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10 Essential Sights & Activities

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1. The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (1000 Washington Ave.; 718/623-7200; www.bbg.org), followed by a walk through adjacent Prospect Park, the, well, second-greatest greensward in New York.

2. The ancient Egyptian collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art (200 Eastern Parkway, Prospect Heights; 718/638-5000; www.brooklynmuseum.org)

3. A tour of Brooklyn's Hasidic neighborhoods—especially Crown Heights. Go to www.jewishtours.com or call 718/953-5244 for details and bookings.

4. A walking or driving tour of the borough's famous residential architecture, from Brooklyn Heights (elegant brownstones) through Clinton Hill (stately 19th-century mansions) to Ditmas Park (sprawling Tudors and Queen Annes). The Brooklyn Historical Society has informative neighborhood guides (718/222-4111; www.brooklynhistory.org).

5. Gallery-hopping in Williamsburg (see www.williamsburggalleryassociation.com for a map and gallery info).

6. Walking across, or in the shadow of, Brooklyn's incomparable bridges: the Williamsburg, the Manhattan, the Brooklyn, and the Verrazano-Narrows. (The latter is closed to pedestrians for now, but Mayor Bloomberg has endorsed a proposal for a foot and bike path.)

7. Seeing a Brooklyn Cyclones game at intimate, seaside Keyspan Park (1904 Surf Ave., Coney Island; 718/449-8497; www.brooklyncyclones.com; June to Sept.). After a stroll on the boardwalk and a requisite spin on the Wonder Wheel? Fuggedaboudit.

8. A progressive Latin lunch at the Red Hook Soccer Fields (Clinton and Bay Sts., Red Hook; open all day Sat. and Sun., mid-April to mid-October), where 13 vendors sell Honduran tacos, Mexican huaraches, Ecuadoran ceviche, and other delicious treats to spectators and players alike (a semi-pro league holds matches here every weekend)

9. Shopping on Atlantic Avenue in Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill. Among the dozens of top-grade antiques dealers, you'll also find edgy new shops devoted to fashion and design.

10. The magnficient views from the Brooklyn Heights Esplanade (a.k.a. the Promenade), taking in the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the vast expanse of New York Harbor. Oh, and that other borough across the water.

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