Built by the same fellows who brought us Central Park in Manhattan, Prospect Park is equally important to Brooklynites who need a nature break form the hustle and bustle of the city. The huge park, which dates back to 1865, houses a number of attractions and wide open spaces throughout its 526 acres. There is a small children's zoo, a boat house, skating rink, playgrounds, carousel, tennis courts, immense lawns and fields, patches of forest, and nearby you'll find the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. If you like rollerblading, the sloping hills will provide more of a challenge than Central Park and considerably smaller crowds.

You can't mention Brooklyn without saying something about Prospect Park. It's big, beautiful and full of hidden treasures. There's a lake, an ice-skating rink, concerts and plenty of lavish space to picnic or play frisbee with your dog.

Prospect Park was designed by the same folks who laid out the Central Park landscape, but everyone in Brooklyn will tell you that Prospect Park is better.