Walk the Brooklyn Bridge

Most of New York's viewpoints are ticketed and high up: observation decks, towers, queues. The best view of the city is neither — it is free, in the open air, on the walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Direction matters

Walk from Brooklyn towards Manhattan. Go the other way and the skyline is behind you the whole time, and you spend the walk turning around. In the right direction it grows in front of you the entire way.

When

Sunrise or late afternoon. Midday is both crowded and harshly lit. Go late and the lights come on as you arrive — daylight on the bridge, city lights when you step off it.

Watch out

The pedestrian path and the bike path are separate, and the cyclists move fast. Check which lane you are in before stopping for a photo; that is the most common friction on the bridge.

Before or after

On the Brooklyn side is DUMBO, where the famous view of Manhattan framed between the bridge supports is. Walk through there first, then go up onto the bridge.

One small note

The deck is exposed and windy. Even in summer it turns cool in the late afternoon.