Brooklyn Bridge
 

My daughter and I will coming to new york in December (11-16). We want to walk preferably one way across the bridge (coming back to manhattan). How should we get across to Brooklyn? Take a cab? Is there anything we should do before coming back? Restaurants, coffee bars, etc.

Thank You

You can take the subway across to Brooklyn if you want. There's at least one station near that side of the bridge; I know, because that's how I got back to Manhattan.

The Brooklyn Bridge is in between to very different Brooklyn neighborhood. Brooklyn Heights is historic and has some wonderful residential architecture and pectacular views of Manhattan from the promenade. On the other side with the most annoying anme is DUMBO, which stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. There are art galleries, hip furniture stores and restaurants.

You can take the A or C trains to High Street in Brooklyn or the 2 0r 3 to Clark Street.

I think it is more scenic to walk back to Manhattan. :) Easy to access from the subway.

West Elm is a hip furniture store? And all this time I thought it was higher priced Ikea...

Either way, Aduchamp's directions are correct.

Check www.brownstoners.com. This will provide you information on the Sunday flea market in DUMBO. We combined this with our walk back to Manhatta across the BB. It's got lots of collectibles, a certain measure of funk and is just fun to
poke about if flea markets are of any interest to you.

Actually West Elm was reasonably priced but there are other furniture shops which dot DUMBO.

My advice, like many others, is to take the subway to Brooklyn and then walk across the bridge back into Manhattan. I would do the walk in the morning, so you avoid the sun in your eyes. Somewhere on this forum, I found a link that was called something like "Guide for Dummies to walking the Brooklyn Bridge". It had great directions for what subway line to which stop, and then exactly how to find the entrance to the bridge. Maybe someone can dig up that link for you.

I would consider the weather carefully before doing this. It's usually very windy on the bridge - making it feel even colder than the outside temperature. If you get a warm day (in the 40's) and hustle along you'll probably be fine - but on a cold day you'll freeze.

All good advice so far above. Bundle up if you walk across the bridge in December.

Regarding places to eat on the Brooklyn side before doing a walk-across, would recommend:

--Grimaldi's Pizza (not everyone on this forum likes the place, but I very much did the time I went).

--assuming you're OK eating ice cream during the winter, Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (really first-rate stuff, I thought).

If you walk to Atlantic Avenue you will find excellent mid-eatern restaurants and a wonderful spice shop and bakery. There is also a Spanish restaurant and American hip. Even though I love the ice cream place there are other restaurants in Brooklyn.

There are a few other restaurants between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge:

Bubbys Restaurant which is near a good photo op spot of Manhattan.
http://bubbys.com/index.php/DUMBO/

there is Almondine Bakery 85 Water Street
http://www.almondinebakery.com/

Jacques Torres Chocolate (across from Almondine)
http://www.jacquestorres.com/dumboLocation.aspx

A little farther down from Bubbys is Vinegar Hill House restaurant
http://www.vinegarhillhouse.com/general.html

You can also walk to Brooklyn Height to check out the Promenade (provides one of the most commonly used views of Manhattan)You can see the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State bldg from the Promenade.

Enjoy!

On two separate trips to New York with each of my sons (young teenagers at the time), they loved Grimaldi's Pizza at the base of the bridge in Brooklyn and then the walk and view back over the bridge to Manhattan. One of those trips was about the same time in December and I agree it can be breezy on the bridge, so be prepared to bundle up.

Does anyone know any good restaurants at the Manhattan end of the bridge?

There is absolutely nothing at the foot of the bridge. You can walk north to Chinatown (about 10 minutes) who can walk west to SOHO or south to the financial district.

The Fulton Ferry Landing area near Grimaldi's is a great place to view the bridge from water level. Personally I think the actual walk across the bridge is over rated, but the views of the bridge and Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights are stunning

And..really this might be important...you will have immense difficulty hailing a cab at the base of the bridge on the Manhattan side. We finally understood that and walked over to Broadway to hail one. We then hopped over to the Village in same cab.

I love the walk across the bridge. It's a tradition for us every time we visit NYC.

At the base of the bridge on the Manhattan side are four interesting buildings and a park.

City Hall and a park with gas lights
Boss Tweed Courthose which is now the Board of Ed (there are many ironies there)
The Municipal building designed by Stanford White, a gorgeous structure
Old Surrogate's Court, (ask if you can see the lobby)

Additionally Park Row used to be the newspaper street. If you read Time and Again that is the area often referenced.

If you walk up Chambers Street to Broadway, you will see The Sun Building (another defunct newspaper) with a wonderful old clock on the facade, that reads "The Sun: It Shines for ALL."