Help a stressed couple pick some activities for this Saturday in NYC/Brooklyn!

March 18, 2010 1:30 PM

My boyfriend and I need to go on an all-day date in NYC and Brooklyn this Saturday. We're native New Yorkers, so we don't need to see the Statue of Liberty or every art exhibit, but we'd prefer something other than watching Hulu at home. So what do we do?

My boyfriend and I just moved to a new apartment and we're really feeling the stress of unpacking. We need to leave the boxes home and spend time together.

Details:
Our starting point is Prospect Heights.

We go to the Brooklyn Flea a lot. This is fun but so crowded that we end up leaving early. Other flea market recommendations are welcome, though.

It's supposed to be gorgeous outside.

We love bookstores, brunch, Scrabble, watching baseball (not much of an option this time of year), and eating good, cheap food.

Itineraries would be welcome!

posted by Viola to grab bag (20 answers total)

Ever gone over to Green-Hill Cemetery? It's in walking distance, and you can get good views from Manhattan to Verazano Bridge, and see some history. They have a brochure in which they locate the graves of the great and the notorious people at rest there.
posted by Danf at 1:39 PM on March 18, 2010

The little Darling and I visited the Tenement Museum when we went to New York in January. Really interesting, sobering, awe-inspiring... if history is your thing... we only got to go on one tour but I definitely want to go back.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 1:45 PM on March 18, 2010 [2 favorites]

tip: great idea but you need to book reservation in advance.
posted by Postroad at 1:48 PM on March 18, 2010

a visit to the Botanical Garden, and a walk through the Victorian homes on treelined streets in Ditmas Park w/ a stop at one of the restaurants on Cortelyou, should be nice. In the city, you could go for a walk on the Highline, but really I'd avoid the city if crowds and stress is what you're trying to avoid. You could also hang out at Brighton Beach, though it might be crowded.
posted by lorrer at 1:49 PM on March 18, 2010

Go really far out into Brooklyn, like Brighton Beach or Gravesend or something. Someplace you'd never need to go. Or do the same in Queens. You be sure to find some super cheap and delicious ethnic food in deep Brooklyn or Queens.
posted by Falconetti at 1:49 PM on March 18, 2010

Cloisters/Fort Tryon Pk. Take the A train
posted by ofthestrait at 1:53 PM on March 18, 2010

I like to take the train to Coney Island, walk to Brighton Beach and back again. Saturday is going to be a beautiful day for it!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:55 PM on March 18, 2010

Take the A to rockaway beach. Get out, walk along the beach, get the train back.

Take the train up to the start of Broadway and walk all the way to the end in Lower Manhattan.

Go to City Island, have a fisherman's special, record shop.

Go up to Fordham Road. Visit the Zoo and the Botanical Garden. Afterwards stroll over to Arthur Avenue and have lunch in the neighborhood where the mothers of the mafia used to live.

Coney Island will be a mob scene but I kind of like that at the beginning of the year. That's real New York. I don't know that I'd call it relaxing, however.
posted by micawber at 1:59 PM on March 18, 2010

Seconding the Cloisters, especially if it's a nice day (they have great gardens and a nice view of the Hudson).
posted by oinopaponton at 1:59 PM on March 18, 2010

Oh, one thing to add: if you two have bicycles, you could ride down through Prospect Park, down Ocean Parkway to Coney Island / Brighton Beach. You could also see about going to Floyd Bennett Field, though it'd be a hassle to get there without a car or without a very long bike ride.
posted by lorrer at 1:59 PM on March 18, 2010

Visit some of the places on this blog.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 2:01 PM on March 18, 2010

Thirding the Cloisters, seconding walking Manhattan's Broadway from the northern to the southern tip. This weekend is due to be great weather for the latter, which is not something to take for granted!
posted by brainwane at 2:28 PM on March 18, 2010

Cloisters is neat, but probably not a whole day event.
posted by Brian Puccio at 2:29 PM on March 18, 2010

Go for a long walk! Time Out NY has some that look good... my boyfriend and I are either doing this one or this one on Saturday. They have a Green-Wood Cemetery walk that you could even tack on to the first of those, if you're feeling ambitious.

I recently asked a question that might help you... a lot of those aren't whole-day events, but it would probably not be hard to Google some supplementary brunch/bookstore/cheap food places along the way.
posted by alphasunhat at 3:38 PM on March 18, 2010

Another vote for the Cloisters, especially if the weather is nice. If you're up for a 2nd hike after visiting there, go over to Inwood and check out the trails that wind around the entire park. One of the prettiest places I've been to in New York, with the original old growth forest.

Also maybe the High Line? I'm bummed that it opened the week after my last visit.
posted by green_flash at 4:23 PM on March 18, 2010

I start with breakfast at Tom's in Prospect Heights.
posted by tsq at 6:25 PM on March 18, 2010

I love Brooklyn and my top choice would be the Botanical Gardens, if they are blooming this early. I have very fond memories of walks in the Prospect Park area too, as well as Atlantic Avenue and Brooklyn Heights. Have fun.
posted by bearwife at 6:32 PM on March 18, 2010

Decent list of NYC bookstores (though I note they miss Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books).

And if you visit the Lower East side, get yourself some pomme frites to snack on.
posted by fings at 7:10 PM on March 18, 2010

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge! Weather should be great this weekend.
posted by ubermuffin at 7:41 PM on March 18, 2010

What did you end up doing?
posted by brainwane at 4:58 PM on May 13, 2010