Things to Do in Williamsburg Brooklyn: Local Favorites

If you're wondering what to see in Williamsburg, you've come to the right place.

I'll tell you what to visit in one of the most interesting neighborhoods in New York, a place that has gone through dramatic changes over the past 25 years.

Where there were once abandoned factories, empty lots and crumbling warehouses, today you'll find high-end condos, boutique hotels and international luxury stores.

The truth is there have been many Williamsburgs over time, and each one has left its mark on these streets. We'll go through the standout spots in this Brooklyn neighborhood full of contrasts.

What to See in Williamsburg

To understand what to look for in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, here's a quick history of its urban transformation:

🕎 Until the 1980s it was home to Jewish immigrants from Europe (South Williamsburg still is), along with communities from the Caribbean, Poland and Ukraine.

🤘 In the 1990s Williamsburg became a bohemian neighborhood: artists, rock bands, writers and poets fleeing the gentrified Lower East Side of Manhattan in search of cheap rent.

🏙️ Starting in 2005, North Williamsburg began taking shape as a new luxury retail district in New York.

That's the current face of North Williamsburg. On top of its 500-plus glass luxury towers, you'll find Chanel, Hermès and Ralph Lauren outposts, plus chains like Trader Joe's and Duane Reade.

South Williamsburg, meanwhile, remains the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of New York.

Thanks to that mix, Williamsburg is one of the Brooklyn neighborhoods that best illustrates the contrasts of New York that make this city so fascinating.

Attractions in Williamsburg, New York

The border between Williamsburg's two parallel universes is its bridge: north of the Williamsburg Bridge you have Yuppie Williamsburg (the Brooklyn hipsters who grew up 🤣), and to the south stretches New York's most iconic Jewish neighborhood.

Both north and south, there's plenty to do in Williamsburg. To help you plan, I'll organize the points of interest around those two geographic poles.

1. North Williamsburg: Yuppie Territory

Plenty of longtime Williamsburg residents are still here, but walking the streets you'll notice how much has changed: it's richer and more «Manhattan-ish.» This urban renewal process looks a lot like what happened in neighboring Greenpoint.

New York's Former Hipster Neighborhood

I say former Hipster Neighborhood because gentrification, or more precisely yuppification, has driven rents up so much that the «young, ironic, trend-hunting intellectuals 😎» have had to move on to other neighborhoods, Washington Heights in northern Manhattan, for example.

But there are still vintage clothing shops, boutique restaurants, lots of young people and art in Williamsburg.

Most of these boutiques, cafés, restaurants, breweries and more alternative shops run along Bedford Avenue.

A good plan is to start at McCarren Park and head south (Nassau Avenue Station on the G line).

Street Art in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Another of Williamsburg's draws is its street art. As you walk around you'll run into murals and graffiti by famous artists, but also hundreds of hand-painted street ads on the neighborhood's walls.

Street art is fleeting, but some pieces have stuck around and are now part of the Williamsburg landscape.

Among them is the Mona Lisa of Williamsburg, which decorates the facade of the building at the corner of Bedford Avenue, Broadway and South 6th Street.

The mural is based on a photo that won a school competition (taken by Steven Paul). Colossal Media, an advertising company, later decided to paint it.

Its real name is Lost Time, but it became known on social media as the Mona Lisa and is now one of the most photographed works of street art in New York.

Another well-known mural is the Andy Warhol and Basquiat piece by Kobra, at N 9th Street and Bedford Avenue.

East River State Park

This park on the banks of the East River is the epicenter of Williamsburg's gentrification. Along the waterfront you'll see the luxury residential buildings that changed the profile of a neighborhood that was industrial just a few decades ago.

I recommend visiting East River Park on Saturdays between April and October, when the Smorgasburg Market sets up from 11 am to 6 pm  (the Bedford Avenue Station on the L line is the closest subway stop).

This is an open-air food market created in 2009, with vendors selling trendy products and dishes. It's «the Woodstock of eating,» according to The Times. Besides eating well and trying the latest trends, you'll mingle with the Brooklyn crowd.

Smorgasburg Market also runs in Prospect Park on Sundays, Brooklyn's answer to Central Park. Go see that one too!

Domino Park in Williamsburg

This new New York park perfectly symbolizes how Williamsburg's spaces have been repurposed.

Here they reused industrial structures from the Domino Sugar Factory, which closed in 2004. They turned them into a park, luxury condos and offices inside the iconic old factory building.

Worth noting: the developers behind this project are the same ones behind the transformation of nearby Dumbo. Another famous Brooklyn neighborhood you shouldn't miss.

Here's a photo of the promotional sign for the whole project. It isn't finished yet, but this is how it will look:

The reinvention of the abandoned Domino Sugar Factory is a lot like that of the High Line in Manhattan and Gantry Plaza State Park in Queens, two of the most original parks in New York that you should also visit.

Another reason to visit Domino Park: its waterfront promenade is one of the best viewpoints of Manhattan.

The closest subway station to Domino Park is Bedford Avenue Station on the L line

Brooklyn Brewery

At Brooklyn Brewery (79 N 11th Street) they brew beer following the tradition of the German and Austrian brewmasters who made Brooklyn their home.

The brewery has a tasting room you can visit Thursdays and Fridays from 4 pm to 8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 pm to 8 pm. Try the classic Brooklyn Lager and their East IPA.

They also offer brewery tours, which you need to book ahead on their website.

A fun fact: the Brooklyn Brewery logo was created by the famous Milton Glaser (behind iconic designs like «I love New York»).

Another fact that illustrates Williamsburg's changing population: the building the brewery occupies used to be a matzo factory (the unleavened bread eaten during Passover).

2. South Williamsburg: New York's Jewish Neighborhood

Before the hipsters, the Caribbean communities and now the top professionals from Wall Street, Williamsburg was the neighborhood of choice for Orthodox Jewish immigrants, Hasidic families from Eastern Europe escaping the atrocities of World War II.

Williamsburg is the neighborhood from the Netflix series Unorthodox (2020)

This Hasidic community, one of the most orthodox in the world, is concentrated south of the Williamsburg Bridge, along Lee Avenue between Davison Avenue and Heyward Street.

Most of them come from the Satmar dynasty, with roots in Hungary. You'll recognize the men by their traditional hat, kippah and black coat, their neat beard and the ringlets on both sides of the face (payot).

The women also wear dark tones, skirts below the knee and sleeves below the elbow. They're always surrounded by plenty of children.

Married women wear wigs (sheitel) and headscarves, since no one outside the family may see their hair (watch Unorthodox before you visit Williamsburg! It will help you catch these cultural details.)

They are a very closed community who speak Yiddish and ignore tourists. In fact, they don't much like us.

They don't want to be photographed or treated as a tourist attraction (it was really hard for me to take these photos!).

The advice here is to be discreet and respectful when walking their streets (one low-key way to see the area is on the Contrasts of New York tour route).

If you want to learn more about the Jewish community in New York, visit the Eldridge Street Museum, housed in a synagogue, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan.

How to get to the Jewish neighborhood

A good route is to get off at the Bedford Avenue station on the L line, which drops you in the «hipster» zone, and from there walk south through the neighborhood. You'll notice how it changes.

Another idea is to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge (check out all the New York bridges you can cross on foot).

Walking across the Williamsburg Bridge

Few tourists know you can cross the Williamsburg Bridge on foot. It isn't as famous a walk as crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, but it is an experience that will help you understand how this city we love so much grew.

Since 1903 this bridge has connected Williamsburg with the Lower East Side, which allowed the neighborhood to become a booming industrial area. The old Domino Sugar factory is a witness to those days.

The crossing isn't as charming as the Brooklyn Bridge, since the pedestrian walkway is caged in. It wasn't built for taking in views, it's a place to pass through.

But to my mind it's a walk into the guts of the New York that typical tourist itineraries leave out.

Riding the NYC Ferry

Another recommendation for getting to know Williamsburg is to ride one of the NYC Ferry boats. This ferry service along the East River has two docks in Williamsburg (you'll find all the details at the link).

I promise you views of the New York bridges that will be the envy of your social feeds.

Music in Williamsburg

For music lovers, Williamsburg has plenty to offer too. Many of New York's indie bands come out of Brooklyn, so it's no surprise to stumble on terrific acts at the venues that still survive in the neighborhood.

The music industry considers Williamsburg a major incubator of bands, so what you hear as you walk around could well be the next global trend.

The Glasslands (289 Kent Ave), the Music Hall of Williamsburg (66 N 6th St), Pete's Candy Store (709 Lorimer St), Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave), Sound Fix (110 Bedford Ave), Union Pool (484 Union Ave) and Studio B (259 Banker St) are some of the spots with live shows.

If you're looking for where to buy concert tickets for your favorite bands in New York, we recommend the Superboletería search tool, which is thorough and trustworthy.

Pop culture in the neighborhood

Now let's talk about Williamsburg's celebrities:

The first name that stands out is gangster Al Capone, who was born in the neighborhood and lived here until 1919, when he fled to Chicago to escape murder charges.

Billyburg also gave us musicians Barry Manilow and Gene Simmons of Kiss, plus the famous Jewish singer Barbra Streisand.

One interesting fact: Sergio Leone's Italian-American film Once Upon a Time in America (1984), starring Robert De Niro and James Wood, is set in the Williamsburg of the 1920s through the 1960s.

Where to stay in Williamsburg

Williamsburg has become home to some excellent hotels with Manhattan views.

Over the past decade, some very modern hotels have opened with the same features as those in Manhattan, but at more competitive prices.

A few of these new Williamsburg hotels stand out:

🛎️ The Wythe Hotel, a boutique property that opened in 2012 in a former factory building. You'll recognize it by its iconic sign. Along with its 72 rooms, it has a rooftop bar with Manhattan views, chef-driven restaurants, shops and bookstores.

🛎️ The William Vale Hotel, which opened in 2016 a few blocks from the Wythe, cemented the neighborhood's status as a destination for international travelers.

🛎️ The Arlo Williamsburg also sits near the East River and has a terrace with spectacular Manhattan views.

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That's everything I have to share about what to see in another of my favorite New York neighborhoods. Maybe we'll bump into each other one day over bagels 🥯

How do you get to Williamsburg?

Williamsburg, in Brooklyn, is bounded by the East River to the east and Bushwick Ave to the west, with N 12 St and McCarren Park to the north and Flushing Avenue to the south.

Several L line subway stations serve the area, among them Bedford Ave station, close to most of the points of interest in the northern part of the neighborhood.