Brooklyn for tourists: 10 things you should do
Green-Wood Cemetery
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Yes, you need to visit a cemetery. This 478-acre National Historical Landmark nestled between Prospect and Sunset Parks was founded in 1838 and is New York City's answer to Paris' Père Lachaise. Legends such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Leonard Bernstein, Horace Greeley and William "Boss" Tweed are buried there. The Green-Wood Historic Fund hosts an array of walking tours, concerts, book lectures, exhibits and other educational activities, but you can do a self-guided stroll or hop on a trolley to learn about the cemetery's history and get a good view of the green monk parakeets that have been nesting there since the '60s. With its hills, valleys, glacial ponds and paths, and one of the largest collections of 19th and 20th century statuary and mausoleums, it feels unexpectedly celebratory.
INFO: 718-210-3080, green-wood.com
Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg
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Imagine a place where you could sample dozens of homemade foods by local artisans -- doughnuts, bagels, granola, mustards, pickles, pulled pork sandwiches, sliders, sausages, grilled cheese, and chocolates -- all while shopping for antiques, furniture, vintage clothing, handcrafted jewelry, art and more. You've arrived at Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg, where, since 2008, hundreds of intrepid vendors and food makers gather every week. Held in DUMBO (80 Pearl St.) and Industry City (241 37th St.), indoors in winter and out in the sunshine in summer (with bars serving cocktails and craft beers), it's a destination with a simple formula: shop, eat, drink.
INFO: brooklynflea.com
Brooklyn Museum
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The Brooklyn Museum is the second-largest art museum in New York after the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is reason enough to visit. But it also houses one of the most impressive collections of ancient Egyptian art as well as works by Georgia O'Keeffe, John Singer Sargent and George Bellows. Special exhibitions explore the world far and near.
INFO: Closed Mondays and Tuesdays, admission $16, ages 19 and under free, 718-638-5000, brooklynmuseum.org
Brooklyn Bridge Park
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This stretch of revitalized industrial waterfront running from the Manhattan Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge appeals to kids and grown-ups alike. Dotted with playgrounds, meadows for picnicking and frolicking, concessions from local businesses such as Ample Hills Creamery, Luke's Lobster, Lizzmonade, Pilot and Fornino, the Park also boasts sand volleyball, full court basketball, kayaking, swimming in the pop-up pool (equipped with locker rooms, sandy beach and tiki bar and grill) and roller skating. Not to mention Jane's Carousel, an impeccably restored merry-go-round that dates to 1922, overlooking the water and housed in a clear glass pavilion designed by Pritzker-Prize winning French architect Jean Nouvel. BBP's spring highlights include The Ed Center, with a 10' scale model of Brooklyn Bridge Park and the park's 250-gallon aquarium filled with critters from the East River and ping pong tables at Pier 2.
INFO: brooklynbridgepark.org
Eat in Williamsburg
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The Brooklyn restaurant scene has mushroomed all over the borough, but Williamsburg may have more terrific restaurants, block by block, than any other neighborhood. An ideal day of eating would begin with breakfast at Egg (109 N 3rd St.; 718-302-5151, eggrestaurant.com) followed by a coffee at Blue Bottle (160 Berry St.; 510-653-3394); lunch at American spot Diner (81 Broadway; 718-486-3077, dinernyc.com); a handmade cocktail at Lemon's on the roof at the Wythe Hotel (80 Wythe Ave.; 718-460-8006, lemonsbk.com ) followed by a bottle of bubbly and an icy tray of oysters from the expansive raw bar at Maison Premiere (298 Bedford Ave, 347-335-0446, maisonpremiere.com) or steaks at St. Anselm (355 Metropolitan Ave., 347-335-0446, stanselm.net).
Take a walk around Brooklyn Heights
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There are many great Brooklyn neighborhoods to explore on foot -- Williamsburg, Park Slope and Cobble Hill are all solid options. But perhaps the most inspiring neighborhood to walk through is its oldest: Brooklyn Heights. It's on these tree-lined streets that a Revolutionary War battle was waged, and where many of the city's most notable writers lived -- Truman Capote, Arthur Miller, Carson McCullers, Norman Mailer and W.E.B. DuBois, to name just a few. Walking here you'll find cobblestone streets, bona fide mansions, antebellum wooden-framed row houses and iconic brownstones. When strolling through, make sure to hit the Promenade, a mile-long path that will put you face to face with the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and a stunning view of the Manhattan skyline. Free walking maps are available online as well.
INFO: freetoursbyfoot.com
Brooklyn Brewery
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Founded by Steven Hindy (a former Mideast correspondent for The Associated Press) and Tom Potter (a former banker), Brooklyn Brewery not only makes some of the best beer in the nation, but also pays homage to its native borough with a stalwart dedication to the craft beer process brought to these shores by immigrants from Germany, Belgium and Ireland. Under the guidance of brewmaster Garrett Oliver, the team brews its signature Brooklyn Lager, along with dozens of artisan beers. Technical tours of the brewery are offered and the brewery also hosts tastings and other events.
INFO: brooklynbrewery.com
Get arty at the DUMBO galleries
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DUMBO -- which stands for Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass -- is teeming with talent, and its galleries are lucky enough to capture much of it. Visit United Photo Industries (16 Main St., Suite B; 718-801-8099, unitedphotoindustries.com), which presents public installations and has a permanent exhibition space featuring a range of photography; then check out all the contemporary reductive abstract art you like at Minus Space (16 Main St. , Suite A; 718-801-8095, minusspace.com). A.I.R. (Artists in Residence) Gallery, which opened in 1972 as the first all-female cooperative gallery in the United States, hosts shows, talks and lectures (155 Plymouth St.; 212-255-6651, airgallery.org).
Prospect Park
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A stroll through Prospect Park is an easy way to spend a memorable day. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted after the completion of Central Park, it boasts 90 acres of wide, open fields for baseball and soccer, trails for running (the loop is 3.35 miles), bike riding, and horseback riding; summer concerts at the Prospect Park Bandshell, a seasonal ice skating rink at the LeFrak Center and several playgrounds. The magnificent 1912 Prospect Park Carousel is a popular feature, and one of the city's biggest green markets sets up shop every Saturday at the north entrance at Grand Army Plaza.
INFO: prospectpark.org
Atlantic Avenue shopping spree
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No tour of Brooklyn would be complete without shopping on Atlantic Avenue -- which runs through the heart of Brooklyn's most beloved neighborhoods. This is an avenue with something for everyone. Men in need of a new look can browse Goose Barnacle (91 Atlantic Ave.; 855-2694, goosebarnacle.com), while women can poke around Kaight (382 Atlantic Ave.; 718-858-4737, kaightshop.com) for eco-conscious clothing, Meg (358 Atlantic Ave.; 718-522-3585, megshops.com) for great dresses and Written by Forest for jewelry (313A Atlantic Ave.; https://www.writtenbyforest.com).
