United States New York New York City New York City Guide Things To Do Essentials Restaurants Nightlife Where to Stay Neighborhoods Itineraries Events Getaways All New York City 5 Historic Bridges You Can See from the Brooklyn Bridge Views From the Bridge Written by Ellen Freudenheim Facebook Twitter Ellen Freudenheim is the author of four guidebooks to Brooklyn, where she has lived for more than 20 years. Tripsavvy's Editorial Guidelines Ellen Freudenheim Updated 06/03/19 Share Pin Email The views from the Brooklyn Bridge are legendary: skyscrapers, water, the Statue of Liberty and more. One doesn't quite realize, at ground level in Brooklyn or Manhattan, just how vital the waterways are to New York City--or that Manhattan is really an island. From atop the Brooklyn Bridge, you can experience the island-ness of Manhattan, and the importance of the East River bridge crossings. And, if you stop to look, you can count five bridges from atop the Brooklyn Bridge. Each tells a story about the history of the New York region. All but one were built before World War II. The most recently built is the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, visible from a distance, built in 1964 as the world's then-largest suspension bridge. The oldest is the Brooklyn Bridge itself, built in 1883. A Few Tips How Long Does It Take to Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge? How to Walk the Brooklyn Bridge What NYC Landmarks Can You See from the Brooklyn Bridge? 10 Don'ts of Walking the Brooklyn Bridge Which Skyscraper Is It? The Empire State Building? Or Chrysler? Note to Drivers: You can see all of these bridges when walking or cycling across the Brooklyn Bridge. If you are driving a car, you can easily see the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, but you might have to squint into the distance to make out the other three. Edited by Alison Lowenstein 01 of 05 The Brooklyn Bridge Itself (Across the East River) Photo by E. Freudenheim It may seem obvious to say, but when you are walking on the Brooklyn Bridge, you are also looking at it. It's awesome. The cables. The towers. The massive under-girding. The car traffic below and the tourists above. As seen in this photo, the arches of the two towers of this historic suspension bridge are beautiful and frame the sky and Manhattan's skyscrapers in a unique way. Read the historical markers on the Brooklyn Bridge to learn more about its construction and history. Type of bridge: Suspension Opened: 1883 Cars and pedestrians/cyclists; no subways Toll-free for cars 02 of 05 The Manhattan Bridge (Across the East River) Photo by E. Freudenheim The Manhattan Bridge is located immediately north of the Brooklyn Bridge. (It seems almost close enough to wave to the passengers on the Q train zooming across the East River!) The Manhattan Bridge appears to run parallel to the Brooklyn Bridge, and indeed, from the Brooklyn side, the two bridges entrance ways are just a few blocks apart. However, the Manhattan Bridge arrives at a more northerly point in Manhattan than does the Brooklyn Bridge. It opens onto Canal Street near Chinatown, Little Italy and the southernmost point of Soho. Unlike the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan also has a train track, so it carries subways as well as cars, cyclists , and pedestrians. Type of bridge: Suspension Opened: 1909 Cars, pedestrians/cyclists; subways Toll-free for cars 03 of 05 Williamsburg Bridge (Across the East River) Further north than the Brooklyn Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge (connecting Delancy Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Williamsburg, Brooklyn) is picturesque in its own right. However, due to line of sight, you can only see the very tip of the Williamsburg Bridge from the Brooklyn Bridge. In the photo shown here, one sees the Manhattan Bridge and then, peeking atop it, one of the towers of the Williamsburg Bridge. Type of bridge: Suspension Cars, pedestrians/cyclists; subways Opened: 1903 04 of 05 Bayonne Bridge (Across the Kill Van Kull) One can see the Verrazano and Goethals Bridges in New Jersey from the Brooklyn Bridge. Looking out past NY Harbor, beyond the Statue of Liberty, one sees a lovely arched bridge. It's the Bayonne Bridge, connecting Staten Island to New Jersey. Built in 1928, its arch is famous; for about a half century, the Bayonne Bridge was the world's longest steel-arch bridge and is still amongst the longest. It has an interesting history, including the fact that its designers, Othmar H. Ammann and Cass Gilbert had to create an arch that would span a shipping channel; the bridge stands 150 feet above water level-clearance for the U.S. Navy's tallest ships in the 1930s. Type of bridge: steel arch bridges Opened: 1931 Continue to 5 of 5 below. 05 of 05 Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (Upper NY Bay) Photo by E. Freudenheim Named after Giovanni da Verrazano --who was the first European explorer to sail into New York Harbor --the elegant span of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, joins two boroughs of New York (Brooklyn and Staten Island). It is located, on the Brooklyn side, in Fort Hamilton, near Bay Ridge. It connects with Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island. Both forts guarded New York Harbor at the Narrows for over a century. When it opened in 1964, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was the world's longest suspension span. It is visible from a distance from the Brooklyn Bridge; the view is better with binoculars. This bridge is the starting point for the ING NYC Marathon. Type of bridge: Suspension Toll; cars only Opened: 1964 Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Share Pin Email Tell us why! Submit