Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

One of the things I was looking forward to the most while visiting NYC was a visit to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

 

Tickets are only offered by one service provider, so please go directly to nps.gov and follow the links there to get your tickets.

 

And book early, especially if you want to climb up to the crown or the top of the pedestal. General admission tickets have better availability.

 

From NYC, the ferry to the islands leaves from Battery Park on the southern tip of Manhattan. There is airport-like security screening to go through, so your ticket will reflect the time to arrive to line up for the screening.

 

Once on board the ferry, find a seat on the right side of the boat – preferably on the open-air top deck. As you leave the dock, you’ll be treated to a great view of the NY skyline, and as you approach the island, you’ll have a great view of the Statue of Liberty.

 

When you arrive at the Statue of Liberty, plan to spend at least 2 hours on the island. There is a free audio tour available. If you listen to the entire tour, it will take about 40 minutes to walk around the island. Climbing to the top of the pedestal or crown, if you’ve purchased those tickets, will require more time, but will give you great views of the city as well as of the inner parts of the statue. The pedestal has a museum inside.

 

There is also another museum on the island with the original torch, replica face and replica foot along with many other interesting exhibits.

 

Ferries to Ellis Island and then on to Battery Park pick up approximately every 25-30 minutes.

 

Ellis Island is also worth a couple of hours of your time. This island was the first landing point for millions of immigrants to the USA, especially from the late 1800s to about 1920.

 

My wife and I found records for three of our relatives that arrived and were processed at Ellis Island before starting their lives in America.

 

Ellis Island also has a museum that details the many reasons why people chose to come to America and the successes and challenges they faced in their new country.