Can you walk manhattan bridge

It held car traffic in both directions as well as trolley tracks, soon replaced by subway tracks. In , the upper level was added. Today, both levels accommodate traffic, while only the lower level carries subway tracks. The bridge has needed lots of repair over the last years, mostly due to the wear and tear of the subway trains rattling across it.

Following the walking route from Chinatown that Google maps presented to me, I ended up on the southwest side of the bridge. It turns out that the southwest side is reserved solely for pedestrian traffic, while bicycles are relegated to the northeast side only. Walking across the Manhattan Bridge was a pleasant experience on a Saturday morning, except when subway trains passed.

The video below gives you an idea of how loud they are. It made me a bit nervous at first, but I got used to it.

When a subway car was not passing, the noise subsided considerably to the usual dull roar of New York City and the whoosh of the cars zipping by to my left and on the upper roadway. I had the path practically to myself, only encountering an occasional jogger or walker, as you can see in the last frames of the video. The first part of the bridge is sloped upwards, of course, and rises above the city streets of Chinatown. At the same time, you have a great view of the Brooklyn Bridge and also of Brooklyn.

At this point it was lunchtime so that became my goal: to find a place to have lunch somewhere on the route between the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge. Inside one of the buildings is a high-end mall called Empire Stores, including the Time Out Market, a food court of sorts, but very chic and rather expensive. The exhibit there focuses solely on this section of Brooklyn: the businesses in these warehouses, the goods that were imported through here, and the people who came here to work.

After the museum, I spent quite a while wandering the extremely crowded and loud food hall on the first floor, trying to decide what I wanted for lunch from all the tempting choices.

There are also some food choices up on the fifth floor. I eventually decided on a bowl of soup from Mr. Taka Ramen.

It took a while to get my soup because of the line to order and then the wait while it was prepared. Then I had trouble finding a seat at any of the communal tables — remember, this was a good weather Saturday at lunchtime. Then I took a quick look upstairs on the 5th floor. It was just as crowded, but up there you can get a great view of both bridges.

And, by the way, much of the waterfront here is very strollable, with riverfront walking paths in strips of parkland. The Brooklyn Bridge is older than the Manhattan Bridge. It was completed in and was the first steel-wire suspension bridge in the world, according to Wikipedia.

Smaller than the Manhattan Bridge and a bit shorter at 1. Like the Manhattan Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge has two levels. Originally carrying horse-drawn carriages, railway lines, and later, trolley tracks, nowadays it holds car traffic no trucks allowed on the main level and pedestrians and bicyclists above the car lanes.

Essentially, it is one path, about three to five meters wide, with a line painted down the middle. Foot and bicycle traffic in both directions share this one pathway. At the same time, walking and biking across the Brooklyn Bridge are very popular things to do, especially on a sunny October Saturday like the day I decided to do it.

It was extremely crowded. Rather, I stepped and stopped and cut to the left or right around selfie-takers or just shuffled along behind whoever was in front of me. Tourists stopped short to take pictures. Some sat on the side walls to pose for selfies. Many paid no attention to the line slicing down the center of the roadway and sidled along, oblivious to oncoming bicycle traffic.

And bicyclists — less likely to be tourists and more likely to be locals trying to get from point A to point B — got very annoyed, yelling and whistling and ringing bells to try to get walkers off their path.

It was much less fun for me than the Manhattan Bridge. Here are my favorites:. You can easily get to DUMBO and spend the afternoon exploring this industrial community turned tech startup hub. For those history and political buffs out there, head to Borough Hall — the City Hall building for the once independent City of Brooklyn.

But why stop there? Take a leap and check out some of the more residential neighborhoods in New York. With the help of our friendly, local guides you can feel comfortable exploring some of the most interesting, and less touristy, areas of the city.

They all cut their teeth in Greenwich Village, one of the most dynamic and…. Sign Up. By proceeding, you agree to our Terms of Use and confirm you have read our Privacy and Cookie Statement. Sign In. You have logged out from ExperienceFirst. Thank you for the support and happy travels!

The Manhattan Bridge is undoubtably a less popular tourist walkway than its nearby counterpart, but less popular means fewer people and more space. In a complete contrast to the Brooklyn Bridge, you will be able to take things easier and be in less danger of taking a rogue selfie stick the face.

Yes, we know that seems an odd place to start when writing a guide to walking the Manhattan Bridge! The answer is yes, you can walk the Manhattan Bridge — and with one huge benefit the Manhattan has over the Brooklyn:. The pedestrian walkway is for pedestrians only, so no cyclists tearing through tourist packs, no bells ringing and no need to have your head on a swivel.

Total walking distance is around 1. Expect a very gradual incline as you walk from Manhattan and approach the center, before a gradual decline as you descend into Brooklyn. In Chinatown, walk to the intersection of Bowery and Bayard St, then continue northeast ft sticking to the right hand side of the road.

A pedestrian path curves to the right and you will see a green sign saying Manhattan Bridge with a person pointing right. Head to the intersection of Jay Street and Sands Street. The path here is underneath road level and blocked from public view, which could be a concern at night.

We think that would add to a slightly uneasy claustrophobic feeling. Personally, we chose to walk the Manhattan Bridge in late afternoon so we could loop round to Brooklyn Bridge Park in time for sunset. You can begin and end the walk over Manhattan Bridge from either side but w e would suggest doing the same as we did:. Afterwards, walk back to Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge. Aim to be taking the curving path in Chinatown onto the Manhattan Bridge around 1 hour 30 to 2 hours before sunset.

Check NYC sunset times here. It is definitely worth mentioning that sunset is a very popular time around the Brooklyn Bridge area, especially in Summer.