Coney Island!

Can you believe this was my fifth trip to New York city, yet this was my first ever visit to Coney Island!?

Living the Dream

Over the years, there have been plans to close the retro New York pleasure park for good and just last year it was badly hit by Hurricane Sandy too, for years I have felt like my visit to Coney Island is like a ticking time bomb and if I didn’t hurry, I would never get to see it!

So finally, earlier this month, we took the F train to Brooklyn and enjoyed the iconic New York getaway! If you have never heard of Coney Island, it is for the New Yorkers, what Margate or Brighton is to London. Before the time of long holidays and flights abroad, the city dwellers fled the city by train for a day of fun at the seaside. Coney Island is an old school fairground, pier and beach. Think Blackpool without the modernisation and Hen parties, or a scruffier version of Brighton but without the lanes, shops and hipsters, instead just plenty of fairground rides and an aquarium. For me, it’s everything I wanted and more. It’s vintage Americana, a beautiful long pier and broadwalk, lots of hotdog and ice cream joints and so countless old school fairground rides. Literally everywhere you look is beautiful and just couldn’t stop taking photos of everything!

What to do

During our visit to Coney Island, we walked the pier and broadwalk, ate pancakes in a diner, took a million photos and generally just soaked in the Coney Island joy! It was a funny kind of atmosphere when we were there, as it was the last week before it shuts down for the season (it shuts for winter at Halloween), so the whole place was gearing up for closing for the next few months, the rides were shut, but the shops and restaurants were open and there was just a few locals milling around. The weather was beautiful, the beach was peaceful and we felt like we had the place to ourselves. It was the perfect day to see Coney Island!

If you have never been to Coney Island, you need to go! It is shut now until early next season, but it takes just 40-60 minutes by Metro from Manhattan and costs just a few ‘bucks’ to get there. Once you get off the Metro it is right there with no big walk or bus journey. Pick a nice day weather wise and even if you don’t go on any rides like we didn’t, you will love it!

Ps. Want to see what I wore to Coney Island?