Seaport Plz, Financial District

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the U.S., and it is also distinctive for the beauty and elegance of its design. Much beloved and much photographed, it is no accident that it has acquired iconic status on the New York skyline and among US landmarks. It opened in 1883 to much fanfare, with cannon fire, confetti, and thousands of people lined up to do the walk across for the very first time. The love affair hasn't diminished since, and you can see droves of pedestrians and cyclists doing the cross from Manhattan to Brooklyn on any given day, but especially in good weather. The lower level is for car traffic, while pedestrians use an upper level and can see down to the traffic lanes below.

Fun fact: The aerodynamics of bridge building had not been worked out at the time the bridge was built, and it would be more than 70 years before wind tunnels were invented. In addition, the contractor J. Lloyd Haigh substituted inferior quality wire in the cables, which wasn't discovered until after the bridge was built. Despite this, the bridge has withstood the years, whereas many other bridges built around the same time have vanished into history. Amazing fact: After the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the bridge was used by people to leave the city after subway service was suspended. The massive number of people on the bridge at one time could never have been foreseen by the original designers, and yet the bridge withstood even this unanticipated test of its structural integrity.

I've done this walk 5 times now (usually with visitors from overseas)... You get the metro to Brooklyn, have lunch at Grimaldi's (rivalling Lombardi's as the best pizza joint in NYC) and then walk over Brooklyn Bridge.. The views are priceless and you'll also get some pretty impressive photos..

It's an amazing bridge opened back in the 1800's (which makes it even more impressive) and the volume of traffic it carries is astounding.

I particularly like the view of the concrete jungle that is Midtown, which then slinks off downtown to low level apartment blocks and then roars back to Lower Manhattan where the stockbrokers count their pennies...

If you've got someone in town who wants to get a feel for just how immense this city is, take them here. And the best bit is you burn off the pizza on the walk back over the bridge...!