36 Hours in Brooklyn (2024)

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• The Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park hosts “Celebrate Brooklyn!,” an annual series of free outdoor concerts presented by BRIC, a local nonprofit arts organization.
• Radio Bakery, which opened last year in Greenpoint, sells Earl Grey morning buns and breakfast sandwiches made with everything-spice focaccia, smoked salmon and cream cheese.
• The Brooklyn Museum is currently exhibiting “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,” with contemporary works from across the Black diaspora.
• L&B Spumoni Gardens, a southern Brooklyn institution open since 1939, serves thick Sicilian-style pizza squares and heaping scoops of spumoni (a gelato-like specialty).

• Brooklyn Bridge Park, with verdant lawns, recreational areas and views of the Manhattan skyline, is a natural entryway to the borough.
• WNYC Transmitter Park, which was once home to radio transmission towers, overlooks the East River from the waterfront in Greenpoint.
• The Pratt Sculpture Park, a secluded oasis of art and nature, is tucked away on the Pratt Institute’s leafy campus in Clinton Hill.
• At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the magnolia trees and fragrant rose garden bloom in summer.
• The Riegelmann Boardwalk, a nearly three-mile-long oceanfront promenade in Coney Island, attracts a colorful cast of characters.
• The Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Mets, play in Maimonides Park, a small stadium beside the Coney Island boardwalk.

• At Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie, one specialty is the swingle, a frozen chocolate-covered mini key lime pie on a stick.
• UnTable, a restaurant serving unconventional twists on Isan (northeast Thailand) cuisine, opened last year on a quiet brownstone block in Carroll Gardens.
• Malai, an ice cream shop in Carroll Gardens, serves South Asian-inspired flavors like masala chai, lychee and mango-and-cream.
• Rhythm Zero is a new coffee shop worthy of an interior design magazine spread, steps from the waterfront in Greenpoint.
• A&A Bake Doubles and Roti, a long-standing Trinidadian counter-service shop in Bed-Stuy, serves delicious doubles (curried-chickpea-filled fried flatbreads loaded with tamarind and pepper sauces).
• Fan-Fan Doughnuts, a small bakery in Bed-Stuy, offers many flavors, like the churros-and-chocolate doughnut, inspired by the owner Fany Gerson’s Mexican roots.
• Taqueria Al Pastor is a casual favorite in Bushwick for carne asada and al pastor tacos and Mexican horchata.
• Nenes Deli Taqueria, southwest of Bushwick’s Maria Hernandez Park, serves cheesy, braised-beef birria tacos.
• R.Slice is a newly opened slice shop beside Roberta’s, the pizzeria that put Bushwick on the culinary map back in 2008.
• Yafa, a serene Yemeni cafe in Sunset Park, serves specialty drinks like a locally roasted, single-origin Yemeni pour-over coffee.
• La Flor de Izucar is a Mexican bakery and cafe in Sunset Park with fluffy vanilla conchas.
• Kai Feng Fu Dumpling House is a no-frills, cash-only spot in Sunset Park for pan-fried pork-and-chive dumplings and sesame pancakes.

• Sunny’s Bar is a beloved Red Hook dive that’s been around since the 1890s when dockworkers were regulars.
• LunÀtico, a musician-owned bar with a tiny stage in Bedford-Stuyvesant, hosts nightly performances, often with top local musicians.
• Public Records, a multi-room magnet for audiophiles in Gowanus, recently opened Upstairs, a loft-like second-floor listening lounge and bar.
• Danger Danger, a rollicking rock bar that opened last year in Bushwick, has Italo-disco tunes, zebra-print carpeting and parrot-adorned chandeliers.
• Ornithology is a cozy Bushwick jazz club with late-night jam sessions and great co*cktails.
• Elsewhere is a fun, inclusive club in a converted warehouse with multiple rooms and a rooftop terrace in an industrial area along the border of Bushwick and East Williamsburg.

• The Fort Greene Park Greenmarket is a neighborhood farmers’ market with an adjacent Artisans Bazaar of stalls from small local businesses.
• The Word is Change, a new-and-second-hand bookstore with a social-justice focus, is one of many independent shops in Bed-Stuy.
• Byas & Leon is an inviting boutique with sustainable apparel, hand-made jewelry and vintage pieces.
• BLK MKT Vintage stocks antiques, clothing and collectible miscellany related to Black culture.
• Black Star Vinyl is the spot in Bed-Stuy to flip through records and magazines.

• 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, near the northern edge of Brooklyn Heights, is a luxurious option with outstanding views from the rooftop pool and bar as well as from many of the 195 neutral-hued guest rooms. Rooms start at $680.
• The Ace Hotel Brooklyn opened in 2021 steps from the downtown Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station, and has a clubby lobby lounge and 287 industrial-chic rooms with vintage furnishings and raw-concrete ceilings. Rooms start at $279.
• The Penny Williamsburg, conveniently near two subway lines, is a pet-friendly property that opened in 2022, with 118 apartment-style rooms (each has a kitchenette) and a scenic rooftop bar. Rooms from $225.
• There are few legal short-term rentals in Brooklyn after the city began enforcing strict new rules in 2023 in an effort to alleviate the housing shortage.

• Brooklyn is eminently walkable and traveling between neighborhoods is easy via subways and buses ($2.90), as well as ferries ($4). Citi Bike has docks with both regular bikes and e-bikes stationed throughout the borough ($4.79 for 30 minutes; $19 for a day pass). Ride-hailing options include Uber and Lyft.

4 p.m. Bike along the waterfront

Every year, millions visit Brooklyn Bridge Park, where formerly industrial piers are now home to verdant lawns and recreational areas, yet few venture farther down the waterfront. Hop on a Citi Bike and keep pedaling until you reach Red Hook, a neighborhood about two miles south. The city recently announced plans to redevelop a dilapidated marine terminal on more than 100 acres of Red Hook’s waterfront. But for now, this out-of-the-way neighborhood still has the feel of a bygone era with low-slung rowhouses, aging industrial buildings and the odd cobblestone street. Stop for a beer at Sunny’s Bar, a beloved dive around since the 1890s when dockworkers were regulars. Or pop over to Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie for a swingle, a frozen chocolate-covered mini key lime pie on a stick ($7), best enjoyed on the adjacent Valentino Pier with views of the Statue of Liberty.

6 p.m. Dine on Asian flavors

For dinner, bike to neighboring Carroll Gardens, one of Brooklyn’s many historically Italian neighborhoods, for sweat-inducing Thai food at UnTable, a superb restaurant that opened on a quiet brownstone block last year. At this walk-in-only spot, expect unconventional twists on Isan (northeast Thailand) cuisine from the chef Aun Kampimarn. Cheerful servers, after checking your spice tolerance, will guide you through the menu that recently included creamy Chiang Mai-style khao-soi curry ($25), crab croquettes with a hot-and-sour tom-yum purée ($19), and the scorching “WHAT THE HELL!! Fried Rice” that’s labeled on the menu, accurately, with 12 chile peppers ($26). After dinner, cool off at Malai, a nearby ice cream shop with South Asian-inspired flavors like masala chai, lychee and my favorite: mango-and-cream (from $6).

7:30 p.m. Attend a free concert in the park

The borough has many outstanding performing arts venues, including the acclaimed Brooklyn Academy of Music in Fort Greene, the regal Kings Theatre in Flatbush and the beautifully restored Brooklyn Paramount in Downtown Brooklyn that reopened in March. But on a balmy summer evening, no one wants to be cooped indoors when there’s a show in Prospect Park. On the western edge of this lush 585-acre park, the Lena Horne Bandshell hosts “Celebrate Brooklyn!,” an annual outdoor concert series presented by BRIC, a local nonprofit arts organization. This year’s lineup includes the singer-songwriter and rapper Meshell Ndegeocello, the ska-punk band Fishbone and the Afrobeat musician Seun Kuti. Performances are free and seats fill up fast, but there’s always space to unfurl a blanket on the surrounding grass.

10 p.m. Take in an encore performance

When mosquitoes descend after dark, head indoors for an encore performance at LunÀtico, an intimate, musician-owned bar with a tiny stage in Bedford-Stuyvesant (the neighborhood everyone calls Bed-Stuy), northeast of the park. Nightly shows often feature top local musicians — the reggae saxophonist Anant Pradhan and the trumpeter Jon Lampley are regulars — playing to a rapt crowd. Or roll into Gowanus, a former industrial zone along a notoriously polluted canal where, since a recent rezoning, shiny apartment towers are now sprouting at breakneck speed. On one still-undeveloped block, Public Records is a multi-room magnet for audiophiles that recently opened Upstairs, a loft-like second-floor listening lounge with sleek white banquettes and a high-tech sound system playing rare vinyl and tapes into the early morning.

Picturesque brownstone blocks abound in Brooklyn, but the borough also overflows with museums, restaurants and outdoor activities for the enjoyment of residents and visitors alike.

8 a.m. Greet the day in Greenpoint

Arrive early to avoid the line that usually stretches down the block outside Radio Bakery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn’s northernmost neighborhood. This cult-favorite bakery, which opened last year, excels in both sweet and savory — Earl Grey-flavored morning buns ($5.50), croissants filled with roasted mushrooms ($7) — but best are the sandwiches made with everything-spice focaccia, smoked salmon, cream cheese, pickled onions and dill ($14.50). Take your order to go and pick up a cappuccino ($4.75) from Rhythm Zero, a new gallery-like coffee shop worthy of an interior design magazine spread. Then claim a bench in the adjacent WNYC Transmitter Park for breakfast with views across the East River and, even closer, of the creeping construction of modern high-rises.

10 a.m. Browse creative arts in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill

Many Brooklynites start their Saturdays with a trip to a neighborhood farmers’ market. The Fort Greene Park Greenmarket may be smaller than the one at Grand Army Plaza, at the top of Prospect Park, but has more of a community feel, with regulars chatting up vendors at the concurrent Artisans Bazaar and impromptu stoop sales occasionally popping up in front of adjacent brownstones. Browse stalls where you might find felted wall hangings from Suri & Caya, hand-embroidered sweatshirts from Create the Culture, statement-making sunglasses from Eeny Eyewear and cute pet accessories from Gone to the Dogs. Then grab a pint of raspberries from Wilklow Orchards, a Hudson Valley farm, and wander east into neighboring Clinton Hill to the Pratt Sculpture Park (free), a secluded oasis of art and nature on the Pratt Institute’s leafy campus.

12:30 p.m. Shop and snack through Bed-Stuy

Adjacent to Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy is filled with independent shops and worth-a-detour food spots. On Tompkins Avenue, pop into the Word is Change, a new-and-second-hand bookstore with a social-justice focus; then visit Byas & Leon, an inviting boutique with sustainable apparel, hand-made jewelry and vintage pieces. Refuel a few blocks away at A&A Bake Doubles and Roti, a long-standing Trinidadian counter-service shop with delicious doubles (curried-chickpea-filled fried flatbreads loaded with tamarind and pepper sauces; $2.50). Later browse Juneteenth posters, old Ebony magazines, VHS tapes and other collectible miscellany related to Black culture at BLK MKT Vintage, and flip through records and magazines at Black Star Vinyl. Make a final stop at Fan-Fan Doughnuts, where many flavors, like the churros-and-chocolate doughnut, are inspired by the owner Fany Gerson’s Mexican roots (from $3.50).

3 p.m. Admire art and nature

The Brooklyn Museum, near Prospect Park, will begin celebrating its 200th anniversary later this year. But go now to catch the current exhibition, “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” (through July 7; tickets $25). This outstanding showcase of contemporary artworks from across the Black diaspora includes monumental portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Lorna Simpson, multidimensional paintings evoking hidden histories by Titus Kaphar, an entire gallery lined with colossal works by the Botswana-born painter Meleko Mokgosi, and a fascinating series of photographs from 1980s Brooklyn by Jamel Shabazz. If there’s time afterward, stroll next door to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden where the magnolia trees and fragrant rose garden bloom in summer (admission $22; last entry 5:30 p.m.).

7:30 p.m. Devour tacos and a spicy slice

Head to Bushwick for a food crawl through the traditionally Latino, rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. Start at Taqueria Al Pastor, a casual favorite for carne asada and al pastor tacos (from $4.50) and cinnamon-spiced Mexican horchata ($4). Then walk through Maria Hernandez Park, where locals play soccer, basketball and ecuavoley (an Ecuadorean variant of volleyball), to Nenes Deli Taqueria for cheesy, braised-beef birria tacos ($4.15). Finish by crossing Flushing Avenue to the newly opened R.Slice, a New York-style slice shop from Roberta’s — the pizzeria, now an international brand, that put Bushwick on the culinary map back in 2008. Order a couple of slices, at least one of which should be the Fire & Ice made with spicy ’nduja sausage and fresh stracciatella cheese on a crisp, foldable crust ($6).

11 p.m. Stay out late in Bushwick

After dinner, join the crowd bouncing along to synth and Italo-disco tunes at Danger Danger, a rollicking rock bar that opened last year with zebra-print carpeting and parrot-adorned chandeliers. For a chiller vibe, duck inside Ornithology, a cozy jazz club nearby with late-night jam sessions and great co*cktails ($10 cover). Or dance all night at Elsewhere, a fun, inclusive club in a converted warehouse with multiple rooms and a rooftop terrace (entry from around $30). The surrounding area, an industrial zone bordering East Williamsburg, is worth revisiting in the daytime for its grassroots arts scene, including the Bushwick Collective street art murals and the buzzy new International Objects gallery.

The beach at Coney Island. With beachside resorts and racetracks, Brooklyn first established itself as a summertime destination for weary city-dwellers over 150 years ago.

10 a.m. Taste the flavors of Sunset Park

Hop aboard the South Brooklyn ferry — the breeziest summer transit option — to Sunset Park, a multicultural neighborhood where the flavors change from block to block. Begin on Fourth Avenue at Yafa, a serene Yemeni cafe serving specialty drinks like a locally roasted, single-origin Yemeni pour-over coffee ($7). Then walk to La Flor de Izucar, a Mexican bakery and cafe on Fifth Avenue, for a fluffy vanilla concha ($1.50). Pause in the adjacent park, also named Sunset Park, to admire the sweeping views across Brooklyn, the lower Manhattan skyline, New Jersey and Staten Island. Then explore Brooklyn’s Chinatown, which spans Seventh and Eighth Avenues, ending at Kai Feng Fu Dumpling House, a no-frills, cash-only spot for sesame pancakes ($1.75) and pan-fried pork-and-chive dumplings doused with soy sauce, vinegar and chili oil ($2.50 for six).

1 p.m. Cheer for the attractions of southern Brooklyn

It’s a summertime rite of passage to join the colorful cast of characters sauntering along Coney Island’s Riegelmann Boardwalk, a nearly three-mile-long oceanfront promenade. Amusem*nt options abound but skip the (expensive) rides in favor of a baseball game. The minor league Cyclones — Brooklyn’s only professional baseball team since the Dodgers’ heartbreaking departure for Los Angeles in 1958 — play in Maimonides Park, a small stadium beside the boardwalk where rollercoasters rumble beyond the center field fence (tickets from $20). Win or lose, after the game, join families gathered on the outdoor patio of L&B Spumoni Gardens (one subway stop away on the N), a Brooklyn institution open since 1939 with take-out windows serving delicious Sicilian-style pizza squares ($4), creamsicle soft serves ($6) and heaping scoops of spumoni (a gelato-like specialty; $5).