Things to Do in Brooklyn

Known as the “first suburb of America,” Brooklyn Heights is a mere five minutes from Manhattan on the subway and maintains its unique character and historic charm in its fast-moving city. With rows of brownstones and mansions, tree-lined streets and perhaps the best possible views of the New York City skyline, it’s easy to see why Brooklyn Heights is a coveted neighborhood.

Stretching from Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge south to Atlantic Avenue and east from the river to Court Street, the area is known for its classic architecture, restaurant variety and vibrant culture. There are also several historic churches to see throughout, while pedestrian-only Montague Street, which ends at the scenic Brooklyn Heights promenade, is a favorite for visitors and locals alike. A stroll along the East River waterfront is also a popular pastime and great for taking in the views of the Brooklyn Bridge and New York City.

Set in a converted brick warehouse in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood, this chocolate wonderland is the flagship of Jacques Torres’ mini-empire of treats. An Algerian-born French pâtissier whose resume includes New York’s famed Le Cirque, Torres not only makes his own dark- and milk-chocolates, he bakes his own croissants – which you can enjoy here at one of two highly coveted café tables.

Often referred to as “Mr. Chocolate,” Torres was of the first chocolatiers to use graphic prints on his confections, as well as unique flavors and ingredients like ancho chile and passion fruit. He creates Champagne-filled chocolate corks, menageries of chocolate animals, and his own signature chocolate lollipops, in addition to ice cream, cookies, and an enormous chocolate bar called the Big Daddy. His popularity has allowed him to open five other locations in Manhattan, including an outpost in Chelsea Market.

A gracefully gentrified neighborhood in South Brooklyn, Carroll Gardens was originally considered part of more working-class Red Hook, just a few blocks to the south across the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. First settled by Dutch farmers, then Irish, Italian and Norwegian merchants, and now a combination of French immigrants, American yuppies and aging couples, this evolving area retains traces of all its past inhabitants. Most renowned for what it has preserved, Carroll Gardens today is increasingly full of independent-owned cafes, boutiques and antique stores, most set along Smith Street.

Named for Charles Carroll, a Revolutionary War hero and senator from Maryland and the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, the neighborhood is centered on tree-lined Carroll Park. Around and near the park is the Carroll Gardens Historic District, comprised of 19th-century brownstones with elaborate gardens out front.

Now home to Brooklyn’s Chinatown, this historic area is bordered by four neighborhoods: Greenwood Heights (north), Borough Park (east), Bay Ridge (south), and Upper New York Bay (west).

Originally a European immigrant community that grew up around the Bush Terminal, the largest shipping, warehousing and manufacturing complex in the U.S., and later the Brooklyn Army Terminal, Sunset Park experienced its greatest boom between 1895 and the end of World War II. The building of shipping and trucking facilities in nearby New Jersey gave rise to suburban sprawl, and many of Sunset Park’s European immigrants left the area in the 1950s and early ‘60s in pursuit of employment.

The area’s empty rowhouses lost value, creating real estate opportunities for new immigrants from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. These immigrants brought a vibrant mix of Latin shops, design and flavors to the area, some of which still remains today.

Set on the Brooklyn shore of the East River’s Wallabout Bay, directly between the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges, this shipyard was once America’s largest. Utilized by the U.S. Navy since 1801, it saw the building of some of the country’s most renowned fighting ships, including the USS Maine and USS Missouri. Remaining attractions within the Yard include a 24-acre Naval hospital campus and a dry dock that pre-dates the Civil War and is still in use for ship repair today.

The Navy Yard reached its peak of operations during World War II, when 70,000 employees worked here around the clock. After a period of decline in production, the shipyard was decommissioned in 1966 and a few years later the entire yard was purchased by the City of New York.

Set in a decommissioned subway station in Brooklyn, the Transit Museum was opened in 1976 as part of America’s Bicentennial celebration. The original intention was for the museum to be temporary, but its displays of New York City transport memorabilia, subway dioramas, vintage streetcars and more proved so popular that the museum was made a permanent attraction.

In addition to a large archive of vintage photos, artifacts and documents (available to the public by appointment only) and rotating contemporary art exhibits, the museum presents three permanent exhibitions.