Surrounded by the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan it's easy to lose sight of the fact that New York City is situated on the Atlantic Ocean. Though the white-sand beaches of Eastern Long Island and the Hamptons are within reach, you can get a distinctly New York experience much closer by, in Brooklyn, along the bustling oceanfront boardwalk that links Brighton Beach and Coney Island.

Take the B or Q train down to Brighton Beach, where there's as much (if not more) Cyrillic signage as English — it's home to a recent wave of immigrants from Russia and the former Soviet republics (you might recognize it as the turf of protagonist Niko Bellic in Grand Theft Auto 4) — so you'll feel like a foreign tourist as you explore the shops and cafes of "Little Odessa." For a jaw-droppingly weird experience, check out the floor show at the National, a supper club on Brighton Beach Avenue that's half-Moscow, half-Vegas.

Farther west along the boardwalk is Coney Island, home of the legendary amusement park. A major development proposal is threatening to close parts of Astroland, but it seems the Cyclone, a popular wooden roller coaster, will survive. Coney Island is a people-watcher's paradise. On hot summer days it can still resemble Weegee's famous photograph of sunbathers packed like sardines on the beach. Down a couple red hots at Nathan's Famous hot dog stand or feed your inner aggressor at the Shoot the Freak paint-ball attraction, just around the corner from the Coney Island Freak Show. You can even catch the Mets' rival to the Staten Island Yankees: The Brooklyn Cyclones play in stunning KeySpan Park, right off the boardwalk.

• 1. Coney Island
  Brooklyn, NY 40.57778-73.99444 coneyisland.com
• 2. The National
  273 Brighton Beach Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11235; 718-646-1225 40.576882-73.964865 More Info
• 3. Astroland
  1000 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11224; 718-372-0275 40.575392-73.977888 astroland.com
• 4. KeySpan Park
  1904 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11224; 718-507-8499 for tickets 40.575068-73.984594 brooklyncyclones.com