, 11201, USA718-694–1600Sight Details
Rate Includes: $10, Closed Mon.–Wed. -
19. Park Slope House Tour
Park SlopeFor nearly 60 years, the annual Park Slope house tour has offered a glimpse inside beautiful private family homes. The self-guided, ticketed event takes place on a Sunday afternoon in May, rain or shine, and shuttle buses connect key sites. Ticket-holders receive an illustrated brochure with the history and details of the participating homes.
50 Prospect Park W, Brooklyn, New York, 11215, USA347-871--0477Sight Details
Rate Includes: From $25, May -
20. Pioneer Works
Red HookOccupying the 19th-century redbrick headquarters of the eponymous machine manufacturer, the Pioneer Works Center for Art and Innovation is a soaring three-level space dedicated to the arts. Reclaimed and retooled by Red Hook artist Dustin Yellin, the repurposed building is home to a collection of arts and science residency studios that showcase changing exhibitions and performance art. Lively opening parties, films, and concerts are open to the public as well. The backyard is a miniwonderland of landscaping and artwork.
159 Pioneer St., Brooklyn, New York, 11231, USA718-596--3001Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Mon. and Tues., Wed.--Sun. noon--6
-
{{ (numCurrentPage-1)*numPageLimit+index+1 }}.
{{ item.neighborhood }} | {{ item.first_keyword }}{{ item.review }}
{{ item.address }}{{ item.phone[0] }}{{ item.details.title }} Details
{{ item.details.content.toString() }}View Tours and Activities -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
No sights Results
Please try a broader search, or expore these popular suggestions:
There are no results for {{ strDestName }} Sights in the searched map area with the above filters. Please try a different area on the map, or broaden your search with these popular suggestions:
