The Solo Scale:

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One of the quintessential New York City things to do is walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s so popular that depending on when you go, you might be fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with other tourists eager to do the same thing. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experience it. For one, it’s a great way to stretch your legs. Plus, if you go at off-hours, you can avoid most of the crowds.

To do this, you can decide to walk in or out of Manhattan. You can start from downtown and walk into Brooklyn. For this, the closest subway being Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall on the 4, 5, 6 line. Fulton Street is another popular option to get to the entrance with plenty more subway lines running through it. Keep in mind that because Fulton Street has so many options, it’s a big station and you’ll still be walking a lot just to get through it.

The other option is to take the subway into Brooklyn and walk back into the city. To do this, you’d start by taking the subway to the High Street/Brooklyn Bridge stop on the A or C lines. Careful to make sure that your train stops here in case it’s an express that might skip it. Once you’ve arrived at the stop, you can navigate to the pedestrian on-ramp to start your walk across the bridge!

The walk itself is just over a mile (or 1.6km), which means it’s not a marathon. However, it can get hot in NYC during certain times of year, so bring some water just to be safe. Luckily, this activity is free. That means it can get crowded. After all, it’s iconic, it’s free, and it’s accessible enough that you can walk or wheel it.

If you’re going to do this, I recommend making plans to stop for lunch, a coffee, or a snack after. It’ll give you some time to rest and recuperate before you continue with your explorations of New York City. Plus, it’s a little bit of a reward for a walk well done!

So are you ready to get walking? Head to New York City and check off an iconic activity from your list.