Return Ferry - Lower Manhattan Up Close
Photo: Jakub Halun, CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
A stop on Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a free self-guided tour.
Find a spot on deck for the ride back to the Battery: it is the best seat in the house for the Lower Manhattan skyline. As the boat crosses the harbor, the towers grow bigger and bigger, just as they did for the immigrants who made this same short crossing after their long ocean voyage.
The tallest tower is One World Trade Center, built near the site of the Twin Towers that fell on September 11, 2001. Below the skyscrapers, the green treetops of Battery Park mark the very tip of Manhattan, where you started, and as you get closer you can pick out the low round walls of Castle Clinton near the water.
Turn around for one last look at Liberty, small now against the wide harbor, still holding her torch high as she has since 1886. When you step off the boat, the subway and the rest of the city are just a few minutes' walk away.
Getting here: Reboard the ferry at the Ellis Island dock; from there it heads straight back to Battery Park.
Did you know?: One World Trade Center stands 1,776 feet tall, a nod to 1776, the same year carved in Roman numerals on Liberty's tablet.
Photo op: Stand at the rail on the Manhattan side as the boat nears the Battery and frame the skyline over the water.
Nearby: Restrooms and snacks are on board; back on land, the cafes of the Financial District are a short walk from the park.
More on Wikipedia: Lower Manhattan · One World Trade Center · The Battery
Stops on this tour
- Castle Clinton - The Fort Before Ellis Island
- Statue City Cruises - Through Security and Aboard
- Statue of Liberty Museum - The Torch at Eye Level
- Liberty Island Promenade - Walking Around the Star
- Statue of Liberty Pedestal - Inside the Base
- Ellis Island - The Nation's Front Door
- Registry Room - Inside the Great Hall
- Stairs of Separation - Three Ways Down
- American Immigrant Wall of Honor - Names by the Water
- Return Ferry - Lower Manhattan Up Close