Brooklyn Travel Guide

Pros

• Calmer, quieter, and (sometimes) prettier streets than in most New York neighborhoods
• Easier parking than in most neighborhoods in Manhattan (free spaces can be found on the street in most neighborhoods)
• Free summer concerts and outdoor movie screenings -- the most popular free venues are Prospect Park and the Siren Music Festival in Coney Island for music; McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg and the Brooklyn Bridge Park in DUMBO for movies
• Typically, a better quality hotel room for the price than in Manhattan
• Grimaldi's pizza by the Brooklyn Bridge, repeatedly voted best slices in New York
• Coney Island, a historic amusement park on Brooklyn's southernmost tip with a broad beach, boardwalk, famous Nathan's hot dogs, and nearly hundred-year-old rides like the Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone rollercoaster (a New York City landmark)
• Safe, simple access into Manhattan by $2 subway ride; about five to 15 minutes, depending on which neighborhood you stay in

Cons

• Many Manhattan Yellow Cab drivers are unfamiliar with Brooklyn neighborhoods, so you may need to give them directions to your hotel.
• Hard to hail a yellow cab in some areas -- local cabs are mostly un-metered (which means they can up-charge) and must be called in advance