Fun places to stay in Brooklyn near the Q train?

September 29, 2015 2:31 PM

I'm going to a wedding in New York City next month. I'm hoping to persuade my spouse to come, too; maybe I can even convince him that the city is not wall-to-wall skyscrapers. Is there a neat place in Brooklyn we should stay? The special requirement is that I want to be able to see friends who live pretty far south along the Q line (think Brighton Beach), so a neighborhood like Williamsburg is probably out.

(I checked previous questions, but they were all several years old, and I'm guessing that gentrification together with the rise of AirBnB has changed the tourist landscape a lot.)

posted by yarntheory to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (7 answers total)

Midwood is a pretty neighborhood, filled with old Victorians. Maybe there's a B&B you can stay at?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:52 PM on September 29, 2015

The Atlantic Ave Q stop is at the crux of some very cute Brooklyn areas--Boerum Hill, Park Slope, Fort Green, and Prospect Heights. Lots of great stuff to do in those areas (BAM, Brooklyn Flea, short walk to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, lots of boutiques and cafés and things, not super-saturated with hipsters--more young professionals and families). Highly recommended.
posted by greta simone at 3:30 PM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

Why not stay on Coney or in Brighton? Coney Island is about as far from "wall-to-wall skyscrapers" at it gets, and you'll be walking distance from your friends. The beach won't be so nice in October, but the rides will still be fun.

Barring that, I'd second staying near Atlantic/Barclays. It's a great area (my neck of the woods!), and you're both 20 minutes away from Manhattan and a 30 minute Q ride away from Brighton.
posted by Itaxpica at 3:39 PM on September 29, 2015

its maybe not super fun but the Lorelei B and B is run by some family of a friend of mine and they hosted her baby shower there and it was perfectly lovely. the obvious flip side to showing him a side of NYC that isnt all skyrscrapers is showing him the side that is 45 minute each-way subway rides.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 4:05 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Please note that due to state law, most AirBnB stays in NYC under 30 days are not legal, unless the owner/permanent resident is present or it's a house with only 1-2 units. The Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement has been cracking down significantly on illegal vacation rentals.
posted by kathryn at 5:18 PM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Eek, come to my neighborhood, Ditmas Park! Brooklyn website Brownstoner just did a neat writeup of a (non-Air) B&B down here, and I know there are others. It's all totally Victorian--as a Manhattan native, I couldn't believe my eyes when I first came down here.

Drop me a memail if you want more specific food recommendations (I am sort of an encyclopedia on that) but you should definitely check out Di Fara if you're willing to wait...

Also, if you're staying off the Q, definitely check out the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is a glorious oasis.
posted by ferret branca at 7:10 PM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I had a great experience at the Lefferts Manor B&B, which is about a 10 minute walk from two different Q stops (Parkside Av and Prospect Park).
posted by ariadne's threadspinner at 7:46 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]