Williamsburg

Glass towers on the East River, converted factory lofts and a street scene that never really sleeps, ten minutes from Manhattan by ferry.

Williamsburg was a sugar refinery and factory district before artists moved into the empty buildings and turned it into the borough’s creative center. The brick warehouses stayed, the waterfront filled with new towers, and the neighborhood now holds both a lot of character and a lot of new construction.

The best homes are the condos in the waterfront towers along Kent Avenue, with floor-to-ceiling windows and skyline views across the river. Converted lofts around Bedford Avenue offer high ceilings and exposed brick, and the quieter streets to the east have wood-frame townhouses with small gardens.

Days are packed. Mornings begin at a corner bakery on Bedford, afternoons go to the record shops and the Saturday market at the waterfront, and evenings fill the rooftop bars and live music venues. The L train and the ferry both reach Manhattan in minutes.