Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
hopeful immigrants—Lady Liberty, standing in the Upper Bay, was
their first glimpse of America. No monument so embodies the
nation's, and the world's, notion of political freedom and economic
potential. Even if you don't make it to Liberty Island, you can get a
spine-tingling glimpse from Battery Park, from the New Jersey side
of the bay, or during a ride on the Staten Island Ferry (see above). It's
always reassuring to see her torch lighting the way.
Proposed by French statesman Edouard de Laboulaye as a gift
from France to the United States, commemorating the two nations'
friendship and joint notions of liberty, the statue was designed by
sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi with the engineering help of
Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel (who was responsible for the famed Paris
tower) and unveiled on October 28, 1886.
Touring tips:
Ferries
leave daily every half-hour to 45 minutes from 9am to about
3:30pm, with more frequent ferries in the morning and extended
hours in summer. Try to go early on a weekday to avoid the crowds
that swarm in the afternoon, on weekends, and on holidays. A stop
at
Ellis Island
(p. 124) is included in the fare, but if you catch
the last ferry, you can visit the statue or Ellis Island, not both.
You can order ferry tickets in advance via
www.statuereservations.
com
, which will allow you to board without standing in the some-
times-long ticket line; however, there is an additional service charge
of $1.75 per ticket. Even if you've already purchased tickets, arrive as
much as 30 minutes before your desired ferry time to allow for
increased security procedures prior to boarding. The ferry ride takes
about 20 minutes. Once on Liberty Island, you'll start to get an idea
of the statue's immensity: She weighs 225 tons and measures 152
feet from foot to flame. Her nose alone is 4
1
⁄
2
feet long, and her index
finger is 8 feet long.
On Liberty Island in New York Harbor.
&
212/363-3200
(general info), or 212/269-
5755 (ticket/ferry info). www.nps.gov/stli or www.statuecruises.com. Free admis-
sion; ferry ticket to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island $12 adults, $10 seniors, $5 chil-
dren 3-17. Daily 9am-3:30pm (last ferry departs around 3:30pm); extended hours
in summer. Subway: 4, 5 to Bowling Green; 1 to South Ferry. Walk south through Bat-
tery Park to Castle Clinton, the fort housing the ferry ticket booth.
Times Square
There's no doubt that Times Square has
evolved into something much different than it was over a decade ago
when it had a deservedly sleazy reputation. Yet there is much debate
among New Yorkers about which incarnation was better. For New
Yorkers, Times Square is a place we go out of our way to avoid. The
crowds, even by New York standards, are stifling; the restaurants,
mostly national chains, aren't very good; the shops, also mostly
Overrated
