Visiting The Statue Of Liberty

By alantvuong on October 15, 2020

During our 5 night stay in New York in August 2010, my buddy and I had to visit the Statue of Liberty since it such an iconic attraction of the city. We already saw the Top of the Rock observation the other day and am glad the weather got warmer and sunnier for us to visit the Statue of Liberty. It is located on Liberty Island and we want to combine our visit with Ellis Island.

Getting There

Visitors have to get to New York Harbor and take ferries from one of two locations to get to Liberty and Ellis Island: Battery Park in New York City or Liberty State Park in New Jersey. We initially flew into Newark Airport in New Jersey but ended up staying at Bryant Park Hotel in Manhattan.

taking the subway to Battery Park

Our best option was taking the subway which was only a couple minutes walk/stroll from our hotel. The subway was wheelchair accessible as there were elevators to take us underground and I had my buddy help me on the subway. I remember really enjoy taking the subway because it was so warm down there. Our destination was to Battery Park where we would take a ferry to Liberty Island first.

at Battery Park

Battery Park

Battery Park (has now been renamed The Battery) is located at the Southern tip of Manhattan Island. From here, we can see amazing waterfront views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. There are also lots of shops, restaurants and things to see at this popular tourists spot. The park is also home to the famous Castle Clinton which was built in 1812 for the War. This is where the ticket office is for Statue Cruises, but lucky for us, a couple gave us their 2 tickets cause they decided they didn’t want to wait in line to get on the ferry.

waiting for the ferry

Statue Cruises

wheelchair spot on the ferry

Before boarding, Statue Cruises require visitors to be subjected to airport style security screening. There are certain items that are prohibited from getting on the ferry and we were told that there will be additional security screening once we enter the Statue of Liberty. It was great having Statue Cruises staff help my buddy to get me on the ferry.

ferry was spacious and accessible

The ferry was quite large, spacious and wheelchair accessible. There are spots for wheelchairs to park so they are out of the way from other guests. There are options to buy snacks and drinks on board but surprisingly there is no accessible bathroom. Lucky the ride to Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty is was only about 15 minutes. The whole trip was smooth and we did take a bunch of photos of the ferry, the water, the statue and the islands.

view from the ferry

another pic from the ferry

Statue of Liberty

we made it to Liberty Island

The Statue of Liberty was a gift given from the people of France to the US in 1886 as a universal symbol for freedom. The statue has an iron infrastructure and a copper exterior which has now turned green because of oxidation. It is quite tall and measures about 305 feet from the ground to the tip of her torch. Her crown has 7 spikes which represents the 7 continents of the world.

learning about it

At the time of our visit, the elevators were under repairs so we couldn’t go inside the Statue of Liberty to visit the crown or the pedestal. We were a bit bummed but that didn’t stop us from enjoying our time outside checking out the statue, learning facts about it, and taking photos of the city skyline and the waters. The weather was quite sunny and nice and it really was a perfect outing that we ended up staying on Liberty Island for over an hour before getting on the ferry.

nice views

Immigration Museum

The ferry to Ellis Island was also about 15 minutes to get to from Liberty Island. There is no fee to visit the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, as the cost of the ferry is not an entrance fee. There is 3 floors at this museum but we only stayed on the ground floor because we were limited on time. There is an old style elevator for those who need it to visit the other floors.

out in front of the museum

The ground floor has 2 main exhibits: Journeys: The Peopling of America and Journeys: New Eras of Immigration. We did enjoy all the artifacts and learned a bit about the history of the United States. There was also a temporary Barbie Dolls exhibit that was there during our visit. We stayed about an hour before heading back to the city on the ferry.

American flag

My buddy and I really had an epic time visiting the Statue of Liberty. It was easy to get to Battery Park to take Statue Cruises to visit both Liberty and Ellis Island. Everything was definitely wheelchair accessible and I will have to come back to actually visit the crown and the pedestal.