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On our award-winning NYC evening bus tour, “Big Apple in Lights,“ we stop at Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn so you can get some breathtaking nighttime photos of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline. The Landing is located in DUMBO— or Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass — a former factory area that’s now one of the city’s hippest neighborhoods.
If you enjoyed your glimpse of DUMBO on the bus tour, why not spend the next day there? It’s a wonderful place to sample some of the best to do, eat, and see in NYC, and our expert tour guides can tell you how to get there from your hotel. Grab your walking shoes, and let’s go!
An ideal DUMBO day starts off with a croissant and coffee at café Almondine. Then, walk off your French breakfast by strolling through eclectic boutiques like Trunk, which sells locally-designed clothes and jewelry, or Half-Pint Citizens, where you can find eco-friendly kids’ apparel. You can even channel your own inner artisan at “craft night” each month at Etsy Labs, the brick-and-mortar home of the popular online web store.
If enjoying art rather than making it is more your thing, DUMBO is home to cutting-edge culture. The A.I.R.gallery features contemporary women artists, while United Photo Industries has street and documentary photography. St. Ann’s Warehouse puts on avant-garde musicals and plays for much less than the big-ticket items on Broadway, and you can pass the time until the show in one of the city’s best children’s book sections at The Powerhouse Arena.
Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about lunch! DUMBO boasts two of the best places in all five boroughs for classic New York pizza and . . . lobster rolls? You read that right: Luke’s Lobster flies in fresh Maine lobsters daily to make the most delicious rolls this side of New England.
After lunch is a great time to visit the greenway that curves all the way around the waterline. Walk the promenade at Brooklyn Bridge Park‘s Pier 1, or check out Pier 5‘s playing fields. New Yorkers are happy to let you join a casual soccer or Ultimate Frisbee game, especially if they need an extra teammate or three!
If you ever wonder why we drive through Little Italy rather than stop there on our Discover NYC daytime guided bus tour, it’s because the best pizza in New York City is Grimaldi’s in DUMBO. Words can’t capture the sweetly spicy tomato sauce, the perfectly melted mozzarella — and don’t get me started on the crust. Prepare for a wait to get in, but trust me: it’s worth it for one of the best coal-brick fired pies outside of Naples.
Cap off your DUMBO day with a quintessential NYC experience: a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Completed in 1883, this iconic architectural marvel is even more impressive up close. If you go around sunset, you’ll have amazing photos of the bridges spanning the East River as they gleam in the golden light.
We at NYC Guided Bus Tours have the best of Manhattan covered on our day tour, so why not do the best of Brooklyn on your own? Better yet, book a private tour with us, so that we can take you through the whole borough, from DUMBO to Williamsburg and beyond. Happy touring!
Sara Murphy | USA Guided Tours NY Blog Contributor