Things to do in Brooklyn

In a city full of icons – Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building – the epic sweep of Brooklyn Bridge more than holds its own. Its neo-gothic towers are catnip for selfie-takers and views of the Manhattan skyline, especially at dusk and dawn, are among the best in the Big Apple. In other words, it’s as good a place to start your Brooklyn adventure as any. Rent a bike in Lower Manhattan to traverse its mile-long length or, better yet, take a guided tour to get the lowdown on the bridge’s near-150-year history and explore the fashionable Dumbo neighborhood when you reach the other side. 

Pro-tip: guided (and unguided) cycling tours of the Brooklyn Bridge are included with the New York Pass, which can save you up to 50% on more than 100 hot New York attractions, tours and activities, including many featured in this guide. Get your New York Pass here.

Nothing to do with the cartoon elephant (DUMBO is an acronym of Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Underpass, silly!) this hip Brooklyn ‘hood has it all, and then some. We’re talking cool waterside cafés, bleeding-edge art galleries and chic boutiques by the bucketload. Treat yourself to a rummage at the Brooklyn Flea, a weekend bric-a-brac market set on the cobbles beneath the DUMBO Archway; grab brunch in a smart waterfront brunch spot like the River Café; and be sure to hit up Washington Street to nab that essential snap of the Empire State Building framed perfectly by Manhattan Bridge.

Coney Island’s amusements have been entertaining kids of all ages since way back in the late 19th Century, and remain one of the most entertaining and whimsical ways you spend a day in Brooklyn. Scream if you want to go faster on Luna Park’s century-old wooden Cyclone roller coaster, take a spin on the 150-foot Wonder Wheel at Deno’s, and unleash your inner kid on arcade classics and fun fairground games galore.

We’d recommend filling your face with Coney Island’s famous hot dogs, spicy wings and funnel cakes before – not after – testing your mettle on gut-flipping thrill rides like Thunderbolt, Sling Shot and Zenobi, all rides that are very much not recommended for the faint of heart, nor delicate of stomach.

Pretty Prospect Park has some pedigree, having been designed by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, the celebrated 19th-century architects also responsible for Central Park. Prospect is a little over half the size of its more famous Manhattan cousin, but still packs a mighty punch across its 526 acres, counting sprawling areas of woodland, a lake, a zoo and a carousel among its many charms. Grab a picnic and lay claim to your perfect people-watching patch of grass at Nethermead or Long Meadow, get lost in the densely forested Ravine, and fill your camera roll with snaps of the picturesque Lullwater Boathouse and bridge.

There are any number of areas in Brooklyn that could legitimately lay claim to the title of best foodie ‘hood in the district. But Williamsburg’s buzzy restaurants, brunch joints, indie breweries and street food hotspots are pretty hard to beat. Try a taste of Paris at Juliette, scoff expertly iced fancies at Brooklyn Cupcake, gorge on farm-fresh fromages from the Bedford Cheese Shop, and go for a slice of old-school train-car cool at Diner.

Meanwhile, Smorgasburg, originally a spin-off of the Brooklyn Flea, has snowballed into its own HUUUUGE weekend food market, where your only trouble will be deciding what to go for: Bolivian chola sandwiches, lobster rolls, life-altering mac’n’cheese, gooey St Louis butter cake… take your pick or, heck, go all in and try ‘em all.

The streets of Brooklyn boast some of the finest urban art in all of NYC. Take a guided walking tour with the New York Pass to experience some of the highlights of this vast open-air gallery. Colorful murals, tags and installations combine to create a powerful narrative of the city’s history and diversity. Your walk will include that most impressive of outdoor art extravaganzas: the Bushwick Collective at Troutman Street and St Nicholas Avenue. Here’s where you can see cutting-edge pieces by the likes of Phlegm, Buff Monster, Blek le Rat and other such Big Apple up-and-comers.

Comprising 52 acres at the north end of Prospect Park, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is an extraordinary urban oasis of some 14,000 plant species. Grab a selfie by the Osborne Garden’s wisteria-draped pergolas and pause to smell the roses in the Cranford Garden (especially in summer, when a sensory fiesta of tens of thousands of blossoms awaits). The Shakespeare Garden – containing 80+ plants mentioned in the Bard’s works – invites visitors to come over all dramatic, while the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden is a place of serene quietude, all cute wooden bridges, traditional torii gate, and colorful spring cherry blossoms.

Last but by no means least in our guide to the best things to do in Brooklyn is the quite marvelous Brooklyn Museum. One of New York’s biggest, the Brooklyn Museum boasts an epic collection, with a strong focus on Ancient Egyptian artifacts and modern American art. This means that, alongside old European Masters, African carvings and international textiles, visitors can eyeball Egyptian mummies, papyrus scrolls and sculptures, as well as landmark pieces by Georgia O’Keefe, Norman Rockwell, John Singer Sargent, Edward Hicks and Emil Fuchs.

Looking for more things to do in Brooklyn and elsewhere around NYC? The New York Pass includes more than 100 top attractions, tours and activities, and can save you up to 50% on regular admission prices. Hit the buttons below to find out more and to bag your pass!