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Brooklyn Bridge - Best Free Things to Do in New York City


Photo credit: Martin St-Amant - Wikipedia - CC-BY-SA-3.0 

A walk on the historic Brooklyn Bridge is one of the best free things to do in New York City.

The view from the bridge is stunning and the bridge itself is a work of art.

The suspension bridge linking the Financial District in Lower Manhattan with the industrial Brooklyn was opened to traffic in 1883. Brooklyn Bridge spans slightly over 480 metres, so a round trip is a comfortable 1 plus kilometre walk - ideal for a leisurely stroll to enjoy the spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline and the East River below.




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From the Manhattan side, enter Brooklyn Bridge from New York City Hall Park. The nearest metro stations are City Hall station and Brooklyn Bridge - City Hall station.

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To begin, walk across Center Street and head straight for the twin arches of the bridge tower.

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Starting our walk from the Manhattan side.

The narrow wooden boardwalk is shared between pedestrians and cyclists (so do be careful).

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Approaching the neo-Gothic style limestone and granite tower on the Manhattan end.

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The bridge is often crowded with tourists. Brooklyn is a suspension bridge, hence the steel cables hanging from the tower.

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The view of Lower Manhattan that brought the throngs of tourists here.

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The view of Manhattan Midtown from the Brooklyn Bridge. Not as densely built as the Financial District in Lower Manhattan but my favourite classical New York City buildings, Empire State Building and Chrysler Building are here.

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The so-called "love locks" have started to appear, hung on cables on Brooklyn Bridge. Very romantic but I worry about the locks falling on the busy traffic on the bridge below. By the way, it's illegal to hang such objects on Brooklyn Bridge.

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View of the Manhattan Bridge that runs over the East River, parallel and to the north of Brooklyn Bridge. The Manhattan Bridge opened to traffic in 1901 is itself also a beautiful, imposing structure.



After passing the tower on the Brooklyn side, I took a 360° video of the view around me.

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Turning around at the Brooklyn end and heading back towards Manhattan. This is the tower at the Brooklyn end.

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The view of the Lower Manhattan skyline at mid span of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn end.



Nearly back on the Manhattan side of New York City.



I took a 360° video of the view around me just before passing the tower on the Manhattan side. The other bridge in the video is Manhattan Bridge.

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Lower Manhattan at dusk.

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Back in Lower Manhattan, at the foot of 8 Spruce Street, the tall gleaming building with crinkles seen from Brooklyn Bridge. 8 Spruce is a 78-storey condominium designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry.

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At the foot of the 104-storey One World Trade Center, also known as Freedom Tower. The other dominant building of the Manhattan skyline and the fourth tallest man made structure in the world (as at 2014).

Total time required for this tour is about 1 to 1.5 hour(s).

Read more about my visit to New York City in 2014/5 👈 click



Date visited: Nov 2014

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