Park Slope is brownstones, strollers, food co-op jokes and the best stretch of Prospect Park, all on a gentle hill that makes your calves work on the way home. The things to do in Park Slope are mellow on purpose, which is why it's quietly one of the best places in the city to be baked. Park Slope munchies are solid, the Park Slope movie theater situation is better than you'd think, and the park does the rest.
On this page
The Park Slope vibe and the trains that get you there
Picture a brownstone stoop with a radiator hissing behind the parlor window, a bike chained to the railing, and a double stroller parked in the vestibule like a minivan. That's Park Slope. It's family-heavy and a little smug about it, but it's also leafy, walkable and calm in a way most of the city isn't. People actually sit on their stoops here.
The F and G share the 7th Ave stop and the 15th St (Prospect Park) stop on the park side. The R runs under 4th Ave on the low end, by the bars and the newer buildings. The 2/3 stops at Grand Army Plaza at the top of the slope, and the B/Q hits 7th Ave on the north side. Walk east across Grand Army Plaza and you're in Crown Heights and Prospect Heights.
Park Slope munchies: Fifth Ave, Seventh Ave and a pizza day trip
The neighborhood has two main eating strips. Seventh Ave is the old-school one: diners, bagel shops, pizza counters, a bookstore, all the stuff you need on a Sunday. Fifth Ave is livelier, with bars, taquerias, ramen, Thai, Mexican, burger spots, ice cream and a few sit-down places worth the wait. Bodegas on both handle the chopped cheese and the bacon egg and cheese. Diners are the baked brain's best friend, and Seventh Ave has the type.
A short trip west, Lucali in Carroll Gardens makes some of the most talked-about pizza in the city, candlelit and simple, with a famously long wait. Plan it. Don't wing it baked.
The pizza pilgrimage south
If you want a real baked day trip, ride the F or the B/Q south. Di Fara Pizza in Midwood is legendary, with slow, careful pies worth the line. L&B Spumoni Gardens in Gravesend does square Sicilian slices with the sauce on top, plus spumoni for dessert, and you eat it at picnic tables outside. Do both in one afternoon and you'll need a nap on the train home. See the full NYC munchies guide and our late-night food guide for more.
Things to do in Park Slope baked
Sesh at home, then take a slow walk. Park Slope is all about the side streets: brownstones, iron gates, gardens behind fences, and the occasional pet cat in a window. Browse the bookstores and record shops on Seventh and Fifth. Get a coffee and sit on your own stoop. This neighborhood rewards doing nothing in particular.
Or go bigger: an edible before you leave the apartment, then a long loop through Prospect Park and out through Grand Army Plaza. For more ideas, check things to do high in NYC.
The Park Slope movie theater and nearby culture
Nitehawk Prospect Park is the Park Slope movie theater for a baked night. It's a restored old theater with food brought to your seat, smart first-run picks and cult screenings. Arrive already floating, order fries, sink into the seat. It's on our guide to the best NYC movie theaters.
For more culture, walk over to the Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Prospect Heights, or take a short ride to BAM Rose Cinemas in Fort Greene for indie and repertory films.
Prospect Park, the Long Meadow and Grand Army Plaza
Prospect Park is the best park in New York. Fight me. The Long Meadow is a huge rolling lawn that feels like countryside, with dogs running off-leash in the early morning. The boathouse area by the lake is quiet, with willows, ducks, and wooden bridges. Grand Army Plaza at the top has the big arch and fountains.
All of it is smoke-free, so the order is simple: sesh at home, then go lie on the Long Meadow. Our guide to where you can sesh covers the rules, and the seasons guide tells you when fall foliage and summer lawns are at their best.
Park Slope: the good and the annoying
The good
The park is right there. The streets are beautiful and quiet. Good trains, good bookstores, a great movie theater, and Crown Heights food a walk away. It feels like a small town that happens to be in Brooklyn.
The annoying
Strollers on the sidewalk two-wide, like a blockade. Prices that make the rest of Brooklyn wince. Not much happens after dark, so if you want nightlife, head to Williamsburg or Bushwick. And the hill: walking home up the slope after a big dinner is cardio you didn't sign up for.
