The Brooklyn Bridge
Tillary St. at Adams St.
This mile-long, Industrial Age wonder inspired painter Georgia O’Keefe and poet Hart Crane among others.
The Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Pkwy., at Washington Ave.; 718-638-5000.
The city’s second-largest art museum (outsized only by the Met) is right next door to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, an outer-borough gem in its own right.
Coney Island
1000 Surf Ave., at W. 12th St.
Famous for its freak shows and rickety old roller coaster, the legendary beach is also home to the New York Aquarium, the original Nathan’s Famous, and the Cyclones, Brooklyn’s minor league baseball team.
McCarren Park
Bedford Ave. at N. 12th St.
In the summer especially, the area serves as both home base for an indie kickball league and swimmers enjoying the 1,500-person-capacity, cerulean-blue pool. It's the primary habitat for the much-talked-about species known as the New York Hipster.
Prospect Park
Flatbush Ave. at Eastern Pkwy.; 718-965-8999.
Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s post–Central Park urban masterpiece.