Questions About Walking the Brooklyn Bridge
 

My husband, our friend, and I will be spending this Saturday in New York City, arriving at 10:00 am and leaving at 7:00 pm (on a bus trip sponsored by our bank). If the weather is nice we would like to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. I've seen this recommended on several posts about things to do in NYC and we thought it might be fun to do, weather permitting. So I was hoping I could get some answers to my questions.

1) Where do we access the walkway for the Bridge on the Manhattan side? Is there a subway stop close by?

2) How long, on average, will it take to walk across the Bridge?

3) When we get to the Brooklyn side of the bridge, where do we end up?

4) Once we get there, what is there to do? Is there somewhere close by we can stop in and drink a good beer?

5) Do we have to walk back across the bridge to get to Manhattan, or is there a subway stop nearby that will take us across the water?

Any information would be appreciated. Thanks...

Robyn :)>-

Take the subway to Brooklyn and then walk the bridge back to Manhattan. That way you will be walking looking at the Manhattan skyline. I don't remember how long it took to walk the bridge, but it wasn't that long, maybe 20 minutes?? I don't know of a place to have a beer in Brooklyn but there is a great ice cream shop at the base of the bridge in Brooklyn. I think it's called the Brooklyn Ice Cream Company.

The best way to walk the bridge is FROM Brooklyn toward Manhattan so Manhattan skyline is in front of you. You can get over to Brooklyn by subway, taxi or on the weekend, you can take the NY Water Taxi 1 stop from South St. Seaport to Fulton Ferry stop in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn side of the bridge is DUMBO on the left of the bridge and Brooklyn Heights on the right. Both areas have lots to offer in terms of shops, restaurants and in Dumbo, some art galleries.

I think someone has written a thread here on walking the bridge but here's a link from another forum with details.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._New_York.html

Here's a link on walking from the bridge to Dumbo. http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...e-to-dumbo.cfm

If you have a limited amount of time - you can walk the bridge halfway (from its entrance at the Municipal Building in Manhattan - Brooklyn Bridge stop on the 4 or 5 train) and just turn around and return. You'll get that exciting view of the lower Manhattan skyline and wind up near chinatown for lunch - if you'd like.

Grimaldi's is the "go to" place for pizza near the bridge on the Brooklyn side but it will be mobbed. I've read about a new place right at the bridge that's supposed to be good.
http://www.ignaziospizza.com/

Robyn, even though I'm not from NY, I have a suggestion. I am a teacher in Ohio who chaperoned a junior high student council trip to NY 2 summers ago. We took the subway from the Manhattan side to Brooklyn and walked to Grimaldi's Pizza for lunch. The pizza was excellent, atmosphere great, and I'm sure you could find a good beer there. Then, we walked across the bridge from the Brooklyn side into Manhattan. The view walking toward the city was stunning. Hope this helps. Jim

Thank you, all, for your responses. Excellent suggestions to start in Brooklyn and walk to Manhattan. It makes so much sense (I'm having a "duh" moment).

And did someone say "pizza!?" My husband will be with us, so a stop at Grimaldi's (or maybe Ignazios) will most probably happen.

mclaurie, the links were very helpful that you provided. I cut and pasted the pertinent info into Word and printed it out to take with me.

My plans are coming together...

Robyn :)>-

Thank you too, i have also learned much here.

Robyn, I don't know how much time you have but the Brooklyn Museum is worth a trip if you have time. They have a Caillebotte exhibit on http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/caillebotte/ and the Dinner Party is there http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa...party/home.php

It's several stops further on the subway. (use hopstop.com for directions from wherever you're starting).

If you just plan to do the area around the bridge, you might want to walk over to the Promenade for the great views. http://nymag.com/listings/attraction...hts_promenade/

I'd hightail it to Brooklyn on an express train, have pizza at Grimaldi's. Hopefully you will be there in time for the first seating. It is proof that sometimes hidden gems should stay hidden jems. Last couple of times I did the walk the lines were crazy long. Stroll around the waterfront park for awhile and then walk the bridge. You can then either jump on a train to go uptown for some Central Park or midtown, or stay downtown and check out China town and Little Italy and Soho.

I've done this twice. The first time was in Nov and a bit cold.

I took the subway to Brooklyn, walked around the streets near the Promenade, then walked along the Promenade to that Ice Cream place (forget the name), had an ice cream, passed Grimaldi's (too early for me thought there was a line outside), walked the bridge and then back uptown.

The went around pretty slowly as I was taking photos but it's not a long walk at all.

saving for Oct, thanks :-)

AS we are going to NYC next weekend I had asked the same question about Brookly Bridge and was advised there is also a chocolate shop near the ice cream parlor! We are thinking of taking the water taxi then walking the bridge back to Manhattan. Have fun!

The chocolate place is Jaques Torres. Some like it, some don't. Check the nywatertaxi.com schedule if you're planning on using it. The hop on/off sched. is the one to use on weekends.

ttt

I checked the hop on/off water taxi, but I could only find a day pass (1-day = $20.00) where you can hop on/off at 10 different locations around the City. Do they offer just a one-way ticket to get us from (not sure where in) Lower Manhattan to the Fulton Ferry Landing? We don't want to spend $20.00 each for one boat ride.

sunshinegirl - What ticket options will you be using?

Robyn :)>-

A visit to Grimaldi's could take up a lot of your time. We got there at about 4 pm, waited in line for an hour, and just as we were seated, they announced the hiatus while they cleaned the ovens. I bet the whole Grimaldi's experience took at least 2 1/2 hours.

As an aside, it was 07/07/07 - said to be one of the most popular days to get married ever (because the easy to remember calendar date fell on a Saturday.) While in the area (by the ice cream place) we saw so many wedding parties getting their pictures taken with the NY skyline in the background! Fun!

That's why I never 'plan' to visit Grimaldi's. When I get there, either I have a very short wait, or I don't wait. It's good pizza but not worth investing that long of a wait.

srtstuff, Im glad I read this about the hop on hop off stuff as I thought it was free..no way are we spending 80 dollars for the 4 of us to go from one side of the bridge to the other and walk back...guess I wil rething my plan. We are either going from the Ellis Island tour to brookly bridge then China Town or else Ellis island to chinatown then the Bb..havent quite figured the ins and outs of that yet.We are staying at AFfinia Dumont so trying to figure out best and fastest way to travel those places with the least amount of subway changes etc. Have fun!

We ended up taking a cab from Ground Zero over the Brooklyn Bridge to Grimaldis and got there at 1130ish on Sat. It opened at 12 and we were about the 20th people in line and got in at the first seating. We ordered calzones and they were not what I expected ( as in did not like). I think the pizza was probably ok as there was a crowd..guess it depends on what kind of pizza you like:). We did walk over to the park on water and have icecream on the boardwalk and take in the view. It was beautiful. We took a cab back as we were kind of tired at that point as we had been to Ellis Island at 730 am that morning. Took the cab to Chinatown then the subway back to our hotel!

For anyone reading this, for going 1 stop on the water taxi you should be able to buy a ticket for $5-7/person for one stop. Agree that for a group of 4 though, the taxi is the better way to go. Many people are disappointed with the Grimaldi experience so don't feel alone.

Thanks for posting about your journey over the Brooklyn Bridge, sunshinegirl53. It made me realize that I should probably report back about my trip across the bridge.

We took the subway from the Upper West Side to the High Street station in Brooklyn, and using the walking directions from mclauries link above to tripadvisor.com, we walked down to Grimaldi's, by way of the lookout at the end of Middagh Street. It was about 1:30 in the afternoon, and the line of people waiting to get into Grimaldi's stretched 3/4 of the way down the block. There was no way that we were going to stand in the warm sun waiting for pizza. It can't be that good. So we took mclaurie's advice and went around the block to Ignazio's, got a table right away, and had a delicious pizza with fennel sausage, prosciutto di parma and mushroom toppings, baked for us by the owner and his assistant, who were clad in their kilts. We enjoyed a couple of Brooklyn Brewery beers, and then we were off to walk the Brooklyn Bridge.

Using the walking directions again, we easily found the access to the stairway which takes you up to the walking deck. It was a really neat experience, being elevated above the bridge deck, with the traffic below us on both sides. I was amazed at how many people were walking, in both directions. A word of caution... be sure to stay out of the bike lane, as the cyclists come whipping past you like they're being chased by the law.

It was a beautiful, sunny and warm day in May, and at first it felt good to be out there walking and taking in all the wonderful views. Unfortunately, it was now 4:00-5:00, and we were walking west, directly into the sun. By the time we hit the midway point, we were roasting, and our pace had picked up in anticipation of getting to the other side and maybe the shade of a tree. When we came to the end of the walkway, we found ourselves at City Hall Park, being entertained by a group of street dancers. We found an empty bench, under a tree, across from a statue of Horace Greeley and drank lots of water while we cooled down.

We had a great time walking the Brooklyn Bridge, but if I were to do it over again, I would walk from Brooklyn to Manhattan in the morning, with the sun at my back... or bring an umbrella to shade us from the sun.

Thanks, mclaurie, for all the advice you provided, which helped make our Brooklyn Experience an enjoyable one.

Robyn :)>-

Glad it worked so well and glad to hear you like Ignazio's. Now I have to try it. ;)

Thanks so much for checking back. I too will head directly to Ignazio's thanks to your report. Grimaldi's is just too busy now!

mclaurie and Robyn: Thanks to both of you for this information. My mom, daughter, and I are planning to walk the Bridge this week. Thanks for the info about walking into the sun. I did not think about that. I think I will rearrange my schedule to do it in the morning, instead.

Just wanted to add my thanks for the suggestion to walk the BB (Brooklyn to Manhattan). We did it this past weekend and it was a 10! The perfect NYC experience. Huge numbers of people and whoever said to stay out of the bike lane couldn't be more correct. We tried to find the chocolate shop which had been mentioned here (but called Jose Torres and said to be located on "Main St.") We couldn't find it and the policeman and passersby we asked were unaware of it. It might have helped if I had the correct name. Maybe next time.
Anyway, it's a great tip and thanx.

how funny..Jacques Torres...IMHO you did not miss anything.

mclaurie & gyppielou - Yes, check out Ignazio's for the pizza.... and the guys in their kilts.

shelly_m - I hope you come back and tell us how your walk across the bridge went.

gailw - I'm so glad that you had a perfect "10" experience, and thank you for posting about your walk across the bridge.

PamSF - We forgot to look for the chocolate shop, so it's nice to hear we didn't really miss anything.

Robyn :)>-

ttt

NYer here,
I walk or bike over the bridge every weekend. Best time is before noon to beat the pedestrian and bike crowds.

This weekend is the last weekend for summer streets, where you can bike from the Bridge to Central Park car-free. You can rent bikes for FREE in Soho on Lafayette Street & Spring St, lots of entertainment along the way, lots of things to see. Definitely a good way to see the Bridge and the City. Lots of fun for the family. The event is from 7 am to 1-m.

Just wanted to add other options for food under the Brooklyn Bridge: Bubby's on Main street it is almost under the Manhattan Bridge, good for kids also, there is a playground by the water. The park nearby is great for pictures of the Manhattan side. The ice cream place is call the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Along the way you will pass Jacques Torres chocolate store. Grimaldis is the only way to go for pizza in that area. Pete's is also good.
On the Manhattan side, you will exit across from City Hall, you will be near Tribeca to the west, Wall St to the South, walking north you will run into Chinatown, then Soho, etc.

Subways: A/C train to High Street (From the exit near the back of the train there will be an escalator to the street), 2 or 3 to Clark street-walk to Cadman Plaza West. The walkway to the bridge is near Cadman Plaza Park-there should be signs.

Enjoy, walking the bridge is a favorite for visitors and locals. But remember to stay in the pedestrian lane.

How much does that app cost?

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