6 Best Sights in New York City, New York

Coney Island Museum

Coney Island Fodor's choice
Founded as a labor of love by Coney Island impresario Dick Zigun, this quirky museum recounts the tumultuous history of the neighborhood and explores the counterculture that still thrives here. Check out the memorabilia from Coney Island's heyday in the early 1900s, as well as video installations, temporary exhibits, and the fabulous collection of funhouse mirrors.
Fodor's Choice
1208 Surf Ave., Brooklyn, New York, 11224, USA
718-372–5159
www.coneyisland.com
Sights Details
Rate Includes: $5, Labor Day–mid-June closed weekdays; mid-June–Labor Day closed Mon. and Tues.

Brighton Beach

Brighton Beach

Just steps from the subway, this stretch of golden sand is the showpiece of Brooklyn's oceanside playground. Families set up beach blankets, umbrellas, and coolers, and pickup games of beach volleyball and football add to the excitement. Calm surf, a lively boardwalk, and a handful of restaurants for shade and refreshments complete the package. That spit of land in the distance is the Rockaway Peninsula, in Queens. Amenities: toilets. Best for: people-watching, sunsets, Russian food.

Brighton Beach Avenue

Brighton Beach

The main thoroughfare of "Little Odessa" is where you'll find a Russian caviar boutique amid the Cyrillic shop signs advertising everything from pickled mushrooms to Armani handbags. When the weather's good, local bakeries sell sweet honey cake, cheese-stuffed vatrushki danishes, and chocolatey rugelach from sidewalk tables.

Free Street
Brighton Beach Ave., Brooklyn, New York, 11235, USA

Recommended Fodor's Video

Brooklyn Cyclones

Coney Island
The minor-league Brooklyn Cyclones are a farm team for the New York Mets, and their waterfront baseball stadium is a great place to see budding talent—they've sent dozens of players to the major leagues since they first started in Coney Island in 2001. The Cyclones play from mid-June through early September at MCU Park, and fireworks after every Friday-night game make it a celebration.

Coney Island Beach

Coney Island
Just west of Brighton Beach, the Coney Island beach shares many of its neighbor's assets: a gentle surf, golden sand, the famous boardwalk, and plenty of restaurants. The now-defunct Parachute Jump is a great photo op.

Luna Park

Coney Island
The Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel are Coney Island's most famous attractions but they're only the beginning—Luna Park has 19 other rides, including the Slingshot, which will send you soaring and somersaulting more than 90 feet into the air; the Thunderbolt roller coaster with its 90-foot drop; and the Steeplechase, where you'll experience the sensation of riding a horse at top speed around a race track.
Family
1000 Surf Ave., Brooklyn, New York, 11224, USA
718-373–5862
www.lunaparknyc.com
Sights Details
Rate Includes: Closed hrs vary, but are generally mid-Oct.–early May. Check website for details., Seasonal hours vary but generally Mar.–May, weekends only (plus daily Apr. 3--12); June–Aug., daily