Independence Day in New York City

I went away for another few days last weekend. After visiting Stowe, Vermont, a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I now went to celebrate 4th of July in New York City. I’ve been to this world-class city a few times before, each time visiting a few major attractions. Having covered pretty much every big highlight, I can now start focusing on exploring less visited areas in New York City, which is exactly what the past weekend was about and why we booked a place to stay in Brooklyn instead of Manhattan.

New York City 4th of July Celebrations

That being said, the first place we went to on Friday was One World Trade Center. The One World Observatory opened to the public only recently and is the only major attraction in New York City that we couldn’t yet visit during our previous visits.

We purchased our tickets ($32 each) for the earliest available elevator to the top, which was at 6.30pm.

In the meantime, we paid a visit to the High Line, a wonderful park located on an old elevated railway in western Manhattan. From the park, which is essentially a narrow walkway flanked by vegetation, you have great views of the streets below and the skyline of Midtown Manhattan.

We then headed back to One World Trade Center, which ended up being one of the most spectacular attractions I’ve visited in a long time. It was jaw-dropping, literally.

On Saturday, we visited a couple of flea markets in Brooklyn and walked across a couple of beautiful Brooklyn neighborhoods, such as Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights. Additionally, we enjoyed the marvelous views of the Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and Brooklyn Bridge Park.

In the evening, we headed to East River Park in Williamsburg to watch the Independence Day fireworks over the East River and backed by the Manhattan skyline.

The next morning, Sunday, we made our way to Coney Island, the very southern edge of Brooklyn and a place that I had never even thought about visiting before. However, after reading about it in a local magazine, I figured that it might be worth it. And I was right. The place is unexpectedly overwhelming, home to roller coasters, a sandy beach, beach bars, a great promenade and many other attractions.

Coney Island surprised me in a super-positive way and I can’t wait to see what other surprises New York City has in store.