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Park Slope
Full of young families, dog walkers, double-wide strollers, and impeccably curated shops, the neighborhood that literally slopes down from Prospect Park can feel like a veritable Norman Rockwell painting. Add to all that a slew of laptop-friendly coffeehouses and turn-of-the-20th-century brownstones—remnants of the days when Park Slope had the nation’s highest per-capita income—and it’s no surprise that academics and writers have flocked here. Park Slope’s busiest drags, 5th and 7th Avenues, present plenty of shopping and noshing opportunities. Head to the elegant, 585-acre Prospect Park for long strolls or bicycle rides past lazy meadows, shady forests, and lakes designed by Olmsted and Vaux of Central Park fame (look out for free summertime concerts). Adjacent is Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which features a variety of public classes and the springtime Cherry Blossom Festival. Also perched on the park is the Brooklyn Museum, lauded for collections of American, Egyptian, and feminist art.
Top Attractions
LeFrak Center at Lakeside.
The highlight of this restored 26-acre space in Prospect Park is the all-season ice- and roller-skating rink; also check out the new walkways, the reconstructed esplanade near the lake, and the Music Island nature reserve, all of which were part of the original Olmsted and Vaux plans. Themed roller-skating night takes place on Friday, May through October; in winter, the rink hosts hockey and curling clinics for all ages. There’s also a café and snack bar. | Prospect Park, 171 East Dr.
,
Prospect Park
| 718/462–0100
|
www.lakesidebrooklyn.com
| Skating $6 weekdays, $8 weekends; rentals $6
| Ice rink: Mon.–Thurs. 10–6:30, Fri. 10–9, Sat. 11–9, Sun. 11–6:30
| Station:
B, Q, S to Prospect Park; Q to Parkside Ave.
Quick Bite:
Smorgasburg.
More than a hundred of New York City’s best and brightest cooks and culinary artisans unite in Prospect Park (replacing the Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 5 location) every Sunday to form the city’s hottest foodie flea market. An offshoot of the Brooklyn Flea, this food bazaar extravaganza has launched countless culinary crazes (ramen burger, anyone?), and most vendors are small-scale, homegrown operators. Lines can grow long and vendors can sell out as the afternoon goes on, so head over early in the day if possible. There is also an outpost on the Williamsburg waterfront (between Kent Avenue and N. 7th Street) on Saturdays, as well as smaller Smorgasburgs in Queens, at Coney Island, at the South Street Seaport, and at Central Park SummerStage events. The latest addition to this grub empire is a collaboration with the Winter Flea, held weekends year-round at Industry City in Sunset Park. The larger Smorgasburgs are seasonal and generally take place from May through October, but check the website to confirm. | Breeze Hill
,
Prospect Park
|
www.brooklynflea.com
| May–Oct., Sat. and Sun. 11–6
| Station:
Q, S to Prospect Park; F, G to 15th St.–Prospect Park
.
Fodor’s Choice |
Prospect Park.
Brooklyn residents are passionate about Prospect Park, and with good reason: lush green spaces, gently curved walkways, summer concerts, vivid foliage in autumn, and an all-season skating rink make it a year-round getaway. In 1859 the New York Legislature decided to develop plans for a park in the fast-growing city of Brooklyn. After landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux completed the park in the late 1880s, Olmsted remarked that he was prouder of Prospect Park than of any of his other works—Manhattan’s Central Park included. Many critics agree that this is their most beautiful work. On weekends, those not jogging the 3.35-mile loop gravitate to the tree-ringed Long Meadow to fly kites, picnic, or play cricket, flag football, or frisbee. The park’s north entrance is at Grand Army Plaza, where the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch (patterned on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris) honors Civil War veterans. On Saturdays year-round, a greenmarket at the plaza throngs with shoppers.
A good way to experience the park is to walk the Long Meadow and then head to the eastern side, where you’ll find the lake and most attractions, including the Lefferts Historic House, Prospect Park Audubon Center, and the LeFrak Center. The extravagant Prospect Park Carousel, built in 1912, still thrills the kids. The annual Celebrate Brooklyn! festival takes place at the Prospect Park Bandshell from early June through mid-August. Films are occasionally shown on a 50-foot-wide outdoor screen, one of the world’s largest. | 450 Flatbush Ave. , Prospect Park | 718/965–8951 | www.prospectpark.org | Carousel $2 per ride | Carousel: Apr.–June, Sept., and Oct., Thurs.–Sun. noon–5; July–Labor Day, Thurs.–Sun. noon–6 | Station: 2, 3 to Grand Army Plaza; F, G to 7th Ave. or 15th St.–Prospect Park; B, Q to 7th Ave.
Quick Bites:
City Subs.
Just a five-minute walk from the Barclays Center, this neighborhood darling (formerly City Sub) brought a smile to the face of many Brooklynites when the shop reopened in this new location in the fall of 2015. The sandwiches are made-to-order, so get creative and invent your own, or go with one of the 29 suggested combos, each named for a different local thoroughfare. | 82 5th Ave.
,
Park Slope
| 718/636–1777
|
citysubsbrooklyn.com
| Closed Sun.
| Station:
2, 3 to Bergen St.
Worth Noting
Lefferts Historic House.
A visit to this Dutch Colonial farmhouse, built in 1783 and moved from nearby Flatbush Avenue to Prospect Park in 1918, is a window into how Brooklynites lived in the 19th century, when the area was predominately farmland. Rooms are furnished with antiques and reproductions from the 1820s, when the house was last redecorated. | Prospect Park, 452 Flatbush Ave., at Empire Blvd.
,
Prospect Park
| 718/789–2822
|
www.prospectpark.org/lefferts
| $3 suggested donation
| Weekends noon–4; call for details on seasonal hrs and holidays
| Station:
B, Q, S to Prospect Park
.
Old Stone House.
The original of this reconstructed Dutch farmhouse was built in 1699 and survived until the 1890s. It played a central role in the Battle of Brooklyn, one of the largest battles of the Revolutionary War, and the small museum here focuses on the events of that week in 1776. The museum also depicts the early life of Dutch setters in the area and the years of British occupation in New York, until 1783. Music, art, plays, and other events take place year-round, including a ball game to celebrate the Brooklyn Baseball Club, which started here and gave rise to the Brooklyn Dodgers. | Washington Park/J.J. Byrne Playground, 336 3rd St., between 4th and 5th Aves.
,
Park Slope
| 718/768–3195
|
www.theoldstonehouse.org
| $3 suggested donation
| Weekends 11–4 and by appt.
| Station:
R to Union St.; F, G, R to 4th Ave.–9th St.
Prospect Heights
An influx of creative young professionals and impressive eats has lifted Prospect Heights out from the shadow of nearby Park Slope. Swing by Grand Army Plaza on a Saturday to hit the borough’s flagship farmers’ market, where cooking demos and fresh produce entice the food-loving hoards. Or gorge on everything from lobster rolls to Korean tacos at the plaza’s Food Truck Rally held on select Sundays, May through October. Vanderbilt Avenue and Washington Avenue are the main drags for restaurants and bars.
Barclays Center.
This rust-tinted spaceship of an arena houses two sports franchises—basketball’s Brooklyn Nets and, as of fall 2015, ice hockey’s New York Islanders. With a capacity rivaling Madison Square Garden, Barclays is now a regular stop for national tours, from circuses and ice capades to glossy pop stars and bearded indie rockers. Also impressive are the Barclays food vendors: a solid roster of local restaurateurs, including Williamsburg Pizza, Paisano’s Butcher Shop, and Calexico. | 620 Atlantic Ave., at Flatbush Ave.
,
Prospect Heights
| 917/618–6100
|
www.barclayscenter.com
| Station:
2, 3, 4, 5, B, D, N, Q, R to Atlantic Ave.–Barclays Ctr.; G to Fulton St.; C to Lafayette Ave.; LIRR to Atlantic Terminal
.
Fodor’s Choice |
Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
A gem even among New York’s superlative botanical sites, this verdant 52-acre oasis charms with its array of “gardens within the garden”—an idyllic Japanese Hill-and-Pond garden, a nearly century-old rose garden, and a Shakespeare garden. The Japanese cherry arbor turns into a breathtaking cloud of pink every spring, and the Sakura Matsuri two-day cherry blossom festival is the largest public-garden event in America. There are entrances on Eastern Parkway, near the Prospect Park B, Q, S subway station, and on Washington Avenue, behind the Brooklyn Museum. A variety of free garden tours are available with admission; check the website for seasonal details. | 150 Eastern Pkwy.
,
Prospect Heights
| 718/623–7200
|
www.bbg.org
| $12 (free all day Tues., Sat. before noon, and weekdays mid-Nov.–mid-Feb.)
| Mar.–Oct.: grounds Tues.–Fri. 8–6, weekends 10–6; conservatory Tues.–Sun. 10–5:30. Nov.–Feb.: grounds Tues.–Fri. 8–4:30, weekends 10–4:30; conservatory Tues.–Sun. 10–4. Closed Mon. except major holidays
| Station:
2, 3 to Eastern Pkwy.–Brooklyn Museum; 2, 3, 4, 5 to Franklin Ave.; S to Botanic Garden; B, Q to Prospect Park
.
Fodor’s Choice |
Brooklyn Museum.
First-time visitors may well gasp at the vastness of New York’s second-largest museum (after Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art) and one of the largest in America at 560,000 square feet of exhibition space. Along with changing exhibitions, the colossal Beaux Arts structure houses one of the best collections of Egyptian art in the world and impressive collections of African, pre-Columbian, and Native American art. It’s also worth seeking out the museum’s works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, George Bellows, Thomas Eakins, and Milton Avery—all stunners in a collection that ranges from Egyptian antiquities to Colonial paintings with very 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. | 200 Eastern Pkwy., at Washington Ave.
,
Prospect Heights
| 718/638–5000
|
www.brooklynmuseum.org
| $16 suggested donation (free 1st Sat. of month), $23 combo ticket with Brooklyn Botanic Garden
| Wed., Fri., and weekends 11–6, Thurs. 11–10; 1st Sat. of month 11–11
| Station:
2, 3 to Eastern Pkwy.–Brooklyn Museum
.
Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights
Crown Heights and nearby Bedford-Stuyvesant (known as Bed-Stuy) are vast and historic neighborhoods with a tumultuous past. Long since the 1991 riots that escalated tensions between the area’s Hasidic and black communities, these days Crown Heights is more likely to inspire thoughts of diverse stoops and row houses, rapid gentrification, and authentic Caribbean fare. Crown Heights is also home to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and Weeksville Heritage Center.
Brooklyn Children’s Museum.
What’s red, yellow, and green, and shaped like a spaceship? The Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Nestled in a residential area and abutting a pretty city park, the attention-grabbing exterior suits this interactive space designed for kids—one of a few places in New York City where “little people” can run and touch and play with abandon indoors. Exhibits range from a working greenhouse to Totally Tots, where daily afternoon programming includes art experiences for kids five and under. The cornerstone is World Brooklyn, a warren of rooms dedicated to various NYC cultures—from an Italian pizza shop to a Hispanic bakery—and a replica MTA bus for fun photo ops. Feel free to bring strollers and heavy coats: the museum may be a long walk from the subway, but the coat check takes everything free of charge. The museum has plans to expand to the DUMBO waterfront, aiming to open a new studio annex in the fall of 2016, where children and their families can discover art with the help of teaching artists. | 145 Brooklyn Ave., at St. Marks Ave.
,
Crown Heights
| 718/735–4400
|
www.brooklynkids.org
| $11; free Thurs. 2–6
| Tues., Wed., and Fri.–Sun. 10–5; Thurs. 10–6
| Station:
C to Kingston–Throop Aves.; 3 to Kingston Ave.; A, C to Nostrand Ave.
Weeksville Heritage Center.
Devoted to honoring the history of the 19th-century African American community of Weeksville, one of the first communities of free blacks in New York, founded by James Weeks, this Crown Heights museum comprises a new industrial-modern building by Caples Jefferson Architects, botanical gardens, and three houses that date as far back as 1838. The restored homes, located along historic, gravel Hunterfly Road, are now period re-creations depicting African American family life in the 1860s, 1900s, and 1930s. Tours (Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 3 pm, or by appointment for groups of six or more; $5) lead visitors through bedrooms, kitchens, and sitting rooms accented by objects such as original clothing irons and ceramics found in the area at student-led archeological digs. Throughout the year, the venue hosts exhibits that honor the neighborhood’s history. | 158 Buffalo Ave.
,
Crown Heights
| 718/756–5250
|
www.weeksvillesociety.org
| Tues.–Fri. 9:30–4:30
| Station:
A, C to Utica Ave.; 3, 4 to Crown Heights–Utica Ave.