Things to Do Near Brooklyn Cruise Terminal

Red Hook's neighborhood park — playgrounds, spray showers, basketball, and public restrooms.

Best for: Young children who need to burn an hour before boarding

Pro tip: The restrooms are the underrated part when you are between a hotel check-out and a boarding window. NYC Parks publishes no hours for it.

You walk onto a 1914 wooden railroad barge, still floating, and it is free.

Best for: Children and anyone interested in how the harbor used to work

Pro tip: It opens two days a week and adds one-off closures on top, so check their calendar the day before rather than turning up. This is the most schedule-fragile thing on our Brooklyn list.

Eighty-five acres of waterfront with playgrounds, courts, lawns and the skyline behind them.

Best for: Everyone — Pier 6's playgrounds for young children, courts for teenagers, the view for adults

Pro tip: Get there on the same NYC Ferry that serves Red Hook and you have turned the journey into part of the outing. The park is open 6am to 1am, but the playgrounds close at sunset.

A restored 1922 carousel in a glass pavilion on the Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront.

Best for: Young children, and a good photograph for everyone else

Pro tip: Closed Tuesdays year-round, and the hours change with the season — 10am to 6:50pm in summer, 11am to 5:50pm from mid-September. Combine it with Brooklyn Bridge Park rather than making a trip of it alone.

A decommissioned 1936 subway station where you walk through vintage subway cars on a real platform.

Best for: Children and teenagers both, and the strongest all-weather option near the port

Pro tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Their own site currently warns that the back mezzanine has no working air conditioning, which is worth knowing for an August visit with children.

The best free Statue of Liberty view near the terminal, straight down the harbor from the end of the pier.

Best for: Anyone with an hour to spare, and anyone who wants the sunset photo

Pro tip: It faces west across the Upper Bay, which makes it the sunset spot in Red Hook. NYC Parks publishes no opening hours for the park itself, so we state none.

A full children's museum in Crown Heights — genuinely good, and genuinely far.

Best for: Young children, on a day when you are not also handling luggage

Pro tip: Be honest with yourself about the distance: it is four miles away and near nothing else on this list, so it is a half-day commitment. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

The cheapest harbor cruise in New York — past the Statue of Liberty and back for $4.50.

Best for: Teenagers and adults, and anyone who wants a boat before the boat

Pro tip: Ride to Wall Street/Pier 11 and back — about twenty minutes each way with the whole harbor on your left. Transfers are free for 120 minutes, so the round trip can cost one fare if you time it.

A converted ironworks turned arts and science center, with galleries and a big garden.

Best for: Adults and teenagers, and anyone who wants somewhere to sit that is not a terminal

Pro tip: Check the exhibition calendar before you walk over — there are genuine gaps between shows when the galleries hold only ongoing installations. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Fully accessible since the 2025 renovation.

The classic Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge skyline walk, cantilevered over the expressway.

Best for: Adults and teenagers; pairs with the stairs down into Brooklyn Bridge Park

Pro tip: Do it at the start of your day, not the end — it is on the way in from Downtown Brooklyn and adds nothing to the trip. NYC Parks publishes no hours for it.

Bourbon and rye distilled in a Red Hook warehouse, with a tasting flight and a ten-person tour.

Best for: Adults, 21 and over — the closest paid attraction to the pier

Pro tip: Public tours run Friday at 4pm and Saturday and Sunday at 1, 3 and 5pm only, and a reservation is required. The bar is closed Monday to Thursday, so a midweek visit gets you the building and not much else.