Framed by the granite towers of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, DUMBO pairs Belgian-block cobblestones and independent bookshops with New York’s most cinematic waterfront park.

For the price of a single subway swipe (or completely free), you can trade fluorescent tunnel platforms for open-air upper decks, 17th-century harbor forts, and Staten Island’s cliffside parks.

Ride the 6 train to Pelham Bay Park and cross a short causeway into a 1.5-mile island where yacht yards, maritime museums, and waterfront seafood shacks replace the city grid.