The Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, is still the most beautiful bridge in New York and one of the finest 19th-century engineering works in the world. Walking it — the pedestrian walkway runs along the centre of the bridge, elevated above the traffic — is one of the essential New York experiences. The wire cables radiating from the stone Gothic towers, the views of the Manhattan skyline to the west and the Brooklyn waterfront to the east, the hum of traffic below: it works at any time of day but is best at dawn or in the last light of evening.
Walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn (about 30 minutes) rather than the reverse, ending in DUMBO where the bridge lands. From there the view back through the Manhattan Bridge to the Empire State Building is one of the most photographed in New York, and the surrounding neighbourhood has some of the city's best coffee, pizza, and waterfront parks.