Introducing Brooklyn Heights

This is the other New York, away from the Times Square neon, but an equally strongly branded slice of the Big Apple.

Brooklyn Heights is the place of blintzes and brownstones, its leafy streets with friendly steps leading up to row houses as iconic as a yellow cab. Proudly tagging itself America's first suburb, the area attracts artists who have arrived and bearded young entrepreneurs in search of Walt Whitman.

Foodstuffs are kept raw and local, while the offerings in the charity shops lean more towards last season Chloé than cast-offs. Evenings are spent nursing an artisan homebrew at Pete's Waterfront Ale House or tucking into hake sashimi at Hibino, confirming that the message of this iconic enclave has spread far beyond the city borders.

Distances to airports

By car (without traffic): JFK – 30 mins | LaGuardia – 20 mins

Distances to Manhattan

By subway: Soho – 20 mins | Times Square – 25 mins | Central Park – 30 mins