I enjoy writing about all sorts really. I love travel and am pregnant at the moment so expect a lot ...
I enjoy writing about all sorts really. I love travel and am pregnant at the moment so expect a lot of baby reviews to come. I also post on Dooyoo under the name Whizz11
Member since:07.09.2007
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I just came back from a fabulous five days in New York so I am going to share my tips and experiences on a few of the Big Apple's major sights, the first one being the Statue of Liberty!
The Statue of Liberty was actually a gift to the United States from the French, way back in the year 1886. It was given as a gesture of friendship and was to commemorate the centennial of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence. This is why the date July 4th is written on the tablet the Liberty holds in one of her hands. In the other she holds a torch.
The statue was the first thing that immigrants saw as they reached the coasts of the United States (back in the late 1800's, early 1900's) and was seen as a beacon of hope/enlightenment and new life for the thousands of people that descended upon those shores.
The statue (correct name, Liberty Enlightening the World) is located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. It is basically just off the coast of Manhattan and very accessible to get to. The Statue is now a National Monument and as such is looked after and administered by the National Park Service. The Statue of Liberty National Monument actually encompasses Ellis Island as well which is national museum of immigration In order to reach Liberty
Island to see the statue and Ellis Island you need to take a ferry.
There is actually no entrance fee to the islands as it is a National Monument, however, there is a charge to take the ferry. For adults it is $12 and for children it is $5. I found this to be very reasonable considering the amount of time we actually spend on the islands and the amount of things to see.
The ferry departs from two spots, Battery Park in New York and Liberty State Park in New Jersey. We took the ferry from the New York side. Getting to the ferry terminal was very easy. We took the subway from midtown Manhattan and exited at the Whitehall/South Ferry stop. It probably took us about ½ an hour to get there. You have a slight walk then through Battery Park and it is easy to spot the ferries. To me it was a great moment to walk through the park, look over the water and see the Statue of Liberty for the first time, quite an imposing and famous landmark and a very moving sight!
The Park is open every day of the year except the 25th December and opening hours are 9am to 5pm although I do believe they change depending on the time of year. We bought our ferry tickets online as I've heard it can get really busy in peak times so for us it was just easier. The website to go to for this is http://www.nps.gov/stli.
You can print the tickets from the internet too as they send you a e-mail once you have confirmed payment so you don't have to wait in any queues at the statue to pick them up. I would recommend also getting the tickets that have "Monument Access." This is a free option but then allows you to actually go into the statue as only a limited number of these tickets can be purchased on the day so I think it is better to have them in advance.
In order to get onto the ferry you have to go through a security screening process, it doesn't take took long but it's just like at the airport, you have to remove your coats, shoes, belts etc but I would rather know I was safe on the island than not so it didn't bother me. Once on the ferry it probably takes about 10 minutes to first get over to Liberty Island. A little tip here, as you get on you can sit outside so go to the side nearest the shore as when the boats sails up to the island the statue will be right in front of you and you will get a great view. The photo opportunities from the ferry are probably the best way to capture the statue and the New York skyline behind you.
Once on Liberty Island you have a choice of things to do. As you walk into the park you are greeted by a great tall American flag in front of you in a big open space. The area is paved in brick and looks really welcoming and traditional. The whole park itself I found to be very clean and well kept. There are quite a few park rangers around and available to give you tours or answer any questions you have and they were all very knowledgeable. In front of you there is a walk way around the island lined with trees which is very pretty. On your right when you first enter the park there is a canteen where you can purchase hot and cold food and drinks which I thought were fairly reasonably priced. There was also a gift shop attached to this as well as a museum gift shop a bit further on in the park. They had a good range of merchandise, all featuring the Statue image of course. For example, there are t-shirts, bags, mini statues, teddy bears and some really good informative books. As it was near Christmas I bought a statue of Liberty tree decoration, just short of being extremely tacky as it's going on the tree which I though at $3.95 was a bargain!
Then we joined the queue to go into the statue itself with our monument access passes. Again, there is another security screening section. I'm not too sure why they had this one as we had already gone through one to get to the island but oh well. This one was a bit more intense with big machines that blew air on you to make sure you had no explosive materials on you but I suppose it's always good to be security conscience.
Back in the early 1900's you could actually go all the way up to the torch in the Statue and until 2001 you could go up to the crown in her head but now after 9/11 the furthest you can go up is to the observation tower and the base of where the statue begins. There are two ways to get up there. If you are feeling adventurous you can climb the stairs, I think there were about 160 but you can also take an elevator to the 10th floor pedestal and then walk a short 24 steps. From here you can go outside onto a balcony and you get a really good view of the harbor and the city. It's fun to look up also and see the statue from a different angel although you do have to crane your neck but it's interesting to see the copper. Inside you can look up into the statue and view the statues interior from underneath and all the copper skin supported by a web of steel bars. This was quite interesting but we didn't stay up there long as once you had seen the view that was really all to see up there. The statue is 151 ft (46 m) tall, but with the pedestal and foundation, it is 305 ft (93 m) tall.
Around the place there are various exhibit panels and presentations that tell you about the history of Liberty, how she was constructed etc which was very interesting and there wasn't too much information to make it overpowering or anything. It was definitely an exhibit that kids would love.
Once we had finished on Liberty Island we got the ferry across to Ellis Island. The ferries run approximately every ½ hour from island to island and back to land so they are quite handy. Liberty Island like I've said above houses the immigration museum. This was actually the place where all the immigrants who sailed over to America stopped for the first time. The museum told us how they were then either granted access tot eh United States or if they were to be sent back to where they came from. All the processes were displayed in great detail and it was really interesting. The museum had photos and quotes from actual immigrants and you really got a sense of how life must have been for them then in those times. Outside they have a wall with all the names of all the people who came to America through this port and if you have any relatives, like I do who came in this was it's really a great site to see.
We probably spent about an hour here and then got a ferry back to New York. If you ever go to New York I would say that this trip is an absolute must do. Leave yourself a good half a day to see everything but you don't really need a whole day and see a piece of history with your own eyes!
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We "cheated" when we went 4 years ago by getting the freebie from Battery Park but I suppose if you want to see it close up you have to go for the more expensive option.
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Nov 18th, 2008
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