New York City will always be at the top of our list of best travel cities. Because we travel to NYC several times a year and have lived in Hoboken for four years, we have a lot of travel advice for what to do in NYC.
Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge is one of our favorite things to do in NYC. When friends from Norway arrived, and we only had a day to explore, we immediately exclaimed, “You have to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge!”
As one of the most iconic structures in New York City, the Brooklyn Bridge can be seen on street paintings, NYC photographs, magnets, and snow globes, as well as other great symbols such as the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and the yellow taxi cab.
The Brooklyn Bridge
We exited the subway near City Hall and walked between tall government buildings. Having emerged from their shadow, we could see the Brooklyn Bridge towers. Sunset illuminated the November sky with a rainbow of colors. A cell phone was all I had at my disposal, so I snapped some amateur photos and videos.
The Brooklyn Bridge was busy over the Thanksgiving weekend. The NYC Marathon was to be held the following day, and many of the 40,000 participants were touring the city. The boardwalk of the bridge offers unobstructed views of Lower Manhattan, the East Side, and Brooklyn. In the Hudson River, we could see the silhouette of Lady Liberty through the suspension cables. Pier 17, also known as South Street Seaport, was below us. Pier 17 is a popular destination for restaurants, bars, shopping, and street entertainment.
At the halfway point of the bridge, the thick painted cables no longer appear in your photographs so that you can view the East River for miles in either direction. Watch out for locals riding their bicycles along the boardwalk. A bike lane separates the two lanes. A bunch of tourists taking pictures usually makes them unhappy about having to stop their cross-city workout.
The Brooklyn Bridge is commemorated with a bronze plaque on the tower closest to Manhattan, listing those who built and sponsored the bridge. It still amazes me that this bridge was built in the late 1800s, and this is a fantastic feat of architecture by the Roeblings.
The Brooklyn Bridge must be on your list of things to do in NYC when you plan a visit to the city. A big thank you to the weather for being more than perfect for spending time with our Norwegian friends.
