Brooklyn Tour

Take a tour of Brooklyn, one of the most buzzing boroughs of New York. On this 4,5 hour tour, you will be able to see the main attractions of Brooklyn, explore its hidden treasures and enjoy mouthwatering food. The tour is partly by coach and partly walking, so make sure your camera batteries are charged and you’re wearing comfortable shoes! You can book the tour here. The tour departs at Union Square which is very easy to reach by most subway lines.

Unfortunately, this tour is no longer available. Alternatively, you can book the Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx Tour.

Contents

Brooklyn Heights and Views from the Promenade

From Manhattan, you’ll head to Brooklyn for the first stop of the tour: Brooklyn Heights. Brooklyn Heights is famous for its brownstone architecture, in fact, it’s the largest neighbourhood with pre-Civil War homes in the United States. Your guide will tell you all about the history of the neighbourhood as well as its famous residents. Be prepared to play trivia! The next stop on the tour is the Promenade, where you’ll have spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. You will have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery as well as to take photographs. Some call it the best view of Manhattan …

Truman Capote, The Godfather and Lunch at Junior’s

Once onboard the coach again you will pass by Truman Capote’s home where he wrote Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood. Brooklyn Heights is also home to the singer Björk and actress Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick own property there. You’ll be able to see the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims which was used as Hotel St. George in The Godfather. As you pass by, your guide will tell you fun facts and you’ll be able to see scenes from the movie in the coach.

Included within the tour is a lunch break at Junior’s on Flatbush Avenue. You’ll have an hour to taste a delicious pastrami sandwich and indulge in their “The World’s Most Fabulous Cheesecake.” Ever since it’s creation in 1950, Junior’s cheesecake has been loved (and eaten!) by many. (If you want to have another piece, there is another Junior’s located at Grand Central Station.) To finish off lunch you can try a fizzy egg-cream soda, another classic. The entire lunch is included in the price of the tour.

Continuing on Flatbush Avenue you will be able to see the Grand Army Plaza at Prospect Park as well as Barclays Center, home to the Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn native and rapper Jay-Z was one of the members of the ownership group of the team. Staying in the sports world you’ll pass the former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, which now is an apartment complex.

The serene Green-Wood Cemetery

One of the highlights of the tour, and the last stop, is the historic Green-Wood Cemetery, a beautiful rural cemetery. You will be able to walk to the Historic Chapel. The Chapel was designed in the Gothic-style by Warren and Wetmore – the same firm that designed Grand Central Terminal. Now a National Historic Landmark, Green-Wood Cemetery once rivalled Niagara Falls for America’s number one tourist attraction. And it’s not hard to see why as the cemetery boasts marble sculptures, stained-glass mausoleums and granite monuments of late Civil War soldiers.

Before heading back to Manhattan you’ll drive through Victorian Flatbush in the heart of Brooklyn. This neighbourhood is characterized by its beautiful detached Victorian houses of which no two are alike. This little “Village in the City” is a true gem in Brooklyn and very different from the skyscrapers that define New York. On the way back to Manhattan you’ll be able to see a film about the famous residents of Brooklyn and ask the guide anything about the borough. You will arrive at Union Square at around 3 o’clock which gives you plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.