New York on Foot: A Lower Manhattan Walking Route From Tribeca to the Brooklyn Bridge

New York is huge, but the bottom of Manhattan isn't. Tribeca, the World Trade Center, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge sit within a couple of kilometres of each other, and you can walk them in a single day, finishing with the skyline at sunset from the Brooklyn side. We filmed every stretch of this route in late spring 2025, so you can see exactly what each part looks like before you go.

Morning: Tribeca and the Hudson

Start in Tribeca, in the quiet residential streets around Harrison Street, and walk west to the Hudson River. Early in the morning the waterfront promenade belongs to joggers and dog walkers, with Jersey City's towers straight across the water. Heading south along the river brings you to the North Cove marina, where the Statue of Liberty appears in the distance. Our Tribeca morning walk follows exactly this stretch.

One World Trade Center and the Oculus

From the marina, the World Trade Center is a few minutes inland. One World Trade Center is 1,776 feet tall, a number chosen for the year of American independence, and it is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. At its foot stands the Oculus, the white ribbed transport hub designed by Santiago Calatrava and opened in 2016. Our Oculus and One World Trade Center walk goes around the outside and then inside it.

Wall Street and Trinity Church

A short walk east takes you into the Financial District's narrow canyon streets. Our Financial District walk passes the Bank of New York, crosses Wall Street, goes by the Trump Building and the New York Stock Exchange, and reaches Trinity Church at the head of Wall Street. Alexander Hamilton is buried in its churchyard.

Afternoon: across the Brooklyn Bridge

Walk north-east to the Manhattan end of the Brooklyn Bridge. Opened in 1883, it is about 1.1 miles (1.8 km) long, and the pedestrian promenade runs above the traffic. Its Manhattan entrance was recently redesigned to separate walkers from cyclists (what changed). Our Brooklyn Bridge walk crosses from the Manhattan side between the stone towers, with views opening towards Brooklyn Heights and back to Lower Manhattan. Allow 30 minutes to an hour with photo stops.

Sunset: Brooklyn Bridge Park and Brooklyn Heights

On the Brooklyn side, go down to Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, which has the classic view: the Manhattan skyline across the East River with the bridge on the right. Our Brooklyn Heights sunset view was filmed there at dusk, then up on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. That's the promenade a new BQE repair plan is designed to keep open (read more).

Night: Times Square

End the day in Midtown, a subway ride uptown. Times Square is at its most Times Square after dark. Our Friday night walk moves under the neon billboards, past the late-night food stands, to One Times Square. If you'd rather see it calmer, our daytime Times Square walk covers the same blocks in daylight. Visiting on 31 December is a different story entirely: see New Year's Eve in Times Square.

All our New York videos are on the New York city page.