How to Spend 4 Hours in New York: Brooklyn Museum and Prospect Heights
Updated October 3, 2026
Four hours in New York takes the subway to Prospect Heights for pancakes at Tom's, the Brooklyn Museum, the gilded Central Library and Grand Army Plaza's triumphal arch.
Eastern Parkway, the grand boulevard Olmsted and Vaux laid out in the 1860s, holds a cluster of Brooklyn's civic treasures near a single subway stop. Start with brunch at a neighborhood diner, then spend most of the visit in the borough's great art museum. You finish where the parkway meets Prospect Park, at a library shaped like an open book and a Civil War arch. If you have luggage, book a Bounce shop near the subway first. As of October 2026, storage there runs from $2.90 a day.
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The 4 hour plan, stop by stop
Stops and travel: 2 hr 29 min to 3 hr 54 min of 4 hours
Tom's has been run by the same family since 1936, with kitschy decor, framed photos covering the walls and staff who greet regulars by name. And no, it's not the Tom's from Seinfeld; that one is in Manhattan. It's a breakfast and lunch institution known for fluffy pancakes in flavors like lemon ricotta, big egg plates and its cherry lime rickey, a fizzy, sweet and tart fountain drink. Weekend lines can stretch down the block, and staff sometimes hand out coffee and cookies to those waiting.
Tip: Go early on weekends to beat the line, and order the cherry lime rickey even if it sounds too sweet for breakfast.
- Time here
- 35 to 55 min
NaviTime to head out from Tom's Restaurant, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn for Brooklyn Museum. It's a 7 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
Designed by McKim, Mead and White and opened in 1897, this colossal Beaux-Arts building was planned as part of the largest museum in the world before Brooklyn joined New York City. It's open Wednesday through Sunday, and general admission at the desk is pay what you can, while special exhibitions carry a set price. Today it holds one of the finest ancient Egyptian collections in the country and galleries of American paintings and decorative arts. In the Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party sets a triangular banquet table honoring women from history.
Tip: Head straight to the third floor for the Egyptian galleries, then visit The Dinner Party on the fourth floor before working your way down.
- Time here
- 1 hr 15 min to 2 hr
- Website
- brooklynmuseum.org
NaviTime to head out from Brooklyn Museum for Brooklyn Public Library Central Library. It's a 5 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
Opened in 1941 at the top of Eastern Parkway, the Central Library is an Art Deco landmark whose curved limestone facade is meant to resemble an open book, with its spine on Grand Army Plaza. The towering entrance portico is lined with fifteen gilded figures from American literature, framed by columns etched in gold leaf with scenes of art and science through the ages. Inside, a zinc eagle over the lobby is the last of four that once topped the Brooklyn Daily Eagle building.
Tip: The library has public restrooms and free Wi-Fi, which makes it the best pit stop on this walk before you head out to the plaza.
- Time here
- 15 to 25 min
- Website
- bklynlibrary.org
NaviTime to head out from Brooklyn Public Library Central Library for Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn. It's a 2 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
Calvert Vaux designed this oval as the grand entrance to Prospect Park. In 1892 the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch rose at its heart to honor the Union Army and Navy, and it was later crowned by a bronze chariot pulled by four horses. On Saturdays a farmers market fills the north side. Around the arch sit the Bailey Fountain, finished in 1932 with Neptune and sea creatures, and statues of Civil War generals. The whole plaza became a city landmark in 1975.
Tip: Walk under the arch to find the bronze reliefs of Lincoln and Grant on horseback inside; Thomas Eakins designed the horses.
- Time here
- 10 to 20 min
- Website
- nycgovparks.org
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