In your face manhattan!!

armchair_warrior

bout time!

Brooklyn Makes Lonely Planet List Of Top "Must-See" Destinations

Planning a vacation anytime soon? You don't have to go far to visit what a well-known travel guide lists as one of the ten top destinations for 2007. You've probably already heard of it. As Jeanine Ramirez reports, it's called Brooklyn.

It's the borough that made John Travolta famous and now Brooklyn is listed as one of the must-see places in the world, according to Lonely Planet, the largest independent travel guide. In its 2007 Blue List, the Best in Travel edition, Brooklyn is on their "Go List" as a top destination, chosen by their global team of about 50 editors.

"They're extremely open-minded in terms of what they've seen and how they compare and contrast. And you're up against stiff competition when they're assessing you against what they've learned about travel," said Lonely Planet writer Ginger Otis. "So for them, for that team to have picked Brooklyn, is really quite a coup."

Some of the editors’ standouts include Coney Island's beaches, particularly when the Polar Bears take the New Year's Day dip in the frigid waters. The neighborhood's annual Mermaid Parade and Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. The views from Brooklyn's waterfront and most famous bridge and Jacques Torres chocolate treats are listed as some of the borough's defining experiences. The Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Prospect Park, and Williamsburg nightlife are also featured.

Lonely Planet says a cultural movement has emerged and now Brooklyn is the hippest part of the city.

"I think Brooklyn is unique in that it's got all the attributes of a really big modern city," said Otis. "And yet it's got all these pockets of hometown charm. But the home, of course, can be somewhere from Italy, the home could be in Pakistan. The home can be from anywhere. But there's such intense nuggets of ethnic flavor, of regional flavor."

Of course, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz says the recognition is well deserved.

"Bravo I couldn't agree with them more. Thank you Lonely Planet. You've got it right," said Markowitz.

Markowitz says the travel guide will really help bring tourism to Brooklyn – something he's been pushing for over the last several years. In 2004, Markowitz set up this tourist center in Borough Hall as well as a website on where to go, what to see and even things to wear. But he was taken aback last year when he traveled to Europe to promote Brooklyn and travel agents didn't know much about it.

"When I asked them what they thought of Brooklyn, there was no reaction, because many of them didn't know what Brooklyn is, other than we have a bridge," said Markowitz.

Well many will soon be learning about Brooklyn now. Lonely Planet publications have their largest number of readers throughout Western Europe and Australia.

Other U.S. destinations that made the “Blue List” are Hawaii and New Orleans. Finland, San Sebastian, Spain, and Northeast India are also included.

– Jeanine Ramirez

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=65739

leeho

Sadly, that "Coney Island experience" that makes Brooklyn unique will be replaced with sterile condos next to what will look like a dwarfed Cyclone. Still really bothers me a ton. Maybe with this recognition as a world class attraction for what it is, a honky tonk in Brooklyn, developers will spare some of their plans to make the place boring and as homogenous as middle America.

armchair_warrior

brooklyn is finally getting the attention and its been renewing. so even if the old "coney island" experience gone, they'll have new ones. maybe even a better newer coney island experience!

leeho

That's not what made it "popular." The Coney Island experience now is what makes it popular.

armchair_warrior

who knows. i go vist it every year and hopes they put new stuff there all the time. since the 80's, its only recently newer people who don't want the change the authentic area! aka keep it poor and under developed.

idlewild

it's interesting to note that on Marty's website he pushes Atlantic Yards as progress for diversification yet when you look on the list for places to go and eat there is no mention of neighborhoods such as Bed-Stuy, Canarsie, Starrett, Georgetown and the like. You see a Jamaica Bay but that's about as far as he goes (except for Coney Isalnd because it is Coney Island after all) out of the Park Slope/Ft Greene/Williamsburg genre. Makes me wonder if he's intentionally leaving out the other neighborhoods or if he just doesn't know about them. I will buy the Lonely Planet book from Amazon.

leeho

Buy it and see what they really include! I'm so curious.

escap

Guess what, guys, it's the gentrification of Bklyn that has gotten it into Lonely Planet. If they wanted to point people in the direction of Brooklyn's old flavor nabes like Bed Stuy and Coney Island, they could have and would have done it decades ago. Sad but true. :roll: :roll:

leeho

Word, that is true.

idlewild

Exactly.

steve

Is there any reason to go to Starrett City? Serious question.

hellodarling

What always mystified me was seeing the double-decker tour buses around Atlantic Center. I lived at Atlantic/3rd when I first moved here in mid-2005 and noticed tourists on these buses snapping pictures... of Atlantic Avenue. I'm all for Brooklyn's thriving tourism industry, but... really?

boygabriel

hellodarling wrote: What always mystified me was seeing the double-decker tour buses around Atlantic Center. I lived at Atlantic/3rd when I first moved here in mid-2005 and noticed tourists on these buses snapping pictures... of Atlantic Avenue. I'm all for Brooklyn's thriving tourism industry, but... really?

I've wondered the same exact thing. I assume the buses are just trying to get from the Manhattan to Brooklyn bridge as quickly as possible.

idlewild

steve wrote: Is there any reason to go to Starrett City? Serious question.

Well if you live here yes, it's part of your City. One should get on a bike during warm weather, a car in any kind of weather if possible and explore the City they live in. If you're a tourist, why not? It's part of the Brooklyn experience. It's on Gateway, two recreational parks are being built, the Cararsie Pier is a great place too hang. There are a few good restuarants scattered around Seaview Ave. Yes! I would say there are a number of reasons to visit any section of Brooklyn.