Coney Island in New York
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Coney Island is a colourful peninsula with 60.000 inhabitants, situated in south-west Brooklyn. The peninsula is known for its large beach. When visiting Coney Island, you’ll experience the fun fair-like atmosphere that has reigned here ever since it became popular in the twentieth century.
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Coney Island and Brooklyn Tour
Coney Island is an excellent place to escape the intense heat you may experience in the city, during the summer. Beaches, boulevards and roller coasters are the three main elements that characterise this fun place. You can even go swimming here. If you want to explore Brooklyn and Coney Island while enjoying stops at a number of great pizza parlours, I recommend taking the Brooklyn and Coney Island Pizza tour. A perfect option to visit Coney Island beach, without the hassle of getting there by subway (which takes about an hour!).
Rides and Attractions at Luna Park
While Coney Island used to be a hangout for the ‘riffraff’, nowadays, it’s more like a giant funfair that attracts a varied crowd. Many smaller family businesses and amusement parks closed down when Coney Island went through huge renovations, a few years ago. Luckily, you can still visit some of the most iconic attractions, such as the 150-foot Wonder Wheel, 87-year-old roller-coaster; Cyclone, Nathan’s famous hotdog stand and the boulevard with all its kitschy shops. Although the famous amusement park; Luna Park kept its original name, it’s been completely renovated. Anyone can access Luna Park for free, to walk around, but you need tickets to go on the rides.
Buy your tickets for Luna Park here
New York Aquarium
The only aquarium in New York is located in Coney Island. In the New York Aquarium you can see, among others, penguins, sea lions, walruses, sharks and otters in their various habitats. There is an Aquatheater where the sea lions and their trainers perform and there is a 4D theatre where you can watch 3D films with extra sensory effects. The New York Aquarium is not very big, but a nice place to visit with kids after a day on the beach of Coney Island.
Read more about for the New York Aquarium here
Coney Island Amphitheater
Coney Island Amphitheater, situated on Coney Island Boardwalk, is a partially indoor, partially outdoor venue where you can see all kinds of bands and singers perform. It’s especially nice in the summer, though there are performances throughout the year. You can check the Coney Island Amphitheater concert calendar here.
The Coney Island Mermaid Parade
Ever since 1983, Coney Island has had a unique way to mark the beginning of summer by organizing the annual Mermaid Parade. What to expect? Exactly that: a parade featuring thousands of people dressed up as mermaids or other sea creatures, and a celebrity merman and mermaid crowned king and queen. Although the parade is a family event, you should know that it’s legal in New York for women to be topless in public and that this parade is known for its partial nudity. The Coney Island Mermaid Parade takes place every year around the first day of summer.
Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach is also part of Coney Island. When visiting this unique part of the city, you’ll be likely to hear more people talking an Eastern-European language than English. The area is also known as “Little Russia” or “Little Odessa”, named after a Ukrainian city where many of the immigrants that came to Brighton Beach in the 1940’s and 1950’s came from. Because of the large Eastern-European community, you’ll experience another atmosphere than in other parts of New York. That’s probably the reason why many New Yorkers love to spend their holidays here – of course alongside the fact that the beach is great! You’ll notice the Eastern-European influences when visiting the bars and restaurants in the area. It’s perfectly normal to start your day ordering a peppered Horilka with honey and to enjoy caviar for a reasonable price.
How to reach Coney Island?
To visit Coney Island, I’d recommend taking the subway. Subway lines D and N are the quickest and both take you to the stop “Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue”. The Q and F trains take a lot longer.
