Jane’s Carousel By MusikAnimal – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
My daughter loves carousels. So we set out to try as may as we could from Brooklyn. Here are the best.
Prospect Park Carousel
This carousel has 53 horses, a lion, a giraffe, a deer, and 2 chariots pulled by dragons. The deer has real antlers and the horses real horsehair tails—which is very unusual. The carousel is more than 100 years old, but actually not the original Prospect Park Carousel. This one was brought from Coney Island after the two park carousels burned down and enhanced with painted Brooklyn scenes. There is even a Wurlitzer organ that plays while the ride spins.
We cannot walk past this carousel during open hours without riding it. Most people combine it with a trip to the zoo. There is also a small snack stand onsite. In the past they have offered free rides on Thursdays in August—let’s hope they do it again this year!
Location: The Carousel is located in the Children’s Corner at Flatbush Avenue and Empire Boulevard (right near the park entrance to the Zoo)
Hours: Thurs–Sun + Holidays: 12–6 pm
Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park
This is the most beautiful of the horse carousels and a strong second place for best carousel in NYC. It is big enough that you don’t get too dizzy going around and around and you can actually enjoy the amazing view of the river and Brooklyn Bridge. This 1922 carousel was originally in Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio and moved to its current location.
It is also a great deal at only $2 with kids 3 and under free with a paying adult. You can ride it twice!
Location: On the waterfront in Dumbo inside Brooklyn Bridge Park by the main street entrance. You can see it from anywhere near the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Summer Hours: Open 6 days closed Tuesdays 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Bryant Park Carousel (Le Carousel)
This older carousel is on the smaller side, but maintains much of its original French character. It goes pretty slow (good for little ones). The main attraction here is that it is in Bryant Park so you can combine the trip with all the other fun things in the Park like the awesome free board games.
Sea Glass Carousel
I may be biased on this as once upon a time (more than 12 years ago now) I worked on raising money to build this carousel. I had actually forgotten all about this until I saw someone post a photo on Instagram. My thought: “Oh my, they actually built it!”
So we had to go there. After a long ride on the R train just for a short carousel ride, I was feeling doubtful. I was wrong. This is the most amazing carousel I have ever experienced. It is pure magic accompanied by Mozart.
Location: Battery Park near Castle Clinton
Hours: 10am-10pm every day