6 Best Sights in Park Slope and Prospect Park, New York City

Brooklyn residents are passionate about Prospect Park, and with good reason: lush green spaces, gently curved walkways, summer concerts, vivid foliage in autumn, and an all-season skating rink make it a year-round getaway. In 1859, the New York Legislature decided to develop plans for a park in the fast-growing city of Brooklyn. After landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux completed the park in the late 1880s, Olmsted remarked that he was prouder of it than any of his other works—including Manhattan's Central Park—and many critics agree. On weekends, those not jogging the 3.35-mile loop gravitate to the rolling hills of the Long Meadow to picnic, fly kites, or play cricket, flag football, or Frisbee. On summer Sundays, foodies flock to Breeze Hill, site of outdoor food market Smorgasburg's second Brooklyn location. The park's north entrance is at Grand Army Plaza, where the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch (patterned on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris) honors Civil War veterans. On Saturday, year-round, a greenmarket at the plaza throngs with shoppers. 

A good way to experience the park is to walk the Long Meadow—or stop in for the occasional free yoga class—and then head to the eastern side and south toward the lake. Along the way, you'll encounter attractions including Brooklyn's last remaining forest, including the Lefferts Historic House (now closed for renovations), Prospect Park Audubon Center, and the LeFrak Center. The Prospect Park Carousel, built in 1912, still thrills the kids. The Boathouse, dating from 1905, is a stunning example of Beaux-Arts architecture. The annual Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival takes place at the Prospect Park Bandshell from early June through mid-August. 

The highlight of this 26-acre space in Prospect Park is the pair of all-season open-air rinks—for ice skating when it's frigid, and roller skating otherwise. Walkways, an lakeside esplanade, and the Music Island nature reserve—all part of the original Olmsted and Vaux plans—contribute to this area of the park that's a pleasant place for a stroll or skating lesson, or to grab a bite to eat at its Bluestone Cafe (open year-round). In the summer, kids can cool off at the splash pad in the summer by day, while DJs spin at theme roller-skating nights on weekends by night.

This reconstructed Dutch farmhouse dating to 1699 played a central role in the Battle of Brooklyn, one of the largest battles of the Revolutionary War, and survived through the early 1900s. This small, family-friendly museum looks at the history of the site from the Lenape through the Revolutionary eras in Brooklyn from the 1640s until 1783. Art exhibits, concerts, plays, and other community events take place year-round, including a focus on the Brooklyn Baseball Club, which started here in 1883 and gave rise to the Brooklyn Dodgers.