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Brooklyn is now ranked as one of the world’s 15 best places to visit.
The April issue of Condé Nast Traveler magazine puts the Borough of Kings on par with such sightseeing hot spots as Sri Lanka, Trancoso in Brazil, Salt Cay in Turks and Caicos, and Greenland.
Why? “The trendy bars, restaurants, galleries and shops that even uber-competitive Manhattanites are just discovering,” the magazine says.
Borough President Marty Markowitz was crowing over the news.
“What more evidence do you need that Brooklyn is not only the proud home to everyone from everywhere but proud host to everyone from everywhere?” he said.
The magazine says, “Brooklyn’s tide has been rising for the better part of a decade as hipsters, chefs, writers and artists have fled Manhattan in search of more affordable . . . everything.”
And forget about Brooklyn’s old-timers. The magazine proclaims that its “stylish immigrants” have filled old neighborhoods and “transformed lowly bodegas into Michelin-starred restaurants” like the pricey Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare in the borough’s Downtown.
Brooklynites, it says, have also turned “dive bars into wineries,” such as along Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue, and converted “abandoned warehouses into playhouses” in the BAM Cultural District.
And at the legendary Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower, entrepreneurs have turned “a Gothic bank building into a massive flea market.”
“Brooklyn is the most forward-looking, energetic cultural destination in New York City, from art galleries, to free summer concert series and, of course, our own range of programs here at the Brooklyn Academy of Music,” said BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins
“The world is seeing what we’ve known in Brooklyn for a long time: Brooklyn is the best place in the world to create and consume art!”
Condé Nast urges its readers to visit Brooklyn now “because there’s nothing cooler than being among the first at the hippest spots in the city.”
But Brooklyn is hardly a secret among travelers. A record 15 million tourists visited the borough last year — up 20 percent from 2006, according to the Borough President’s Office.
Condé Nast Traveler lists Brooklyn among the top 15 places to visit in the world in its latest issue. Attractions noted by the magazine:
Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare: Brooklyn’s first Michelin two-star-rated restaurant.
DUMBO: After you get off the bridge, check out this funky enclave.
Nu Hotel: The “sleek and quirky” 93-room hotel in Cobble Hill means visitors don’t have to travel back to Manhattan.
Hip bars: Dozens of hip new restaurants and bars, such as Spike Hill on Bedford Avenue in Williams-burg.
Brooklyn Bridge: Best way to get to the borough — walking across the venerable span.