 | New York City Statue of Liberty Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 22 |  |
The Statue of Liberty is probably the most recognizable symbol of New York City. It is also posisbly the most overrated. Don't get me wrong - it is certainly a site to behold and I am grateful to the French for the gift. However with everything to see and do in NYC, why wait in lines up to a few hours long to pay way too much to take a boat to an island to see Liberty up close, when in reality the only way to get a good view is from afar?
Get there first thing in the morning.
The Staton Island Ferry. The SI Ferry leaves every half hour, a few blocks down the street from the overcrowded Circle Line and Liberty Island boats.
It is 100% FREE.
You will get on the first boat once you arrive.
It takes you within a few hundred yards of the Statue of Liberty - close enough to get some fantastic photos and close enough for you to enjoy the grand view of Liberty and the skyline of Manhattan.
The boat even has a cafe that serves beer.
My suggested plan of attack: When you arrive at the SI terminal, go up the escalators and get as close to the big doors as possible. You will know the doors by the cluster of people around them. When the doors open and people are let on to the boat, immediately head straigh to the other end of the boat and outside to the outdoor deck area at the front of the boat - standing on the right side of the boat. This will afford you the best views of the Statue as the boat heads to Staten Island. (You can always send someone up for a beer.)
Upon arrival in Staten Island, quickly depart and follow the signs back around to get back on the boat to head to Manhattan. (There is no other reason to stick around Staten Island.) Once again head through the boat to what is now the front. This will give you the best views of Brooklyn, the Brooklyn/Manhattan Bridges to the righ side of Manhattan and of course the Manhattan skyline. (As well as Liberty once again.)
The total trip will take you 1 hour instead of the 4-5 often needed to go to Liberty Island.
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The Statue of Liberty is a beautiful monument in the middle of the New York Harbor welcoming visitors into one of the greatest cities on earth. However, don't be fooled... all of the Statue of Liberty's glory can be seen from a distance. I do not suggest visiting Liberty Island and wasting an afternoon venturing to the top of her crown. It takes entirely way too long and the stairs are ridiculously steep. Once you get to the top you find that all you can do is look out of small fogged up windows in a room that is extremely hot and smells like sweat from all the people that just climbed up its seemingly endless spiral staircase
Unless they re-open the torch I would not suggest climbing to the top at all. Just go to the top of the base that the statue is placed on and take pictures from there.
If you want a real good view of the city try going to the New Jersey side of the harbor and take pictures from there or even atop the Empire State building. Leave a Comment
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The Statue of Liberty - why pay when you can go free? The Staten Island ferry is free (that's free) and goes straight past The Statue of Liberty. Unless you really want to pay through the teeth to queue for hours for an up close glimpse of it, do this. It's quick and painless. I reckon she's overrated though anyway! ;) Leave a Comment
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I've been to NY umpteen million times. Once I let a girlfriend talk me into walking up the stairs of the Statue of Liberty. The boat ride was nice but waiting in line to get inside to wait even more to walk slowly behind the people in front of me for a very long time to achieve the distinct honor of making it all the way to the top of her foot, before i turned around and walked out. That was in the winter. I can't imagine how bad it is during a nice day in July Leave a Comment
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Although visiting of Ellis Island and Liberty Island both is something one shoud not miss under no circumstances during our short stay in NY city we were discouraged with the veeerrry long line in front of ticket office as well as a lot of people waiting for a ferry. Maybe it is not like that throught the year, but we were there around Christmas when expected wait time was about 4 hours. Frustrating, freezing, and, I would say, time-consuming.
Try during the peak season (if any in NY city)
Take Manhattan boat cruise on pier 83 (Circle line boat trip) and you will be able to see both islands stretching not so far away from the your boat. Leave a Comment
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As far as I know, because of security issues you can only visit the grounds of Lady Liberty. It's still worth the ferry ride out since it's an amazing sight and so meaningful for most, but there's no doubt this is where you'll find all the tourists. Leave a Comment
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This photo shows how close I got to this monument. The lines for the tours were so long that I felt I would be wasting a day getting out to Lady Liberty. Instead I had a blast walking around Soho, the Village and Chinatown. Leave a Comment
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The Statue of Liberty is one of America's most potent icons. It has said that
for New Yorkers this great monument is practically a cliche. When you have
strolled around Liberty Island, you have two options: you can take an elevator
10 stories to the top of the pedestal or you can climb 354 steps to the crown.
It usually takes two or three hours to walk up to the crown because of the long
lines. Admission is free. It's open daily 9am - 5 pm. Leave a Comment
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As you can see from my picture here you can get your picture taken with these people dressed up like the Statue of Liberty.
He quoted me $5 USD to take as many pictures as I wanted. I hesitated not sure I wanted to pay to get my picture taken and in the end dropped in the $5. When i asked for a couple more pictures to be taken because I thought that was part of the deal, he gives me a dose of NY attitude and tells me I only gave him a dollar!
I managed to get a second picture and then didn't bother to debate this with him.
Get your picture taken with the real Statue of Liberty and spend your $5 USD on a local corned beef sandwich or something. Leave a Comment
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Ferry to Lady Liberty, skip Ellis Island...
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