Stroll through Park Slope for an afternoon for one of the best walking tours in New York City. Complete with beautiful architecture, local wares, notable sites, and delicious food. This neighborhood guide to Park Slope guide offers you the best of the best of this classic Brooklyn neighborhood.
Park Slope gets its name from the downward slant that the area takes as it spans from the northern tip of Prospect Park down to the Expressway. Take the 2, 3, or, on late nights and weekends, the 4 train to the top of the park, where you can hang out by Grand Army Plaza, or take a look inside the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.
This unique building is artfully designed, and definitely worthy, at the very least, of being a selfie backdrop. If you left home with an appetite, try Franny’s on Flatbush Avenue. It’s a favorite farm-to-table restaurant in NYC, and its authentic Italian food will give you the energy you need to keep exploring.
Go south on 7th Avenue after you’ve eaten, and you’ll see the classic brownstones that Park Slope is best known for. You can also check out the Community Bookstore, a neighborhood institution that’s been open since 1971.
Keep heading down the road and you’ll find two more local hot spots: Café Grumpy (between 11th and 12th Street) – where no laptops are allowed inside and you have to finish your espresso before you’re allowed outside – and Bagel Hole (between 12th and 13th Street), which Brokelyn dubbed “the best in the city” for New York’s favorite breakfast carb.
If you’re feeling adventurous, cross over the Prospect Expressway and check out Green-Wood Cemetery. Its residents include Jean-Michel Basquiat, Boss Tweed, and Leonard Bernstein. This memorial park deserves a day trip in and of itself, but even if you’ve only got a few minutes, it’s still worthy of a visit.
Need retail therapy? Fifth Avenue isn’t just a Manhattan destination for high-end buys. Park Slope’s shopping strip offers boutiques (Bird), vintage apparel (Monk), and consignments (Two Lovers Boutique).
Rejuvenate post-shopping spree at one of the area’s many watering holes. Check out Postmark Café for a quiet coffee house ambiance, and/or fall into Buttermilk Bar or High Dive for a cheap beer. Hunger striking again? Blue Ribbon Brasserie is one of the top seafood restaurants in NYC, and Peppino’s brick oven pizza is a Park Slope favorite.
Once the sun sets, head north again and check out a show at Union Hall. The venue has a full calendar of events that include music performances, stand-up acts, live readings, and DJ sets. With fireplaces, a library, garden seating, and two indoor bocce ball courts, you may decide that you never want to leave. There’s easy access from the D, N, and R trains a block away at the Union Street stop, but just because you have to go doesn’t mean you can’t come back.
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