One of my favorite places to do in New York is take a stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge to spend the rest of the day in Brooklyn Heights. You can easily get lost in the mixture of everything: cars rushing underneath, tourists scrambling to take pictures of every angle of the bridge, and the epic geometry that instantly takes over you as you make your way towards the center. But even through all of that, you turn around and get a scenic view of Manhattan from afar, and everything quiets down once you reach DUMBO.
From there, walk along the promenade to get a greater view of downtown Manhattan. Maybe treat yourself to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, a cute little boat-house right beside the bridge. I had dinner down the street at Grimaldi's - where the pizzas were delicately topped with fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and ricotta cheese, then cooked in a coal-bricked oven.
Once the sun set, I took the last ferry back to Manhattan, carrying my leftover pizza.
