Union Hall ( https://unionhallny.com ) in Park Slope and The Bell House ( https://thebellhouseny.com ) in Gowanus (not far from Park Slope) are great venues for live entertainment of all sorts.
There is an outdoor farmers’ market at Grand Army Plaza 52 Saturdays a year. Adjacent to Prospect Park, it can be incorporated with a walk in the park. Or better yet, rent bikes and cycle around the park on the park drive which is closed to traffic.
There is another farmers’ market on Saturdays at Fort Greene, an historic location with views of the East River. Neighboring streets have classic brownstones, which you could have bought 50 years ago fir $10,000 apiece when this was the heroin capital of Brooklyn. Today they go for millions.
The Pratt Institute campus in Clinton Hill is the largest outdoor sculpture park in the City and the neighboring streets are great for walking to see an eclectic mix of classic city architecture.
You can find walking tour maps of Brooklyn Heights on line with info about the history and famous people who have lived in various houses. Great restaurants on Montague Street where the Heights Casino is a landmark. Be sure to include a stroll along the Promenade for great views of New York Harbor and lower Manhattan. Prizzi’s Honor was filmed in one of the houses on the Promenade. Find out which one.
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan. Warning: it is usually crowded. You can then walk through the Financial District to a ferry, which brings you back to DUMBO. THIS is best done on a Sunday morning, and if you time it right, you can have lunch at one of several great Italian restaurants where the pizza is the best you’ve ever had. Ignazio’s on Front Street and Grimaldi’s around the corner on Fulton Street are institutions there.
Don’t just stay in Park Slope. Walk around parts of this huge neighborhood if you can. Classic Brooklyn buildings. Do some research and find out if there will be any street festivals during the week you’re in town. Great opportunity for live music of all kinds.
Get to the other end of Brooklyn if you can. If you have a car, drive around the Belt Parkway where you’ll pass the Verrazano Bridge before you continue on to America’s original theme park, Coney Island where Nathan’s hot dogs originated. Past it’s prime but it’s still worth a visit.
If you continue over to Sheepshead Bay, you’ll find Brooklyn’s premier fresh seafood dining. Lundy’s was once the grande damme of local restaurants. It’s long gone but the iconic building with its Spanish architecture, an historic landmark, is still there on Edmond Avenue. And the fishing boats still go out and bring back a fresh catch every day. There are plenty of restaurants for dining with a water view.
Most people don’t know it, but NYC has great ocean beaches on the Rockaway peninsula. Beyond Sheepshead Bay, the Marine Park Bridge takes you over to Riis Park, a very large city beach with lots of parking. Technically in Queens but it feels like an extension of Brooklyn because it’s where Brooklyn people go to the beach. Many own second homes in Breezy Point, which was the setting for the movie, “The Flamingo Kid”. You can see New Jersey from Breezy Pt. Great beaches continue in the other direction past Riis Park into the Neponsit and Belle Harbor neighborhoods although parking can be a problem.
Enough for now. Have fun.
