Originally Posted by
indyfabz
+10 on lower Manhattan on the weekends and the Brooklyn Bridge. The bike/ped way on the bridge is above the car deck, so you not only get great views of the surrounding area, you are right among the some of the bridge's architectural features. One option is to head over the bridge to the promenade in Brooklyn Heights. It's elevated and faces lower Manhattan. While the view is sort of cooler at night, it's still nice during the day. You can even the Statue of Liberty off in the distance.
For a good loop trip to the promenade from Manhattan, check out this old map/cue sheet ,
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/download...kethefalls.pdf when the waterfalls art project was active in 2008. We followed the guide and it was safe & easy and almost all bike lanes, they even painted road markings to follow. While the waterfalls are long gone the views of the city and the rides across the bridges were the high point of the ride anyway. It might be worth saving the pdf of the guide while its still available online.