Flatbush Ave Exn, Downtown Brooklyn

Flatbush Ave may be one of the busiest avenues in Brooklyn - which of course makes it an undesirable road to drive down, but also an unavoidable one. The area of the street closest to the bridge is highly populated with foot traffic, shoppers (there are a lot of shops and chain restaurants in the Downtown Brooklyn area) and wall-to-wall traffic. Where Flatbush Ave cuts through Prospect Park the traffic lets up (and speeds up), and here you'll pass the park zoo on one side and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden on the other.

The street starts after you leave the city on the Manhattan Bridge, and runs through Downtown Brooklyn, the Cobble Hill area and Prospect Park before heading into Crown Heights. It doesn't change much, however, before you reach Grand Army Plaza - the street is a long line of shops and restaurants and a lot of stop and go traffic. As far as general shopping and eating is concerned, the area is heavily populated with a range of fun places to spend money - especially in Cobble Hill and Downtown (which is where you'll find such staples as Junior's diner).